Ducati Desmosedici GP9 carbon fibre frame

There were other racing bikes that employed carbon fibre in varying amounts in their chassis construction during the eighties, most notably the Armstrong Silverstone 250 grand prix racer and New Zealand visionary John Britten used carbon fibre for some structural components on his V1000 which is the only machine we’re aware of to have won at international level sporting a frame made from the wonder composite. See also here for more on the remarkable John Britten.

The first use of carbon fibre as a structural component at MotoGP level was in the 1990 Czech Grand Prix by Italian company Cagiva. The bike was the Cagiva C590 two-stroke 500cc and Cagiva were the first to find out that the stiffness of the carbon fibre frame impacted many other aspects of the machine. Ridden at just two races by Randy Mamola and Ron Haslam, the Cagiva’s frame was quickly replaced with a traditional tubular frame, never to reappear. As John Keogh, the most knowledgeable journalist on the subject of carbon fibre usage in racing motorcycles wrote, Mamola and Haslam found “the suspension set-up and feedback from the carbon frame so fundamentally different that their normal bike adjustments and suspension settings no longer worked and that the bike raised more questions than it answered.”

Carbon fibre became very popular in many aspects of motorcycle construction during the nineties, though the only structural components made of CF were swinging arms and front fork outer, where its torsional strength and light weight offered tangible benefits in reducing unsprung weight. Many other parts of the racing GP machine became CF in the nineties, with brake disks, fairings, tanks and rear sub frames the major beneficiaries.

The critical advantage offered by carbon fibre is no longer that it is simply light and strong but the frame harmonics can be tuned. Ducati have tuned out the harmonics and made the bike considereably easier to ride, according to Stoner.

Throughout the pre-season, Stoner's new carbon Desmosedici Ducati has topped almost every session. At Qatar on the weekend, he topped every session, took pole, and was fastest in both warm-ups. His emphatic flag-to-flag win on the Ducati Desmosedici GP9 suggests Rossi will need to call on all his powers to keep the title.

There's an excellent video on the Motogp.com official site where Stoner’s Crew Chief Cristian Gabarini talks through the ins and outs of the number 27 Desmosedici, explaining how the bike has been modified for Stoner’s unique style and adapted according to the demands and availability of the latest technology. The interview explains the carbon fibre frame and swing arm, credited by Stoner as being a tremendous help in stabilising the bike.

Whilst on that note, if you aren't near a television with a MotoGP telecast, might we suggest you take a look at the direct offerings on the MotoGP site. Many broadcasters that take the MotoGP vision only run the race itself, whereas with the direct MotoGP feed, you get every practice session and a bunch of exclusive video in hi-def. It's just perfect for hardcore motorcycle enthusiasts.

First sighted the day after the Catalunya GP in 2008, the carbon fibre framed GP9 set fastest time in an official test the first day it hit the track. It was a positive debut for the machine in the hands of the then still-reigning World Champion - the Australian set best time of the day with a 1'41.533 on qualifying tyres.

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