Ducati's only problem might have been being too good a year ago, when the GP24 was born. After the winter tests, it became clear that improving it was no easy task, and the model that was supposed to replace it, the GP25, was pretty much rejected.
Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez (as well as Di Giannantonio, the third rider to have an official bike) will start the year with the 2024 Desmosedici with only a few evolutions.
The important parts (engine, chassis, aerodynamics) will be last year's. General Manager Gigi Dall'Igna explained the reasons for this decision on his Linkedin profile.
"After Barcelona, Malaysia, and Thailand, we can certainly be satisfied with the results obtained in the test sessions," the engineer from Veneto wrote. "The goal we had set for ourselves, as well as the philosophy to be applied, were clear and shared with our riders.
Only what was clearly better than the 2024 version had to be applied immediately, right from the first race. Instead, the rest will be calmly assessed, further improved, and implemented over the course of the season, which promises to be longer than ever.
It's not an easy concept to explain, but not all evolutions have only positive aspects. On the contrary, most involve both advantages and disadvantages and, depending on the track or objective conditions, one might outweigh the others.
So the work that needs to be done during the tests is to judge whether a solution tested on a few tracks, and perhaps often in very particular grip conditions, can be improved overall, at least on the eight to ten tracks on which the start of the season will take place."
They didn't want to take any risks at Ducati, and they didn't even need to. The GP24 was the best bike in the line-up and probably still is.
The rivals are the ones who have to catch up. That's why the new V4 was shelved and, as Dall'Igna revealed, it was no surprise.
"Regarding the engine, it was already clear in Barcelona that, while it had an advantage in terms of performance and ease of riding, it was more complicated in engine brake management.
So we were already partly ready to confirm the 2024 version and everything was ready for this choice," he confirmed.
It was different when it came to the other new features.
"The aerodynamic package, on the other hand, proved to be the most difficult decision," Dall'Igna pointed out. "It brought undoubted advantages, especially on a track like Thailand's Buriram, but it risked bringing disadvantages on tracks with faster corners like Argentina and Qatar.
We preferred caution, with the intention of testing it again with some updates in the upcoming Jerez test.
Instead, the swingarm and gearbox passed the test while, as for the shape shifter, we'll get our confirmation during the race weekend.
It'll certainly be a very close world championship, in which many manufacturers and many riders will have their say but, as always, it's going to be the balance and competitiveness on each track that will make the difference."
