News 4 Jul 2016

World Ducati Week marks 90th anniversary celebrations

Stoner, Bayliss and co. form part of the festivities at Misano.

Source: Supplied.

Source: Supplied.

Thousands of fans and motorcycles from all over the world gathered at the Marco Simoncelli Misano World Circuit in Italy last weekend for the ninth running of Ducati’s annual get together, World Ducati Week.

Starting Friday evening, the entire Romagna Riviera was peacefully invaded by thousands of Ducatisti from every part of the globe, who began forming a long queue Friday morning to enter the event.

Although 60 percent of people attending were from Italy, the remainder came from Europe, the USA, Canada, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and as far away as Japan, Australia and New Zealand. With crowd numbers tipped to have beaten last year’s record crowd of 65,000, it’s highly-likely this was the most successful event yet.

There was a huge variety of displays, events and entertainment with one of the biggest highlights of the weekend a closed-room preview of Ducati’s new Project 1312 – the new supersport. It is a sporty roadbike, accessible to newcomers to the Ducati world thanks to its easy riding, weight, performance and price with a four-valve 937cc engine.

Only those present were able to see the machine, but it didn’t take long for someone to snap a picture that is now doing the rounds on the internet. The Saturday evening saw another unveiling with Casey Stoner rolling on to stage aboard the limited-edition Panigale S Anniversario – a machine built as a tribute to Ducati’s 90 years of existence.

The Scrambler Flat Track Race was among the many activities held on the first day of World Ducati Week 2016 with an actual race battled out on the specially created track within the circuit, where eight MotoGP and Superbike champions rode eight Ducati Scrambler Flat Track Pros. The winner, after a series of head-to-head contests, was Andrea Dovizioso, just beating our Troy Bayliss.

There were also countless other things going on around the paddock and on the track. The ‘Land of Joy’ hosted tons of fun activities animating the Scrambler Village, where participants could experience the thrill of the Flat Track.

In addition to Scrambler riding lessons, the public could participate in the DRE Enduro tasters and the Intro and Precision mini track-riding courses, as well as free on-track practice sessions.

The program also included the Ducati Garage Contest, the Ducati Heritage Contest and the Custom Rumble Contest where Australia’s Canberra Motorcycle Centre entry was beaten by Thailand’s entry for the main prize.

Recent