This afternoon, we published the minimalist responses from Shinichi Kokubu as for the new Honda engine…
This afternoon, Peter McLaren tried to have more success with Gigi Dall'Igna in Sepang, obviously addressing the subject that is currently making headlines, namely the mysterious box under the saddle of the Ducati, and its offset exhaust.
Here is a translation of his interview on the subject for crash.net, reproduced with permission.
Asked about the new “concept,” Gigi Dall'Igna replied: “It’s not a concept, it’s a form of fairing. »
Is the box empty inside?
“No, it’s not empty. »
But there is no fuel inside?
" No. "
You modified the exhaust to fit around the box…
“We moved the exhaust 30mm, so not a huge change! »
Will all the bikes here use it this week?
" For now yes. »
So, is it final for this season?
“Nothing is definitive!” It's something we have to test and compare with Michele, but we haven't had enough track time to do it. »
There are articles that say that Ducati has patented an exhaust “with vanes, like an airplane” and maybe...
“I saw the articles… Ducati has many patents! »
But is it to be used in racing?
“No, you can see the (GP17) exhaust and it doesn’t go with the (patent) drawings. »
Peter Mc Laren therefore managed to eliminate some hypotheses despite the laconic responses of Gigi Dall'Igna who plays his role well, and has no reason to provide the slightest information to the press, and therefore to his competitors. Also note that, despite the latest response from the Italian manager, the patent filed is however explicitly an anti-wheeling system intended for competition...
The transalpine engineer was, however, a little more verbose regarding the problem regarding the fairing.
“We did a test with Casey. The first outing was done with ailerons, and the rest without, because we need to understand the difference and what we need to change in the settings to avoid any problems. Because, for sure, without the fins, and Casey can confirm this, the bike is more dangerous. »
The fairings seen on the Ducatis so far this week don't present any big surprises, and there's a simple explanation: “This is more or less the 2016 fairing without the fins. »
So this fairing will not be used for racing?
“It depends if we find something better.” So, obviously we are going to use the new solution. Otherwise we have to start the season with this fairing. »
Do you have any new things to test here with the fairing?
“No, they're not ready...Frankly, the reason we're waiting for the (2017) refit is because we need time to do a proper refit. So we are working on the aerodynamics and we still have to finalize the work. »
The new aerodynamic gel compounds the difficulty of designing a fairing, since only one fairing and one update will be allowed during the 2017 season.
“The shape of the fairing is for sure a problem, also because we have to freeze the aerodynamics for the first race. We will only have an update after that. So, it's a real big deal to finalize the first fairing for the Qatar GP. »
Could you decide to use one fairing optimized for fast tracks and another for slow tracks?
[Head movement meaning “yes”] “Maybe.” Maybe. »
Our thanks to Peter McLaren
