2018 World Ducati Week Breaks Attendance Record

Ducati just concluded the 10th edition of the World Ducati Week - a Mecca for Ducatisti (an endearing term for Ducati lovers). The three-day event held at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” had everything a Ducati lover could dream of - from rides to music, races and training arenas and of course thousands of Ducati motorcycles ranging from the iconic 916 to the latest Panigale V4s.

This year’s event had the highest number of attendees by far. 91,596 Ducatisti to be precise. This number surpassed all previous attendance records by 10,000 attendees. And it's not just the numbers, the Ducatisti can be a crazy lot at times. Among the thousands that rode down to Italy from all over the world, there were two riders that rode from Xinjiang (China) to Bologna (Italy) in just seven days. To put things into perspective, that's a distance of 7,575km, which means the riders rode an average of over 1,000km a day and crossed 10 countries to get there.

Another highlight was the Race of Champions where attendees got to witness Ducati racing legends like Michele Pirro, Tito Rabat, Javier Forés, Jack Miller, Marco Melandri, Michael Rinaldi, Andrea Dovizioso, Xavier Siméon, Danillo Petrucci, Jorge Lorenzo, Karel Abraham and Troy Bayliss, among others. Italian Michele Pirro dominated the race.

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Riders also got to hone their skills at the Ducati Enduro DRE and Scrambler Flat track riding school. With each year, World Ducati Week keeps getting bigger and the number of Ducatisti keeps getting higher. Naturally, expect next year’s edition to be even bigger and better.

Press Release:

Record attendance at 10th edition of World Ducati Week

91,596 attendees in three days: the 10th edition of the WDW beats all previous records by over 10,000 Ducatisti
Races, shows, music, emotions and tens of thousands of motorcycles close the Ducati weekend at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”
The "Race of Champions" which thrilled fans on Saturday continues with the auction of 13 Panigale V4 S motorcycles raced by the Ducati riders on eBay

Misano Adriatico, Rimini, 24th July 2018 - The 10th edition of World Ducati Week, the international gathering that brings the Ducati community together every two years, ended with a record turnout. WDW2018 engaged and excited tens of thousands of motorcyclists coming from all over the world, meeting at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” from 20 to 22 July to celebrate and share their enthusiasm for Ducati.
An incredible number of people and lots of motorcycles made this unique celebration even greater. In three days there were 91,596 attendees at the Misano World Circuit, exceeding the previous record of 81,000 attendees set in 2016 by 13%. The participants travelled to the Adriatic Riviera from five continents, representing 73 countries. While 60% of the riders were Italian, the remaining 40% are evidence of the power and appeal of the Ducati brand around the world. Of particular note were Ken Lu and Lv Fei, the two Chinese riders who rode their Multistrada 1200 Enduro from Xinjiang (China) to Bologna in only seven days. The journey across continents was an extraordinary undertaking which saw them travel 7,575 km through 10 countries to arrive at Misano Adriatico.

Many activities and opportunities make WDW2018 a unique event. Meetings and autograph sessions with Ducati riders, riding courses and test rides of new motorcycles, taxi drives on the track with high performance Lamborghini, Audi and Seat cars, technical courses at Ducati University, performances by stuntmen and laps on the track all take place. Many thematic areas, each with different activities and atmospheres, include the colourful "Land of Joy" of the Ducati Scrambler world, the Monster Village (celebrating the iconic bike's 25th anniversary), an area dedicated to the Panigale and the Multistrada Experience featuring Carlin Dunne's Multistrada 1260 Pikes Peak, winner of Pikes Peak 2018 race.

The exclusive "preview room," prepared just for WDW2018 participants, also aroused great interest and long queues, giving visitors a preview of one of Ducati's new motorcycles for 2019.

The event surface area was impressive, including a total of about 90,000 square metres inside the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, 75,000 in the paddock and more than 15,000 dedicated to the off-road area and Ducati Scrambler Flat Race & School and DRE Safety.

One of the most exciting moments of this edition of WDW took place at 1 pm on Saturday, 21 July when the "Race of Champions" started, preceded by a spectacular flyover of the Frecce Tricolori aerobatic team. The race featured 12 Ducati MotoGP and SBK Champions competing on the Misano circuit riding the Panigale V4 S, specially prepared with racing configuration and customised liveries. A show without equal that only Ducati could offer. A real race that was won by Michele Pirro, followed by Rabat, Forés, Miller, Melandri, Rinaldi, then Dovizioso, Siméon, Petrucci, Lorenzo, Abraham and Bayliss to complete the exceptional line-up of the "Race of Champions".

Ducati also decided to give to fans all over the world the chance to buy the 13 Panigale V4 S bikes from the "Race Of Champions" (including the one prepared for Chaz Davies, unable to participate due to an accident during training, and therefore replaced by Xavier Siméon) through a public auction on eBay. A dream that becomes reality for the fans of the brand starting at 6 pm on Saturday afternoon, an incredible number of bids being made on the motorcycles before the auctions end on Saturday, 28 July at 6 pm.

Saturday night the music of Radio Deejay and the Street Clerks band provided an entertaining and engaging evening on the stage set up in Piazzale Roma in Riccione. Claudio Domenicali and the Ducati riders greeted all the Ducatisti, receiving in turn tributes of affection and esteem from the large audience. The stage was then left to Nina Zilli and her music, another gift for the participants of World Ducati Week and for the large audience in Riccione, all engaged in a weekend dedicated to “desmodromic sound".

All Ducati employees were actively involved in planning the event, and during the weekend of the WDW, which this year included more than 250 people from the company (managers, engineers, technicians and employees) as part of the organisational staff.

Ducati was able to count on the collaboration of the Municipality of Misano, as well as the Municipalities of Rimini, Cattolica and Riccione, not to mention the government of the Republic of San Marino, which organised and supported the evening events. Last, but certainly not least given its key role, the Marco Simoncelli Misano World Circuit which has hosted all editions of the WDW right from the start.

These are the numbers of WDW2018:
10,250 laps on the track completed by cars and motorcycles during WDW2018
73 nations of origin of the 91,596 WDW2018 participants
147 DOCs (Ducati Owners Clubs) present at WDW2018, from 33 countries, 5 continents
249 different activities carried out during the three days
18 hours of DRE Safety
24 hours of DRE Enduro (with Multistrada 1200 Enduro)
40 bikes available for test rides, for a total of 1,200 test rides
500 tests using the Air Force flight simulator in the paddock
15 special Monster bikes selected for the "Garage Contest"
10 motorcycle finalists at the Heritage Contest
8 Audi R8, 3 Seat Cupra TCR and 4 Lamborghini Huracán Performante vehicles available to the public for a taxi drive on the track
2 Desmosedici GP "MotoX2" twin-seaters on the track with Randy Mamola and Franco Battaini for laps on the track dedicated to the WDW2018 participants
1 World Ducati Wedding celebrated by Chaz Davies and 2 marriage proposals made at the WDW
3 Live bands in the paddock
3 hours of live music during the "Sound of Passion Night": Linus, Street Clerks, Nina Zilli, DJ Alex Farolfi

"Race Of Champions" numbers:
13 Panigale V4 S motorcycles made with unique liveries
15 world titles at the WDW of which 11 in the "Race Of Champions"