RIDE REVIEW I 2022 DUCATI PANIGALE V4 S
P62
RAIN? RAIN??
Breakfast at the hotel next door
to Jerez was augmented by the
pitter-patter of rain on the roof.
Ordinarily that would be a bad
thing, but with a set of full wets
on warmers, and electronics
being the main thing to try to
get one's head around, it was
anything but a bad thing: it was a
proper test.
With just two laps under the
belt around a patchy, greasy
Jerez and its incredible corners,
two things had already jumped
out: the first was just how much
smoother the quickshifter is
than any of the previous models.
And second, what a significant
difference the revised gear ratios
make. Now, counterintuitively for
a V4, first gear is actually us-
able in places that aren't called
pitlane. You also get to hang
onto gears much longer and
really use the revs, of which the
Desmo Stradale has a seemingly
limitless supply. Bear in mind,
this was a wet session, and
other than a tiny pulse through
the lever, there was not even
