While the likes of Honda struggle to adapt to MotoGP'ꩲs new single software, Ducati ha🍃s made a smooth transition from its factory ECU.

That's hardly surprising given the work Ducati put in 🅰with the former Open class software, on which the 2016 'unified' electronics are based, plus the factory's long MotoGP relationship with Magneti Marelli.

"In ter🗹ms of software, I think we start since the beginning of the Open class [in 2014], because the Open software is the starting point of this 'unified' software," confirmed Ducati🎶 Corse general manager Gigi Dall'Igna.

"So we start since the beginning of🤪 the Open class to work with the software and I think that we learned q🔯uite a lot during the last two seasons. And so we have some small benefit compared to the others from that point of view.

"But frankly speaking, the n𓆏ew software also seems to be working quite well with th🌳e Yamaha."

Shortly after joining Ducati, Dall'Igna made the audacious move of trying to switch the official team to the new O🌳pen class, originally seen as a place for independent entries.

Using the standard ECU was a prerequisite for the Open class, but - as with the new unified software - development was invited from any manufacturer. Ducati is understood to have handed mღany of its factory software secrets over to Dorna's Magneti Marelli ECU team to limit the disadvantage of using the shared system.

ꦫDucati's own electronics consisted 👍of a 'Magneti Marelli ECU programmed with Ducati factory software'.

Duc❀ati's rivals were unhappy at the Open move and a compromise kept the official team as a Factory entry (running its own bespoke software) but with many of the Open clℱass technical concessions.

However Ducati also kept one eye on the future by handing Hector Barbera an Open spec ⛄Desmosedici towards the end of 2014, then running both Avintia r🍌iders under the Open rules last season.

Although Honda and Yamaha also had bikes in the Open class, often to the riders' frustration th𓂃ey seemed far less interested in improving how the ECU performed with their machines. Since all entries must now use the same software, the Open class is disappearing in 2016.

Meanwhile, Dall'Inga ꧂believes Ducati will also🐲 benefit from strength in numbers this season, with no less than eight bikes on the grid, ranging from GP14.2s to last year's GP15s and the new GP (16).

"In a season where the rules changed a lot, we have the possibility to have more data above all for the unified software, for exa𓆏mple," he said. "We can have some tests with different riders and so we can have some different feedback. I think this could be an advantage.

"For sure, we h💎ave to manage because eight riders during a race weekend is quite a lot, but I think that we have the knowledge and the people can handle this."

In terms of the change to Michelin tyres, Dall'Igna confirmed: "For sure the Michelin needs something different from the chassis. This is a really big change in terms of pieces and so on... I'm talking about the geometry of the bike, 🐼so weight distribution."

Ducati finished the opening test of 2016, at Sep📖ang, with four riders in the top ten - led by superstar test rider Casey Stoner.

Yamaha riders Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi led the way in terms of best lap time, electronicꦇs being of greatest gain as tyre grip reduces during a race.