Ducati launch the 2010 GP10 MotoGP bike
Ducati launches the 2010 MotoGP Desmosedici racer in the snow. 
Ducati have launched the 2010 MotoGP contender the Desmosedici GP10 at Madonna di Campiglio, a ski resort in the Dolimites of North Eastern Italy.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to see two video clips from the “Wroom 2010” launch, and a full gallery of the beautiful GP10 Ducati.
Sharing the spotlight with the new Ducati racebike was Casey Stoner, and teammate Nicky Hayden, both keen to get 2010 undrway, albeit for different reasons. Stoner is stating his health problems are a thing of the past, whilst Hayden is keen to improve in his 2009 form.
The GP10 Desmosedici has also undergone a remake in the off season:
“The major part of the work was done to make it perform better using only six engines for the entire championship because we were used to using more-or-less one engine per race, so to switch from eighteen engines to six is a very important adjustment.
To go 1,600 kilometres with an engine that goes over 19,000 rpm isn’t a simple assignment. All of the main parts were redesigned — pistons, rods, crankshaft, the basics. It’s an engine with which our main objective was to minimize the loss of power to increase durability.
The second big news isn’t related to the rules, but to our attempt to make the bike more rideable. This has to do with the firing order. We have a motor that, since the switch to 800s, utilized a screamer setup. This has permitted us to have maximum power, which was very important and was probably fundamental with the results that we’ve had in 2007, 2008 and 2009
The last 1000cc motors that we made in 2005 and 2006 used a big-bang firing order, and this gave us important rideability. We re-tested that way, first trying it on the dyno, then with Vittoriano Guareschi in his previous role as test rider and then with Nicky and Casey.
We think we have a bike for 2010 with better traction, and that therefore makes it easier for us to find a good setup. Another part of the work was dedicated to the chassis. In the pursuit of ease of use, we’ve worked to eliminate the bike’s squatting, which is why the entire rear portion of the bike was redesigned.
This bike has a rear structure that carries the rider — which we call the seat support — and that also supports the swingarm. That part was redesigned to have six mounting points instead of four; this makes the bike more rigid in a way and it guarantees better rideability and improved rigidity.”
Gallery
Click any of the thumbnails below to launch the gallery of the Ducati GP10 Desmosedici
{gallery}ducatimotogp2010/gp10:150:100{/gallery}
Video
Perhaps designed to make the rest of us feel underprivlidged, this clip features Stoner and Hayden earning their enormous salaries whilst swanning about on the ski slopes of
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Hayden and Stoner talk about the new upcoming season, and the changes in both the team and the bike. Hayden glosses over his average 2009 debut with Ducati, whilst Stoner asssures us he is healthy now.
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