Video clears up!

Ego crash at the launch of the new Ducati Panigale

(Bild: Ducati)

Ducati traditionally lets its factory riders race against each other on identical bikes to present the new version of the Panigale V4 S. This time, the race ended for one ace in the gravel. The waves are running high on the net - who is to blame? We help to clarify.

The "Lenovo Race of Champions" was held last weekend at the Misano World Circuit "Marco Simoncelli" and broadcast live on YouTube. Taking part: 15 Ducati stars from MotoGP and WSBK, from Pecco Bagnaia to Alvaro Bautista and the Marquez brothers. Although the bikes were branded in the colors of the respective teams, they were otherwise identical. Modified, just as a customer can order them from the factory.

(Bild: Ducati)

The bike
The Panigale V4 S was fundamentally revised for the new model year: Two- instead of single-sided swingarm made of aluminum with more flex, a total of two kilograms lighter (V4 S: 187 kg with empty 17-liter tank), the Desmosedici Stradale with 0.5 hp more (okay, that's within limits) delivers 216 hp at 13,500 rpm (500 more than before). With the racing exhaust from Akrapovic, which was also fitted in Misano, it is 228 hp. The maximum torque is 121 Nm at 11,250 rpm. (slightly less than before, at higher revs). The suspension geometry was changed slightly in the course of the swingarm replacement.

While the standard V4 is fully adjustable manually, the V4 S has semi-active Öhlins suspension. The brake called Hypure is a new development for Ducati's top bikes. For the Race of Champions, only the brake discs (330 mm at the front, 245 mm at the rear) were replaced with particularly race-ready ones from the accessories range. The new electronics also include a revolutionary combined braking system called Race eCBS, which brakes into the corner on the rear wheel without the rider having to do anything. The stars will probably have deactivated this function.

The crash
The race itself was rather unspectacular, but it's fun to watch the best road racers in the world on standard road bikes. It was astonishing that Alvaro Bautista, whose WSBK service bike is certainly more closely related to the Panigale V4 S than the MotoGP prototypes, did not keep up with most of his colleagues.

(Bild: Ducati)

Less surprising is the fact that eight-time world champion Marc Márquez ran out of steam in the final corner and sent WSBK star Nicolò Bulega - who in WSBK is still best able to keep up with the dominant BMW rider Toprak Razgatlıoğlu - into the gravel. He thus inherited third position. The incident is not clearly visible on the official camera images of the broadcast, you can only see that Marquez comes close to Bulega, who crashes and then raises his arms in the gravel, sitting in questioning astonishment.

Nicoló Bulega - suddenly he was sitting in the gravel.

(Bild: Ducati)

A spectator's cell phone recording, on the other hand, suggests that the MotoGP rider has (once again) overdone it. But everyone can make up their own mind:

You won't be able to get a picture of the new Panigale until September, when it rolls into dealerships. Prices are not yet known.

The race was won by MotoGP leader Francesco Bagnaia ahead of WSBK rider Andrea Iannone and Marc Marquez.