Ducati Corse
Encyclopedia
Ducati Corse S.r.l. is a subsidiary arm of Ducati
that deals with the firm's involvement in motorcycle racing. It is directed by Claudio Domenicali and is based inside Bologna
, in quartiere
Borgo Panigale. More than one hundred people work in Ducati Corse (almost 10% of the Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. workforce). Ducati Corse currently competes in MotoGP, the Superbike World Championship
and other national championships.
and in national Superbike championships. From Ducati Corse also supports a satellite team in MotoGP, supplying bikes and technical support.
, giving priority to four-stroke machinery Ducati decided to enter Grand Prix motorcycle racing
.
Ducati's MotoGP motorcycle was unveiled at the 2002 Italian GP at Mugello, for use in the 2003 MotoGP championship. Ducati began taking part in the MotoGP Championship in the 2003 season
and won their first championship within 5 years in the 2007 season
.
Marlboro has been the title sponsor since 2003, although its name does not currently appear on the team's motorcycle. This comes at a time when advertising of tobacco sponsorship has become illegal in the European Union and other major teams have withdrawn from relationships with tobacco companies, for example Yamaha have ended their five year relationship with Fortuna
/Gauloises
.
and Troy Bayliss
competed in all rounds of the 2003 MotoGP championship
. Loris Capirossi, got a podium
in the opening round of the championship in Japan and won the GP Catalunya in Barcelona
. Capirossi finished fourth in the final championship standings and Bayliss sixth; while Ducati finished second overall in the Manufacturers’ standings.
went by before the bike became competitive, but the season concluded with both riders on the podium.
, Bayliss was replaced by the Spanish rider Carlos Checa
and Ducati switched tyres suppliers to Bridgestone
. Capirossi took two wins in the Grand Prix of Japan at Twin Ring Motegi
and in the Malaysian GP at Sepang
, while Checa scored a brace of podium finishes
replaced Checa for the 2006 season
. The team took its first win of 2006 in the opening GP at Jerez de la Frontera, followed by a podium in Qatar. Capirossi led the championship for a short while, but at the start of the Grand prix de Catalunya at Barcelona, Capirossi's bike collided with Gibernau's. Both riders ended up injured and in hospital, with Gibernau sustaining a broken collar bone. Capirossi struggled at the Dutch TT race a week later, while Gibernau was replaced by German Alex Hofmann
for this race, the British Grand Prix, and also the Czech Grand Prix after undergoing additional surgery. With Gibernau also sidelined for the final round of the season at Valencia, Ducati recalled Bayliss, who was recently crowned Superbike World champion. The race was won by Bayliss, his first MotoGP victory, with Capirossi taking second place for the first Ducati 1-2 finish.
. Ducati started development of its 800 cc motorcycle extremely early, and according to Ducati's racing chief Filippo Preziosi, by August 2006, Ducati had already built twenty 800 cc engines with various specifications. Loris Capirossi
was joined in the team by Casey Stoner
. During the most part of the 2007 season, Stoner dominated the field, obtaining his and the team's first MotoGP World Championship in the circuit of Motegi, Japan, on September 23, 2007, four races before the end of the season.
At the end of season, Ducati's chief engineer Alan Jenkins was awarded the Sir Jackie Stewart Award for brilliance throughout the season.
remained with the team and was partnered with Marco Melandri
from the 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
. Marco had a difficult time adapting to the GP-8's performance. Ducati and Melandri mutually agreed to shorten his two year contract to one year midway through the 2008 MotoGP season.
remains with the team while Nicky Hayden
became Stoner's new teammate on the factory Carbon Fibre chassis Ducati GP9, replacing Marco Melandri who moves to Kawasaki for the 2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
. Halfway through the season Finnish rookie Mika Kallio
was given the chance to compete for the team for 3 grands prix, due to Stoner being unavailable for those grands prix as he worked to recover from his illness.
joins with Nicky Hayden
for 2010 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
.
announced that he would join Honda Racing Corporation
for the season, after four years at Ducati.
