Just curious... Does anyone know if VR has made any comments on the Ducati? Would love to hear how it compares. I'm sure I'm not the only one... CW
The ducati has enough power. It's the chassis stiffness that has been at issue. The front end didn't have enough feel, and the complaint was that when you got close, you couldn't tell when it was getting ready to tuck. Nicky has been working on that issue for Ducati for the last year, and the bikes have gotten a lot better. I'm sure with Burgess working on them that they will fix that problem. They've got several front end packages, and several swing arm packages, but what they need is a more flexible chassis. The first race will tell us what the Aussies have done to fix that problem. The second issue is VR's shoulder. The rumor is that it isn't totally fixed. If there is any truth to that, look for him to be quick at the start of a race, and then fade at the end. Another few weeks and we'll see what has taken place over the off season. Art
Rossi's best lap at the Sepang test is almost 2 seconds behind Stoner's best, and there were nine riders between him and Stoner...
According to Superbikeplanet, Rossi had the following to say after the Sepang test: "We can't be satisfied with this test because we didn't reach our goals, which were to finish close to the top six and especially to reduce the gap to the front. Instead, we're 1.8 seconds back, and our rhythm is also lacking. After the first day, we thought we could do it. We had started well and were able to make the bike work with the hard tyres, which is good. After that though, we didn't take steps forward. Although we have some good ideas for the electronics that I'm optimistic will solve those problems relatively easily, I'm not as confident about the chassis setup. We tried hard, but we haven't yet managed it. I'm able to brake hard, but I'm still having trouble in mid-corner. It was definitely a disadvantage to only ride two days instead of three because we had to rush at the end and try many things in order to understand as much as we could. We were prepared for that possibility, but it started to drizzle, making it impossible to push. There could be some good solutions for the future, but we weren't able to confirm them. This circuit hasn't traditionally been favorable to the Ducati. The next test is in Qatar, where the track is different, so we'll see if we can go faster there." ... not exactly exuberant in other words...
