Desmosedici Mystery Finally Solved?

Has Nicky Hayden cracked the Desmosedici Code?

A low center of gravity is generally considered a good thing on a race bike, but Ducati indicates that raising the center of gravity (by raising the seat height and the handlebar height) on Nicky Hayden's Desmosedici has made the machine much more rideable, and consistent. How? By heating the tires more quickly, and consistently.

As you probably know, attempting to tame the Desmosedici almost ended the career of Marco Melandri, and caused former champ Nicky Hayden innumerable headaches earlier this year, before Hayden seemed to figure something out and finish on the podium at Indianapolis (followed by qualifying on the second row at Misano, before being knocked out of the race by another rider). The higher center of gravity allows the bike to dive more on the brakes and squat more under acceleration -- typically considered negative behavior from a racing motorcycle, but apparently necessary to warm the tires more quickly for mortal riders like Hayden and Melandri (Casey Stoner is so hard on the gas from the start, he has no problem bringing the tires up to temperature, quickly). It is hard to argue with results, and Hayden has certainly improved. Let's see how he does in the remaining four races.

Source: MotorcycleDaily