Ducati MotoGP team

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Ducati Corse logo
MotoGP team logo since 2019

The Ducati MotoGP Team is the works team of the Italian motorcycle manufacturer Ducati in the MotoGP class of the motorcycle world championship .

Within the group, it reports to the Ducati Corse racing department . The official team name is Ducati Marlboro , named after the main sponsor Marlboro , a cigarette brand of the US Altria Group .

The team's motorcycle is the Ducati Desmosedici . The Italian Livio Suppo was team manager until the end of 2009 . His compatriot Luigi Dall'Igna has held this position since 2014 . In the 2007 season , the Australian Casey Stoner won the world title in the MotoGP class and secured the team, together with his teammate Loris Capirossi , the titles in the team and constructors' championships .

In the 2010 season went Casey Stoner and the American Nicky Hayden in the MotoGP class at the start.

For the 2011 season, Casey Stoner moved to the Honda factory team, for which nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi was signed . Together with Nicky Hayden he formed the driver pairing until 2012. In 2013 Rossi moved back to Yamaha and the Tech-3 Yamaha rider Andrea Dovizioso was hired . There was another change for the 2014 season. Nicky Hayden left the team for Aspar Racing Team . Cal Crutchlow was brought in for him .

history

Desmosedici GP3

Beginnings

After it was decided that for the 2002 season, the 500 -cm³ class of the Motorcycle World Championship MotoGP class are and the technical regulations Viertakter should allow, Ducati decided to make its own MotoGP project off the ground. In 2002 they developed their own 990 cm³ prototype, which they named Desmosedici . A water-cooled 90 ° V4 engine with 16 desmodromic actuated valves, which allowed speeds of over 13,000 rpm, served to drive the motorcycle . Right from the start he was one of the strongest in the entire MotoGP field and regularly topped the top speed rankings. During the year, test rider Vittoriano Guareschi and Australian Troy Bayliss , who was still driving the Superbike World Championship for Ducati, were responsible for development on the track. Loris Capirossi , who was still racing for Honda MotoGP in 2002, joined the team .

2000s

2003

The 2003 season disputed Bayliss and Capirossi as a regular driver. At the official final test in Barcelona , Loris Capirossi left the assembled competition of the great Japanese plants behind. At the first race of the season in Japan , Capirex was able to take third place straight away. In the third race, the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez , Capirossi and Bayliss took their first double pole . At the Grand Prix of Catalonia in Barcelona , Capirossi even managed the first victory for the newcomer. In the overall World Championship standings, Capirossi and Bayliss took fourth and sixth place.

2004

The driver pairing was retained for the 2004 season . The motorcycle was further developed and the performance increased, but the drivability did not improve. Troy Bayliss said after riding the new motorcycle: "The only thing we didn't want was more power - now we have it." During the pre-season test in Barcelona, ​​Loris Capirossi set the speed record for MotoGP bikes with 347.4 km / h. In the middle of the season, a completely revised version of the bike was used, the peak performance dropped and the power delivery became smoother. This greatly improved handling and the results also showed an upward trend. Nevertheless, both drivers only achieved third place each. The team management mainly looked to the drivers to blame and finally parted ways with Troy Bayliss at the end of the season in a dispute.

Loris Capirossi 2005

2005

In the 2005 season , the Spaniard Carlos Checa succeeded Troy Bayliss. Another innovation was the Bridgestone tires, after driving Michelin for the previous two years . The motorcycle, the GP05 , was a further development of the previous year's motorcycle; the main focus during development was again on improving handling. The main problem of the season was the fluctuating performance of the tires. On the one hand, Capirossi was able to win the races in Japan and Malaysia , but on the other hand, they often didn't even make it into the top ten. Nevertheless, the 2005 season saw a clear improvement compared to the previous season and Capirossi at least finished sixth in the overall World Cup.

