After winning three out of the first four MotoGP races so far, Ducati has clearly emerged as a victorious David against the Japanese Goliaths of Honda and Yamaha.
Casey Stoner's victory at Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix once again showed how the Ducati is by far the fastest bike on the straightway. Only Valentino Rossi's skills on the corners allowed him to come in a close second on his Yamaha.
Ducati's success is even more outstanding considering the fact that the new 800cc MotoGP bike was the creation of the Bologna-based team's 35 technicians, compared to the thousands employed by the Japanese giants.
"The way the Ducati outperforms us almost makes me want to cry. I have never had to battle against another bike that was just so much faster," seven times world champion Rossi said after Sunday's race.
The Italian also had words of praise for Ducati's young Australian rider and observed how "he doesn't wipe out the way he used to do. He is now very focused when he rides and he doesn't make any mistakes".
According to Stoner, it is the bike which makes the difference.
"It is a very special bike, one which has to be ridden in a different way. It really hugs the track and most of all it has a great engine" he said.
Although he now sits firmly at the top of the standings, 15 points ahead of Rossi, Stoner said he was not yet aiming for the title. "I want to approach this season one race at a time".
Ducati's success this season is a dream come true for team manager Livio Suppo, who said "now we need to work hard to keep this dream alive".
Suppo was also beamiong over the fact that tests made on Stoner's Ducati after Sunday's race effectively quashed speculation that technical gimmicks had been used to boost the bike's performance.
"Some people tried to insinuate that the bike had been doctored. But it got a clean bill of health, everything was according to the book".
"All this is like a dream, a beautiful dream. But what's great about it is that it's absolutely real," Suppo said.
Ducati's win in China was a shot in the arm for the company's stock, which jumped 2% when trading opened in Milan on Monday.
