Ducati is getting ready to celebrate a major anniversary: its 90th. The glorious Ducati brand was founded on 4 July 1926. Now, exactly 90 years later, the company is celebrating by riding the world, taking in those places that have played a key role in the firm’s impressive history.
Starting out from Borgo Panigale, the route will head east across Europe. It will then follow the legendary Trans-Siberian route, taking in Russia, Mongolia, China and then Japan before crossing the ocean to the USA and heading back home across Western Europe.
Before returning to Borgo Panigale, the closing miles of this round-the-world trip will include the exhilarating bends of the Futa Pass near Bologna (where many Ducati bikes have been developed and tested over the years). The expected return date is 15 December 2016.
The star of this tough 30,000 km 120-day odyssey will be the new Multistrada 1200 Enduro. The new Borgo Panigale-built multibike will, quite literally, be a ‘torch bearer’, carrying a special flame designed by the Ducati Style Center.
The trip will be divided into seven stages, to be completed by seven different riders. True globetrotters that Ducati aims to start selecting over the coming days. Ducati is looking for seven people with a taste for adventure; they’ll be choosing the most expert applicants, people who will be entrusted with both bike and torch, ambassadors of Ducati passion travelling the roads of the world.
Applicants need to be competent motorcyclists with wanderlust and will also need to have a good level of English. Another key quality will be a natural gift for storytelling, in both written and photographic form. Ducati is thus looking for bloggers or travellers used to writing and talking about their experiences on both traditional and social media, people with a talent for sharing their experiences, emotions and passion for adventure.
Initial candidate assessment will give rise to 14 finalists. These will then go through a secondary selection process involving evaluation of riding skills and psycho-aptitude testing under the supervision of a professional team that includes former Paris-Dakar racer Beppe Gualini. This second phase will decide the names of the 7 globetrotters to take part in this historical journey.
