Friday night’s track activity at World Ducati Week 2012 in Misano, Italy saw the incredible Drag Race by Tudor thrill the crowd as Ducati riders from the GP and World Superbike Championships battled onboard Ducati Diavels. The massive event, which will run from 21-24 June, has broken attendance records everyday so far and looks ready to beat the previous 60,000 fans by the close of the fourth and final day tomorrow.
Valentino Rossi, Nicky Hayden, Troy Bayliss, Carlos Checa, Jakub Smrz, Sylvain Guintoli, Niccolò Canepa and Lorenzo Zanetti all took the opportunity for some friendly, but fierce competition on a drag-strip along the Misano start straight. The early elimination stages of the competition saw Ducatisti favourites Valentino Rossi and Troy Bayliss go through to the exclusive final show-down in front of a huge WDW crowd. Bayliss got the best launch from his Diavel and tripped the timing lights at 6.306 seconds to win the magnificent Drag Race by Tudor. Rossi’s time of 6.329 put him in second with Hayden third and Checa fourth.
Since Thursday, record numbers of motorcyclists have ridden into World Ducati Week 2012 and have been entertained by a packed programme of exciting events. Tonight’s incredible Drag Race by Tudor is sure to go down in WDW history as one of the most exciting and close-fought yet with a spectacular show of burn-outs and wheelies afterwards.
Immediately after the Drag Race, the procession of tens of thousands of Ducatisti started to the centre of nearby Riccione for the unique party performance to be delivered from a stage set-up in Piazzale Roma from where the Ducati riders will be presented and the famous “Ducati All Stars” band perform. Featuring Steve Jones (Sex Pistols) Duff Mckagan (Guns N’ Roses) Franky Perez (Pusher Jones) Steve Stevens (Billy Idol band), Billy Morrison (The Cult) and Isaac Carpenter (Loaded), the band is sure to be a big hit for the partying WDW-goers.
With the grand finale on Sunday, 24 June, even more motorcyclists are expected to join the thousands that have already arrived from every region of the world, underlining the unmistakable red passion, shared by Ducatisti.
