MotoGP News - New Bridgestone-Shod Ducati Breaks Cover26/11/2007

The 2008 version of the Bridgestone-shod Ducati that dominated the 2007 World Championship in both rider and machine categories will break cover for the first time at the final tests of the year at Jerez.

But, according to MotoGP Project Manager Livio Suppo, you won’t be able to see much.

“Inside there are some important changes, that Casey and Marco will be testing for the first time. But nobody will be surprised by the appearance of the bike,” he said. “From the outside, it is more or less the same.”

Newly crowned World Champion Casey Stoner will be joined at the Jerez tests by new team-mate Marco Melandri, as they get their first taste of the Desmosedici GP8 on which Stoner will defend his title.

All but two of the major GP teams for next year will be at the test – Suzuki are awaiting an engine update, and the satellite Ducati team will also be absent. The machines are all expected to be prototypes for 2008, close to final form.

The second-best Bridgestone rider of last year was John Hopkins, fourth in the championship. The American will be resuming his tests of his 2008 machine, the Kawasaki, also using Bridgestone tyres. Hopkins spent the previous five years with the Suzuki team.

These are the last tests before the compulsory winter break, and an important staging post in the run up to next season, as the factory teams get a last chance to assess the strength of the opposition.