On 15 August 2010, after the MotoGP Brno
race, Valentino Rossi
confirmed he would be riding for Ducati Corse, signing a two year deal to start with the season.
since it began in until . Using 1000 cc V-twin
engines Ducati was able to dominate the championship for many years. From to Carl Fogarty
won the title 4 times on Ducatis. Australians Troy Corser
and Troy Bayliss
won the and titles respectively on Ducatis
In , the recent rule changes in MotoGP to allow 4-stroke engines meant that the Japanese manufacturers had focused their resources there, leaving the Superbike World Championship with limited factory involvement. Ducati Corse entered the only 2 Ducati 999
s in the field, taking 20 wins from 24 races in a season where all races were won by Ducati. Neil Hodgson
won the title on a Factory Ducati, with the team finishing the season with 600 points, a record point score by a constructor in a season. 2004 was a similar story, James Toseland
winning the title although Ten Kate Honda's Chris Vermeulen
prevented a Ducati clean-sweep.
saw the return of Bayliss to the Superbike World Championship after 3 years in MotoGP. The combination of Bayliss and Ducati proved unstoppable and they dominated the season winning 12 races.
In , Troy Bayliss
finished fourth riding once again a Ducati 999. Even though production of the 999 ended in 2006 and the bike was replaced by the Ducati 1098
, Ducati produced 150 limited edition 999s to satisfy homologation
requirements.
For , Ducati raced a homologated version of the 1098R
. The FIM
, the sanctioning body for the Superbike World Championship
, has raised the displacement limit for 2 cylinder
engines to 1,200 cc. Bayliss won his 3rd world champion on 1098 in . Bayliss retired at the end of the 2008 season, after ten years in which he had raced a Ducati every year except 2005 (in which he raced a Sito Pons Honda in MotoGP).
saw Noriyuki Haga
, who replaced Bayliss, partnered with Michel Fabrizio
.Haga had the fantastic season on Ducati and only losing the championship by 6 points. In end, Haga ended the season as second while Fabrizio as third in overall championship standing.
Once again, began with Noriyuki Haga
and Michel Fabrizio
as partner for Ducati in SBK.
On 27 August 2010, it was announced that Ducati SBK will no longer compete with a factory team in 2011, after 23 seasons which had brought the marque a total of 29 riders' and manufacturers' championship titles, instead limiting its participation to privateer teams.
Ducati Motor Holding
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. is a motorcycle manufacturer in Bologna, Italy. It produces motorcycles for both road use and motorcycle racing.- History :...
that deals with the firm's involvement in motorcycle racing. It is directed by Claudio Domenicali and is based inside Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, in quartiere
Quartiere
A quartiere is a subdivision of certain Italian towns. The word is from quarto, or fourth, and was thus properly used only for towns divided into four neighborhoods. The English word "quarter" to mean a neighborhood A quartiere (plural: quartieri) is a subdivision of certain Italian towns. The...
Borgo Panigale. More than one hundred people work in Ducati Corse (almost 10% of the Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. workforce). Ducati Corse currently competes in MotoGP, the Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...
and other national championships.
Technical research and development
Technical research and development is composed of two teams responsible for the design and development of the motorcycles that compete in the MotoGP and Superbike championships.Sporting activities
The sporting activities department is responsible for the factory teams that take part in the MotoGP and Superbike championships.Commercial activities
The commercial activities department is responsible for providing private teams with motorcycles and spare parts. It also provides consultancy services and technical assistance to Ducati privateers take part in the Superbike World ChampionshipSuperbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...
and in national Superbike championships. From Ducati Corse also supports a satellite team in MotoGP, supplying bikes and technical support.
Marketing and communication
The marketing and communication department's goal is to increase and manage the Ducati brand image in racing. It is also responsible for Ducati Corse official merchandising line.Grand Prix motorcycle racing (MotoGP)
When the MotoGP technical rules changed in the 2002 season2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 54th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. The season consist of 16 races, which started with the Japanese Grand Prix on 7 April and ended with the Valencian Community Grand Prix on 3 November....
