Bernhard Gobmeier is no stranger to motorcycles or speed. Having started out as the race engineer for various BMW M programmes, he moved to BMW Motorrad as the Head of Chassis Development and finally as the Director, BMW Motorrad Motorsport World Superbike Project.
He is now entrusted with the task of closing the gap to Ducati’s competitors on track. “The challenge that lies ahead is a big one and everybody is curious as to what we are going to do to close the gap to our rivals. We must work in a lot of different areas where we can make the difference. We have already made some positive changes to the team structure, and we have some ideas for the development of the bike.” he said at the unveiling of the GP13 at Wrooom 2013 Madonna di Campiglio.
On the grid will be four riders this season on Desmosedici GP13s. Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso will race for the factory Ducati Team while Ben Spies and Andrea Iannone will race for the Pramac Racing Team which now has been bestowed upon the status of a Ducati factory supported team.
Gobmeier has also confirmed that the team “..will not copy a Yamaha, and will stick with the Ducati philosophy.” Rossi’s unsuccessful attempts at taming the carbon fibre trellis frame Desmosedici was a colossal disaster and under pressure from Rossi and his crew chief Jeremy Burgess, Ducati switched to the much more easily manipulated Twin Spar frame. While Ducati will continue to use the Twin Spar frame, there are no plans to lose the V-Twin configuration or the Desmodromic valves.
“And the bike should be rideable for everyone. It should not just be a motorcycle that Casey Stoner can win on. ” adds Gobmeier.
