Putting the S in Supersport

After 20 minutes on track I’m not tired, my knees aren’t aching and I don’t feel like I’ve been wrestling an elephant. It’s wet but Ducati’s new Supersport S has been as exciting as any bike could be in these conditions. In fact, it’s friendlier then most.

The Supersport S is £1300 more expensive than the base model. It gains a quickshifter and fully adjustable Öhlins forks and shock (the base model has fully adjustable Marzocchi forks and its Sachs shock has only preload and rebound adjustment).

It all helps on track. The quickshifter allows seamless shifts up and down through the close-ratio gearbox. The engine, with its ride-by-wire modes, is exactly the same in both models, making 113bhp and dishing out heaps of torque from as low as 3000rpm. Since the riding position is the same as well, it takes a little a few laps to used to, as the Supersport holds its head high on track.

The power is enough to have fun, the quickshifter allows maximum acceleration, and not having to think about slick shifts gives the rider one less thing to worry about. And because this isn’t a lairy 200bhp animal, you actually feel like you’re in charge. The brakes are faultless, the anti-lift working well, and if you adjust the ABS to level one there’s a more track-oriented front-brake feel and no ABS on the rear, for those who want to back it in.

It’ll never win a race but the Supersport S gives you a great time on track. The only limit is the ground clearance but you have to be going some to find it. You can turn up on one of these at any trackday and you wouldn’t look out of place - and you certainly won’t be outpaced or outhandled.