The gates to the World Ducati Week, the twelfth edition of Ducati’s greatest gathering, opened promptly at 8.00 am on Friday 26 July. Until Sunday 28 July, the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli will be transformed into the beating heart of the Ducati community, welcoming thousands of fans from all over the world to celebrate the passion for the Bologna-based manufacturer. Putting together unforgettable shows, meet-and-greets with the riders and exclusive premières, World Ducati Week 2024 aims to be a memorable experience for all participants.
“The World Ducati Week is the biggest Ducati party: a unique event in the world, which welcomes thousands of enthusiasts every two years, with and without motorcycles, to experience the love of motorcycling and motorsport together,” declared Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali during the opening press conference of WDW2024. “The programme also for this edition contains the elements that make this event the quintessence of the Ducati world, bringing together all the souls of the brand. There will be experiences on two wheels, meet-and-greets with the riders, moments of fun on and off the track and many opportunities to share your passion with the other participants, such as the motorcycle parade which I can’t wait to take part in. This twelfth edition of WDW has already begun with a big surprise, the presentation of the new Panigale V4, the seventh generation of the Ducati supersports bike saga. Today we will see it take to the track in the hands of 15 world-class riders, including the reigning MotoGP, WorldSBK and WorldSSP World Champions, as well as the riders who occupy the top 4 positions in the MotoGP ranking. I don’t think anything else needs to be said other that the Lenovo Race of Champions will be an unprecedented spectacle”.
The new Panigale V4 was presented to the world on the evening of Thursday 25 July with the online publication of the Ducati World Première episode and at the same time through a spectacular event staged on the straight of the Misano World Circuit, in which the official Ducati MotoGP and WorldSBK riders Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini, Alvaro Bautista and Nicolò Bulega participated.
It will be these riders therefore, together with the other eleven participants in the Lenovo Race of Champions, who will be the first to take the new Panigale V4 S in special livery onto the track for free practice (4.35 pm) and qualifying (5.45 pm). The WDW public will be able to enjoy the show from the grandstands of the circuit and have fun with Fanta WDW : a game focused on the results of the Lenovo Race of Champions, which allows you to make your own predictions about the race and earn points through the performances of your favourite riders.
The presentation of the new Panigale V4 at WDW is a great gift that Ducati wanted to give to its enthusiasts. In fact, the participants in the event will be the first people in the world to be able to see and discover the seventh generation of Borgo Panigale’s super sports bikes up close. The bike in the iconic Ducati Red colour will have a privileged position in the paddock inside the “New Panigale V4 Sphere”, and the engineers who developed it will be available for all three days for dedicated technical insights.
The “sphere” that hosts the new Panigale V4 will undoubtedly be the most desired attraction of a paddock as varied as ever, full of activities designed by Ducati to satisfy fans of all ages and build a great participatory event in which to concentrate all the essence of passion for motorcycling.
The World Ducati Week is an event capable of combining the past, present and future of the Bologna-based Company. As proof of this, among the most eagerly awaited areas of this 2024 edition are a tribute to Ducati’s history, such as the exhibition dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Ducati 916, and a look to the future with the first public exhibition of the Desmo450 MX prototypes and the simultaneous presence of riders Tony Cairoli and Alessandro Lupino.
Between the paddock, the track and the areas around the Misano World Circuit there will be many experiences to enjoy in the most extensive calendar ever for the WDW. The conclusion of the first day of the 2024 edition, however, will be marked by tradition, with the parade of Ducati motorbikes, which after a lap of the Misano circuit, will bring the colourful snake through the streets of the Romagna Riviera to Bagno Samsara Beach of Riccione, location of the “Land of Joy on the Beach” party. In this edition, Samsara Beach will also host the “Rustida” (traditional BBQ), which will be followed by an evening of music and fun to celebrate 10 years of Scrambler Ducati.
The 82 participants of the World President Tour also arrived at WDW2024, the meeting of the presidents of the Ducati Official Clubs from all over the world, who began their adventure towards the WDW on 22 July starting from Borgo Panigale for a motorcycle trip of over 1,100 km, to then join up with Club members for three days of celebrations in the dedicated D.O.C. Village area.
On Saturday 27 July the show within the show of the World Ducati Week will be “La Notte dei Campioni” (The Night of Champions): an unmissable evening, which in the space of a few hours will see an incredible racing competition take place between the Ducati riders, an invasion of the track by all participants, street food in the paddock and an evening show with entertainment and live DJ sets, which will transform the Misano Circuit into an open-air disco. To enhance this incredible show, Ducati has created a dedicated access ticket to the event, designed for motorsport enthusiasts and, more generally, for everyone flocking to the Romagna Riviera over the weekend of 26-28 July, who will also be able to take advantage of a free shuttle service to and from the Misano World Circuit, active on Saturday evening.
In the dedicated section of the Ducati website, it is still possible to purchase tickets to take part in the twelfth edition of WDW, which also include access to the main evening events on Friday and Saturday.
The complete program with the calendar of all WDW events is available on the Ducati website and on the WDW App, the application available for iOS and Android in which all information relating to the event will be published.
Original post on modernclassicbikes.co.uk and published by Frank Duggan. Frank is the Founder and Editor of Modern Classic Motorcycle News, an independent motorcycle publication covering modern classic motorcycles, roadsters, scramblers, cruisers, electric motorcycles and the wider motorcycle industry.
