Rossis' Ducati Only Works When it Rains?!!!

[LUFC]

When watching the MotoGP yesterday I was amazed to hear the claim that the new Ducati works well in the wet but not in the dry.

Needless to say I'm not questioning #46 ability, but in all the years of watching bike racing I've never heard of such a situation, has anybody else?

Riders who ride well in the wet are common enough, but a bike that only performs to max seems very odd indeed.

 

[Stokes70]

very interesting indeed, if it were the ducati working so well in the wet then it begs the question where were hayden, barbera, abraham???
I think that none of the ducati's alleged problems have been solved, but that it is more a case of rain,where thousanths and tenths gained from incremental suspension, geometry changes and electronics gizmos are nullified. This in turn then levels the playing field sufficiently and #46 is able to ride at the front again..
IMO!!

 

[barrygrussell]

Even Ducati cannot figure out why they have a good wet bike. In the dry it lacks front-end feel and its throttle response is too aggressive, so it doesn't make sense at all. Hopefully they can get closer to a set-up at Mugello later this week.

As Rossi said yesterday, "For sure, when you want the rain you are in the shit!"

I think the level that Lorenzo, Rossi and Stoner rode at throughout yesterday's race is beyond anyone else in motorcycle racing, hence the out-performance of Hayden, Barbera, Abraham.

The most encouraging thing of all is that Rossi appears to have got his mojo back ... unless, of course, he has just borrowed it from Ben Spies ...

 

[Loop]

Rain is a great leveller. Lorenzo,Rossi and Stoner excel in it and Pedrosa doesn`t.

Rossi was storming to the front in the wet race at Jerez last year when he crashed and took out Stoner.
Was expecting a forward showing from him in the wet and only his second podium on the Duke the other one also at Le Mans.

 

[Hassman]

Is it just me that is utterly amazed that an Italian bike runs at all in rain?? My previous experience with Italian vehicles is that if it rains they simply stop working...

 

[Captain_Slash]

Is it just me that is utterly amazed that an Italian bike runs at all in rain?? My previous experience with Italian vehicles is that if it rains they simply stop working...

You beat me to that one Hasse

 

[Constantine Phaulkon]

This might be due to the compression of fuel when water vapor is present: you get more bang to the buck when humidity is high. In fact, in WWII, P-52 Mustang fighter engines were equipped with a water injection system to give them more power during dogfights by having water injected in with the fuel in the combustion chamber. I even saw the US patent for this years later, since it was a classified secret by the US government.

All of the above is true or I'm pulling your leg. No really, it's true, see a hint here: http://www.tffn.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.ph ... 69&start=0

Also if you've ever driven a dodgy car that idles rough you'll notice it works better on a foggy day. Same idea.

 

[LUFC]

This might be due to the compression of fuel when water vapor is present: you get more bang to the buck when humidity is high. In fact, in WWII, P-52 Mustang fighter engines were equipped with a water injection system to give them more power during dogfights by having water injected in with the fuel in the combustion chamber. I even saw the US patent for this years later, since it was a classified secret by the US government.

All of the above is true or I'm pulling your leg. No really, it's true, see a hint here: http://www.tffn.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.ph ... 69&start=0

Also if you've ever driven a dodgy car that idles rough you'll notice it works better on a foggy day. Same idea.

It's nothing to do with power, its handling problems that plague the Ducati.

 

[Loop]

It's nothing to do with power, its handling problems that plague the Ducati.

All the talk has been about no feel/grip on the front end yet it likes the wet!!

Granted things happen a lot slower in the wet with different dynamics and load stresses,but still....very strange.

 

[barrygrussell]

Constantine, go tell that to Preziosi - he's struggling!!

Handling is the main problem, but the power delivery is also too vicious - you would think they could figure out how to soften it with electronics rather than waiting for high humidity!!

I even heard one race engineer blame the engine for the bad handling, saying the V4 is physically too big to fit in a MotoGP frame!

Let's see how they go when testing starts at Mugello tomorrow.

 

[Loop]

Surprising that Ducati had such a great bike in 2007 Barry,one of the most dominant seasons ever,and it all went downhill thereafter!

 

[barrygrussell]

Strange indeed, that was the first season for the 800s and they somehow managed to head off in the wrong direction. Stoner complained that they wouldn't listen to him, but the problem was probably that the joyless genius can ride anything fast so they couldn't see the point in putting the work in!!

 

[Brian66]

Spies is officially out of Yamaha at the end of the season and rumours are thick that Rossi may take the Yamaha seat. Lorenzo has commented on it and is happy to have Rossi back at Yamaha. I hope it happens so we can see if Rossi can regain the pace and race with Lorenzo, Stoner and Pedrosa again

 

[Loop]

^ Yamaha seems the logical seat for Rossi.
Honda have their team settled for next year.
I think he still wants/can win and money wont be the final factor for him....lets face it he`s got plenty of the stuff but he may still have a deep desire to win. So i doubt he`ll stay at Ducati.
Champions are born that way.