The factory-spec Ducati of 2023 secured victories in 13 MotoGPs and 13 sprints, ultimately clinching both first and second positions in the world championship with outstanding performances from Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin.
However, the previous model, the 2022 bike, also demonstrated its prowess by clinching victories in 4 MotoGPs, thanks to the efforts of Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio di Giannantonio. The VR46 rider, in particular, secured a third-place finish overall in the world championship. Given these successes, it comes as no shock that the newly crowned double MotoGP champion, Bagnaia, is looking to amalgamate the strengths of both recent bikes for the 2024 season.
“The good thing about the old (2022) bike was the entrance of the corners. You could keep a lot of speed and it had more turning,” Bagnaia said.
“Last year’s (2023) bike was very good on traction, very good on the first part of braking, but I was losing a lot in the entrance to the corners.
“I think that the weight distribution of the ’24 bike is more similar to the ‘22. It helped me, and also I think Enea (Bastianini), on the entrance to the corners.”
During the Valencia test last month, Bagnaia concentrated on engine developments, expressing satisfaction with the ‘connection’ he experienced under acceleration. However, he noted a desire for further refinement in power delivery. The upcoming Sepang test in February will see him shifting his focus towards the chassis.
“I asked just to try things about the engine, because I don’t want to filter too much the (new) engine,” he said. “For things about the chassis we will have Malaysia.”