Ducati has firmly established itself as one of the great motorcycle manufacturers selling bikes today, and nowhere was that more evident than at last weekend’s World Ducati Week, which was held at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, near Rimini in Italy.
The company not only used the 12th running of the event, which was attended by over 94,000 Ducatisti, to pull the covers off a new Panigale V4 S, but to get all its star riders along to race against each other using custom liveried versions of it. The riders were on hand for meet and greet sessions while test rides, riding courses, hot laps and test drives in Lamborghini cars (Lamborghini, like Ducati, being owned by Audi) were all part of the programme. The company also showed off prototypes of its upcoming motocross machines, and paid homage to the iconic 916 – which celebrated its 30th anniversary – with superbike legends Troy Bayliss and Carl Fogarty.
Explaining the success of the event, Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali said: "World Ducati Week is the event that better than anything else embodies our brand's mission to offer memorable experiences to our enthusiasts, created around special bikes, which are a magical combination of technology and beauty in pure Italian sporting style. The numbers of this edition are extraordinary and are proof that the love for Ducati in the world has never been so strong. I want to thank every single participant, but also all the staff composed mostly of Ducati employees who, as usual, worked hard to make this incredible experience possible. Thanks also to all of Ducati Corse and in particular to the riders, the heroes of WDW, who made themselves available to the fans and gave us a show that is unique in the world like the Lenovo Race of Champions. The performance achieved by the new Panigale V4 is truly incredible: the fastest lap in qualifying was just 3.2 seconds away from the MotoGP race track record, which belongs to Francesco Bagnaia with 1m31.8s. Equally incredible is the determination with which Pecco once again proved to be the best, in a race where everyone had exactly the same bike.”
The 15 bikes ridden in what Ducati dubbed the Lenovo Race of Champions were autographed and quickly auctioned off to collectors. Each bike is painted in a replica of the liveries of their race bike, while the triple clamp is lasered with the name of the race and the logo of the rider. As well as Bagnaia, competitors included Marc Marquez, Jorge Martin, Alvaro Bautista and British superbike front runner Glenn Irwin, making them 15 of the most collectable one-offs in the world.
A total of 240 Ducati Official Clubs were present at the event and took part in a massive parade, which proved quite a spectacle. The nightlife wasn’t bad either!
Fancy attending yourself? The next running is expected to take place in 2026.
