Ducati unveils the Desmosedici GP15 MotoGP bike

Ducati unveils the Desmosedici GP15 MotoGP bike

2/18/2015 7:00:00 PM by Ranjan R. Bhat

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

Earlier this week, the Ducati Corse team unveiled their 2015 MotoGP challenger, the Desmosedici GP15, as well as their line-up of Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso at the Ducati Auditorium in Bologna, Italy.

The brainchild of Gigi Dall’Igna, who joined the team at the end of 2013, the GP15 Desmosedeci gets a completely new twin-spar aluminium frame with a carbon fibre subframe. The V4 engine has been repositioned to make more room for the front tyre and the exhaust system has been re-routed. The GP15 Desmosedici is slimmer than the previous bike, with smaller tail section and revised bodywork.
 
Commenting on the Desmosedici GP15, Dall’Igna said, “Our aim this year is very ambitious, because we want to win at least one race. We know that it is an extremely tough objective, but we are used to accepting the most difficult of challenges. Last year we said that we wanted to reduce the gap to the winner to less than ten seconds. This was also an ambitious challenge, but we achieved it in the second half of the championship.”

The last time Ducati took a place on the MotoGP pedestal was in 2007 when Casey Stoner scored the title astride the 800cc Ducati Desmosedici GP7. The last season was more about learning and upgrading their motorcycle in preparation of the 2015 season, which had led to the development of the GP14.2 bike.

This year, with Iannone and Dovizioso riding for the team, Ducati is optimistic of being competitive against the Hondas and Yamahas. The Desmosedici GP15 will hit the track for the first time on February 23, during testing at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.