Panigale Debut in WSBK Testing

[desmoquattro]

Articles:
http://www.crash.net/world+superbikes/news/185167/1/ducati_panigale_makes_group_test_debut.html
http://www.gpone.com/index.php/en/201210158558/Positive-debut-for-the-Panigale.html

New bike seems to be almost on pace, right out of the gate.

[Raux]

uh.. aren't all the other bikes, right out of the gate as well? new specs right?
plus 4th? this was the bike that is supposed to crush the competition, not be close behind.

sorry. I'm a big skeptic on the 1199 due to the GP frameless tech.

[zooom]

Raux...keep 1 thing in mind...every other bike out there in that test is an evolution of the previous years machine with telemetry data to base everything off of whereas the Panigale is a revolution in how different it is in many, if not all, aspects. They are using pretty much no previous data and starting from scratch. When Checa rode the bike before, I would guess he wasn't exactly riding it in anger like he probably was today. He is gathering all the info he can for setting that bike up currently and readjusting to the loss of the 6kg penalty weight.

[Raux]

I thought the entire Superstock season was all about gathering this data.

[zooom]

I thought the entire Superstock season was all about gathering this data.

if every rider rode the exact same bike with the exact same settings...sure...

and since when is a superstock machine similar in set-up to a superbike machine?....different electronics package as well as allowances in terms of modification in comparo to each class....

[desmoquattro]

I thought the entire Superstock season was all about gathering this data.

I recall reading that the financials of their Superstock effort had fallen apart.

[desmoquattro]

BTW - More reviews from Superstock:
http://www.worldsbk.com/en/news/46-sst-news/12688-marinellis-view-of-new-panigales-first-racing-steps-.html

They can gather all the data they want in Superstock, but I suspect that SBK specs are different enough from Superstock that you'd need a fair amount of testing and tweaking to become competitive. There's a big difference between forks that ship with the bike and the $25,000 superbike cartridge forks on the big machines. $500,000 per bike buys a LOT of complexity

[Raux]

they showed the WSBK spec bike nearly a year ago. I'm sure it's running on test tracks the entire time gathering data.

I'm just saying, that as a 'game-changer' bike I expected more. I mean the 1198R without the 6kg disavantage was winning. so a bike with more power, 'better' handling frame(less), etc. should have at least been at the top if not far and away better.

[zooom]

they showed the WSBK spec bike nearly a year ago. I'm sure it's running on test tracks the entire time gathering data.

I'm just saying, that as a 'game-changer' bike I expected more. I mean the 1198R without the 6kg disavantage was winning. so a bike with more power, 'better' handling frame(less), etc. should have at least been at the top if not far and away better.

when did they show the WSBK spec bike a year ago?....

and the 1198R didn't get the 6kg penalty until it had won "X" number of races in comparo to the other manufacturers....and at 1st...it was a 3kg penalty that got upped due to the number of Ducati wins/podiums in the constructors points IIRC....

[desmoquattro]

they showed the WSBK spec bike nearly a year ago. I'm sure it's running on test tracks the entire time gathering data.

I'm just saying, that as a 'game-changer' bike I expected more. I mean the 1198R without the 6kg disavantage was winning. so a bike with more power, 'better' handling frame(less), etc. should have at least been at the top if not far and away better.

We all want a pony. But sometimes the process of making a pony is messy

I don't recall whether WSBK has testing restrictions anywhere near the level of MotoGP. It'd be nice if Derby or GM2 had some insight there.

[Raux]

We all want a pony. But sometimes the process of making a pony is messy

I don't recall whether WSBK has testing restrictions anywhere near the level of MotoGP. It'd be nice if Derby or GM2 had some insight there.

http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2011/10/another-day-another-ducati-1199-panigale-spy-photo/

[PhilB]

zooom and desmoquattro are right.  there's a BIG difference between debuting some adjustments for new rules, and debuting an entirely new design at this level.  If you think thisn kind of stuff is easy to get right the first time and win "right out of the gate", then whatever it is you do for a living is the wrong thing and you need to get yourself over there and show them how it's done.  

We all want a pony. But sometimes the process of making a pony is messy

PhilB

[Raux]

Ducati 'right out of the gate wins'


888
916
996
999
1098

you could argue the 888 was an upgrade of the 851 and the 996 an upgrade of the 916
that still leaves the 916, 999, 1098 as out of the box designs

Not sure about the other manufacturers, but it's been done.

[desmoquattro]

Ducati 'right out of the gate wins'


888
916
996
999
1098

Not sure about the other manufacturers, but it's been done.

Sure. And were any of those out of the gate wins (a) in an environment as competitive as WSBK is today and (b) were they preceded by stellar test results?

The season is a long way off.

[Raux]

I'm just saying this design was supposed to be light years ahead of everyone else. yet it's not.