Cycle News Staff | April 29, 2023
Bautista’s hat-trick at Assen’s “Cathedral of Speed” earns the Bologna-based manufacturer the historic milestone of 400 victories in the Superbike World Championship.
This is a press release from Ducati…
Borgo Panigale, Italy (April 28, 2023) – Ducati continues to write new records in the Superbike World Championship. The fantastic hat-trick obtained at Assen by the reigning World Champion Alvaro Bautista earned the Bologna-based motorcycle manufacturer its 400th victory in the premier category reserved for production-based bikes, in which Ducati has participated ever since the first race season in 1988. Ducati riders have obtained more than double the number of victories that of the second-placed manufacturer in this ranking.
Six generations of Ducati super sports bikes have contributed to writing the history of modern-day motorcycle racing, notching up a series of extraordinary achievements. The milestone of 400 victories can be added to the over 1,000 podiums (a result never achieved by any manufacturer in any motorcycle racing discipline), the 15 Riders’ World Titles and the 18 Manufacturers’ World Titles. These figures alone describe the technological leadership and winning attitude of a company that works every day to excel in the world of racing and subsequently to transfer the expertise acquired to its street bike production for Ducatisti enthusiasts.
The rider who scored victory #400 was Alvaro Bautista, who with the Assen hat-trick reached 40 WorldSBK wins with Ducati and increased his lead over second place in the standings to 56 points. The Spaniard is the face on the front page of a milestone achieved thanks to the talent of Champions who have entered the hearts of fans, including Carl Fogarty with his 55 victories, Troy Bayliss with 52, Chaz Davies with 28, Doug Polen with 26, Raymond Roche with 23, and 26 other riders who have contributed to this outstanding achievement.
The triumphs of these champions have been accompanied and made possible by models that have indelibly marked the history of two-wheels. The most successful motorcycle is the iconic 916/996/998 with 120 victories, followed by the Panigale family with 87 wins (of which 59 were achieved by the current model, the Panigale V4, here is the link to the dedicated page) and the 851/888 with 78 first places.
All the riders who contributed to the 400 WorldSBK victories:
Alvaro Bautista, Troy Bayliss, Ben Bostrom, Shane Byrne, Carlos Checa, Pierfrancesco Chili, Troy Corser, Chaz Davies, Michel Fabrizio, Giancarlo Falappa, Carl Fogarty, Anthony Gobert, Sylvain Guintoli, Noriyuki Haga, Neil Hodgson, John Kocinski, Regis Laconi, Lorenzo Lanzi, Mauro Lucchiari, Marco Lucchinelli, Garry McCoy, Marco Melandri, Andy Meklau, Stephane Mertens, Doug Polen, Scott Redding, John Reynolds, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Raymond Roche, James Toseland, James Whitham, Ruben Xaus
All the bikes that contributed to the 400 victories in WorldSBK:
851/888 – 78 victories
916/999/998 – 120 victories
999 – 63 victories
1098/1198 – 52 victories
Panigale/Panigale V4 – 87 victories
For more information, visit www.ducati.com
