Despite a disappointing performance in the season-opening MotoGP at Phakisa, Ducati will not make any changes to its Desmosedici GP4 for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez this weekend.
Ducati will not make any changes to its Desmosedici GP4 for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez this weekend following its shocking first-round performance at Africa’s Grand Prix.
Riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss started at ninth and twenty-first on the grid to finish in fourth and fourteenth place respectively.
However, the result was largely unexpected considering the factory team started the 2003 event from fourth and ninth place on the grid. Bayliss, who started from behind, went on to finish fourth after leading ten laps. One year on, the Australian finished ten places and 23-seconds slower, having never felt comfortable on his machine.
Bayliss explained: "We are working hard. I would say the new bike is at 85 to 90 per cent of its potential, but we need to be at 110 per cent to battle with the guys at the front."
"The first race showed some of the bike’s potential and gave us a lot of data," said Ducati team director Livio Suppo. "Both our guys were happy with the way the bike worked with the tyres at the end of the race. We’ve made a big improvement in this area, and that was one of the main goals of the GP4.
Technical director Corrado Cecchinelli hopes the improvement in tyre life will aid the team through the many twisty turns at Jerez.
"It’s not an easy track for the right side of the tyres, but it’s less demanding than Welkom, and our rear tyres finished that race in perfect condition," he stated. "It seems that the new bike uses its tyres more consistently over race distance, and we’re pleased about that.