IN
THE
WIND
P46
A DUCATI V4 COULD BE IN THE NEAR FUTURE
D
ucati CEO Claudio Domeni-
cali has hinted the compa-
ny's superbike future could lay in
the V4 engine format.
Speaking at the Ducati
MotoGP team's 2017 launch at
the factory's Borgo Panigale
headquarters, Domenicali spoke
about the technology being
developed in MotoGP and how it
could be used for a new genera-
tion of Ducati superbike. He nei-
ther confirmed nor denied the
development of the new Ducati
V4, although his words certainly
have merit.
"The engine development we
have made in MotoGP has been
exceptional. We have an en-
gine which is very reliable, very
light, compact and has a lot of
interesting technology," Domeni-
cali said, as reported by racing
website Crash.net. "We are
seriously thinking of introducing
it to regular customers as it is a
masterpiece of engineering.
"Of course, translating it into
something that can be sold to
customers on reasonably, even
if premium, prices for high-end
sports bikes, like the wings, we
cannot say when it will happen
but it is much closer. It might not
comply with the World Super-
bike rules yet."
Speaking to the assembled
press, Ducati Corse Sporting Di-
rector Paolo Ciabatti also did not
deny the V4 rumors, however
insisted the company's focus is
still on the current 1198cc Ducati
Panigale R race format.
"We will race with the Pani-
gale in 2017 and 2018," Cia-
batti said. "Obviously, we keep
developing because the target
is to keep improving the bike.
We improved last year in the
second part of the season with
Chaz. We can be title contend-
ers."
Ducati will enter the 2017
WorldSBK Championship as
one of the favorites to end the
Kawasaki domination of the
series. Team Aruba.It rider Chaz
Davies took the last six race
wins of the 2016 season and
will be joined by former 250GP
World Champion and WorldSBK
race winner Marco Melandri,
the Italian re-joining the World
Superbike paddock after nearly
two years away from competitive
racing. CN
Could the V-twin
Ducati superbike be
nearing the end of
its life? If you read
between the lines,
could be.
