Testing

There is little information available on the subject of the 749RS outside of race history. Looking for information about the bikes development, I found some articles around testing. All rights are acknowledged. I have contacted all image copyright owners and requested their permission to re-publish here.


The factory built bikes for testing late in 2003, ready for racing in '04. Lanzi tested the RS at Valencia in November, then again in December, sharing the track sessions with the MotoGP teams.


These pictures show that the specification of the components on the bike were already largely set in '03. The kit is clearly visible: the one-piece fairing,  race fairing support, Digitek dash and race loom. The Dzus clips for the rear seat support are present and it must be assumed that the front supports are in place. 


Other pictures show the race shock present. The bike here is clearly running on slicks - was this permitted in '03 but not '04? The race bikes used Pirelli Supercorsa Pros. It's also good to see a 749RS in Ducati red. Breil must have been brought onboard as a sponsor early in 2004.
















Valencia December 2003
Crash.net article

Italian Lorenzo Lanzi has concluded the latest test for the factory Ducati 749R, the bike that will mark Ducati Corse's return to the World Supersport arena in the 2004 championship, with a significant improvement in lap time.

The 22 year-old from Cesena, who was out on track for three days in MotoGPcompany, improved his quickest time to 1in 38.9secs at the end of the day, after fitting a softer tyre. This was not far off the times recorded by the best Supersport riders in the Valencia championship opener earlier in the year.

Lanzi used the Valencia outing to make a major step forward in the 749R's development curve as he notched up a total of 194 laps in the three days, the equivalent of over 750 kms of track time.
The engine mapping made on the Ducati Corse dyno after November's test at Valencia proved to be extremely useful as Lanzi knocked four-tenths of a second off his previous best time around the 4.005 km circuit in perfect conditions.
"I'm pleased with the progress we have made since the last test," he declared. "There has been a lot of development, we know where we have to work on and the direction we have to take."
The Ducati 749R's next test will be at Phillip Island, Australia from 13-15 January 2004.

Phillip Island,13th January 2004
Ducati Corse Press Release:

Lorenzo Lanzi crashed out today on the first day of testing at Phillip Island with the Ducati 749R Supersport. The Italian, who was lapping on track with the Ducati and Petronas Superbikes, flew off on oil deposited by Troy Corser (Petronas), but was unhurt.
By then Lanzi had completed a total of 17 laps, recording a time of 1’38.39. The bike was repaired in the afternoon, but the Italian was only able to complete a few more laps due to the windy conditions. 

2004 Valencia
Lorenzo Lanzi made further progress today on the Ducati 749R that he will race in this year's World Supersport Championship, notching up considerable development mileage on the brand-new Factory bike.

22-year-old Lanzi set fourteenth quickest time in 1'39.83, almost a second ahead of Ducati Corse tester Vittoriano Guareschi (1'40.70), who is also present at Valencia to help speed up the 749R's development curve.

Lanzi and Guareschi focussed on suspension and general set-up work in collaboration with Ohlins technicians and although they were not amongst the front-runners, both riders were able to give major feedback to Ducati Corse engineers that will be useful over the next two days of testing.