Following the first six days of testing at Sepang and Phillip Island, Ducati MotoGP technical director Corrado Cecchinelli hopes the team will be able to solve the GP4’s problems before April 18.
Following the first six days of testing at Sepang and Phillip Island over the past two weeks, Ducati MotoGP technical director Corrado Cecchinelli hopes the team will be able to solve the GP4’s problems before April 18.
“I hope that we have enough time to iron out our problems before Welkom (the season’s first race),” said the Italian. “I think we will. I’m not saying that we will gain one second and will be faster, but it is reasonable to say we will be closer.”
Cecchinelli was speaking after the end of the Phillip Island test that saw Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss complete their first test on the GP4 machine, which is apparently 60 per cent new for the 2004 season.
“We have worked on the tuning of the engine and the shapes of its combustion chamber and piston heads. To improve the power and to reduce the fuel consumption, we worked on the inertia of some parts. In addtion, the bike’s frame is completely different. We are also working on the forks, this is mainly what we need. I’m not saying this is all we have to do, but this is the area, for me, we need to improve,” Cecchinelli said.
However, “the riders have been saying to me that they lack confidence in the front end in fast corners,” he added. “Also, they had some problems on the final day with the rear grip. They didn’t have this so much earlier on, so it is something we will have to look at.”
