Ducati's 800cc GP bike

The 800cc Ducati Desmosedici GP7 MotoGP bike has been tested on track for the first time today, Tuesday, May 2, 2006.

Test rider Vittoriano Guareschi took the prototype on to the Mugello circuit for the first shakedown test of the new 800cc engine. Read more on the technical details of the bike in MCN, May 3, 2006.

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"I have to admit that the first lap with the GP7 was really exciting. I am used to testing new solutions on our bikes, but this was different to the others: it is a totally new machine, and so it’s even more exciting than usual. It seems just like yesterday that we were testing the Desmosedici GP3 here at Mugello for the first time, but four years have gone by! Today we made another important step forward in the MotoGP project: it is as if our family has given birth to a second ‘baby’ and the first noises it has made are not bad at all!" said Guareschi.

"Today the new 800cc engine finally moved from the dyno to the track and we are quite satisfied with this debut. We started off by running a check on all the components of the new bike and over the next two days, if we don’t encounter any particular problems, we will move on to phase two and begin the first set-up work," said Ducati Corse technical director Filippo Preziosi.

"Today is certainly very important, but it is just the start of a long path that we know lies ahead of us. A special thanks goes out to all the guys in Ducati Corse who have worked hard over the past few months to get the bike, with which we will race in next year’s championship, out onto the track today, as well as all of our suppliers and technical sponsors, above all Shell Advance, who with their technology, experience and availability are making a decisive contribution to our project".