Ducati denies semi-automatic gearbox.
Ducati Marlboro technical director Corrado Cecchinelli has denied that the Italian team's new engine-braking system, tested for the first time by factory riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa at Barcelona today, is actually a semi-automatic gearbox.
Semi-automatic gearboxes are used in many leading four-wheel championships - including Formula One - and allow drivers to shift effortlessly up or down the gearbox without manually operating the clutch.
Ducati Marlboro technical director Corrado Cecchinelli has denied that the Italian team's new engine-braking system, tested for the first time by factory riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa at Barcelona today, is actually a semi-automatic gearbox.
Semi-automatic gearboxes are used in many leading four-wheel championships - including Formula One - and allow drivers to shift effortlessly up or down the gearbox without manually operating the clutch.
"I think the system is a very promising new development, though it's too early to say when we will race with it," Cecchinelli said of the new engine-braking 'device'.
"All I can say about the system at this stage is that it's special software that manages both engine and clutch for improved stability during braking, whereas last year we used an idle-control system.
"Some people seem to think we are using a semi-automatic gearbox here but we have no such thing. We tested a semi-automatic gearbox on a Superbike some years ago but we've never tried one on our MotoGP bike," he added.
Capirossi and Checa were 12th and 14th fastest today after each suffered sizable accidents.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
