WDW 2022 wraps up
The eleventh edition of the World Ducati Week saw 80,000 Ducatisti and fans gather for three days at Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” to celebrate all things Ducati, but as with all good things WDW has now come to an end.
The participants came from 84 countries, demonstrating the global appeal of Ducati with motorcyclists arriving from all over the world. The main protagonists of the three days were the 235 Ducati Official Clubs, ensuring a busy International Village dedicated to them.
Claudio Domenicali – Ducati CEO
“At World Ducati Week we can experience the celebration of Ducati’s deepest soul: we do not merely sell motorcycles but we design experiences and emotions with bikes at the centre for our fans. We all wanted to go back to being together with the Ducatisti and they arrived in massive numbers, as usual, from all over the world, even though we are still in the presence of travel restrictions and therefore we were not able to welcome anyone from China for example. Once again we were able to touch the great passion for Ducati and the desire to meet again, the happiness of the Ducatisti to be with us in Misano, the courtesy and kindness of everyone. The big parade on Friday, the crazy Lenovo Race of Champions, the Rustida on the pit straight, the greetings of the riders at the Misano stadium, the musical evenings, a fireworks show in time with the music that really impressed and excited me are just some of the moments that will remain in the memory of each person who came to this 2022 edition. I want to thank all the participants but also all the staff made up mainly of Ducati employees who, as usual, were present in great strength and worked hard to make this incredible experience possible. Thanks also to all of Ducati Corse and in particular to the riders, the heroes of the WDW, who, as usual, were available and close to all the fans, and who gave us a unique show in the world like the Lenovo Race of Champions.”
The most keenly awaited moment was the Lenovo Race of Champions starring 21 Ducati riders competing in the MotoGP, Superbike and Supersport championships, who fought it out on standard Panigale V4 S and Panigale V2 bikes, equipped only with slick tyres and racing exhausts, but running their rider’s team livery.
The race saw Pecco Bagnaia triumph after also setting the fastest lap as a 1m35.886s, only 2.5-seconds off the time from this year’s Superbike pole position at Misano. Federico Caricasulo took the victory in the Panigale V2 category, with the more traditional engine layout.
Many fans followed the race from the Misano stands and were joined by tens of thousands of spectators who connected from home to the live streaming on the Ducati website, as well as nine international televisions and online streaming services broadcasting the race live.
The parade of Ducatisti on Friday evening was the biggest parade ever saw a massive number of bikes that first filled the circuit and paraded along the coast before arriving in Riccione, where the Scrambler Beach Party was held to the music of Benny Benassi. At the head of the ‘Big Red Snake’ was Claudio Domenicali with MotoGP and Superbike riders, the authorities and Ducati management.
On Saturday evening the pit straight of the Misano circuit was transformed to welcome the Rustida BBQ, and riders who took part in the WDW greeted the fans, before the evening ended with a DJ set from Meduza and an incredible fireworks display to the sound of music.
Ducati will also donate the deposit for the use of the gear and helmet storage inside the paddock to the Casa delle Donne of Bologna.
Here are the numbers of World Ducati Week 2022
- 5805 laps of the track covered in total by motorcycles and cars over the three days
- 51,000 photos taken by staff photographers and 60 hours of video footage
- 84 nations represented by the participants
- 235 Ducati Official Clubs present
- 30 the number of world titles of the past and current riders who took part in the WDW
- 15 Panigale V4 S and 6 Panigale V2 made in special livery
- 33 minutes the time it took the snake of Ducati motorcycles to exit the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” to form the motorcycle parade for Riccione
- 45 Ducati Talks spread out over 5 stages
- 102 “mechanics graduates” participants at Monta Smonta
- 1 wedding celebrated by Paolo Ciabatti and 1 wedding vows made at WDW2022
- 22 hours of music between DJ sets and live shows in the paddock and at evening events
- 548 Ducati workers participated in the event
- Nine international television and streaming services broadcast the Lenovo Race of Champions live
- 56 Ducati directors and managers from Borgo Panigale and Ducati subsidiaries ran the Rustida (BBQ)
