Coming to a close is the 2018 MotoGP season, with the penultimate round at the Shell Malaysia Sepang MotoGP at Sepang International Circuit. As part of events leading up to Sunday’s race day, Shell Malaysia organised an exclusive for paultan.org with Paolo Ciabatti,
During the discussion, which centred around the technical partnership between Ducati and Shell in the development of lubricants and fuel for motorsports use, Ciabatti touched on developments across 2018 for the Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP racing machine. This came about after several high profile racing incidents over the past few races involving both Ducati riders, Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso.
“We have, as you know, had some problems with the handling for the previous races and we have made some changes to this year’s chassis,” said Ciabatti. “Now there is improvement in the handling which we will carry forward to next year,” he continued.
Asked about the 2019 chassis, Ciabatti said the Desmosedici is currently the most powerful machine on the grid. “Right now, the Desmosedici is not lacking for power but we know the handling is still a little bit behind. For the next year, the chassis and swing arm have been improved for more stability,” said Ciabatti.
“In 2019, with Jorge Lorenzo changing teams, we will have Andrea Dovizioso as our lead rider, while Danilo Petrucci will be given time to adjust to the Desmosedici,” Ciabatti said. Moving into 2019, Ducati Corse continues its technical partnership with Shell fuels and lubricants.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
