DesmoSport Ducati 2023 Panigale V4 R
In front of a packed crowd of loyal Ducati fans at a Ducati Track Day powered by DesmoSport Ducati at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on Friday, Queensland-based DesmoSport Ducati unveiled the 2023 Panigale V4 R that Broc Pearson will race the remainder of the Australian Superbike Championship (ASBK) in a brand new livery.
After contesting the first five rounds of the 2023 ASBK season aboard the teams existing Panigale V4 R’s, the release of the 2023 machine brought with it a range of updates, not least of which an updated gear box with ratio’s similar to those found in WorldSBK.
The striking new design clearly showcases the aggressively styled carbon fibre race fairings that complement the Ohlins suspension, Termignoni exhaust, Spider hard components and more.
Team co-owner, Ben Henry
“Changing to the new bike, we didn’t want to just put the same kit on it and go racing. It deserved an update and I’m really happy with what we’ve come up with. There’s colours and concepts that we’ve used from the Ducati MotoGP and WorldSBK bikes, and we’ve spent a lot time, in particular Ken (Rahley) and myself, building the bikes back at Cube (Performance Centre) to arrive at what you see right now. We’ve pulled every nut and bolt from the bike to inspect every component and put a lot of emphasis on the power to weight ration and heat management.”
Team co-owner, Troy Bayliss
“The team has put a lot of effort into the new bikes, taking the time to build them from the ground up, and not rushing to get them on track. After some initial testing, it’s clear that the gearbox update in the new V4 R, that’s been in the V4 S for some time, is something that we’ve been missing on the track. It’s been a long mid-season break, so I think we’re all looking forward to getting back on the track for round 6 at Phillip Island at the end of the month.”
The penultimate round of ASBK 2023 will descend on Phillip Island on October 27 to 29, just one weekend after MotoGP at the iconic Victorian race track. The season finale will be hosted at The Bend over the first weekend of December.
