Ducati boss hails new engine performance

Ducati boss Vittoriano Guareschi has hailed the performance of the Bologna factory’s new Big Bang GP10 motor after Casey Stoner topped the timesheets at the final winter test in Qatar last week.

Ducati ditched its Screamer motor at the end of last season to roll out a new smoother Big Bang engine for the 2010 campaign, which gets underway in Qatar on April 11.

Not only designed to help Aussie Stoner wrestle back the world title from Yamaha and Valentino Rossi he last won in 2007, but Ducati is hoping the new engine concept will help bring more of its bike’s closer to the front.

Stoner has been delighted with the engine and he didn’t finish outside of the top two in the entire pre-season testing campaign.

And American team-mate Nicky Hayden has also shown promising form on the GP10, the 2006 world champion claiming top six finishes in the final two tests.

Guareschi was a vital figure in developing the new engine in his previous role as test rider for Ducati.

Now occupying a management role for the Bologna factory, Guareschi told MCN: “The big difference is the engine has a much softer power delivery and the pick-up is a lot smoother than the old Screamer version.

“It is a big improvement for everybody and not just for Casey when you look at the timesheets.

“Casey stays in the same position but the other riders are closer to the top and this is a good step for the image of Ducati.”

Having tested the Big Bang engine extensively since last summer, Guareschi explained the difference in character and performance.

He added: “Before the engine characteristic made it feel like a turbo. When the power arrived it was necessary to pick up the bike off the side and get it onto the fat part of the tyre

” You couldn’t accelerate while carrying much lean angle because the bike wouldn’t drive forward. Only Casey understood perfectly that style of riding the old bike but for the others it was difficult.

“When I tried the new engine it was like another world and reminded of the GP6, the last 990cc bike we had. With the soft pulse engine it was also easier to understand the performance of the rear tyre.

“The connection between the throttle and the rear tyre is a lot better and easier to understand.

“And now with the new engine we can use a lot less anti-spin because the throttle is perfectly in contact with the engine and rear tyre. The GP10 you can ride like a 250 where before you couldn’t.

“I think the Big Bang engine will be more consistent in performance and it will be better when the grip is not perfect and the conditions are changing a lot.

“It will be easier for the rider to use this engine.”