Ducati built this homologation special for World Superbike racing. It shares the same Marchesini wheels, Ohlins electronically-adjustable suspension and Brembo monoblocs as the S model and the power and torque is the same, too.
But the R has new titanium conrods, giving the Superquadro engine an extra 500rpm and improved durability in race trim.
A four-way adjustable swingarm pivot gives Checa’s WSB team a better chance of setting up the Bologna bullet from track to track.
Although built for WSB, Ducati collectors will love the swathes of carbon fibre and goodies like the race exhaust, ABS, a taller screen, datalogger and racing seat.
Two more teeth on the rear sprocket lowers the gearing and gives the big Ducati extra oomph out of the corners, but top speed remains the same, thanks to the motor’s 500rpm over-rev.
On the track
This time last year, here at Pergusa, the then new Panigale S struggled in our 1000s group test.
Fierce acceleration made the Ducati wheelie, head-shake and bounce out of corners and it was all you could do to hang on under the power of the best brakes in the business.
Over in the German corner, the 2012 BMW S1000RR couldn’t have been easier to ride and in Hodgson’s hands it was three seconds a lap faster than the Ducati. It confused the hell out of the Italian manufacturer because when it tested the Panigale against the S1000RR at Mugello, it was faster than the BMW.
Ducati realised that whether it was in road trim, or race, the Panigale works better at some tracks than others. They returned to this fast, bumpy Pergusa circuit last summer to test the Panigale again. They wanted to find out why it didn’t work and set about changing it and it’s one of the reasons the R now exists.
Which brings us back to today. All the other bikes here are standard, out of the box, but this Panigale R test bike has been set up by Ducati, using last year’s testing data. It’s as perfect as it can be for Pergusa, so it has a big head start already.
The Ohlins suspension is dialled-in and the swingarm pivot is set in the lowest of its four positions - 4mm lower than standard, which helps with rear grip, at the expense of some steering agility.
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