MotoGP – What is Ducati up to now?

Bruno Gomes

February 7, 2019

Ducati Desmosedici GP19 | Photo credits: Paul Tan

Pre-season test sessions are the best way for MotoGP teams to understand if the work they’ve done on their bikes over the Winter break is good, and at the Sepang test, which we’ve been covering over the past two days, we’re seeing new parts on every manufacturers MotoGP prototype. But one bike has caught our attention more than others: The Ducati Desmosedici GP19.

Considered by most people the best bike of last season, the Desmosedici GP19 was developed by Ducati Corse under Gigi Dall’Igna close attention, and under his guidance the Italian prototype seems to be performing as expected with both factory riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci, as well as Jack Miller, on the Pramac Ducati bike, getting good lap times at the Malaysian track.

But one detail has got everyone’s attention: The triple clamp (or top yoke) on the factory spec Desmosedici GP19 has a new part.

Ducati Corse, of course, is keeping their mouth shut over this subject and won’t even talk about this new secret part added to the triple clamp, so many journalists have now begun to elaborate some theories on what this secret part can be, and what it does on the behavior of the Desmosedici GP19.

Ducati Desmosedici GP19-5 | Photo credits: Bikes Republic

The theory that seems to be gathering more supporters is that this new part acts as regulator to the steering damper, a way for the rider to adjust the steering damper on the fly. Technical regulations say that it’s forbidden to use any electronic system to control the dampers, so Ducati Corse and Gigi Dall’Igna might have found a way to let their factory riders change how the steering damper works without them needing to stop the bike on the pit lane.

Italian specializes newsportal GPOne goes one step further, and says that this secret part on the triple clamp is actually a way for the rider to adjust the rear shock spring, so that they get better traction during acceleration. That would be especially important at race starts, where the rear end of the bike tends to squash under acceleration, sending the front wheel up in the air.

Whatever this new part fixed to the triple clamp of the Ducati Desmosedici GP19 is, Ducati Corse seems to believe it works and they’re giving Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci this new special part to face their competitors with a better bike.