Audi 2012 Annual Report Download - page 82

of droplets over the area. But there is
one thing the water cannot hope to
cool o: the passion of the fans for La
Rossa, the iconic Italian motorcycle
brand the 65,000 people have come to
the Adriatic coast to honor.
Some of them have traversed conti -
nents on their journey to Misano
Adriatico. Sundeep “Sunny” Gajjar from
India, for example. He climbed onto
the saddle of a Ducati Multistrada in
Dubai and spent a month riding to
Italy. Or Paolo Pirozzi, who must have
gasoline – red, of course – flowing
through his veins. Ducati is the only
brand of motorcycle he has ever owned.
“There are motorcycles, and then there
is Ducati,” says the Neapolitan, neatly
summarizing his philosophy. “Take the
he air shimmers over the
Misano World Circuit
near Rimini. Thousands
of Ducati motorcycles
are parked tightly spaced
along the race track in a line stretching
almost to the horizon. Their owners
have come to World Ducati Week to
spend four unforgettable days among
kindred spirits, to talk shop and engage
in heated discussions to an accom pa-
niment of roaring two-cylinder engines
and booming club sounds. As if it
weren’t already hot enough this June
weekend. Many Ducatisti therefore
drift repeatedly into the range of the
water cannons mounted on a pedestal
among the motorcycles and spraying
what is intended to be a refreshing fog
After crossing the finish
line for the drag races, the
riders perform daring
drifts and turn their tires
into white rubber dust.
Scenes from
Misano
Adriatico:
Ducati fans at
an autograph
session (top
left), one of the
youngest fans
(top right), a
Ducati polished
to a bright
shine for the
WDW (right).
rattling dry clutch, for instance – its
sound is music to my ears. It is the music
of my life, the beat of the drum to
which I move.” He recently rode around
the world on a Ducati Multistrada.
“Around the World in 80 DOC” was the
motto for his trip. Pirozzi’s goal was to
visit 80 Desmo Owners Clubs all over
the world. He was on the road for a
year, finding lodging with Ducati fans
in Moscow, Melbourne and Miami.
But he also spent many lonely nights
in his tent, was stuck in the jungle
of Panama for several days and in China
had to take an extra test for a motor-
cycle license before he was allowed to
continue his journey.
Pirozzi is a small legend in the Ducati
universe, but the true idols of the
Ducatisti are the professional Ducati
riders who compete for the World
Championship on the world’s race tracks.
Men like the American MotoGP rider
Nicky Hayden and the Spaniard Carlos
Checa, the 2011 World Champion in
the Superbike class. Their autograph
sessions are like audiences. Large
clusters of fans endure hours in the
heat for the chance to exchange a
few words with the stars or get their
names scribbled on a helmet or a
poster. After the small talk, Hayden,
Checa and half a dozen other riders
put on a spectacular show: They hop
onto Ducati Diavel for drag races. The
distance is 400 meters. The singular
objective of the head-to-head races
is to accelerate the 119 kW (162 hp)
machines as quickly as possible. The
tension felt by the riders before the
start could be cut with a knife. But
their playful side comes out once they
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