Issue 136 : August - September 2004
BMW's Motorrad
Farmyard Party
European HOG Rally
World Ducati Week
Triumph Speedmaster
Boom Trikes
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BMW's Motorrad
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World Ducati Week 2004
When the American firm TPG took the reins of Ducati during the nineties they invested not only money, but time and marketing strategies. Being from the USA they obviously looked at Harley and realised that the idea of providing events for owners was an excellent marketing tool that promotes continual brand loyalty. However, when they launched their 'family' strategy they added in the essential Italian ingredient - passion. Their first WDW took place in 1998 at the Misano racetrack on the Adriatic coast. Then 5,000 bikes and 6,000 riders/passengers took part from literally all over the world, and all of them rode in the massive parade at the end with the likes of Foggy, Corser and Chilli. Two years later 23,000 turned up for a repeat performance and the cavalcade was 26km long. In 2002 the number had risen to 25,000, but this year it surpassed all expectations with over 45,000 Ducatisti attending the truly international meeting at Misano. The fourth edition of World Ducati Week ran from Monday 17th to Sunday 23rd May and was a top-notch event. The driving passion of the Ducati fans led to a record attendance of more than 45,000 at the Misano race-track which has become home to the event.  A total of 19,000 tickets were sold, more than half were weekly passes, bought by those people who did not want to miss a single event organised by Ducati for its fans. Seven full days of activities reached a climax on Sunday 23rd with another parade that started on the track before heading out onto the road under police escort into the seaside town of Rimini. "This has been the greatest, the most enjoyable and most successful WDW in our history" declared Federico Minoli the CEO at the end of the stunning parade and he was not wrong. A large number of activities, events, and opportunities were organised for the participants during the week. Track events, riding and engineering courses (lessons at the "Ducati University", with engineers, riders and managers from the Borgo Panigale factory as teachers), fashion shows, music concerts, auctions and the chance to ride a few laps of the circuit on the two-seat version of the super-fast Ducati Desmosedici, as passenger of ex-500cc racer Randy Mamola, in aid of Riders for Health and much more. The WDW also saw the presence of Ducati Corse's official riders, Capirossi, Bayliss, Laconi, Toseland, Lanzi, Chili and Haga, who mingled with the fans. However, this edition of the WDW will also go down in history for the announcement made Saturday evening personally by the Chairman of Ducati Motor Holding, Federico Minoli, to the massive crowd. Not only did he tell the fans what was coming in the future he also showed the Desmosedici Racing Replica engine, marking the start of the project that will lead to the development of a Desmosedici road motorcycle. This bike will be produced in a limited edition for a few lucky customers, who will have to pay £35,000 for the privilege of owning one. The first ones will be presented to their new owners at WDW in 2006, which Ducati promise will be even better than this year's event. See you there! Ian Kerr |
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The driving passion of the Ducati fans led to a record attendance of more than 45,000 at the Misano race-track: Ian Kerr joined them...