MotoGP: Ducati "denies" the "Open" option for all its bikes
The Borgo Panigale manufacturer would appear to be oriented towards fielding only Yonny Hernandez with the Open
Ducati has denied, through its Press Manager Julian Thomas, the "Open" option for all four bikes from the Borgo Panigale company.
In recent days the rumor had spread that the men in Red had decided to field all four bikes (those of Dovizioso, Crutchlow, Iannone and Hernandez) with the new regulation, which provides advantages for the "Open" class compared to the " Factory”.
The Open class motorbikes will be equipped with the single control unit with Magneti Marelli software and datalogger (the Factory ones will instead be able to use their own software), they will have 12 engines compared to the 5 of the Factory ones and a 24 liter tank against the 20 of the official motorbikes.
Fielding Open bikes would be especially convenient from an engine point of view, in fact with the Factory ones the development of the engine is practically "at a standstill".
“Ducati believes that it is important to explore the potential of the new Open regulations, also because this should be the technical future of the MotoGP Championship and for this reason it has decided this year to enter with a GP13 Open with Yonny Hernandez (in the photo) and the Team Pramac – said Julian Thomas speaking to bikesportnews.com – There are currently no further plans regarding the Open option and all the other Ducati riders in Sepang will try both the GP13 and the GP14.”
Photos: Alex Farinelli
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Well, I still haven't understood what savings the Opens should bring... like the Honda Opens now don't have the seamless gearbox and I'm also thinking of some other technical improvements, but once again the factories won't be there + the usual money won't be invested for research and development? Therefore always remaining prototypes? Then with the fact that the Open engine can be developed during the season it should require a higher cost than the factory ones, like the greater number of engines... well how can it be less expensive??? oh and also + petrol….
I don't understand well... can someone explain to me?
However, this is denied by Dovi, who declares that in Sepang he and Cal will test the bike in Open configuration to decide whether to line up in this category or continue as Factory.
The advantages are also given by the number of tests (as well as the number of engines and the possibility of modifying it, which is not possible with the facotry).
From what I've read, the Opens will be able to test on any circuit, as long as they respect the number of tyres.
Another point, it seems (as another site writes) that with the extra 4 liters the Ducati engine is more at ease (also to the advantage of the behavior of the bike) and that the CRT tire (the softer one) gives an important advantage over the flying lap (option for Ducati only for qualifying).
According to Dovi, everything is decided after the first tests, but the path seems to be to field 4 Opens (also because Dorna has declared several times that this is the line they want to follow for the future).
They will also be able to work with the test team on a factory bike…. And work calmly on this project.
Yes but ….
+ petrol
+ engines
+ development
+ tests
= Economic savings????
Bah
In some ways yes.
Because you are clearly cutting one part, the one that has progressively increased costs in recent years, namely electronics.
More tests does not mean more expenses.
A test driver costs (in economic terms) much less than a regular driver, but the value and information he brings you are worth even less.
To have the value of the various updates you need to push to the maximum, and only those who regularly and consistently ride that motorbike to the limit will be able to give you precise indications.
With a test driver (who is approximately 4/5 seconds slower than the owners) you will need to make several comparisons, therefore more expenses.
In this sense, Honda has once again hit the mark, bringing home Casey Stoner as test driver. And in what condition?
The best... Stoner doesn't want the burden of racing (travel, constant pressure, little time for rest, press etc etc), but wants to get on a motorbike.
Very fast driver, who gives his best in a quiet environment.
Engines. Producing more engines is not a symptom of more expenses.
If you have a limit, you have to find increasingly refined materials that allow you to enter that limit, and these materials do not always lead to a reduction in other advantageous parameters (e.g. weight).
If you have multiple engines, the need to make them last a long time like Honda (which has no problems in this respect) and Yamaha, you will be able to use materials that cost less (I repeat, you do not always have an advantage in terms of weight with materials that must make the engine last motor).
And furthermore, Ducati sells its engines to its "private" team (it sells the complete bike, but the engine is a part of it), and with Pramac it will easily do the same thing that Honda and Yamaha do for their Open bikes, that is:
I'll give you the complete package, but with 5/6 engines, because according to our calculations, you can spend a season with those, if you want to use others, you have to buy them (like Honda and Yamaha).
Petrol... It's not an expense, in most cases the person who supplies the fuel (and lubricants in general) is one of the team's sponsors.
And to put your own brand, an agreement is reached in terms of "supplied material" rather than $ (as FIAT could have been for Yamaha a few years ago or PM for Ducati... Repsol is a different matter, which provides both an economic gift , both material).
You then forget that Ducati will in fact be using the bikes from last season (which is the one from the end of 2012, the one so to speak with the control units in the fake tank that Rossi tested in his first version both at Misano and at Mugello)…
The bike will be re-seen in some parts, or rather, they will be simple updates (based on what has transpired in recent days).
___
It's a different matter if you want to create a completely new motorbike, and use the one you race to test (e.g. new engine)... But I believe that Ducati's attention will be all focused on the new project and not on the Open, and that this will be used last as a walking laboratory or as a mannequin.
Consider that Dorna has declared several times that the future is the Open, it is their intention to make the Factory disappear. and in fact all 3 manufacturers field bikes in the Open, to collect as much data as possible.
With the choice of Ducati, Honda and Yamaha, they also lose political support.
But if they try every path they have to try and see which one is the most profitable, even with a totally new project they don't make big progress in one, it's better to look ahead immediately and move on to the Open and develop on that, never mind taking it a lot in advance are able to get closer to future Honda and Yamaha.
Working every weekend and in races with laboratory bikes and running them directly in the GPs, in my opinion, would not make them worse but only improve and have the greatest number of feedback with all the riders.
They would have more engines and more liters of fuel and could already extract the most from the electronics, they would certainly be slower at the start than the factory, but with time, especially in the race, they could get closer and when we move on to the Open they could be closer than just as they wouldn't be going forward with both the factory and open models.
Let's hope this Ducati manages to improve..
You can't see a redhead in such difficulty
If this was the real prospect of the Ducati company, firstly I don't understand why the hell Audi bought it given the total lack of interest in bringing it back to the positions that matter, secondly at this point if they really want to focus exclusively on one direction, take that of the SBK and leave the MotoGP discussion behind completely, because frankly this mentality is certainly not a good omen.