, giving priority to four-stroke machinery Ducati decided to enter Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing currently divided into three distinct classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The 125cc class uses a two-stroke engine while Moto2 and MotoGP use four-stroke engines. In 2010 the 250cc two-stroke was replaced...
.
Ducati's MotoGP motorcycle was unveiled at the 2002 Italian GP at Mugello, for use in the 2003 MotoGP championship. Ducati began taking part in the MotoGP Championship in the 2003 season
2003 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2003 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 55th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season.-Season summary:Defending champion Valentino Rossi won his 3rd MotoGP championship in 2003, winning 9 races, highlighted by his win at Phillip Island where he was given a 10 second penalty for...
and won their first championship within 5 years in the 2007 season
2007 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2007 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 59th F.I.M Road Racing World Championship season. The 2007 season was significant as it introduced a new regulation which specifies that competitors in the MotoGP class can use up to 800 cc motorcycles; between 2002 and 2006, competitors had...
.
Marlboro has been the title sponsor since 2003, although its name does not currently appear on the team's motorcycle. This comes at a time when advertising of tobacco sponsorship has become illegal in the European Union and other major teams have withdrawn from relationships with tobacco companies, for example Yamaha have ended their five year relationship with Fortuna
Fortuna
Fortuna can mean:*Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck -Geographical:*19 Fortuna, asteroid*Fortuna, California, town located on the north coast of California*Fortuna, United States Virgin Islands...
/Gauloises
Gauloises
Gauloises is a brand of cigarette of French manufacture. It is produced by the company Imperial Tobacco following their acquisition of Altadis in January 2008.- Cigarette :...
.
2003
Loris CapirossiLoris Capirossi
Loris Capirossi is a retired Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who competed between and...
and Troy Bayliss
Troy Bayliss
Troy Bayliss is a retired Australian motorcycle racer. During his career Bayliss won the Superbike World Championship three times, as well as the British Superbike Championship and a MotoGP race, all with Ducati. He finished his career after winning the 2008 World Superbike title...
competed in all rounds of the 2003 MotoGP championship
2003 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2003 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 55th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season.-Season summary:Defending champion Valentino Rossi won his 3rd MotoGP championship in 2003, winning 9 races, highlighted by his win at Phillip Island where he was given a 10 second penalty for...
. Loris Capirossi, got a podium
Podium
A podium is a platform that is used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek πόδι In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many...
in the opening round of the championship in Japan and won the GP Catalunya in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. Capirossi finished fourth in the final championship standings and Bayliss sixth; while Ducati finished second overall in the Manufacturers’ standings.
2004
A large part of the 2004 season2004 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2004 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 56th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season.-Season summary:At the end of 2003, HRC and Valentino Rossi had parted ways, and HRC held Rossi to the letter of their contract which stipulated he could not ride another manufacturer's machine...
went by before the bike became competitive, but the season concluded with both riders on the podium.
2005
In the 2005 season2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 57th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season.-Season summary:The 2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season began on April 10 at Jerez and closing on November 6 at Valencia...
, Bayliss was replaced by the Spanish rider Carlos Checa
Carlos Checa
Carlos "Charlie" Checa is a professional motorcycle road racer and winner of the 2011 Superbike World Championship. After racing in 500cc and MotoGP for over a decade, mostly on Honda and Yamaha machinery with and without full manufacturer support, he moved to the Superbike World Championship on a...
and Ducati switched tyres suppliers to Bridgestone
Bridgestone
The is a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese....
. Capirossi took two wins in the Grand Prix of Japan at Twin Ring Motegi
Twin Ring Motegi
is an automobile racing track located at Motegi, Japan. Its name comes from the facility having two race tracks: a oval and a road course. It was built in 1997 by Honda, as part of Honda's effort to bring the IndyCar Series to Japan, helping to increase their knowledge of American open-wheel...
and in the Malaysian GP at Sepang
Sepang
Sepang is a town and district located in the southern part of the state of Selangor in Malaysia. Formerly a small town, Sepang grew to several recent developments...
