Ducati launches 2015 MotoGP bike

Ducati has launched its 2015 MotoGP bike, the first completely new design since the team was restructured following Audi's acquisition of its parent company. The GP15 will make its public track debut at the second Sepang winter test next week.

Ducati used an interim 'GP14.3' bike for the opening test earlier this month. The 2015 bike has a new chassis, as Ducati aims to end a victory drought that now stretches back to the 2010 Australian Grand Prix.

Andrea Dovizioso stays on for a third year, with Andrea Iannone moving up from Ducati's satellite team Pramac to join him. Dovizioso said he had been surprised by the extent of the changes to the bike.

"I didn't expect it to be so narrow and compact," he said. "It's incredible. It looks different, but what is really different, I feel, is the heart; what's inside.

"We are transforming the bike we had last year so we can have both an evolution and revolution."

Ducati's sporting chief Gigi Dall'Igna is optimistic that Ducati now has the rider and bike combination required to challenge Honda and Yamaha on a regular basis again.

"We have to fight against bike manufacturers with a long MotoGP tradition and against four riders among the best ever, but I really believe in our Andreas," he said.

Last season was Ducati's best in recent years, as it took three podium finishes and closed the gap to the frontrunners. Its progress was helped by a controversial switch to Open class regulations, which allowed it greater development freedom in exchange for running a spec ECU.

Originally on Autosport.com