The Shakedown at Sepang is coming to an end with the test riders mobilized from the manufacturers, but the official tests which will follow from February 10 should have some surprises in store for us from Ducati. It was Davide Barana, considered Gigi Dall Igna's right-hand man, who spilled the beans, even giving indications on what is not visible, namely the engine. Ducati had however said that for this season, there would be no revolution…
Certainly, but that does not mean that we remained idly in Borgo Panigale. The technical man at Ducati David Barana made some comments from Sepang which leave no doubt about the fact that we will still have to fear the armada-like Red Army in 2023... " Every year we have new ideas to improve » begins the engineer on motorcyclesports. « It is difficult to achieve this because current engines have a certain stability and are the same as ten years ago. Since 2012 we have had stable regulations at this level ».
Then he adds: “ in the first years we had greater room for development and we were close to the limit, but This year's engine is more powerful than last year's. Besides, we already have things in the drawer for the 2024 engine. Although we are at the limit, we never run out of ideas. We just don't have enough time to develop these ideas ».
It didn't seem not wise » to Ducati from “ show too soon » its new features, particularly on the aerodynamic level
But that's not all. At Shakedown, we wouldn’t have seen anything yet… “ We have evolved a lot at this level, but now it is more stable. I don't expect big revolutions in the aerodynamic package like there have been in the past, but we will bring new things to the official Sepang test. It didn't seem wise to show them too early, because there are things that are very visible ».
However, the lesson of 2022 has been learned… “ We'll see how the tests go, because the drivers have a lot to say about it. We take their feedback very seriously. It's good to see that we are leading the way in aerodynamic terms. We are copied, that means we do things well, but this is not a reason to stop, but a reason to continue and move forward »Assures barana which ends: “ The aerodynamics of a motorcycle are more complicated than those of a car because on a motorcycle there are many scenarios that need to be kept in mind. It's not just a straight line or a corner, and one driver has a different riding style to the other. It's very difficult. There's a lot to think about ».
