Ducati celebrated its 2023 success in both MotoGP and World Superbike in the Unipol Arena under the name ‘Campioni in Festa’.
There was the atmosphere of the special occasions and a full house of fans in the Unipol Arena for “Campioni in Festa”, the event to celebrate Ducati’s domination in the world of racing, with triumphs in MotoGP, WorldSBK and WorldSSP. The Unipol Arena and the streets around the renowned sports hall in Bologna were coloured red to welcome the fans and the stars of the evening: the Ducati Champions.
The three 2023 World Champions took to the stage, Francesco Bagnaia (MotoGP World Champion with the Desmosedici GP of the Ducati Lenovo Team), Alvaro Bautista (WorldSBK Champion with the Panigale V4 R of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team) and Nicolò Bulega (WorldSSP Champion with the Panigale V2 of Team Aruba.it Racing WSSP). With them there were the other two Ducati riders on the podium of the MotoGP 2023 season, Jorge Martìn (Pramac Racing Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Racing Team), completing an exceptional line-up, capable of conveying the superiority of the Ducati riders and bikes in the main two-wheel world racing competitions.
The five “Campioni in Festa” received a wave of affection from Ducatisti enthusiasts from all over the world, who could not miss out on this historic moment of celebration. The city of Bologna and the Emilia-Romagna region with the Motor Valley celebrated together with Ducati the successes of a Company that draws strength every day from its history, strongly rooted in Borgo Panigale, and at the same time is honoured to be an ambassador of “Made in Italy” all over the world.
The “Campioni in Festa” show opened at 9.00 pm on Friday 15 December to the tune of Rockin’1000 music band, who for the occasion brought Power100, a selection of one hundred musicians from its international community to the stage. Some of the most iconic rock songs in history accompanied the moment of the show dedicated to the overview of the unforgettable 2023 racing season.
The hosting of the evening was entrusted to Barbara Pedrotti and Gianluca Gazzoli, both great racing enthusiasts. The first protagonist to take the stage at the Unipol Arena was Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali, followed by Ducati Corse General Manager Luigi Dall’Igna. Both spoke to the public about the magical moment that the Bologna-based motorcycle manufacturer is experiencing, highlighting the records achieved from both a corporate and sporting point of view and at the same time making it clear that the desire to grow and improve is inexhaustible.
The culmination of the event was the celebration of the five heroes of the 2023 season. This segment was opened by the victories obtained from Ducati in the World Championships for production-derived bikes with Nicolò Bulega, who achieved his first world championship success in Supersport, and Alvaro Bautista, who totally dominated WorldSBK 2023. For Bautista and Bulega, the “Campioni in Festa” celebration was also their first appearance as teammates, given that the two will share the garage of Team Aruba.it Racing – Ducati in 2024.
The entry of Guido Meda, the unmistakable voice of MotoGP on Sky Italy, heralded the moment reserved for the celebration of the results achieved in the most important international racing competition, in which Ducati won the World Constructors’ Title with five races to spare and monopolized the podium in the overall classification. The warmth of the people at the Unipol Arena manifested itself in applause and chants for the presence of Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Racing Team) and Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing Team), which became one big shout of joy when it was the turn of welcoming the two-time MotoGP World Champion Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia to the stage. The three 2023 World Champions – Bagnaia, Bautista and Bulega – took to the stage on their respective motorbikes, making the crowd of enthusiasts feel the roar of the fastest motorbikes in the world up close.
Finally, the Bologna-based manufacturer dedicated a moment of the show to the future and a historic new chapter in the world of racing competition: its entry into motocross, which will take shape with the debut in the 2024 Italian Motocross Championship. On the stage of the Unipol Arena were the next rider of Ducati team Alessandro Lupino, eight-time Italian Champion and winner of the 2021 Motocross of Nations, and nine-time MX World Champion Antonio Cairoli who joined Ducati as high-performance test rider for the new racing program. Lupino and Cairoli joined the five Ducati Champions, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), Domenicali, Dall’Igna, and all the key people of Ducati Corse’s successes for final greetings and the much-awaited picture on stage.
After having retraced the emotions of this dream year, the time for music and fun began in the Unipol Arena with the DJ Set of an exceptional international guest like Martin Solveig, the composer of numerous great house music hits. The public was thus able to have fun until the end of the event. During the press conference previewing the “Campioni in Festa” event a big surprise was also revealed. To pay homage to the record-breaking 2023 racing season, Ducati has created an exclusive series of motorcycles for collectors: five Ducati Panigale in a limited and numbered edition with a special livery inspired by that of the Ducati Champions and dedicated components.
The Panigale 2023 Replica bikes are made even m ore unique by the rider’s original autograph applied to the tank, protected with a layer of transparent varnish. The number of units of each limited series celebrates the number of the rider to whom it is dedicated: the Panigale V4 Bagnaia 2023 World Champion Replica, characterized by the livery in Giallo Ducati (Ducati Yellow) used by the Ducati Lenovo Team at Misano, will be produced in 263 units, the Panigale V4 Bautista 2023 World Champion Replica (also in Giallo Ducati) will be produced in 219 units, the Panigale V2 Bulega 2023 World Champion Replica will be produced in 111 units, the Panigale V4 Martin 2023 Racing Replica will be produced in 189 units, while the Panigale V4 Bezzecchi 2023 Racing Replica will be produced in 72 units.
Another possibility to celebrate this season’s successes is offered by the special edition t-shirts, which replicate those worn by the Ducati Lenovo Team in the Valencia garage for the celebrations of Bagnaia’s second MotoGP title and by the Aruba.it Racing Team – Ducati in the Jerez garage for the celebrations of Bautista’s WorldSBK title defence. The two t-shirts are available on the Ducati e-shop and will arrive in dealerships shortly.
The press conference was also an opportunity to announce the date of the presentation of the official Ducati Corse teams for the 2024 season. From 21 to 23 January 2024 the second edition of “Campioni in Pista” will be staged in Madonna di Campiglio, an event organized in collaboration with Trentino Marketing and the Madonna di Campiglio Tourist Board. On the Trentino snows Ducati will present the Ducati Lenovo Team, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team and the team that will participate in the Italian Motocross Championship 2024.
[Note: The story is as per press release]
