5 Ducatis Prepare to Battle for MotoGP Glory at Losail this Weekend
Although the factory Ducati Marlborough Team of Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden will claim most of the limelight, 5 GP9 machines will take the grid on Sunday for the opening round of the 2009 MotoGP Championship under lights at the Losail circuit in the desert of Qatar. ducatinewstoday previews the season for the ducatisti.
Casey Stoner
2007 World Champion, Casey Stoner is starting season 2009 on top of the world. He finished fastest at all 3 official pre-season tests at Sepang, Losail and Jerez including picking up a BMW 135i with his BMW M award win.
However his seemingly perfect preparation has been at times overshadowed about his fitness over full race distance. Stoner often competed fewer laps than his competitors and has complained of wrist trouble following surgery late, last year. This came to a head in February when stories began to surface that claimed his participation in the 2009 season was at risk. Although Ducati quickly acted to dampen down the rumors, it will take a successful full race this weekend to make them go away.
Nevertheless, Stoner can rightly start the season with great confidence that he can take the fight all season long to Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi who remains the favorite to take the title yet again.
“Everybody has worked really hard, the bike has improved in a variety of areas and it’s much easier to ride. The power delivery from the engine is better, the carbon frame has improved stability and I’m happy with the carbon swingarm too, even though we have only tried it in the last two tests and it still needs a little more work before we full understand it. So testing has been positive but we know that racing is another story and we simply cannot afford to drop our guard at any point – we have to keep working hard to make sure we don’t make the same mistakes as last season, which we went into with too much confidence.”
link: Stoner keeps feet on the ground in preparation for Qatar | The Official MotoGP Website
Nicky Hayden
In contrast to Stoner, Ducati’s newest signing, the popular Nicky Hayden, has had a disappointing preseason often struggling to be in the top 10 on the difficult to master Ducati. Hayden finished 10th fatsest in Sepang, bounced back to 5th fastest in Losail but then struggled again to 11th at Jerez. Although Ducati has publicly stated it is happy with Hayden’s progress, his appointment seems to mostly be related to improving the company’s market position in the USA and he 2006 World Champion remains popular in the US despite only ever winning 3 races in his MotoGP career.
Hayden acknowledges the tough road ahead but it typically confident he can bridge the gap.
“I can’t hide the fact that I’d like to be closer to the front than where we’re at right now and further down the road in terms of the work we’ve got to do with the team but I’m still really pleased that the season is starting because I love the races.
link: Stoner keeps feet on the ground in preparation for Qatar | The Official MotoGP Website
Sete Gibernau
Sete Gibernau returns to MotoGP following his 2006 retirement on a Grupo Francisco Hernando satellite Ducati. The 9 times winner was a regular challenger to Rossi’s hegemony in the 2003/4 seasons so he has the credibility to run near the front of the pack. He finished just behind Hayden in his first ride on the Ducati at the Sepang tests then sat out the Losail test because of surgery on an old injury but finished 8th fastest at Jerez.
Gibernau’s challenge will be his race fitness due to his injury but he has the pedigree to win races if all goes his way.
“I’m really excited and I had a lot of fun. Ducati have been really fantastic with us. We went last week to visit them in Italy and they really worked with us. I am very proud of my team, they are helping me so much and I really think we are doing a great job. We have started from zero and it is hard. Right now we can say that we are progressing hard.”
link: Gibernau elated to be back in competitive action | The Official MotoGP Website
Mika Kallio
Mika Kallio has been promoted from the 250 class to ride a Pramac Ducati for 2009. He has been impressive almost from his first ride and finished the Jerez testing as the second fastest Ducati in 6th place. No doubt the rookie will have a lot to learn but he has showed early promise.
“With the data we gathered on Saturday and on Sunday morning I assessed the situation with the track and the bike, alongside my Technical Director, Fabiano Sterlacchini. We put together all the positive things we found and we had an almost perfect bike. I was still losing too much time in the last sector, otherwise we could have finished in an even better position. We are doing a great job and I’m sure we can keep up that good work in the first race in Qatar.”
link: Kallio: ‘We had an almost perfect bike’ | The Official MotoGP Website
Niccolo Canepa
Kallio’s team mate is Italian Niccolo Canepa. He won the 2007 Superstock World Championship in 2007 and spent last year as a Ducati factory tester for their MotoGP and World Superbike machines. He had some wild card rides in World Superbike last year and qualified with a 13th place his best finish. He has been fairly slow in testing but he is young, he has won races and a World championship before and it will be interesting to see his progress during the season.
Former Ducati test rider Canepa explained, “Over the two days I had some problems with the bike and I was not very fast. I would hope to do something much better in Qatar. We were working in the right direction, but we found a good set-up too late, in the last half an hour of the ‘qualifying’ session. We started going faster at the end though, so I am not scared about the first race!”
link: Canepa unworried about test pace ahead of Qatar | The Official MotoGP Website
ducatinewstoday believes that Casey Stoner will continue to be Ducati’s lead rider, winning races and being the most consistent challenger to Valentino Rossi. Whether he can go all the way for his 2nd title depends on his consistency from race to race and whether he is able to maintain full pace for the full race distance if his wrist is still bothering him.
Hayden will most likely finish off the podium in most races. He lacks the speed of his competitors and has been shown in testing to still be adapting to the Ducati. He may win the odd race or 2, especially in the USA.
Gibernau is the most interesting rider. If his heart is in it and his injuries are under control he is capable of winning multiple races but base on past performances, probably lacks the ability to resist the pressure that riders like Rossi can bring to bear.
Kallio will be expected to do well, probably winning rookie of the year and getting on the podium a couple of times towards the end of the season. Canepa is an unknown. For now he seems well off the pace and will play little part in the outcome of the championship.
Round 1 of the 2009 World MotoGP Championship begins this weekend April 10-12 with the race being held on Sunday night at 11:00 pm local Qatar time
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