WSBK: Aragon (Spoilers)

The only advantage Ducati had in the past was the power delivery of the V-Twin on technical tracks. Now the electronics packages on the multi-cylinders have completely negated any advantage the V-Twins used to have. 200cc's of extra displacement still can't make up for the horsepower disadvantage the Ducatis have compared to the rest of the field. At a certain point I think they will either go V-4 or give up any opportunity to win any future championships.

I will post the youtube vids if/when they show up.

Maybe there is a place for their MotoGP bike after all.

Nup. The rules will change. KTM want to join the party as well, and are lobbying hard (along with Bologna), to get some real equity before they sign on. Unfortunately, now that the DICKtator is running the show, it could be 'interesting' negotiations......
Then again, I was wrong about something once before.......

The Duc giving up 17kph on the straights is huge, over a kilometer straight (and there are a few of them) you are talking a 0.10 or so, that is 2 full seconds over the course of the race.

Argon, Monza, Siverstone, Assen, Miller, all have very long straights, those are tracks where you can effectively count out the duc, just on high speed.

Maybe Dorna will handicap the 4 cylinder bikes by making them use ape hangers instead of clip ons.

I'd have thought they'll go down the BSB route with spec ECUs and no traction control. That should do it.

That and 1600cc twins.

Race 1

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Anyone know when beIN began their SBK telecast?
I came in at a quarter to the hour and the pre race was already in progress.

Great to watch the races commercial free again!
Hope they keep that up.

Not sure if we have seen the new Ducati in full form yet. Checa was very fast at Phillip Island before his getoff and subsequent DNF, plus riding hurt last weekend in Spain.
The new bike is just starting it's development too, so it may be a bit early for Ducati to pick up it's traditional (Harley-AMA style) "red phone" hotline to FIM Headquarters....Push 1 for more displacement, Push 2 for less weight, Push 3 for opponent restrictor plates.....

Race 2

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Isn't a weight penalty and restrictor plates what was imposed on Ducati last year? I know they can be the same weight as the multis this season but I wonder if they are still required to use restrictor plates? I agree though we're still months away from knowing the true development potential of the Panigale.

They continue to run restrictor plates.

If history has taught us anything...

Then wouldn't the easy answer be to just pull the restrictor plates? That would have to be good for a few mph more down the straights wouldn't it? Does anyone know if they had to run restictor plates on the super stock bike last year? It certainly seemed competitive with the other manufacturers' machines.

The Dukes do in fact still have a weight penalty as well. Minimum weight rules of 165kg for both twins and fours. Ducati reckon they could easily get down to 155 on the Panigale, and are currently running heaps of overweight stuff to make the cutoff.
It hasn't really been thought out that well.....