editor
Ducati are the constructor of the moment in MotoGP, having won the riders, teams and constructors titles in 2022. But the italians went through an ordeal of results in the years before to get there after the departure of Casey Stoner.
The australian became immortalised within the Borgo Panigale brand when he gave them their first premier class riders title in 2007. But those who think is was easy to get there, is very much wrong. Even in that golden period the other Ducati riders were unable to take advantage of the bike and Stoner had its fair share of troubles getting the bike to go his way.
Here’s what Stoner said about the problems on the Desmosedici in the documentary MotoGP™ Stories: The Resurrection of Ducati, which as the name suggests travels through the history of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer in MotoGP:
– We know that Ducati had been working hard for a long time to be successful and it always seemed a little bit short of being able to be champions. The bike looked much better on paper and because of the results than what we felt on the bike. When I signed for Ducati I was very excited because I was going to a factory team. After my first laps on the bike my first impression was ‘what have I done? I’ve made a huge mistake!’ A lot of people thought because the bikes had 800cc engines they would be easier to control, especially the japanese factories, who wanted a bike that was light and could go well around the corners. But Ducati went in the opposite direction, they didn’t care about chassis and focused on making the bike fast in a straight line. We fought all year to make the bike turn.