Michele Pirro said that Ducati would have deserved to win two titles, in 2017 and 2020, before finally making it happen in 2022. But listening to Casey Stoner on his debut within the brand with the GP7, we can take away one, either the first which dates from 2007. Because this crown is only the work of the Australian driver at the helm of an impossible machine that Loris Capirossi, then his teammate, also knew… We were then still very far from the GP22…
During an intervention where he recounted his memories behind the scenes of Ducati, the brand's test driver Michele Pirro said : " I think we could have won two more titles, before those of last season. Maybe the year with Dovi was because he didn't believe it was possible. It would have been enough to finish two races a little better and the final result would have been different. The 2017 bike was superior to the others. The bike we have had since 2017 is the most complete, but if you fall, if you make mistakes... And then there was Marc Marquez ».
The technical turning point therefore dates from 2017 with a motorcycle which should have won the titles. But according to the Italian, Dovizioso didn't have enough conviction to make it happen. If we start from this basis of reflection, Ducati should never have had its crown in 2007 since the GP7 was anything but a winning machine. However, the red house had a pilot who believed in it wholeheartedly. As it happens Casey Stoner. In short, the situation is completely reversed from that of Dovizioso, according Michele Pirro.
Asked about his period Ducati in a documentary entitled “The Resurrection of Ducati” produced by motogp.com, Casey Stoner remembers his first contact with the GP7…: “ When I signed for Ducati I was very excited, because I was going to a factory team. After taking my first rides on the bike, the first thing I thought to myself was 'what have I done? I made a huge mistake' »...
« For me this Ducati had a lot of problems, but not for him«
An observation which did not discourage him. On the contrary, he gave voice to his exceptional natural talent, carrying on his sole shoulders the destiny of a firm which certainly did not have the means it enjoys today... " We had no budget. The bike we were going to start with that year had to be exactly the same bike we were going to finish with. No new chassis, no parts, no engines… nothing… Quite often I was the only Ducati in front, or the only Ducati with a chance to win or get on the podium, I felt the whole weight of the company and the people on my back ».
The Australian continues: “ it looked so much better on paper and in results than we felt… » He also recalls the new regulations of the time and the way in which Ducati, under the era Precious, had interpreted it: “ a lot of people were saying "okay, these are 800cc engines, we're going to make these bikes very handling". In particular the Japanese were saying “we want a light bike, a bike that turns really well”, but Ducati went in a completely opposite direction, like “ now we're not going to worry about the chassis, let's try to make this thing fast on the straights“. We struggled all year to keep the bike running… ».
Cristian Gabarrini, who was its chief engineer and who is today the technical manager of Pecco Bagnaia, do not hide that this GP7 “ was a very difficult bike to ride. It was a very extreme motorcycle, mainly because the engine was extreme ". Words approved by Ducati's systems manager, Gabriele Conti : “ we didn't realize that this bike was too aggressive, too difficult to ride ».
The last word goes to Loris Capirossi who is full of praise for his teammate: “It seemed like Casey was born to ride motorcycles », remembers Capirex in comments relayed by Todocircuito. " From the first time he got on it he said 'wow, this bike is really good.' And I knew it because he was my teammate, he was two meters away from me, and I was listening to everything he said. For me this bike had a lot of problems, but not for him ».
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