Q&A: Ducati's 1200cc plans - EXCLUSIVE.

There has been a lot of speculation over the possibility of Ducati leaving World Superbike should their proposed 1200cc machine not be allowed to race due to current rules.

Crash.net Radio spoke to Julian Thomas, the Xerox Ducati press officer, to find out where Ducati stands regarding its future in WSBK...

Question:
Julian there has been a lot of talk about Ducati quitting World Superbike, can you tell us what is happening?

Julian Thomas:
The situation is that we as Ducati have requested a change in the regulations to allow 1200cc engines for twin cylinder bikes to be allowed to race in World Superbike. Simultaneously we have also asked for a change in the regulations to bring about a levelling of the playing field between four cylinders and twin cylinder bikes.

Currently not a lot of people are aware of the fact that there are two different types of regulations in World Superbikes which govern fours and which govern twins. Twins are allowed a far greater level of tuning and preparation than fours, so it is not that we are asking for just a 200cc hike in the engine size, we are also asking for our eventual 1200cc bike to be brought down to the same level of preparation as the fours are at, at the moment. This way we think that it is a fair and just way of continuing in World Superbike.

Q:
You are running the 1098cc in Superstock, why is that bike not going to be used in Superbike?

JT:
Now, we are currently racing in Superbike with a bike that no longer exists, that is the 999. It is no longer on the market; it is no longer available to be bought. Our future production line, in fact our current production line includes the 1098 road bike. This will form the basis of - as has always been Ducati's tradition - the basis of a more developed bike which will come under the guise of the R symbol. We have always characterised our highly tuned race possible bikes with the R symbol.

The 999R is an example and this [new] bike will eventually come out on the market I think in the space of a year or so. This bike will not have a 1098cc engine but it will have a larger sized engine - we will be going up to the full 1200cc capacity - and this bike will be called the 1098 even though it will not have a 1098 engine. This bike will form the basis of our World Superbike race bike.

Q:
People have objected to what Ducati have suggested, can you see why they are objecting?

JT:
We understand, but we would like to reassure everyone that Ducati don't want to be seen as just wanting a 200cc increase. Ducati would like to be seen as manufacturer who request fair rules for everybody. At the current state of play we're racing with a highly developed bike, a highly tuned bike which is more a prototype machine than anything else, against 1000cc four [cylinder] Japanese bikes which are much closer to the spirit of World Superbike regulations.

We wish to continue in World Superbikes, it is not necessarily an ultimatum [to quit], but we would like for the regulations in the future to be fair and just for all concerned and in our opinion the 1200cc bike would put the twins on the same level as the fours. In our opinion it is the right way to go.

Q:
British Superbikes seem quite open to the idea, what do you think of that?

JT:
I have seen the possible future of British Superbikes. I understand that they will embrace 1200cc bikes but I also believe they will be based on Supersport engine [rules] in a Superbike chassis. I'm not quite sure of how that is going to go ahead, but that is my understanding. I'm not sure if it'll be the same as an eventual change in the World Superbike rules.