World Ducati Week 2024 set a new attendance record, after seeing more than 94,000 attendees from 86 different countries.
And in social media, Ducati reported 17 million impressions, but most likely due to Marc Marquez’s antics in the Race of Champions.
Speaking after the event, Claudio Domenicali, Ducati CEO, said:
“World Ducati Week is the event that better than anything else embodies our brand’s mission to offer memorable experiences to our enthusiasts, created around special bikes, which are a magical combination of technology and beauty in pure Italian sporting style. The numbers of this edition are extraordinary and are proof that the love for Ducati in the world has never been so strong. I want to thank every single participant, but also all the staff composed mostly of Ducati employees who, as usual, worked hard to make this incredible experience possible. Thanks also to all of Ducati Corse and in particular to the riders, the heroes of WDW, who made themselves available to the fans and gave us a show that is unique in the world like the Lenovo Race of Champions. The performance achieved by the new Panigale V4 is truly incredible: the fastest lap in qualifying was just 3.2 seconds away from the MotoGP race track record, which belongs to Francesco Bagnaia with 1m31.8s. Equally incredible is the determination with which Pecco once again proved to be the best, in a race where everyone had exactly the same bike.”
While the race was an exhibition event, Francesco Bagnaia put in an incredible 1m35.4s qualifying lap to put himself on pole, riding the newly launched 2025 Ducati Panigale V4. It was only 3.2s slower than the MotoGP lap record at the Misano circuit where the race was held. By comparison, the previous Panigale V4 was 4.0 seconds off the record.
Then, on the last lap of the race, Marquez lunged at WSBK Ducati factory rider Nicolò Bulega from a long way back into the final corner. Bulega crashed heavily but did not sustain any serious injuries. Trackside video footage looked as if Marc had used Bulega as a berm and punted him off the track, but Bulega would later state that he was surprised by the move and overbraked, therefore causing himself to crash. Still, it showed Marc’s aggression and desire to win more than anything else, even it was at a “friendly.”
Well, we guess the attendees at World Ducati Week 2024 had the time of their lives.
