Ducati Launches MotoGP,
WorldSBK Teams in Italy
T
he combined Ducati Corse
WorldSBK and MotoGP team
launch took place at the Madon-
na do Campiglio ski resort in the
Italian Dolomites on January 22,
2024, in a copy of the previous
season's doubleheader champi-
onship-winning celebration-cum-
launch. Just for good measure,
the new Ducati MX effort (for
now it's just in the Italian Cham-
pionship) was also showcased
on stage after the MotoGP and
WorldSBK machines.
Preceded by a glitzy stage
show, the unveiling of the new
liveries and latest bikes them-
selves saw Ducati's CEO Claudio
Domenicali kick off proceed-
ings with a speech in which he
touched on some of the reasons
to have this event once again,
and the 2023 achievements for
Ducati. "Last year we presented
a season that would be very
successful," said Domenicali.
"We are already World Champi-
ons in MotoGP and WorldSBK.
We were not sure about repeat-
ing ourselves, but we repeated
it. No company has won both
WorldSBK and MotoGP in suc-
cessive years. The question is,
how can we do even better?
We concluded a season we are
very proud of, not just as Ducati
but also [as] Italian people. We
are celebrating again [here] in a
Ducati way."
Domenicali also commented
on the new WorldSBK technical
regulations [as of yet, not fully
published], which will see very
light riders like Bautista gain
some ballast on their bikes com-
pared to 2023, but all Ducati rid-
ers will now regain the 500 rpm
they lost by the end of last year,
under the previous balancing
rules—primarily due to Bautista's
remarkable performances in
winning his second champion
-
ship in succession.
"We are living in a world in
which the rules have changed,"
said Domenicali. "We have won
a lot and our competitors will
have some advantages. We will
find a completely new challenge,
which I think will be pretty inter
-
esting."
Gordon Ritchie
WIND
IN THE
P32
There are a lot of
number ones in this
photo. Will Ducati
retain both the
WorldSBK and MotoGP
crowns in 2024?
