Audi 2012 Annual Report Download - page 83

Snapshots: Demonstration ride on the race track (top),
world traveler Paolo Pirozzi (bottom left), evening cavalcade (bottom right).
admire some of the most beautiful
motorcycles ever built at the Ducati
Vintage Contest. But the four Audi
R8 models provided by Audi driving
experience as race taxis are also a
powerful draw. Many Ducatisti leap
at the chance to experience a few
minutes of race feeling in the sports
car. The rides are completely booked
up. Neither Ducati CEO Gabriele Del
Torchio nor Alexandra Casagranda, a
member of the DOC Ducati Club Linz,
can pass up this opportunity. She
climbs into the R8 with shining eyes
and climbs out again with weak knees
two laps later. “Unbelievable,” is all she
can say.
New highlights await each evening
at World Ducati Week. On Friday eve-
ning, the Speed Show held at a sand
track in Misano Adriatico built just for
this event thrills the spectators. There,
stunt riders on Ducati Diavel with spiked
tires throw up the sand in meter-high
rooster tails. When the races are over,
the enthusiastic spectators on their
own motorcycles fill the night with the
rhythmic sounds of revving engines.
This evening, the region trembles at
the power of the engines; 24 hours later
it is the thunder of guitars. Saturday
evening in Riccione, the Ducati All Stars
rattle the windows of the buildings
lining the Piazzale Roma to the joy of
thousands of rock fans.
The four Audi R8 models turning
laps on the race track are not the only
indication that Ducati is soon to change
owners this summer. Ducati CEO
Gabriele Del Torchio tells the press that
he is looking forward to joining Audi.
It is not the first change of ownership
in the history of Ducati. But Del Torchio
says that the brand has never felt
itself to be in such good hands as now.
He expects there to be at least one
new model per year in the future and
ensures that “Ducati will lose none of
its passion and red conviction.” The
assembled media representatives
applaud spontaneously when they
hear this, which certainly is not the
norm for a press conference. «
cross the finish line. They thrill the
crowd with daring drifts, draw black
donuts on the asphalt with their bikes
and pulverize their tires into white
rubber dust.
One of the favorite tricks of many
Ducatisti is the wheelie, in other words,
to lift the front wheel o the ground
while driving. Not everyone can do this,
but visitors can practice wheelies on a
simulator at the Ducati Germany stand.
The rear wheel of a Ducati Monster is
fixed and a steel cable secures the front
wheel to prevent the rider from
being
thrown o if the machine suddenly
bucks. Ducati employee Michael Threin
is there to help and reveals the secret of
how to work the clutch and accelerator
in order to pull a wheelie. Several
novices succeed with Threin’s help.
At the Misano World Circuit, gasoline-
fueled action and a relaxed, informal
atmosphere are not contradictory. While
some take the opportunity to do a few
test laps on the new Ducati Panigale
superbike, others expand their know l-
edge of the tradition-rich brand at the
Heritage Galaxy experience. Or they
Action and lush sound:
Experience all this in the video of
the four-day Ducatisti meet.
P H O T O S | M I R CO L A Z Z A R I /G E T T Y I M A G E S (3); D U C A T I (3)
My Passion
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