For a Ducatisti, this event is better Christmas, it could be better than welcoming a first born into the world – it’s almost too good to be true. Imagine all the best circuit racing Ducati riders globally, from MotoGP, WSBK and WorldSSP, together on one track, battling it out to be the best Bologna bullet on the planet.
Well, you don’t have to imagine – because it’s actually happening this weekend.
It’s the Lenovo Race of Champions and it’s part of World Ducati Week. And hurrah, we at home, down under, get to watch it live on Kayo.
World Ducati Week is held every two years with 2022 being the most recent. It hosted a record number of 80,000 visitors, from 84 countries who brought along 20,000 Ducatis. Insanity. Francesco Bagnaia took out this win so he is back, still with the brand, to defend his title.
The concentration of talent on the grid is wild – Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini, Jorge Martin, Marc Marquez, Alvaro Bautista, Danilo Petrucci, Nicolò Bulega, Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Andrea Iannone, Álex Márquez, Franco Morbidelli, Michele Pirro, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, and last but not least Glenn Irwin. There’s 20 World Championships between that gaggle. And the addition of Marc Marquez certainly does no harm to that fat figure.
The 15 riders will all be aboard Panigale V4’s to duel it out for ego, honours, Prosecco and a Centro Stile Ducati trophy. You do wonder just how hard this grid to will be racing. It would be ironic if Marc shoved it up the inside and took Pecco out at a Ducati event. And that is why we will need to tune in!
Held at the renowned Misano World Circuit, as many World Ducati Weeks have been previously, the shenanigans begin on Friday July 26 with free practise and qualifying. And then it’s visors down as the race fires up on Saturday 5.30pm. This kicks into a wild party at the track to mark the start of World Ducati Week. The Italians, mamamia, they know how to party. I can just imagine arancini balls flying through the air with cases of Prosecco exploding in celebration, drowning all 15 Panigale V4’s. Pecco’s mop of curls will be a soggy, sticky matted mess drying in the delightful European summer air.
A sight well worth tuning in for.
Catch it – Live: Kayo Sunday 28 Jul 0100-0230 AEST whilst Fox Sports will then manage replays of the race on Sunday 28 July on Channel 507 at 0800 and again at 2100 (AEST). An additional replay will be managed on Channel 505 at 1830 (AEST).We
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