Ducati “Campioni in Festa”
The city of Bologna, the Motor Valley and enthusiasts from all over Italy gathered to celebrate the successes of Ducati in the Unipol Arena (Bologna, Italy) for “Campioni in Festa”, the event to celebrate Ducati’s domination in the world of racing in 2023, with triumphs in MotoGP, WorldSBK and WorldSSP.
The Unipol Arena and the streets around the renowned sports hall in Bologna were coloured red to welcome the fans and the stars of the evening: the Ducati Champions.
The three 2023 World Champions took to the stage, Francesco Bagnaia (MotoGP World Champion with the Desmosedici GP of the Ducati Lenovo Team), Álvaro Bautista (WorldSBK Champion with the Panigale V4 R of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team) and Nicolò Bulega (WorldSSP Champion with the Panigale V2 of Team Aruba.it Racing WSSP).
With them there were the other two Ducati riders on the podium of the MotoGP 2023 season, Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Racing Team), completing an exceptional line-up, capable of conveying the superiority of the Ducati riders and bikes in the main two-wheel world racing competitions.
The five “Campioni in Festa” received a wave of affection from Ducatisti enthusiasts from all over the world, who could not miss out on this historic moment of celebration. The city of Bologna and the Emilia-Romagna region with the Motor Valley celebrated together with Ducati the successes of a Company that draws strength every day from its history, strongly rooted in Borgo Panigale, and at the same time is honoured to be an ambassador of “Made in Italy” all over the world.
The first protagonist to take the stage at the Unipol Arena was Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali, followed by Ducati Corse General Manager Luigi Dall’Igna. Both spoke to the public about the magical moment that the Bologna-based motorcycle manufacturer is experiencing, highlighting the records achieved from both a corporate and sporting point of view and at the same time making it clear that the desire to grow and improve has no limits.
The culmination of the event was the celebration of the five heroes of the 2023 season. This segment was opened by the victories obtained from Ducati in the World Championships for production-derived bikes with Nicolò Bulega, who achieved his first world championship success in Supersport, and Álvaro Bautista, who totally dominated WorldSBK 2023.
For Bautista and Bulega, the “Campioni in Festa” celebration was also their first appearance as team-mates, given that the two will share the garage of Team Aruba.it Racing – Ducati in 2024.
The warmth of the people at the Unipol Arena manifested itself in applause and chants for the presence of Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Racing Team) and Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing Team), which became one big shout of joy when it was the turn of welcoming the two-time MotoGP World Champion Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia to the stage.
The three 2023 World Champions – Bagnaia, Bautista and Bulega – took to the stage on their respective motorbikes, making the crowd of enthusiasts feel the roar of the fastest motorbikes in the world up close.
Finally, the Bologna-based manufacturer dedicated a moment of the show to the future and a historic new chapter in the world of racing competition: its entry into motocross, which will take shape with the debut in the 2024 Italian Motocross Championship. On the stage of the Unipol Arena were the next rider of Ducati team Alessandro Lupino, eight-time Italian Champion and winner of the 2021 Motocross of Nations, and nine-time MX World Champion Antonio Cairoli, who joined Ducati as high-performance test rider for the new racing program. Lupino and Cairoli joined the five Ducati Champions, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), Domenicali, Dall’Igna, and all the key people of Ducati Corse’s successes for final greetings and the much-awaited picture on stage.
During the press conference previewing the “Campioni in Festa” event a big surprise was also revealed. To pay homage to the record-breaking 2023 racing season, Ducati has created an exclusive series of motorcycles for collectors: five Ducati Panigale in a limited and numbered edition with a special livery inspired by that of the Ducati Champions and dedicated components.
The Panigale 2023 Replica bikes are made even more unique by the rider’s original autograph applied to the tank, protected with a layer of transparent varnish. The number of units of each limited series celebrates the number of the rider to whom it is dedicated: the Panigale V4 Bagnaia 2023 World Champion Replica, characterized by the livery in Giallo Ducati (Ducati Yellow) used by the Ducati Lenovo Team at Misano, will be produced in 263 units, the Panigale V4 Bautista 2023 World Champion Replica (also in Giallo Ducati) will be produced in 219 units, the Panigale V2 Bulega 2023 World Champion Replica will be produced in 111 units, the Panigale V4 Martín 2023 Racing Replica will be produced in 189 units, while the Panigale V4 Bezzecchi 2023 Racing Replica will be produced in 72 units.
