Ducati, in partnership with Italian telecommunications company TIM, presented their 2012 bike today in an online launch for a reported audience of 96,000 fans and media around the world. Much excitement had surrounded the launch of the new livery, the color scheme feature a lot more white than in previous years. A hint to that effect had been seen in the new team gear sported by Ducati staff at the Sepang tests, which also had a lot more white than last year's all-red clothing.
Despite the fact that normally, not much of substance is revealed at bike launches, Ducati's was a little different. Ducati Corse boss Filippo Preziosi finally came clean on two questions which had had the paddock most intrigued: what was the angle of the Ducati's engine, and had Ducati gone with the maximum capacity allowed. Preziosi confirmed that the bike was indeed still a V90° engine, as most informed sources had suspected, but he still had a surprise up his sleeve. The bike, Preziosi said, used the maximum capacity allowed at 999cc, and was not, as had been suggested by some, somewhere between 900 and 930cc. Given the disadvantages of a higher-revving engine (losses due to friction) this is less of a surprise, though there had been much speculation that a smaller engine would allow for more efficient combustion....more
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