, while Checa scored a brace of podium finishes
2006
Spanish rider Sete GibernauSete Gibernau
Manuel Sete Gibernau Bultó is a former Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His racing career spanned two different eras of motorcycle racing, beginning with the two-stroke-dominated period prior to the 2002 season, and the four-stroke MotoGP era...
replaced Checa for the 2006 season
2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2006 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 58th F.I.M. Road racing World Championship season.-Season summary:The 2006 MotoGP season was one of the closest battles and most thrilling in recent memory in which Honda's Nicky Hayden didn't claim the championship from Valentino Rossi until the...
. The team took its first win of 2006 in the opening GP at Jerez de la Frontera, followed by a podium in Qatar. Capirossi led the championship for a short while, but at the start of the Grand prix de Catalunya at Barcelona, Capirossi's bike collided with Gibernau's. Both riders ended up injured and in hospital, with Gibernau sustaining a broken collar bone. Capirossi struggled at the Dutch TT race a week later, while Gibernau was replaced by German Alex Hofmann
Alex Hofmann
Alexander Hofmann is a retired Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who now works on German television coverage of the sport...
for this race, the British Grand Prix, and also the Czech Grand Prix after undergoing additional surgery. With Gibernau also sidelined for the final round of the season at Valencia, Ducati recalled Bayliss, who was recently crowned Superbike World champion. The race was won by Bayliss, his first MotoGP victory, with Capirossi taking second place for the first Ducati 1-2 finish.
2007
Engine displacement was reduced to 800 cc for the 2007 season2007 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2007 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 59th F.I.M Road Racing World Championship season. The 2007 season was significant as it introduced a new regulation which specifies that competitors in the MotoGP class can use up to 800 cc motorcycles; between 2002 and 2006, competitors had...
. Ducati started development of its 800 cc motorcycle extremely early, and according to Ducati's racing chief Filippo Preziosi, by August 2006, Ducati had already built twenty 800 cc engines with various specifications. Loris Capirossi
Loris Capirossi
Loris Capirossi is a retired Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, who competed between and...
was joined in the team by Casey Stoner
Casey Stoner
Casey Stoner is an Australian professional motorcycle racer. Born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, Australia and raised in Southport, Queensland, Stoner raced from a young age and moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a racing career...
. During the most part of the 2007 season, Stoner dominated the field, obtaining his and the team's first MotoGP World Championship in the circuit of Motegi, Japan, on September 23, 2007, four races before the end of the season.
At the end of season, Ducati's chief engineer Alan Jenkins was awarded the Sir Jackie Stewart Award for brilliance throughout the season.
2008
Casey StonerCasey Stoner
Casey Stoner is an Australian professional motorcycle racer. Born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, Australia and raised in Southport, Queensland, Stoner raced from a young age and moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a racing career...
remained with the team and was partnered with Marco Melandri
Marco Melandri
Marco Melandri is a motorcycle road racer currently racing for the Yamaha World Superbike Team. Melandri is also a former 250cc World Champion in 2002...
from the 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 60th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.-MotoGP:The MotoGP class opened with the historic Qatar Grand Prix, the first night race held in the World Championship history...
. Marco had a difficult time adapting to the GP-8's performance. Ducati and Melandri mutually agreed to shorten his two year contract to one year midway through the 2008 MotoGP season.
2009
Again, Casey StonerCasey Stoner
Casey Stoner is an Australian professional motorcycle racer. Born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, Australia and raised in Southport, Queensland, Stoner raced from a young age and moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a racing career...
remains with the team while Nicky Hayden
Nicky Hayden
Nicholas "Nicky" Patrick Hayden , nicknamed the The Kentucky Kid, is an American professional motorcycle racer, who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006.-Beginnings and AMA Championship:...
became Stoner's new teammate on the factory Carbon Fibre chassis Ducati GP9, replacing Marco Melandri who moves to Kawasaki for the 2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2009 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 61st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Valentino Rossi won his sixth MotoGP title, seventh in the top class and ninth title in total after getting the better of team-mate Jorge Lorenzo in a season-long battle...
