Ducati launches limited edition WSB and MotoGP victory models
Top marks to the Bologna massive at Ducati Corse – the firm cornered the market in blue riband world titles last year, snapping up both the 2022 MotoGP and WSBK championships with Pecco Bagnaia and Álvaro Bautista respectively. The firm also won the constructors’ title in both classes which is a pretty impressive feat all round.
And it’s a feat which deserves some special machinery to celebrate, in the form of a pair of limited-edition Panigale V4S specials. The bikes come with the appropriate replica paint scheme – Lenovo MotoGP factory team or Aruba.it WSBK as you prefer.
You get a Bagnaia or Bautista autograph on the fuel tank cover, all lacquered over so you don’t wear it off with the zip on your old Frank Thomas Gore-Tex winter jacket. And there’s been a sort of a supermarket sweep dash down the aisles at the Ducati Performance warehouse, meaning you get a sweet Akrapovic silencer that saves 2kg of weight, an STM-EVO SBK dry clutch fitment, Rizoma footpegs, carbon fender and engine covers, and much more. The Bautista bike also has the appropriate brushed aluminium race fuel tank as seen on the WSBKhomologation V4R machine (making it a teeny bit more posh than the MotoGP replica, weirdly).
The goodies are all bolted on to the basic Panigale V4 S, with its 214bhp 1,103cc motor, 172kg dry mass, Brembo Stylema R brakes, semi-active Öhlins electronic suspension and much more. Fancy one? Well tough, they’re all sold out, so unless you’ve still got a large, suspiciously-shaped parcel left over from Christmas, you’re likely to be disappointed.
■ DUCATI SALES FIGURES
You might think that a global inflation and cost-of-living crisis would have hit the sales of premium kit like Ducati bikes in 2022. You’d be wrong though, as the firm smashed the 60,000 bikes barrier last year, selling 61,562 machines worldwide, up three per cent on 2021. The Multistrada V4 is the top seller, with the firm shipping more than 10,000 of the adventure-touring behemoth on its own. Impressive.