Tech round up: What’s new on Ducati’s GP22?

Ducati come into the 2022 season in the strongest position they have been for years, with their GP22 looking like it can bring home a first Riders’ Championship since 2007. Pictured below is the latest spec Desmosedici in all its glory, but what’s new on the bike?

Spotted at the recent pre-season Tests were new exhausts, a new swingarm, a new engine, chassis updates, new aero, new front holeshot device and new front ride-height device plus an updated tail unit.

The big thing with Ducati’s GP22 is its new engine. More power is Ducati’s game and that’s exactly what they’ve got, but it seems they might have finally found too much power. Throughout the pre-season Tests, the riders mentioned that on the initial throttle the GP22 was a little harder to control than its predecessor. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) both admitted they were having to make set up changes to place more weight on the rear to get a steadier feeling with the back end of the bike. And it also seems that the new didgeridoo exhaust was adding to the problem.

This long exhaust comes from the front bank of cylinders on Ducati’s V4. So with the added length, this exhaust is now seriously long and much longer than the one that comes from the rear bank of cylinders. 

When the Ducati riders tried this exhaust in Jerez at the end of 2021, they said that it felt really good. But when they tried it with the full GP22 in Sepang and Mandalika they found that they weren’t feeling the same benefits with the new bike compared to when they tried it with the GP21. We’ll delve into more detail on this later.

Above is Fabio Di Giannantonio’s (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) GP21 and you can clearly see the difference between the old exhaust and the newer, and much longer, one. But you can also see the old swingarm here too. Notice how the curved edge we looked at before is a sharper angle here and doesn’t continue to arc upwards.

Ducati also updated the tail unit. The shape of it is very similar and it’s hard to really tell a difference when looking at them side by side, but the new one (pictured below) is slightly ‘fuller’ shall we say. Not a huge difference, but a change nonetheless. 

The other thing here is the top exhaust. It was also updated on the GP22 compared to the GP21. The tip is a little shorter and slightly fatter in diameter, but overall the exhaust is largely similar. But as with the longer didgeridoo exhaust, it also seems that the Ducati riders aren’t 100% convinced on the new update.

One of the most intriguing things over the preseason tests was Ducati’s holeshot devices. Pictured above, we can see the cockpit set up of Marco Bezzecchi’s (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) GP21. It has two wing nuts, one to activate the rear holeshot device and one to activate the front one.

In Jerez at the end of 2021, we spotted that on the factory bikes there was only one wing nut here and also the front holeshot device set up had been updated. Then, we were able to see the difference at the preseason tests.

But as the tests went on, there was talk that the Ducati was doing something strange with the front end of the bike coming out of the corner. It appeared as though they had a front ride-height device! 

But as the tests went on, there was talk that the Ducati was doing something strange with the front end of the bike coming out of the corner. It appeared as though they had a front ride-height device! 

Check out the two videos and you’ll see the difference in ride height for when they use the device and when they don’t. First, Martin in Sepang is NOT using the front ride-height device. Take a good look at the gap between the top of the front tyre and the bottom of the air intake.

Now compare that gap to the gap seen here on Zarco’s bike. Here Zarco IS using the front ride-height device and it’s clear to see just how much the front end of the bike is being held down coming out of the corner.

The aim of the front ride-height device is the same as the rear one that we’re used to seeing from all the factories. It’s to lower the bike’s centre of gravity on corner exit so that it reduces the chance of wheelie and in turn helps the riders to apply more power and get a better exit out of the corner.

With both rear and front ride-height devices being used out of the corner, the Ducati effectively turns into a dragster!

The GP22 also has new aero. This is the set up we’ve become accustomed to over the past year. The large top set of wings, the big sidepods further down and the downwash ducts at the bottom of the side fairings

In the new set up (pictured above), the front fairing is slimmer, with the top set of wings now going all the way to the back edge of the front fairing. The sidepod wings have changed, with a more gentle sweep where they connect to the side fairings at the bottom. And also the shape of the side fairing has been cut back too.

From Ducati’s GP21 to GP22 there are quite a few changes, but over the Tests, we saw less and less of those new parts actually being used.

It seems that Ducati have found themselves in a slight problem as they try to figure out which combination of parts is going to be best to control their rampant 2022 engine. The GP21, pictured below, was a bike that had huge power, smooth power delivery, great turning characteristics… it was a pretty complete motorcycle.

And while Ducati maintain that their GP22 has the potential to be better, it appears that they just need some time to polish the surface to get it to where they want it to be

After Ducati debuted their new set of exhausts, it seems likely that neither will be used. Pictured here on the last day of preseason testing, Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) had gone back to the 2021 set of exhausts, ditching both the new top and bottom exhausts.

Ducati found that the new exhausts made the power of the GP22’s engine a little too difficult to control and that changing back to the old exhausts might sacrifice them a little power but it made that power much more usable, which over a lap turns out to be faster. Plus, it’s not like Ducati are struggling for power, so it’s not a big deal if they have to sacrifice a little bit.

The new swingarm, aero and intake have remained and it appears they’ll all be features of the GP22 when it arrives in Qatar. But it leaves the question of what level will Ducati be at in Qatar? Will they be ready to challenge for race wins or just missing that final 5% they need to compete at the very top?

With Honda, Suzuki and Aprilia all looking incredibly competitive and Yamaha and KTM not too far behind, Ducati can’t afford to spend the first two or three races playing catch up. Bagnaia started 2021 slowly and it ultimately lead him into a season-long catch up game that made a gap that was just too big to bridge. Ducati will be keen not to fall into the same trap once again.