As teams look to the future of MotoGP racing, the rumors are beginning to fly on how the newly revised rules will affect the competitive landscape in the race series. With news already surrounding what opportunities exist for private teams, we focus now on the factory efforts. Making it clear recently that the Bologna factory is not convinced that 1000cc is the optimal displacement with the current fuel restrictions, Ducati’s Filippo Preziosi has hinted that Ducati is considering a 900cc or 930cc displacement for the 2012 race season.
As you may already know, the rules in MotoGP are set to change in 2012. With displacements of up to 1000cc’s allowed, the big concern for teams would be the added minimum weight of bikes larger than 800cc, and the fuel considerations (the latter being the bigger issue). With claiming rule teams getting an added 24L of fuel in the formula, efforts like Suter’s could be competitive out of the box.
Of course that’s not going to happen if Ducati has anything to say about it, as the Italian team is already weighing its options. Talking to SPEED, Filippo Preziosi said that Ducati is not entirely sure that running a 1000cc machine is the best option in the paddock.
“We have started the conceptual design to define the best displacement for power delivery and fuel consumption, we are concentrating on this,” said Preziosi. “It is not clear that 1,000cc is the best, there is a compromise. A 900cc is very possible, maybe even a 930. And perhaps the displacement will change year-by-year depending on development. Once we have made the final decision I expect a prototype of the new bike to be ready for testing in mid-2011.”
Ducati is expected to finalize it’s plans in the latter-half of this year, which will see them pick a configuration and begin developing it.
Source: SPEED
Comments