2012 Ducati Desmosedici May Not be 1,000cc
2012 Ducati Desmosedici May Not be 1,000cc
race machines after a disappointing 800cc era which has seen less exciting racing and less exhilarating riding on the one line, wheels in line and electronically locked down technological marvels. However Ducati may be planning to innovate with a smaller engine than the maximum allowed to extract the most power from the limited amount of allowed fuel.
A return to the big engines (MotoGP machines were 990cc from 2002 -2006) and an allowance for claiming rule teams (CRT) to exist with production based engines in bespoke chassis’ should shake things up in the paddock. CRT’s will be allowed a larger fuel load to give them a chance to compete with full on prototype factory racers (think tuned BMW S1000RR engine in a special frame). They will also be able to use twice as many engines in a season (12 vs. 6).
4 cylinders will still be the limit (so no V5 Honda then) but the key piece of information is the “up to 1,000cc capacity”. The rules allow for existing 800cc machines with a small weight advantage (150kg vs 153kg). In addition the bore can be no larger than 81mm (the BMW S1000RR has an 80mm bore) limiting the revs the engine can spin since the stroke will be longer than can be achieved with a more over square engine.
It may turn out that the optimum engine given the fuel load and bore size limitations could be less than the full 1,000cc. Ducati’s father of the Desmosedici, Filippo Preziosi is beginning to wonder whether a 900 or 930cc engine might be the best compromise.
“We have started the conceptual design to define the best displacement for power delivery and fuel consumption, we are concentrating on this,” Preziosi said. “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.”
The first challenge will be to build a bike that is faster than the current 800′s. Although the 800cc era was introduced to slow the bikes down it didn’t take long before they lapped faster than the 990′s even at the power circuits. One thing is clear, although the big bikes will be back, they won’t be the same as the glory era which saw the fire breathing Ducati, the literally fiery Aprilia Cube and the exquisite 5 cylinder Honda RC211V blow our minds with the likes of Rossi, Biaggi and Gibernau wielding them.
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