Photo: Ducati
It’s been a busy December for Italian bike maker Ducati, who besides launching new models and opening new dealerships here and there also had to throw a huge party for Pecco Bagnaia and Álvaro Bautista, the winners of this year’s MotoGP and WorldSBK championships, respectively.
Since both riders climbed to the top of their respective racing series this year on the backs of Ducati motorcycles, it was only natural for the company to throw them a party. And it did, as on December 15, Bologna’s Piazza Maggiore turned red for Ducati’s “Campioni in Piazza” event.
There, aside from the usual celebrations and pats on the back, Ducati also pulled the wraps off two special edition motorcycles meant to honor the two racing heroes of 2022. The bikes are part of something called World Champion Replica series, and honor both Bagnaia and Bautista by borrowing their racing liveries and slapping them onto the special motorcycles.
Both started life as regular Panigale V4 S two-wheelers, and received, aside from the said paint jobs (#63 for Bagnaia’s and #19 for Bautista’s), a series of upgrades to make them even more desirable.
Available only in single seat configuration, both bikes come equipped with a dry clutch, Akrapovic silencer of the street-legal variety, and Brembo Stylema R calipers. On top of that, there are also Rizoma billet aluminum adjustable footpegs and racing plexiglass.
Carbon fiber is extensively used on the two-wheelers, most visible on the heat shield for the rear exhaust and brake manifolds, the covers over the alternator and single-sided swingarm, and the front and rear mudguards. As a twist, the bike meant to honor Bautista comes with a brushed aluminum tank.
But such fittings would not be enough to warrant a big fuss around these machines. What really makes them unique are the personal touches of the two riders, coming in the form of the two men’s signatures on the fuel tanks. Placed there as autographs, they’re protected by a layer of clear coat so that they can last for years undamaged. Accompanying the signatures are the model name, progressive number and race number, all engraved by means of laser on the upper clamp.
Ducati decided not to make all that many examples of these things, and in an attempt to somehow honor the year the company was born, 1926, decided to make 260 examples of each of the bikes. Each example is of course individually numbered.
About a week after the Panigale V4 Bagnaia and Bautista World Champion replicas were shown, Ducati said all 520 examples have been spoken for in just hours. The selling price was not revealed, but we are told many of the people buying the replicas went for the pair, meaning they will most likely end up in collections across Europe and maybe elsewhere.
It's unclear when Ducati will start delivering the bikes, but when they arrive in their new homes they’ll all do so in a packing case with dedicated graphics. A certificate of authenticity, a personalized bike cover and the Ducati Data Analyser+ data acquisition system are included in the package for each bike.
There, aside from the usual celebrations and pats on the back, Ducati also pulled the wraps off two special edition motorcycles meant to honor the two racing heroes of 2022. The bikes are part of something called World Champion Replica series, and honor both Bagnaia and Bautista by borrowing their racing liveries and slapping them onto the special motorcycles.
Both started life as regular Panigale V4 S two-wheelers, and received, aside from the said paint jobs (#63 for Bagnaia’s and #19 for Bautista’s), a series of upgrades to make them even more desirable.
Available only in single seat configuration, both bikes come equipped with a dry clutch, Akrapovic silencer of the street-legal variety, and Brembo Stylema R calipers. On top of that, there are also Rizoma billet aluminum adjustable footpegs and racing plexiglass.
Carbon fiber is extensively used on the two-wheelers, most visible on the heat shield for the rear exhaust and brake manifolds, the covers over the alternator and single-sided swingarm, and the front and rear mudguards. As a twist, the bike meant to honor Bautista comes with a brushed aluminum tank.
But such fittings would not be enough to warrant a big fuss around these machines. What really makes them unique are the personal touches of the two riders, coming in the form of the two men’s signatures on the fuel tanks. Placed there as autographs, they’re protected by a layer of clear coat so that they can last for years undamaged. Accompanying the signatures are the model name, progressive number and race number, all engraved by means of laser on the upper clamp.
Ducati decided not to make all that many examples of these things, and in an attempt to somehow honor the year the company was born, 1926, decided to make 260 examples of each of the bikes. Each example is of course individually numbered.
About a week after the Panigale V4 Bagnaia and Bautista World Champion replicas were shown, Ducati said all 520 examples have been spoken for in just hours. The selling price was not revealed, but we are told many of the people buying the replicas went for the pair, meaning they will most likely end up in collections across Europe and maybe elsewhere.
It's unclear when Ducati will start delivering the bikes, but when they arrive in their new homes they’ll all do so in a packing case with dedicated graphics. A certificate of authenticity, a personalized bike cover and the Ducati Data Analyser+ data acquisition system are included in the package for each bike.
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