Analyzing The Ducati Aero Appeal: The Process, The Future, And Where The MSMA Goes From Here

Submitted by David Emmett on

Tomorrow, at 11am CET, the MotoGP Court of Appeal meets to consider the case of Ducati's swing arm spoiler, fitted to all three Desmosedici GP19s raced at the opening MotoGP round in Qatar. Three trained lawyers are to hear the case put by Aprilia, Honda, KTM, and Suzuki, that Ducati's spoiler breaches the technical guidelines set out by MotoGP Technical Director Danny Aldridge.

The Court of Appeal is hearing the case after it was rejected twice on the Sunday evening of the Qatar race. The FIM Stewards first rejected the protest submitted by the four manufacturers against Ducati, and the FIM Appeal Stewards upheld that decision when those four manufacturers appealed the FIM Stewards' rejection. The FIM Appeal Stewards then referred that decision to the highest court inside the FIM, the FIM MotoGP Court of Appeal.

At the heart of the appeal is the belief that Ducati's spoiler creates an aerodynamic downforce. This is a violation of the technical guidelines issued by Danny Aldridge during preseason testing, which banned aerodynamic parts being attached to the rear swing arm unless they were being used to deflect water, protect the tire from debris, or cool the rear tire.

Testing uncovers problems

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Aruba.it Ducati WorldSBK Team Head To Aragon For Two-Day Private Test

Submitted by David Emmett on

The Aruba.it Ducati WorldSBK riders are heading to Aragon. There, Chaz Davies and Alvaro Bautista are to test the Ducati Panigale V4R as part of Ducati's test team, in preparation for the Aragon round of WorldSBK, due to be held there from 5th to 7th April, in just over two weeks time.

The test is crucial for Chaz Davies, in particular. The Welshman has struggled to adapt to the new Ducati V4, which requires a radically different riding style to the V-twin Panigale 1199R it replaces. Davies missed part of the winter testing schedule due to a back injury, which severely restricted his time in the saddle. 

His teammate, on the other hand, has won all six WorldSBK races (four full races and the two Superpole races) and leads the championship at the moment. Alvaro Bautista may arguably have had less of a step to make in terms of bike, coming as he did from the Desmosedici in MotoGP, but he did have to adapt to the steel brakes and much more pliant Pirelli tires used in WorldSBK. 

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Guest Blog: Mat Oxley - Will Ducati and Dovi be axed from Qatar MotoGP results?

Submitted by Mat Oxley on

The FIM will soon make its decision about Ducati’s alleged aero device, but there is only one sensible way out of this mess

MotoGP’s Court of Appeal will sit at the end of this week to decide the fate of Ducati’s alleged swingarm aerodynamics device and the 25 points that Andrea Dovizioso scored in Qatar.

What is MotoGP’s court of appeal and how will it come to its decision, which will be announced before next week’s Argentine Grand Prix?

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Gordon Ritchie WorldSBK Blog: Are We Done Already?

Submitted by Gordon Ritchie on

We have never seen anything quite like the arrival of Alvaro Bautista and his big red rocket of a Ducati Panigale V4R in WorldSBK history. Well, we kinda have, in the form of Doug Polen on that year’s ballistic desmo missile back in 1991. Just not quite as dominantly in only two rounds, as Polen won five from six, after a retirement in race two at Donington.

Whatever the comparison, ex-GP runner Bautista has entered WorldSBK at Star Trek levels of spacetime continuums by winning the first six races of the 2019 season, his first ever races in WorldSBK. The fact that there are three races per meeting now, not two, only slightly detracts from the glorious arrival of the new class act - stage left, right and centre.

Really, can you pick holes in the fabric of Ducati’s Alvaro effort so far?

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Paddock Pass Podcast Episode 95: Steve And Gordo Talk WorldSBK In Thailand

Submitted by David Emmett on

With the latest round of WorldSBK behind us, it's time for another review of the Superbike series with WorldSBK commentator Steve English and the world's leading superbike guru Gordon Ritchie.

Steve and Gordo sat down on Sunday morning before the sprint race in Thailand to discuss the events of Saturday, and look ahead to the races on Sunday. It was, as ever, an enlightening conversation, covering a vast range of subjects around the WorldSBK paddock.

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Tom's Tech Treasures: Analyzing MotoGP Tech Updates At Qatar, Part 1

Submitted by David Emmett on

Thomas Morsellino is a French freelance journalist and photographer, with keen eye for the technical details of MotoGP bikes. You may have seen some of his work on Twitter, where he runs the @Off_Bikes account. Peter Bom is a world championship winning former crew chief, with a deep and abiding knowledge of every aspect of motorcycle racing. Peter has worked with such riders as Cal Crutchlow, Danny Kent, and Stefan Bradl. After every race, MotoMatters.com will be publishing a selection of Tom's photos of MotoGP bikes, together with extensive technical explanations of the details by Peter Bom. MotoMatters.com subscribers will get access to the full resolution photos, which they can download and study in detail, and all of Peter's technical explanations of the photos. Readers who do not support the site will be limited to the 800x600 resolution photos, and an explanation of two photos.


New Honda fairing (Crutchlow’s RC213V)
Peter Bom: With all the extra horsepower which Honda has this year, together with a different chassis (to take some of the load from the front tire), it would make sense that there could be another aero update as well. As a side note, Ducati Corse boss Gigi Dall'Igna has hinted at protesting this particular fairing design.


Ducati GP19 front disc cover

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2019 Buriram World Superbike Race Two Result: Invisible Attrition

Submitted by Jared Earle on

One disadvantage of racing three times in a single weekend is the attrition that this can bring, and race two at the Chang circuit would start short of three riders, with Eugene Laverty not starting due to a crash on Saturday and both of this morning's crashers, Leon Camier and Thitipong Warokorn, not being able to join in. The twenty lap race would have sixteen starters in the Thai heat.

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2019 Buriram World Superbike Superpole Race Result: New Red Flag Procedure

Submitted by Jared Earle on

The Tissot Superpole race would determine the grid for race two and offered points for the top nine. Eugene Laverty was unable to make the start as his team was still rebuilding his bike from yesterday's brake failure that meant Laverty had to bail off and watch his Ducati hit the air fence and try to achieve orbit. 

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