TECH
WHIT’S TECH WATCH
With 28 riders and five manufacturers ready to do battle James Whitham offers his unique take on the machinery that’s ready to tackle BSB 2024
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DUCATI PANIGALE V4R
2024 Riders and teams
Glenn Irwin PBM Racing Christian Iddon Oxford Products
Racing Ducati
It will be a challenge for Irwin and PBM because the team have moved workshops, some of the people have left and they’re only running one rider. And if any bike on the grid is maintenance-heavy, then it’s the Ducati. They always have been and they always will be because they are the most focused, so keeping on top of it all isn’t easy.
In recent years PBM had engineers from Ducati in the team, but as far as I know they won’t have that this year.
The circuits in the UK are so diverse and you couldn’t get two more different venues than say Knockhill and Thruxton. So it’s unlikely that if your bike is fit for purpose around Knockhill that it’s going to work at Thruxton – and vice versa. So the general strength of the Ducati is that it is good in most places, but not everywhere.
It’s got loads of grunt and loads of power, but at Thruxton for example where you’re spending so much time on the side of the tyre they couldn’t use any of its advantages and they struggled to even get in the top ten.
It’s become apparent over the years that V4 is the configuration to go for, in terms of power, balance, and the engine being in the right place. Just look at MotoGP, where they’re all V4s apart from the Yamaha.
The V4 is the best compromise of power, torque and an engine that is blocky enough to put where you want.
The Ducati is also really solid and stable on the brakes.
Its weaknesses are probably the chassis, probably not the actual chassis, more the swingarm and in my opinion we see that with how it works and struggles on the side of the tyre. It’s a single-sider and that is the only thing that’s different compared to the other bikes on the grid. It’s the bike’s Achilles’ heel, not being happy in the long-hanging corners where there is lots of centrifugal push on the side of the tyre.
BMW M1000RR
2024 Riders and teams
• Rory Skinner Cheshire Mouldings BMW Motorrad
• Leon Haslam ROKIT Haslam Racing BMW Motorrad
• Josh Brookes FHO Racing BMW Motorrad
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