Ducati pays tribute to legendary 916

15.07.2019

Photo: Ducati

The Ducati 916 was not only a beautiful motorcycle and a huge sales success. It also won the Superbike World Championship: the 916 SBK was already a force on its debut in 1994, and in the following years it won 120 races, 8 manufacturer titles and 6 rider titles, four of them with Carl Fogarty. The Englishman has won 55 races with Ducati, 43 of them with a Ducati 916 SBK and 996 SBK. "King Carl" and the 916 remain the most successful couple in the history of the Ducati SBK.

Ducati has decided to celebrate this anniversary with the construction of a special 916 version of the Panigale V4 in an edition of only 500 copies. The "25 ° Anniversario 916" is based on the mechanics of the Panigale V4 S. This has been upgraded with racing features of the Panigale V4 R such as the front frame according to Ducati Corse specifications. The look of the bike combines a special coating with forged magnesium wheels, a titanium-type-tested Akrapovic exhaust and a long list of Ducati performance components.

For the performance, Ducati chose the ninth round of the Superbike World Championship, which took place this weekend in Laguna Seca (California, USA). The presentation of the motorcycle was an occasion to commemorate Californian Carlin Dunne, the Spider Grips Ducati team rider who recently died at Pikes Peak. Jason Chinnock announced Ducati's decision to remove the number 5 from the sale, the same number Dunne used to race. The bike will be auctioned off, and the proceeds will go to fundraisers to support Carlin's mother.