MOTOGP: Ducati’s 5-Step Program To Return To Glory

Ducati’s MotoGP program has suffered through a tough couple of years, and the team saw a shakeup last week when Filippo Preziosi was moved to another position within Ducati and German Bernhard Gobmeier was brought onboard to head Ducati Corse. Paolo Ciabatti, the man who ran World Superbike’s operations side in recent seasons, returns to the fold to manage the MotoGP project.


It’s just like stick-and-ball sports and if the team struggles for long enough, the coach gets fired.


Here are five steps to returning the program to glory.


1. Change The Culture


When Ducati joined MotoGP, the program was stocked with young minds and the people working on the project were very much outsiders to the MotoGP scene. They managed to take what Ducati knew about developing a successful Superbike racer and translated that to the 990cc MotoGP era.


They were upstarts and weren’t expected to do much early. When they were successful, it was a pleasant surprise, and by 2007, they had hit on the right combo of rider, tires, and bike to win the World Championship.


After that happens, you’re part of the establishment and you’re expected to win.


People in the know say the culture at Ducati Corse looked more at the good and ignored the bad. That’s not really the way the Japanese work and Yamaha and Honda dominate MotoGP by continually refining their weaknesses. Yamaha made big improvements to their engine before this past season and Honda will come out with a new bike mid-year if needed.


Ducati’s novel but ultimately flawed chassis set the program back years. The reasons no alternative chassis existed could be debated. Maybe they couldn’t afford it or maybe they wanted to put all their people on fixing it but the end result was they were stuck too long with something that did not work.


One thing we know about Ciabatti from his days running Ducati’s Superbike program and his time at World Superbike is that he is a detail-oriented manager. He is a good fit and well respected throughout the industry for getting things right.


2. Commercial Push


Ducati is a mid-sized motorcycle company, but one that has enjoyed success despite the economy and one now controlled by Audi. Ducati can compete in MotoGP because of what sponsor Philip Morris International brings to the party. To run a MotoGP program without a big sponsor like Yamaha has done in the past is probably outside the ability of Ducati’s checkbook. In short, they gotta keep everyone happy.


And with the results of the past few years, people aren’t happy even though the Ducati brand is strong.


Ducati Corse needs to make some quick gains to prove to their partners they are moving in the right direction. And bring in new partners.


The obvious one is Audi. Audi has access to a lot of advanced technology, some of which is bound to translate to MotoGP and road bikes.


3. Fix The Front


The quickest way to make up a gap in MotoGP is to get a really good rider. It’s always been that way and probably always will be.


Ducati has Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovisioso on the factory team and Ben Spies on the B-team. Even though none of the three stood on top of the box in 2012, all three men have proven they can win. It’s true the team doesn’t have a Jorge Lorenzo or Dani Pedrosa. What they do have are riders who will put in strong effort and are motivated to do better.


That means the team has to give their riders a machine they can ride hard. A perfect example is the Yamaha. Even when Honda can outpower the Tuning Fork boys, the M1 is a sweet-handling bike that a guy like Lorenzo can push and steal some victories.


Ducati needs to find the answers that have eluded them with the Desmosedici such as its mysterious front-end issues.


4. A Game Of Leapfrog


The technical side of MotoGP is always evolving. We’re in a stage where the systems are under constant scrutiny for improvement. Honda's “seamless shift” effort is a good example of this. The engineers had an idea and implemented it and the riders made it work.


There are a lot of smart people at Ducati. They need to cook up something good and get in front of Honda and Yamaha on it.


5. It’s Never As Good – Or As Bad – As It Seems


Ducati has seen both sides of the coin. Were they as good as it looked when Stoner dominated the 2007 season and won the brand their first championship? No. The same has been true the past couple of seasons when even getting on the podium seemed impossible at times. They are closer than it looks.


It is easy to get disappointed when things go bad -- even more so when the company sets its identity in racing. There are stories of secretaries crying on Monday at Ducati after a bad race weekend.


It truly is a new era at Ducati with Audi here, Rossi gone, and new management of board. The key to turning it around is to keep moving forward.

Source: MOTOGP: Ducati's 5-Step Program To Return To Glory