Is Ducati’s hot new 959 Panigale Corse worth £1900 more than the standard bike?
Is Ducati’s uprated 959 Panigale Corse worth £1900 more than the stocker??
Ducati’s smaller Panigale is a sportsbike for the connoisseur. Just like the still-brilliant Suzuki GSX-R750 it’s less about power and more about corner speed. With a relatively modest 148bhp at the crank and weighing more than its 1299 Panigale big brother, the standard 959 isn’t a brain-mashing, tyre-shredding wheelie monster. But show it a clear stretch of twisty road or track and it’s every bit as fast as a superbike and easier to ride. It’s well equipped, too, boasting Brembos, a full array of electronic rider aids and a quickshifter.
But there’s never been an S or R version, until now. This new Corse edition costs £1900 more than the £13,999 base model and comes with a host of goodies, which we put to the test at a sun-scorched Brands Hatch track thrash.
Quality suspension
The Corse’s Öhlins forks and shock aren’t an obvious step forward, which just goes to show how well set-up the base model is.
Ride quality is slightly improved, but you’d need to ride the Corse back-to-back with the stock 959 to really feel the difference and fit stickier tyres to work the suspension harder. But here at Brands it’s easier to dial the Öhlins to suit the rider and feel the changes a few clicks of damping makes.
Stability, feeling for grip and the barely-marked standard Pirelli Diablo Rosso Corsa are all signs the Öhlins are working perfectly. The Corse also has an adjustable Öhlins steering damper, but the Ducati is so unflappable it’s not needed.
Weight saving
Although Ducati claims the new lithium-ion battery weighs 2.5kg less, the Corse is only half-a-kilo lighter than the base 959. The Öhlins suspension is slightly heavier than the standard bike’s Sachs/Showa, so the weight saving is small.
Having a blast at Brands
With a clear track the Corse puts a huge smile on your face. Be brave, let go of the brakes early into Paddock, Druids, Graham Hill, Surtees and Clearways and let Ducati’s sweet chassis do its thing. It’s roomy, but so thin it’s hard to grip with your legs under braking and cornering. Traction and ABS are turned off for track use and it really needs a quickshifter. The 955cc Superquadro V-twin runs out of puff quickly, so you need to feed in extra gears exiting Druids and Graham Hill. Pirelli Rosso Corsa tyres do the job well, but the Corse doesn’t have the oomph to keep up with a wellridden 1000 along the straights.