Ducati to Test True Aluminum Beam Frame
Ducati factory riders Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden are set to ride a version of the Ducati Desmosedici GP12 featuring a Japanese style, aluminum beam chassis during the post race test that will follow the final MotoGP round of the year in Valencia, Spain this weekend.
Both riders have reportedly tested the more traditional aluminum chassis layout in Jerez but this will be the first time where all the major manufacturers will have their 1,000cc specification machines on track at the same time. It would appear that the test in Jerez was positive.
Rossi rode the bike in a closed test session last Thursday at Jerez, returning to the track where he first rode the GP12, which became the basis for the GP11.1 he has been racing since Assen. Reputedly this time out he managed to lap on the new bike in 1’39 which compares favorably with Casey Stoner’s pole time of 1’38.8 set in April during the MotoGP round. Rossi qualified for the race with a 1:40.2 time on the GP11.
link: Rossi Has Ducati Beam Him Up | Ducati News Today
The concern is the rumor that Stoner went a full two seconds a lap faster still when he tested the Honda 1,000cc spec machine at the same circuit, of which at least half can be attributed to better track conditions. Still the result must be seen as a positive step for Ducati in that making such a bold change can immediately pay some dividends.
Burgess told MCN: “We need to understand what a more conventional frame offers. Ducati have put in place the right people to understand these concepts and to deliver to us at the race track various concepts and gain an enormous amount of knowledge that will help the race department for years to come….The fact that in the last two or three months Ducati have changed so much and so quickly is an indication of how keen they are to get the project to the pointy end.”
Rossi has raced with a further modified chassis that contains aluminum but retains the overall carbon fiber monocoque since the Aragon MotoGP round to little apparent success. He has crashed out of the last two MotoGP races in Motegi and Phillip Island (the Sepang round was cancelled due to the crash that led to the death of Marco Simoncelli).
Source: MCN
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[...] the 1,000cc spec machines from Ducati, Honda and Yamaha all on track together for the first time. Ducati is expected to debut an aluminum beam frame machine for Rossi and Hayden to [...]