Ducati believes that "the time has come to win with the 2022 bike"

In a most unpredictable championship, the rider who has won half of the four events that have been held so far is riding a bike from last year. A “perfect bike”, yes, as most of the riders who know it described it. Along with Enea Bastianini , there have been three pilots who have managed to win on it, a circumstance that speaks for itself of the strength of the device, apart from the eight pole positions it has accumulated, all of them in 2021, which give reason for its speed.

The results of the boy from Rimini generate satisfaction in the offices of Borgo Panigale , but also concern, given the obvious difference in potential that there has been, at least until now, between the Demosedici GP22 and the previous version.

It is not for less, if we take into account that the Reparto Corse of Ducati, with Gigi Dall’Igna at the helm, worked for more than a year on the projection of a new model that has gone through several phases.

In Jerez, last November, in the first pre-season tests with a view to this course, Pecco Bagnaia even stated that the GP22 was ready to race. Three months later, in Sepang, the problems began that finally led the Turinese and, by drag, also Jack Miller, to opt for a propellant that started from the 2021 one. In addition, both Bagnaia and the Australian decided to remove the altitude regulator striker, Dall’Igna’s latest invention, to focus on a base set-up that, for obvious reasons, has yet to be found.

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However, time is passing and the margin of points that separates Bastianini from the first official Ducati rider (Miller), is already 30, more than one grand prix (25). About Bagnaia, who theoretically is designated as the leader of the Italian squad to fight for the title, the difference increases to 38 points. For all these reasons, but above all, because of the connotation of the fact that an ‘old’ motorcycle that lacks development offers better performance than its successor, in Bologna they believe that the time has come to win with the Desmosedici GP22, the bike that, in addition to the two official team riders, is also ridden by the Pramac riders, Jorge Martín and Johann Zarco, and the VR46 rider, Luca Marini.

“It is clear that Ducati are happy because one of our bikes has won half of the races that have been held,” Paolo Ciabatti , sporting director of the Italian manufacturer, reasons to Motorsport.com . “But it is time for the official team to win,” he adds.

In the factory there is a mixture of joy and nerves, because the diagnosis made of the situation is not exactly what a genius of Dall’Igna’s caliber wants to hear. “There is a discrepancy between what the technicians have projected based on their ideas and the information they handle, and the sensations that the bike transmits to the riders,” someone who leaves the red arrows workshop tells the writer of these lines.

In Portugal , in less than two weeks (April 22-24), Ducati hopes that the GP22 will take another step that will bring it closer to its older sister. Otherwise, the rush will begin to be more than justified.

Ganador Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing

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Ganador Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing

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Ganador Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing

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Ganador Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing

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Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing

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Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing

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Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing

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Enea Bastianini, Gresini Racing

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Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

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Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

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Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

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Francesco Bagnaia, Equipo Ducati

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Francesco Bagnaia, Equipo Ducati

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Francesco Bagnaia, Equipo Ducati

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Francesco Bagnaia, Equipo Ducati

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Jack Miller, Ducati Team