Ducati could have dominated MotoGP in latest seasons however riders typically wrestle to call the very best factor concerning the bike, labelling it sturdy in all areas slightly than having a particular ‘knock out’ benefit.
Some even say the rival bikes are literally higher in every particular person space of efficiency.
Nevertheless, Ducati’s all-round means implies that if entrance or rear grip, for instance, is missing at a selected circuit or level in a race, different areas compensate to maintain it at a excessive stage.
The other state of affairs is when a motorbike depends too closely on one space of efficiency to make its lap time. That may imply a motorbike works brilliantly in some tracks or circumstances, however loses an excessive amount of in others. Hero or zero.
An apparent instance can be a motorbike that boasts class-leading high velocity however can not apply it to tight-and-twisty tracks. Or how Honda grew to become too reliant on braking and nook entry to gasoline Marc Marquez’s title success.
Raul Fernandez, 2025 Thai MotoGP
Within the case of the 2025 MotoGP grid, riders from Aprilia and Yamaha have overtly praised the front-end of their machines. However because the season-opening Thai occasion confirmed, if the entrance finish begins to falter, they will plummet down the order.
An excessive instance got here from Trackhouse Aprilia team-mates Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez.
Rookie Ogura felt few points together with his RS-GP and rode to an excellent fifth within the grand prix, as finest non-Ducati, whereas Fernandez immediately misplaced entrance grip in soiled air and couldn’t even end the race.
“I used to be in a very good place and preventing very effectively… However after 15 laps, once I was in seventh, I attempted to catch Jack and for some purpose we had overheating within the entrance tyre,” Fernandez mentioned.
“From this second on, the entrance tyre didn’t work and I needed to retire as a result of I used to be 1.5 seconds slower.”
After excelling on the Sepang take a look at, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo by no means felt snug with the tyres at Buriram and was unable to brake at his common stage.
Pramac Yamaha’s Miguel Oliveira, who completed sixteenth (Dash) and 14th (GP) within the season-opener, defined: “As everyone knows, we trip loads with the entrance finish of the bike.
“As quickly as you do not get the utmost along with your using out of the entrance of the bike, you are in bother in some way. Particularly on these sorts of tracks the place you actually need to brake tremendous arduous.”
Talking after the Dash, the Portuguese added: “I see that what may be very constructive [about] the bike can develop into one thing unfavorable.
“The bike turns fairly effectively, it’s totally steady on the entrance. However as quickly as you aren’t in a position to get that from the tyre, from the entrance finish, if you’re a bit bit out of the window with the setting, it is actually tough to optimise what the bike has good.
“[We] barely make any time on the acceleration, in comparison with different bikes. So we should do every little thing on entry. So [the strong front end] is a plus. However on the identical, if you’re not there, it turns into actually arduous for you.”
It was an analogous story for Oliveira within the grand prix.
“I obtained actually in bother with the entrance grip, could not flip the bike, was going huge in each nook [just] once I had essentially the most rear grip,” Oliveira mentioned. “After which the rear dropped lap by lap.
“The tyre got here again a bit bit for me on the finish and I might catch up and get into the factors.”
Ducati riders Alex Marquez, Marc Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia and Franco Morbidelli, 2025 Thai…
“Within the pre-season, everybody begins to dream”
Sunday’s race ended with an all-Ducati high 4 and Ogura 7.5 seconds from race winner Marc Marquez.
The highest Honda was 15 seconds adrift and main KTM 20 seconds. Oliveira’s team-mate Jack Miller was the highest Yamaha in eleventh, over 22 seconds from Marquez after battling a unfastened fairing.
Requested concerning the continued Ducati domination, Oliveira smiled:
“Within the pre-season, everybody begins to dream and make loads of plans. However then, first race of the season, when actuality is available in, everybody begins to be a bit bit extra cautious about what they are saying!
“However it’s not the case for me. I knew clearly from the start that at this second they’re the leaders. And our job is simply to deal with decreasing that hole.
“We do have [private] testing days. We now have 4 bikes. We’ve got shared information between all of us. We’ve got the identical spec of bikes. So I believe we have now each instrument that we have to scale back that hole and that needs to be our solely focus in the mean time.”
Spherical two of the season takes place at Termas de Rio Hondo, in Argentina, on March 14-16.
