10 Ducati sets new motorcycle racing speed record

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Ducati GP16 has exceeded the magic 220 mph mark in this Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Mugello circuit.

Ducati MotoGP bikes have been praised for high power for the past two years, and if any 2016 bike was going to break the 220 mph barrier, it had to be the red one.

It's not only Ducati bikes that have excelled at the speed-traps. Andrea Iannone, Ducati factory rider, was the man responsible for most of these top-speed records.

The latest 354.9 kph record seems even more impressive when compared to GT3 cars, which can only reach up to 270 kph on the same Mugello start-finish straight.

If you think motorcycles are only good for straight line acceleration, you will be surprised, because laptimes of 2016 MotoGP bikes are comparable to GT3 cars, despite all the extra rubber and downforce that only four-wheeled racing machines can have.

9y ago by FastestLaps
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SpeedKing  4y ago

Andrea Dovizioso(Dovi) reached 356.7 km/h(221.6 mph) through the speed trap on the main straight at Mugello last year(which BTW is uphill) so at this rate they'll be hitting 360 km/h before long unless the rules and regs change to slow them down...


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FastestLaps  8y ago

Btw, a 24 year old Moto2 rider died in friday practice. A reminder of how brave professional motorcycle riders are. Not only it takes more talent and skill than race-car driving, it also means taking more risk and making more sacrifices.

But they are heroes.


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FastestLaps  9y ago

Its not strange, you're absolutely right. Big difference in speed is expected, but I just didn't expect it to be close to 100 kph!


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manone  9y ago

So the comparison with GT3 cars is relevant, in my opinion. And the speed difference at Mugello straight is eye-opening. 270 kph (more likely less than that - 250 - 270 kph) versus 355 kph.... Insane!

i do not see anything strange in this. besides gt3 having very strong power limits from the technical regulations, the relatively low straight line speed of cars is due to the drag tradeoff for getting higher downforce in the slower parts of the tracks, which give a huge advantage to cars in those sections and which bikes inherently cannot have.


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Shaggy  9y ago

220 mph on 2 wheels, that's just insane.


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FastestLaps  9y ago

Btw, I think Ducati made a mistake by choosing Dovizioso over Iannone. But, I guess, actually finishing races and scoring points is more important for the team :)


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FastestLaps  9y ago

In terms of costs, I think development of F1 car is far more expensive than a MotoGP bike. And cars have inherent advantage in track driving, you can't expect the fastest racing bike to compete with fastest racing car anyway.

So the comparison with GT3 cars is relevant, in my opinion. And the speed difference at Mugello straight is eye-opening. 270 kph (more likely less than that - 250 - 270 kph) versus 355 kph.... Insane!

I wonder, which is faster on that straight - modern F1 car or MotoGP bike? Probably bike.


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saxy  9y ago

yes, but a fast bike will beat supercars even on a track even if it costs less than 10% of the price.

And to be fair, GT3 cars have always had about the same pace as GP moto bikes on tracks. straight line speed vs braking/cornering. F1 is a bit extreme.


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Murmur  9y ago

You're comparing motogp to gt3, but the right comparison would be of course F1 only. A MotoGP, the fastest moto on earth, with slick race tires, can only pull 2 g's max around the corner. There are street legal hypercars that can pull more than that (laferrari, McLaren P1, etc). Even the slowest, production derived racecars, with no or little downforce but with racing slicks, can pull 2 g's around a corner. So yes, motorcycles are indeed slow around the corners when properly compared.


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saxy  9y ago

Wow... How big are the GP bike engines? ???? Sometimes I think speed simply can not be the reason to get a supercar anymore. Because even the greatest hypercars lose to bikes that cost less than a Honda Civic.