2006

Loris Capirossi 2006
Loris Capirossi 2006

For the 2006 season , the 2003 and 2004 vice world champion, the Spaniard Sete Gibernau , was signed as the second driver alongside Capirossi. The motorcycle and the Bridgestone tires again showed an increase compared to the previous year, with Capirossi and Gibernau already starting from places one and two at the first race of the season in Jerez , Spain . Capirex won the race, Gibernau, lying in a promising position, was stopped by a technical defect. The start of the season went very well, especially for Capirossi, he even led the World Cup at times. A serious accident then occurred between the two team-mates at the Grand Prix of Catalonia. Gibernau hit Capirossi shortly after the start and both fell so badly that they had to be treated in hospital. The Spaniard broke his collarbone and was unable to take part in the next two races. Capirossi suffered bruises in the chest area and competed in the next two runs with great pain and therefore fell back in the overall standings. The German Alex Hofmann , who usually rode in the Ducati customer team D'Antin MotoGP , stepped in as a substitute driver for Gibernau . In the second half of the season, Capirex regained strength and was able to win the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic in Brno and Japan, mainly thanks to the Bridgestone tires that worked very well there. At the penultimate round of the season in Portugal Gibernau injured himself in a fall through no fault of his own, ironically caused by his future successor Casey Stoner. He was at the last race, the Grand Prix of Valencia in Valencia replaced by Troy Bayliss, who in 2006 at Ducati FIM - Superbike world champion had become, so to speak, and could deny as a reward for the last race of the 990-cc engine. At this Grand Prix, Bayliss clinched a start-to-finish victory ahead of Capirossi and the team celebrated its first double victory in MotoGP. Loris Capirossi took third place in the overall standings, 23 points behind world champion Nicky Hayden . Sete Gibernau's employment contract was not renewed, whereupon the Spaniard ended his racing career. With four MotoGP race wins and the Superbike World Championship, the 2006 season was the most successful for Ducati that a European manufacturer has ever had in the history of motorcycle racing.

Casey Stoner on Ducati at Sepang 2007 pre-season tests
Stoners Desmosedici GP8 of the 2008 season

2007

From the 2007 season , the technical regulations only allowed 800 cc displacement instead of the previous 990 cc. This made it necessary for all manufacturers to develop completely new motorcycles. Ducati stayed true to the 90 ° V4 concept, albeit with a conventional firing order, and was the first manufacturer to officially test the new machine. The 21-year-old Australian Casey Stoner was signed as the successor to Sete Gibernau .

Stoner, who was still decried as a break pilot in the previous season, won ten of the 18 races held and was crowned world champion in the fourth last race, the Japanese Grand Prix . In the following race in Australia, the duo Stoner / Capirossi also won the world championship title in the team and in the constructors' championship with a double victory for Ducati . Loris Capirossi did not get along with the 800 cc machine until the middle of the season. Above all, he had problems with the engine's power delivery being too abrupt for his taste. In the second half of the season, the engine characteristics were adapted to his wishes, Capirex then regained strength and was able to celebrate a victory at the race in Japan. He finished the season in seventh place overall.

The Desmosedici GP7 turned out to be so superior in terms of performance, especially at the start of the season, that the Ducati drivers literally let their opponents stand on the straights. Valentino Rossi said after the Chinese Grand Prix this: ". In my entire career I have never seen a motorcycle that was so much more than any other" .

2008

For the 2008 season Loris Capirossi left the team after five years. In November 2006, a contract was agreed with Marco Melandri . This was tied to the condition that he had to be in the top five of the overall World Cup after the 2007 US Grand Prix, which was the case.

2009

Besides Casey Stoner joined in 2009 the ex-Honda rider and MotoGP 2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden on the Ducati at. Casey Stoner, who was initially considered a candidate for the title, finished fourth in the World Cup. Due to fatigue and malaise caused by lactose intolerance , he was unable to take part in three races. Hayden finished 13th in the final classification.

