Ducati modify seat after rule clarification

The move came after the team discovered they had accidentally found a loophole in the regulations with the original design of their seat section, which could have left them open to the possibility of complaints from their opposition.

To prevent that happening, they asked for a rule clarification about their design from MotoGP bosses and were subsequently advised to make changes.

The Bologna-based outfit, who have seen Casey Stoner win two out of the first three races of the season, duly ran their new shorter seat section in Istanbul.

The original tail design was similar to the new 1098 road bike for marketing reasons, but was too tall for the MotoGP rules that allow a maximum height of 150 millimetres from the top of the seat to the top of the tail section.

The questions arose because of the way that the 150 mm height is measured. The rule book diagrams indicate that the measurement should be taken vertically from the top of the seat, while MotoGP bosses clarified to Ducati that the measurement will be taken horizontally from the top of the seat.

This means that with the GP7's sloping seat design, the 150mm measurement that the team had taken for the design was ultimately higher than how the MotoGP bosses would measure it.

With Ducati getting the clarification of how the measurement should be taken, they subsequently changed the design before Turkey to make the tail section smaller. This design will remain for the rest of the season.

MotoGP technical director Mike Webb told autosport.com that he was keen to get some rules better worded after Ducati pointed out the potential for misunderstanding with the seat section.

"For more of this detailed stuff, I'm going to have to have better wording in the rule book," said Webb. "With 500s there was virtually no development and I've inherited some drawings that are now a little out of date."

The drawing of the bike in the 2007 rule book is more akin to the design of bikes raced in the early 1990s.

"Other stuff I can measure is black and white, like fuel tank capacity and engine capacity, but with this stuff it's a little different."

No protest was lodged against Ducati over the matter, and with the bikes passing scrutineering at the opening events of the season, there is no risk of further action.