Ducati Debuts Two Commemorative Bikes to Honor Its Winning Race Season
The 2022 race season was, by any measure, an unrivaled success for Ducati. Francesco Bagnaia claimed Ducati’s long-awaited second MotoGP rider’s crown after a tense final round in Valencia, Spain, while Alvaro Bautista finally capitalized on his undoubted speed by claiming the WorldSBK title at the penultimate round of the season in Thailand.
Bautista’s triumph had extra meaning for the manufacturer as it was the first title for the Ducati Panigale, in either V-twin or the current V4 configuration, since the model started competing in WorldSBK back in 2012. It also made up for Bautista’s 2019 season, when he was leading by over 100 points at the halfway stage of the season but eventually lost the title bid to Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea.
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To celebrate this most dominant of seasons for Ducati, it has just released two commemorative machines—the Ducati Panigale V4 Bagnaia 2022 World Champion Replica and the Ducati Panigale V4 Bautista 2022 World Champion Replica. Each priced at $63,000, these will be limited to a total of only 260 examples worldwide. The number honors 1926, the year Ducati was founded as a radio manufacturing company.
Based off the $26,495 Ducati Panigale V4 S, a model that produces 210 hp and 90.6 ft lbs of torque from its 1,103 cc motor, the 2022 World Champion Replicas will have certain technical features that help justify the massive cost increase. Resplendent in the exact same livery as either #63 Bagnaia or #19 Bautista, the bikes will be identical in specification to the ones raced.
Ducati has fitted a track-specific single seat unit, a billet aluminum upper clamp with laser engraving of the model name and production number, a nine-disc STM-EVO SBK dry clutch, an Akrapovič street-legal silencer (4.4 pounds lighter than the stock unit on the Panigale V4 S), Brembo Stylema R brake calipers—and an MCS master cylinder with a remote adjuster—Rizoma billet aluminum adjustable footpegs and racing plexiglass.
There will also be carbon-fiber versions of the heat shield for the rear exhaust manifold, the alternator cover, the front and rear fenders, the front brake ducts, and the swingarm cover. Once purchased, your new Bagnaia or Bautista Replica will be delivered in a packing case with dedicated graphics and a certificate of authenticity, the same treatment dished out to those who purchased a Ducati Superleggera V4. You will also have the Ducati Data Analyzer+ system activated so that you’ll be able to record data such as lap time, mid-corner speed, throttle position and the like when on track. Ducati will also throw in a set of track accessories such as the carbon-fiber open clutch cover and a billet aluminum racing fuel cap.
Given the recent trend of limited-edition Ducatis being seen as rolling pieces of art and legitimate investments, we doubt that many examples of these bikes will be seen at your local circuit any time soon. These ultra-exclusive Ducati tributes will arrive in dealer showrooms in the fall of 2023, but will likely be sold out before the first one arrives stateside.
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