. Halfway through the season Finnish rookie Mika Kallio
Mika Kallio
Mika Kallio is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He debuted in the 125cc World Championship with the Finnish rookie team Ajo Motorsport in 2001 and was awarded the "Rookie of the Year" in 2002...
was given the chance to compete for the team for 3 grands prix, due to Stoner being unavailable for those grands prix as he worked to recover from his illness.
2010
Once again Casey StonerCasey Stoner
Casey Stoner is an Australian professional motorcycle racer. Born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, Australia and raised in Southport, Queensland, Stoner raced from a young age and moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a racing career...
joins with Nicky Hayden
Nicky Hayden
Nicholas "Nicky" Patrick Hayden , nicknamed the The Kentucky Kid, is an American professional motorcycle racer, who won the MotoGP World Championship in 2006.-Beginnings and AMA Championship:...
for 2010 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
2010 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2010 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 62nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. It was the first season for the new Moto2 class....
.
2011
On 9 July 2010, Casey StonerCasey Stoner
Casey Stoner is an Australian professional motorcycle racer. Born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, Australia and raised in Southport, Queensland, Stoner raced from a young age and moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a racing career...
announced that he would join Honda Racing Corporation
Honda Racing Corporation
Honda Racing Corporation is a division of the Honda Motor Company formed in 1982. The company combines participation in motorcycle races throughout the world with the development of high potential racing machines. Its racing activities are an important source for the creation of leading edge...
for the season, after four years at Ducati.
On 15 August 2010, after the MotoGP Brno
2010 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2010 Czech Republic motorcycle Grand Prix was the tenth round of the 2010 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of August 13–15, 2010 at the Masaryk Circuit located in Brno.-MotoGP classification:-Moto2 classification:...
race, Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi, , is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name – seven of which are in the premier class.Following his father, Graziano Rossi,...
confirmed he would be riding for Ducati Corse, signing a two year deal to start with the season.
Superbike World Championship (SBK)
Ducati has been taking part in the Superbike World ChampionshipSuperbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...
since it began in until . Using 1000 cc V-twin
V-twin
A V-twin engine is a two-cylinder internal combustion engine where the cylinders are arranged in a V configuration.- Crankshaft configuration :Most V-twin engines have a single crankpin, which is shared by both connecting rods...
engines Ducati was able to dominate the championship for many years. From to Carl Fogarty
Carl Fogarty
Carl 'Foggy' Fogarty is the most successful World Superbike racer of all time in terms of the number of championships and number of race wins...
won the title 4 times on Ducatis. Australians Troy Corser
Troy Corser
Troy Gordon Corser is a professional motorcycle road racer, the and Superbike World champion....
and Troy Bayliss
Troy Bayliss
Troy Bayliss is a retired Australian motorcycle racer. During his career Bayliss won the Superbike World Championship three times, as well as the British Superbike Championship and a MotoGP race, all with Ducati. He finished his career after winning the 2008 World Superbike title...
won the and titles respectively on Ducatis
In , the recent rule changes in MotoGP to allow 4-stroke engines meant that the Japanese manufacturers had focused their resources there, leaving the Superbike World Championship with limited factory involvement. Ducati Corse entered the only 2 Ducati 999
Ducati 999
The Ducati 999 superseded the Massimo Tamburini designed Ducati 916, Ducati 996 and Ducati 998 range of superbikes in 2003, and was produced through 2006...
s in the field, taking 20 wins from 24 races in a season where all races were won by Ducati. Neil Hodgson
Neil Hodgson
Neil Stuart Hodgson is a former British motorcycle racer who won the 2000 British Superbike Championship, and the 2003 Superbike World Championship titles. Neil then went on to have a moderately successful 4 years in the American Superbike Championship, with a best 5th place championship finish...