2010s

  • 2010
    • For the 2010 season, Mika Kallio switched to the newly created Moto2 class, leaving Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden as drivers. Stoner had three wins and was fourth overall. Hayden finished seventh in the championship.
  • 2011
    • In 2011 Casey Stoner moved to the Honda factory team and was replaced by nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi . Both pilots complained about the poor handling on the Ducati's front wheel. Rossi in particular noticed that he couldn't feel the front wheel. At the end of the season, Rossi and Hayden had only one podium and seventh and eighth place respectively in the drivers' standings.
  • 2012
    • Ducati started in 2012 with the same driver pairing as last year. The drivers continued to complain about the poor handling in corners and when braking. In Le Mans, Valentino Rossi overtook Casey Stoner on the Honda shortly before the end and secured second place. After another podium finish, rumors grew that he wanted to switch back to Yamaha after the season. When this was confirmed, Ducati signed Andrea Dovizioso from the Tech 3 team for 2013 .
  • 2013
    • In the 2013 season , the Ducati works team started with the driver pairing Andrea Dovizioso / Nicky Hayden. Not a single podium, pole position or fastest lap could be achieved this season.
  • 2014
    • In 2014 the Ducati works team was made up of the driver pairing Andrea Dovizioso / Cal Crutchlow. In addition, with Luigi Dall'Igna, a new team manager has been hired. As an innovation, Ducati had decided for this season to start in the so-called open format . Andrea Dovizioso took third place in the second race of the season ( Texas Grand Prix ), the first podium since 2012. Dovizioso was able to confirm the upward trend at the eighth race in Assen . There he took second place. Crutchlow finally took the third podium of the season at the 14th round in Aragón . At the end of the season, Dovizioso was fifth, while Crutchlow was only 13th.
  • 2015
    • After just one year at Ducati, Cal Crutchlow left the team for LCR Honda. Andrea Iannone joined the team for him . The machine for this year was the GP15. In contrast to last year, Dall'Igna was involved in the development of the machine from the start.
  • 2016
    • In 2016 Ducati and Andrea Iannone were able to celebrate another victory at the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg after six years. Furthermore, a collision between the teammates in Argentina caused by Iannone caused a stir. As the season progressed, Dovizioso also won a race by winning the Malaysian Grand Prix , his first win since
  • 2017
    • For the season 2017 is Jorge Lorenzo joined the team to where Andrea Iannone to replace, which in turn switched to Suzuki factory team. However, he remained without a win this season for the first time in his career and was only seventh overall with three podium places. Dovizioso, on the other hand, won six races, fought against Marc Márquez until the last race for the World Cup and finally became vice world champion. In the constructors' championship, Ducati improved to second place behind Honda. The highlight of the season for the team was the Malaysian Grand Prix , when Dovizioso and Lorenzo Ducati led to a double victory.
  • 2018
    • In 2018 Dovizioso won four races and was runner-up again. Lorenzo won three races, but suffered several falls and injuries and dropped to ninth place overall. The seven victories of the season also include two double victories. In addition, the team was able to improve to second place, which was the best overall ranking since winning the title in 2007.
  • 2019
    • In 2019 , Lorenzo was replaced by Danil Petrucci after his move to Repsol Honda . This year they could only celebrate three wins (two by Dovizioso and one by Petrucci), but they led the team championship until the last race, but lost it to Repsol Honda. Dovizioso was runner-up for the third time in a row, while Petrucci was sixth.
  • 2020
    • In 2020 the driver choice will remain the same, before the start of the season, which will be delayed to July 19 due to the COVID-19 pandemic , but it was announced that Jack Miller will join the team in 2021 , while Petrucci will join Tech KTM . It was also announced at the Styrian Grand Prix that Dovizioso's contract would not be extended at the end of the season.

statistics

(Status: GP of Spain 2017)

