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Dieci anni dopo i suoi trionfi in SBK (1991, 1992) e nel campionato AMA (1993), sempre in sella alla Ducati 888, l'americano Doug Polen prova la 998RS di Chili e ci racconta le sue sensazioni..
Anticipation, adrenaline, anxiety, excitement, and sheer exhilaration are some of the things you experience when riding a world-championship caliber motorcycle. In 1993, I rode a Ducati 888 to victory in the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Superbike race at Laguna Seca Raceway. Ten years later, Frankie Chili won round one of the World Superbike Championship (WSC) at the same venue on a 2003 Ducati 998RS. Approached by Robb Report Motorcycling with the opportunity to give Chili’s bike a try, I packed my bags and was on the road to Sonoma’s Infineon Raceway as soon as they asked “Would you like to ride a Ducati superbike again?”
Technology has improved motorcycle performance exponentially since my ride in ’93. Back then, WSC specs required that 1,000cc V-twin motorcycles weigh a minimum of 320 pounds. My championship-winning 888 weighed 330 pounds and produced approximately 130 rear-wheel horsepower. By contrast, 2003 Superbike rules required 1,000cc V-twins to weigh 363 pounds. Chili’s 998RS tips the scales at 375 pounds, and pumps out a remarkable 180 rear-wheel hp. That’s a weight increase of 15 percent and a power bump of 40 percent. Power-to-weight ratio for the 888 was 2.54:1, and for the 998, a lightning-fast 2.08:1.
Right away I noticed that firing up the 998 is a tad more difficult than it was 10 years ago. This is probably due to the 10-percent increase in displacement and a compression ratio that is one or two points higher. The machine starts not with the push of a button on the handlebar, but rather by a separate motorized starter. When the engine fires, everyone in the paddock takes notice.
Once underway, the first full-throttle pull and run through the gearbox makes it all worth the wait. To put it in perspective, if my old 888 accelerated like a Sidewinder missile, then the 998 is like a Saturn V rocket. I could have parked it after that and been grateful for the experience. Fortunately, I was allowed to continue, and exploited every corner and straightaway.
After a half-dozen laps, I came back into the pits with some interesting observations. The 998 and the old 888 are different in their handling and turning characteristics. The 888 was much more nimble and precise in its capabilities. On the other hand, the power of the 998 is so great that it makes up in pure speed what it lacks in the handling department.
According to Chili’s team, the 998’s settings for my ride were exactly as when Frankie rode it in the last WSC round at Magny-Cours in France. The setup didn’t work for the tight, twisting elevation changes of Infineon, so I asked Will Kenefick of Dr. Duc Motorsports to make some setting changes, to dial in the 998 for this circuit. A couple of laps with the new chassis and suspension settings, along with a compound change on the Dunlops, and the lap times dropped dramatically. I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking of how well I could do in the World Superbike Championship with a machine like this.
After a day with Chili’s race bike, my overall impression is that the most lethal weapon Ducati could build for Superbike competition would incorporate the modern-day power of the 998 in an 888 chassis. If they decide to build such a model, maybe they’ll call it the Doug Polen Replica.
tratto dal sito: http://www.motorcyclingmag.com/
Anticipation, adrenaline, anxiety, excitement, and sheer exhilaration are some of the things you experience when riding a world-championship caliber motorcycle. In 1993, I rode a Ducati 888 to victory in the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) Superbike race at Laguna Seca Raceway. Ten years later, Frankie Chili won round one of the World Superbike Championship (WSC) at the same venue on a 2003 Ducati 998RS. Approached by Robb Report Motorcycling with the opportunity to give Chili’s bike a try, I packed my bags and was on the road to Sonoma’s Infineon Raceway as soon as they asked “Would you like to ride a Ducati superbike again?”
Technology has improved motorcycle performance exponentially since my ride in ’93. Back then, WSC specs required that 1,000cc V-twin motorcycles weigh a minimum of 320 pounds. My championship-winning 888 weighed 330 pounds and produced approximately 130 rear-wheel horsepower. By contrast, 2003 Superbike rules required 1,000cc V-twins to weigh 363 pounds. Chili’s 998RS tips the scales at 375 pounds, and pumps out a remarkable 180 rear-wheel hp. That’s a weight increase of 15 percent and a power bump of 40 percent. Power-to-weight ratio for the 888 was 2.54:1, and for the 998, a lightning-fast 2.08:1.
Right away I noticed that firing up the 998 is a tad more difficult than it was 10 years ago. This is probably due to the 10-percent increase in displacement and a compression ratio that is one or two points higher. The machine starts not with the push of a button on the handlebar, but rather by a separate motorized starter. When the engine fires, everyone in the paddock takes notice.
Once underway, the first full-throttle pull and run through the gearbox makes it all worth the wait. To put it in perspective, if my old 888 accelerated like a Sidewinder missile, then the 998 is like a Saturn V rocket. I could have parked it after that and been grateful for the experience. Fortunately, I was allowed to continue, and exploited every corner and straightaway.
After a half-dozen laps, I came back into the pits with some interesting observations. The 998 and the old 888 are different in their handling and turning characteristics. The 888 was much more nimble and precise in its capabilities. On the other hand, the power of the 998 is so great that it makes up in pure speed what it lacks in the handling department.
According to Chili’s team, the 998’s settings for my ride were exactly as when Frankie rode it in the last WSC round at Magny-Cours in France. The setup didn’t work for the tight, twisting elevation changes of Infineon, so I asked Will Kenefick of Dr. Duc Motorsports to make some setting changes, to dial in the 998 for this circuit. A couple of laps with the new chassis and suspension settings, along with a compound change on the Dunlops, and the lap times dropped dramatically. I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking of how well I could do in the World Superbike Championship with a machine like this.
After a day with Chili’s race bike, my overall impression is that the most lethal weapon Ducati could build for Superbike competition would incorporate the modern-day power of the 998 in an 888 chassis. If they decide to build such a model, maybe they’ll call it the Doug Polen Replica.
tratto dal sito: http://www.motorcyclingmag.com/
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