Say Goodbye to the Ducati V-Twin and Make Way for the V4
The overnight launch of Ducati’s 2018 WorldSBK Team at Aruba SpA’s Global Cloud Data Center in Ponte San Pietro marks the end of an era with the last year of competition with the Panigale R ahead of the Panigale V4 debut.
“We’re ready to take on a new challenge with great enthusiasm,” said CEO and Team Principal of Aruuba S.p.A, Stefano Cecconi. “The first goal is always to do better than the previous season, and this means we have to aim for the number one spot, also to finish in the best possible way the era of the Panigale R before the V4 debuts on track. Chaz and Marco have all the necessary qualities to race constantly at the top, so it’s up to us to give them a chance to fully express their potential. Also, we decided to move to SBK with the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team and Michael Ruben Rinaldi, a young rider with plenty of potential. We’ll try our best to be protagonists, both in the present and the future.”
The monumental event of seeing Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri compete with the two-cylinder engine Panigale R will be one for the books. The duo has shown its prowess with 31 podiums overall and 8 wins in 2017. Davies, twice runner-up in the past three years and a true icon for all Ducati fans, will go for the only missing trophy in his collection, that is, the Championship.
“It will be an emotional season. This is my fifth year on track with the Panigale R,” said Davies. “I’ve won several races with this bike, which triggers many special memories, so it will be an honour to properly send it off before the Panigale V4 debuts on track. The injury sustained last November has kept me busy during the winter break. I worked hard to make sure I’m ready for the season opener. The new rules for sure will make it more interesting for the public. We just need to do our homework but I don’t see any reasons why we shouldn’t be as competitive as in the past. We’re working hard and there are upgrades in the pipeline for Phillip Island. We’re ready to battle.”
The zenith of v-twin engine design, Ducati’s Superquadro motor is an impressive power plant, but the race team in Borgo Panigale (the bike’s namesake) have reached the limits of their development with it – at least within the constraints of World Superbike regulations.
Virtually every aspect of the WSBK-spec Panigale R that can be changed under the WorldSBK rules has been changed. One of the easy items to spot is the vented airbox cover, through which you can see the substantially sized air filter.
The rear subframe also differs from stock, with carbon fiber bodywork hiding an aluminum tubular frame, likely made by the folks at Pierobon.
Also of note is the stepped seat on Marco Melandri’s machine. With almost a 12″ height deficit to the very tall Chaz Davies, Melandri’s seat helps keep his body forward through the turns, while also likely aiding his body position back and upward when tucked in on long straights.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team will now head to Australia, where on February 19-20 the riders will take part in the pre-season tests ahead of the first round of 2018, scheduled for the following weekend, on February 23-25, on the same track.