In QatarAs was apparent to any viewer watching the Stoner-Rossi battle at the business end of the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, the Ducati Desmosedici GP7 is capable of unleashing truly remarkable power on the straights.
Stoner continually pulled away or overtook
the five time MotoGP World Champion on the final stretch, with the difference in top speed between the Ducati and Yamaha machines immediately visible.
The trend was not limited to the Australian race winner's 800cc monster either, as all four Ducati riders headed the speed charts at Losail. The rider clocked going fastest during the race was satellite rider Alex Barros on his return to MotoGP action, reaching an astonishing 316.3 km/h at one point.
Alex Hofmann was the rider to most consistently take advantage of the extra horsepower, with the fastest average speed of 313.7 km/h over the 22 lap Grand Prix.
The Ducati riders will have the opportunity to further show the capability of their bikes on some of the longer straights featured on the World Championship calendar, such as those found at China or Catalunya.
DORNA / CAPSIS International
