It's yet another mystery that emerged in Austin among the clan of riders equipped with Ducati GP22s. This is a loss of top speed for a motorcycle for which it is fundamentally the fatal weapon. A pitfall all the more annoying since, during this time, his distinguished colleague Enea Bastianini was racing like lightning on the handlebars of the GP21. Jorge Martin, Luca Marini and, to a lesser extent Jack Miller, complained about this straight line deficit. If, for the first mentioned, we look on the machine to see what could have happened, for the other two, the thinking has moved from km/h to kilos...
Be a pilot MotoGP, it's not for everyone but we should perhaps also add today that it's not for all sizes either. A fundamental question which was asked in its time by Danilo Petrucci and which returned to the table after Austin, within the clan Ducati to partly explain the current success of a Enea Bastianini imperial on the GP21. And it's Jack Miller who launched the debate with this remark: “ he's also a small guy, so he's very fast on the straights. It stops the bike well too… Gaining 10 extra kilos is a little harder, I can tell you that » commented the Australian, recognizing that his Italian counterpart had the ideal physique to do his job.
The subject is also developed in the Mooney VR46 box with Luca marini. The latter declared as he got off his GP22 in Austin: “ I always lacked acceleration and straight line speed compared to other Ducatis. We need to analyze and understand exactly why. That was the main problem and the rest was just a consequence ».
Luca Marini: “ maybe it's a weight problem«
The boss's half-brother Valentino Rossi however, already has his idea: “ in my opinion the bike has improved compared to the first race, but the other Ducatis have improved further. It's clear that Losail was missing something at the team level. In Qatar, I think we had something wrong. I had no problems in Austin. The electronic part of the bike is good. The power and acceleration seem correct to me when I ride alone... Comparing the data, however, we see that I lose time in a straight line. But we don't know why. We tried several electronic settings. But we didn't find a solution ».
So, if it doesn't come from the bike, it might come from whoever's on it. And Luca marini do not rule out this hypothesis: “ I lose from first to fifth gear. Sixth is good. I am very tall but I pay close attention to my position behind the handlebars “, he explains. “ I don't think it depends on size... Maybe it's a weight problem, I'm maybe four or five kilos overweight ". For comparison, the Tavullia pilot measures 184 cm for 69 kg, Bastianini 168 cm for 64 kg, Jorge Martin, 168 cm for 62 kg, Jack Miller 173 for 64 kg, Johann Zarco, 171 cm for 67 kg and Pecco Bagnaia, 176 cm for 67 Kg.
