FIRST RIDE
By Alan Cathcart
Photos by.
110 Jimenez
n
D
ItZy press launch at the
q sherry family's Spanish rid.
001 near the Jerez race circuit,
anized with a degree of expertise
by Ducati's new management that
would have been unthinkable even a
year ago, the red-blooded Italian marque's takeover by American financial
giants TPG was sealed by the debut of
the first new model of Ducati's bornagain era, the 51'2 sport tourer.
Against the elite backdrop provided
by a display of horsemanship on the
famous white stallions, the bike that
builds a bridge between the old and the
new was launched in a professional manner that underlines TPG's firm seat in the
Ducati saddle.
Conceived during Cagiva ownership
in the Varese factory's design studio by
Monster creator Miguel Angel Galluzzi,
launched at IFMA last October just days
after the TPG takeover was clinched 'and
now entering production right on sched-
I
(Right) The Ducati's ST2 sport tourer's
emphasis is definitely on sport.
(Below) The ST2's styling is distinctive
and functional, with the fairing providing
good wind protection.
(Below right) The rear silencers are
height-adjustable to make room for the
optional saddlebags.
ule, the ST2 is the first new Ducati model
to benefit directly from TPG's multimillion-dollar capital-investment plan, which
has already seen 200 new workers added
to the Bologna factory's workforce, and
production increased to 140 units a day.
For Ducati, the future starts here - a
future combining Italian engineering brio
with American financial muscle, Latin
design flair with trans-Atlantic business
expertise. But for all the TPG management input, the ST2 is no less a Ducati
than any of its predecessors.
.
Only that a customer who orders one
is now more likely to take delivery on
time and be satisfied with its quality of
manufacture than was ever the case
before. Moreover, the ST2 does iJ;tdeed
represent a more purposeful move into
the sport touring market that was
already planned by Ducati some time
ago, one of what company boss Massimo
Bordi identifies as the four families of
models on which Ducati's future will be
based: Hypersport, Supersport, Naked
Sport and Sport Touring (with the option
of a fifth, Dual Sport, in the future).
