Ducati's linchpin in both WSBK and MotoGP, Michele Pirro is exactly the profile that Yamaha is desperately looking for: an available and fast test rider who has great knowledge of the product entrusted to him. While waiting for Jorge Lorenzo to be the providential man at the Iwata factory, the Italian returned to some details of the history of the Desmosedici during the presentation of the GP20. We thus learn that we have nostalgia for the GP18 at Borgo Panigale…
Michele Pirro has seen Desmosedici pass by, at least as many asAndrea Dovizioso. The GP20 will be next on the list, and to listen to it it should not only be the continuation of the GP19, but also be the one that recalls a GP18 which left very good memories… He explains thus: “ our best bike was the GP18, because in 2017 we started to find performance mid-season and the following year we were immediately competitive. A bit of bad luck and some mistakes affected the season. I think we had the biggest advantage from mid-2017 to the end of 2018. »
But then the good times ended… “ We retained some advantages, but our opponents made up the difference. I don't think Honda got any faster in the corners last year, but they got those 10 horsepower back and you couldn't tell the difference in a straight line. In 2018, Dovizioso and Lorenzo won many races by this margin. »
A reflection that fits with the philosophy of Gigi Dall'Igna on the priority to be given to the engine, while Dovizioso rather requires a concentration of efforts on the chassis… “ I have to agree with Gigi when he says that the straight line advantage is the one with the least risk to overtake the opponent and our rivals have understood this too »
Will the GP20 actually restore the advantage to Ducati in top speed? “ I think so, but I speak for us, I hope the opponents haven't taken another step! I got information from Jerez where Bradl tested the Honda MotoGP with the SBKs and it seems to me that Honda has also been working on this area. I expect a very fast Honda at Sepang on the straight ».
We must therefore hope for those who were behind and who think they have progressed for 2020 that they do not take a cold shower during the back-to-school tests in Malaysian torpor, like Suzuki and Yamaha . But to listen Pirro on GP One, the pilot always makes the difference: “ I believe that finding the compromise between rider and motorcycle is the fundamental basis. In recent years I have had the opportunity to follow some riders from the side of the track and you realize that each bike has its own DNA. You have to be able to interpret it. Some situations are not seen on telemetry, they are more about feeling than anything else and to explain them you have to try them on the track. »
