MotoGP insight: ‘My GP bike changes gear like a scooter…'

Ducati dominate the World Superbike championship – taking last year’s riders and constructors titles and leading this year’s championship – so we can safely assume that the company’s Panigale V4 R is the world’s best superbike.

This is the machine that’s used for track training by Ducati’s eight MotoGP riders, including world champion Pecco Bagnaia and fellow VR46 rider Luca Marini, Valentino Rossi’s half-brother.

So what do these riders think is the biggest difference between the Panigale and the Desmosedici MotoGP bikes they ride – the MotoGP’s 300-plus horsepower, its carbon brakes or something else? Let’s ask Marini…

“Riding a MotoGP bike again was an incredible feeling,” said the Italian youngster on the first day of testing for the 2023 MotoGP season…