won the title on a Factory Ducati, with the team finishing the season with 600 points, a record point score by a constructor in a season. 2004 was a similar story, James Toseland
James Toseland
James Michael Toseland is a former English motorcycle racer. Toseland was the World Superbike Champion on a Ten Kate Honda, who also won the Superbike World Championship on a Ducati. He is one of only two men, the other being Troy Corser, to have won the Superbike World Championship for two...
winning the title although Ten Kate Honda's Chris Vermeulen
Chris Vermeulen
Chris Vermeulen is a motorcycle racer, currently competing in the World Superbike Championship for the works Kawasaki team. He originally raced in this class in 2004 and 2005 for the Ten Kate Honda team, finishing as series runner-up in 2005...
prevented a Ducati clean-sweep.
saw the return of Bayliss to the Superbike World Championship after 3 years in MotoGP. The combination of Bayliss and Ducati proved unstoppable and they dominated the season winning 12 races.
In , Troy Bayliss
Troy Bayliss
Troy Bayliss is a retired Australian motorcycle racer. During his career Bayliss won the Superbike World Championship three times, as well as the British Superbike Championship and a MotoGP race, all with Ducati. He finished his career after winning the 2008 World Superbike title...
finished fourth riding once again a Ducati 999. Even though production of the 999 ended in 2006 and the bike was replaced by the Ducati 1098
Ducati 1098
The Ducati 1098 is a sport bike manufactured by the Italian motorcycle company Ducati since 2007. There were three different versions, called the 1098, 1098S, and 1098R...
, Ducati produced 150 limited edition 999s to satisfy homologation
Homologation
Homologation is a technical term, derived from the Greek homologeo for "to agree", which is generally used in English to signify the granting of approval by an official authority...
requirements.
For , Ducati raced a homologated version of the 1098R
Ducati 1098
The Ducati 1098 is a sport bike manufactured by the Italian motorcycle company Ducati since 2007. There were three different versions, called the 1098, 1098S, and 1098R...
. The FIM
Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme
The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme is the governing body of motorcycle racing. It represents 103 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regional continental unions....
, the sanctioning body for the Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship is the worldwide Superbike racing Championship. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Championship season consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities...
, has raised the displacement limit for 2 cylinder
V-twin
A V-twin engine is a two-cylinder internal combustion engine where the cylinders are arranged in a V configuration.- Crankshaft configuration :Most V-twin engines have a single crankpin, which is shared by both connecting rods...
engines to 1,200 cc. Bayliss won his 3rd world champion on 1098 in . Bayliss retired at the end of the 2008 season, after ten years in which he had raced a Ducati every year except 2005 (in which he raced a Sito Pons Honda in MotoGP).
saw Noriyuki Haga
Noriyuki Haga
, is a Japanese professional motorcycle racer. Haga has been runner-up in the Superbike World Championship three times, and has finished 3rd in the series four times....
, who replaced Bayliss, partnered with Michel Fabrizio
Michel Fabrizio
Michel Fabrizio is a professional motorcycle road racer. Since , he has been racing for Ducati Xerox Team alongside Noriyuki Haga on the new Ducati 1198 in the Superbike World Championship.-Early years:...
.Haga had the fantastic season on Ducati and only losing the championship by 6 points. In end, Haga ended the season as second while Fabrizio as third in overall championship standing.
Once again, began with Noriyuki Haga
Noriyuki Haga
, is a Japanese professional motorcycle racer. Haga has been runner-up in the Superbike World Championship three times, and has finished 3rd in the series four times....
and Michel Fabrizio
Michel Fabrizio
Michel Fabrizio is a professional motorcycle road racer. Since , he has been racing for Ducati Xerox Team alongside Noriyuki Haga on the new Ducati 1198 in the Superbike World Championship.-Early years:...
as partner for Ducati in SBK.
On 27 August 2010, it was announced that Ducati SBK will no longer compete with a factory team in 2011, after 23 seasons which had brought the marque a total of 29 riders' and manufacturers' championship titles, instead limiting its participation to privateer teams.