season motorcycle Start number driver run Victories Podiums Poles nice Round Points World Cup place
2003 Ducati Desmosedici GP3 12 AustraliaAustralia Troy Bayliss 16 - 3 - - 128 6th
65 ItalyItaly Loris Capirossi 16 1 6th 3 1 177 4th
2004 Ducati Desmosedici GP4 12 AustraliaAustralia Troy Bayliss 16 - 1 - - 71 14th
65 ItalyItaly Loris Capirossi 16 - 1 - 1 117 9.
2005 Ducati Desmosedici GP5 7th SpainSpain Carlos Checa 17th - 2 - - 138 9.
23 JapanJapan Shin'ichi Ito 1 - - - - - 28.
65 ItalyItaly Loris Capirossi 15th 2 4th 3 1 157 6th
2006 Ducati Desmosedici GP6 12 AustraliaAustralia Troy Bayliss 1 1 1 - - 25th 19th
15th SpainSpain Sete Gibernau 13 - - 1 - 95 13.
65 ItalyItaly Loris Capirossi 17th 3 8th 2 5 229 3.
66 GermanyGermany Alex Hofmann 3 - - - - 7th 17th
2007 Ducati Desmosedici GP7 27 AustraliaAustralia Casey Stoner 18th 10 14th 5 6th 367 World Champion
65 ItalyItaly Loris Capirossi 18th 1 4th - - 166 7th
2008 Ducati Desmosedici GP8 1 AustraliaAustralia Casey Stoner 18th 6th 11 9 9 280 2.
33 ItalyItaly Marco Melandri 18th - - - - 51 17th
2009 Ducati Desmosedici GP9 27 AustraliaAustralia Casey Stoner 13 4th 8th 3 2 220 4th
36 FinlandFinland Mika Kallio 3 - - - - 17th 15th
69 United StatesUnited States Nicky Hayden 17th - 1 - - 104 13.
2010 Ducati Desmosedici GP10 27 AustraliaAustralia Casey Stoner 18th 3 9 4th 3 225 4th
69 United StatesUnited States Nicky Hayden 18th - 1 - - 163 7th
2011 Ducati Desmosedici GP11 46 ItalyItaly Valentino Rossi 17th - 1 - 1 139 7th
69 United StatesUnited States Nicky Hayden 17th - 1 - 1 132 8th.
2012 Ducati Desmosedici GP12 46 ItalyItaly Valentino Rossi 18th - 2 - 1 164 5.
69 United StatesUnited States Nicky Hayden 18th - - - - 122 9.
2013 Ducati Desmosedici GP13 4th ItalyItaly Andrea Dovizioso 18th - - - - 140 8th.
69 United StatesUnited States Nicky Hayden 18th - - - - 126 9.
2014 Ducati Desmosedici GP14 4th ItalyItaly Andrea Dovizioso 18th - 2 1 - 187 5.
35 United KingdomUnited Kingdom Cal Crutchlow 17th - 1 - - 74 13.
2015 Ducati Desmosedici GP15 4th ItalyItaly Andrea Dovizioso 18th - 5 1 - 162 7th
29 ItalyItaly Andrea Iannone 18th - 3 1 1 188 5
2016 Ducati Desmo16 GP 4th ItalyItaly Andrea Dovizioso 18th 1 5 2 1 171 5.
29 ItalyItaly Andrea Iannone 14th 1 4th 1 2 112 9.
2017 Ducati Desmosedici GP17 4th ItalyItaly Andrea Dovizioso 4th - 1 - - 41 (5.)
99 SpainSpain Jorge Lorenzo 4th - 1 - - 28 (9.)
total 248 33 100 36 35

References

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.motorsport-total.com/motorrad/news/2010/03/Stoner_Es_ist_sehr_kompliziert_10032506.html
  2. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original dated February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.motorradonline.de
  3. ↑ http://www.speedweek.com/motogp/news/52452/Offiziell-Ducati-tritt-im-Open-Format-an.html
  4. ↑ http://www.motorsport-total.com/motorrad/news/2015/02/gp15-dalligna-entwirft-die-kompakteste-ducati-aller-zeiten-15021607.html
  5. ^ Ruben Zimmermann: MotoGP Spielberg: Iannone takes first Ducati victory since 2010. In: motorsport-total.com. August 14, 2016, accessed October 10, 2016 .
  6. ↑ Michael Höller & Markus Zörweg: MotoGP - penalty after Ducati crash: Iannone clears Dovi. In: motorsport-magazin.com. April 4, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Heiko Stritzke: MotoGP 2017: Andrea Iannone for two years with Suzuki. In: motorsport-total.com. May 19, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2016 .