TEAM #RIDEHVMC DUCATI PANIGALE R
RACER TEST
P104
conditions. That was as good as
it got for the team in 2016, with
very little testing done and an
electronics package that re-
quired a Ducati Corse technician
to fly in from Italy prior to round
eight at Laguna Seca to begin
cracking the Ducati ECU's many
codes and getting the machine
to start behaving itself. Not only
that, this is Corey's rookie year
on the big bike in competition
after a career so far spent on
600cc machinery. Understand-
ing the Ducati has at times been
like trying to speak Italian.
"My practice bike was a Su-
zuki GSX-R1000," Corey says,
"and the difference between a
GSX-R1000 and a GSX-R600 is
it's basically the same bike with a
little more power and a bit heavi-
er. The Ducati is totally different.
It's a V-twin, for starters, there's
no frame to speak of, it's got a
single-side swingarm, the feel
and feedback is very different to
what I've ridden before, and the
engine's got a lot more power
with a vast array of electronics.
You have to ride it differently."
Choice words, indeed.
And with that, I'm directed
over to the waiting red and white
beast for the first of my two
six-lap sessions at New Jersey
Motorsports Park, the day after
the dramatic MotoAmerica final.
The cockpit all looks relatively
familiar—the race bike runs
the same dash as the produc-
tion bike, yet the clip-on bar
switches are totally different.
On the right side is the red igni-
tion, blue lap timer and black
start buttons, and the left side
houses a white button used at
standstill to select either trac-
tion control, wheelie control or
engine braking control (this can-
not be used while in motion).
Two black buttons above and
below the mode button scroll
through the different modes and
two green buttons then delve
into the different settings of the
chosen map. It sounds more
The team produced a
stunning tribute to the
9/11 firefighters (right)
for the second New
Jersey round.
