On your marques, getset, go Ducati crazy

The famous "yellow container" shields the Scrambler prototype. Pictures/ Supplied

‘Ducatisti’ from 56 countries swarm Italian event

The eighth World Ducati Week attracted thousands of the Italian motorcycle marque's enthusiasts from throughout the world to the Marco Simoncelli Misano World Circuit in Bologna.

The sheer numbers are a sign of loyalty, passion and love for the bikes from the northern Italian city, Ducati says. In all, 65,000 people attended the three-day festival, equalling the record set in 2012 when it was a four-day event.

Participants arrived from five continents and 56 countries last weekend.

Some "Ducatisti" had made their way from the United States, Australia, Russia and India. Others came from from Brazil, China and Malaysia. Some of the most passionate came from Gabon, Iceland and Nepal.

Saturday drew the biggest crowds. The highlight was the final of the Diavel Drag Race which saw Ducati Corse riders (MotoGP and SBK) battle it out on the racetrack's starting straight on powerful Ducati Diavel Carbon bikes. Victory went to Regis Laconi (a former Ducati SBK rider) with Matteo Baiocco (Ducati SBK test rider) runner-up.

Past and present pro riders went head to head and included Troy Bayliss, Carlos Checa, Andrea Iannone, Yonny Hernandez, Davide Giugliano, Chaz Davies, "King" Carl Fogarty and Pierfrancesco Chili.

The final day saw thousands of Ducatisti and their bikes flood into the race circuit's paddock, eager to enjoy the day before heading home in the knowledge that many will be back in 2016.

The three-day festival attracted dedicated riders from 56 countries.

Given Ducati's success in the format, the Scrambler area aroused considerable interest.
Fans saw the new midsized bike make its world premiere.

The Scrambler, which is expected to arrive in stores early next year, attracted a procession of onlookers, with some waiting hours under the scorching Italian sun to enter the famous "yellow container" and get a sneak preview (with a strictly no-photos, no-filming rule) of the prototype.

The paddock also hosted the Superbike Celebration, a display of bikes that have made Ducati history in the World Superbike Championship.

There were stuntman shows, riding courses, a chance to road-test the new Monster 821, autograph sessions with Ducati Corse champions past and present, plus on-track tests with the Audi R8 V10 and the new Lamborghini Huracan, because of Audi's ownership of the Ducati and Lamborghini brands.