One of the characteristics of Ducati is its continuous evolution. While development in MotoGP never stops, Ducati is the maximum expression of this philosophy. Aerodynamics have been the area where this has been most obvious, but other aspects of development have likely shared the same intensity.

One of these aspects is the special gearbox on the factory motorcycles, whose existence has come to light because of the problems Álvaro Bautista had at Phillip Island when he substituted for Jorge Lorenzo on the official team of Borgo Panigale. That an expert rider with years of experience had so many problems with the transmission indicated something about it is not “normal”. Álvaro went to the ground on the first and second days because of an unexpected action in the gearbox, and in the race lost any chance for a podium for the same reason during the last stages when the podium was being decided.

Indeed, the factory Desmosedici uses a different transmission than “normal”, that it is very different is the only explanation we can get from the team. “In a transmission that we could call normal,” explained Alvaro Bautista, “when you raise or lower the lever to put it into gear, you notice that in some way as at the end of the action something is lining up. On the official motorcycle that sensation does not exist. The movement of the shift lever is like softer, and at the end of the action the feeling you have is that you press a kind of button, like a switch.”

“With the satellite bike during the gear changes there is a moment of ‘neutral’, while the factory Desmosedici the engine revs seem to rise a micro second between one gear and another”.

According to Bautista, he can’t explain how much the official Ducati’s “super gearbox” is a step forward. “For that I would have to make direct comparisons, something that unfortunately I can’t do. What I can tell you is that when I got back on my bike in Malaysia, the difference in feeling on the GP18 was huge. On the official motorcycle the transitions between gears is much more linear, there are no jolts.”

One of the Ducati satellite teams told us to watch on the front straight and to pay attention to the sound differences between a satellite Ducati and an official bike during gear changes. And yes, with the satellite bike during the gear changes there is a moment of ‘neutral’, while the factory Desmosedici the engine revs seem to rise a micro second between one gear and another. It is difficult to explain, but at the foot of the track it’s perfectly distinguishable. We know that in one of the Japanese manufacturer boxes its engineers have already realized this detail.

In the Japanese manufacturer boxes its engineers have already realized that the sound of the factory Ducati bikes gearboxes have something “special”.

At Ducati, as is logical, they don’t explain that “it’s a different transmission” when asked about it. But what we do know is that the ‘Ducati super gearbox’ is very sophisticated and therefore extremely demanding in its set-up. Apparently it demands constant attention from the technicians. On the other hand, it must be special, because Petrucci as well as Dovizioso and Lorenzo have made mistakes when using it at some point in the season.

But what is clear is that if Gigi Dall’Igna has incorporated it into the engine of the more sophisticated Desmosedici, it is because this ‘super gearbox’ is more effective than the conventional version. “There is no half a second, that does not exist at this level, but when you have to fight with Márquez and Honda, any tenth or half tenth per lap is important. Notice how we finished races this year: less than half a second after 20 or 25 laps.”

By the way, the GP18 that the satellite team will use next year, will not have it … “It is a sophisticated system that needs very precise and constant tuning, as well as being very expensive. It only makes sense if you are fighting to win, for a title, not if you are fighting to finish tenth.”