From press releases:

START YOUR ENGINES FOR WORLD DUCATI WEEK 2002.

World Ducati Week 2002 is off and running. The track, exhibitions, shows, Ducati Clubs, celebrities from the sports and entertainment world, dancing, great food and all things Ducati is what’s in store for the thousands of Ducatisti convening in Misano, Cattolica and Bologna. And if that wasn’t enough, fans will have a chance to get a close-up look of the new Ducati GP bike, witness the start of the Trans-Siberian attempt and the Motogiro di Italia, and take part in the drawing for a flaming red 998R!

Bologna, June 14, 2002: Today marks the start of the third edition of the huge international rally WDW2002, which will span an entire week this time. The first three days (June 14-16) will be held at the Santa Monica raceway. Activities will continue all week to keep Ducati fans busy, while they await the SBK race on June 23rd (June 17-20), at the Parco del Mare Le Navi in Cattolica that has been transformed for this occasion into the central meeting point for the thousands of Ducatisti assembling from all corners of the earth..

Misano Adriatico, Bologna and Cattolica will be the centers of the events scheduled including the participation of celebrities from the world of sports and entertainment, Ducati clubs, dealers, importers and the simply curious who want to discover the world of Ducati.
Ducati Village, located in the paddock of the Santa Monica raceway, is where for three days participants will find everything related to the legendary motorcycle manufacturer from Borgo Panigale.

Countless activities are planned for the weekend: exhibitions of stuntmen, contests on motorcycles, seminars, a Sotheby’s auction, drawings for prizes, laps around the track, weddings and fashion shows. But other new important events are on the schedule as well. All WDW2002 participants can admire the Ducati GP bike first hand, be present for the departure of Edi Orioli for his Trans-Siberian attempt and the start of the Motogiro di Italia. Be sure to take part in other activities like the parade organized in honor of Engineer Taglioni and get a specially priced ticket for the concert by musician Carlos Santana at the Heineken Jamin’ Festival. To top things off, one of the incredibly lucky registered participants will be picked to win a fantastic 998R.

Starting June 14 and continuing over the following week, Ducatisti can visit the Parco del Mare Le Navi in Cattolica where they’ll be able to join in the fun at the WDW2002 Beach Infostrada Championship, try out personal watercrafts and windsurfers, challenge each other in soap soccer, sign up for four different motorcycling tours organized by Curve & Tornanti and the Regione Emilia Romagna, or simply relax on the beach while they wait for the SBK race on June 23 in Misano Adriatico. The daytime program for this third edition is complemented by WDW2002 by Night, which includes four after-dinner parties for Ducatisti in the coolest spots on the Italian Riviera.

WDW2002 will also provide the opportunity to meet the Ducati Superbike and Supersport riders. All three Factory Team riders will be on hand — Troy Bayliss, Ben Bostrom and Ruben Xaus – in addition to Chili, Parkes, Bontempi, Hogdson, Toseland and Martin. Participants will have a chance to meet, chat and photograph them, not to mention ask questions to satisfy their curiosity about the world of racing. Also present will be the many past champions of Ducati including the charismatic and always entertaining Giancarlo Fallappa.

Guided tours to Museo Ducati and the factory will be offered for the entire duration of the World Ducati Week 2002 (except Sunday).


“Ducati Around The World”: the Trans-Siberian

The “Ducati Around The World” project continues, with the Sport Touring family of motorcycles taking the leading role. Saturday 15 June, during World Ducati Week 2002, Edi Orioli will set off for his 14,000 kilometer trek to Vladivostok Russia aboard a specially equipped ST4S.

Bologna, 14 June 2002: Saturday 15 June, during the World Ducati Week 2002, Edi Orioli will set off for Vladivostok on a specially equipped ST4S, with a good 14,000 kilometers separating him from his destination.

The Trans-Siberian is part of “Ducati Around The World”, initiated in 2001, a project with the goal of promoting the Sport Touring family. Every year the adventure takes place in a new and exciting location.

The capabilities of the Sport Touring family of motorcycles are best realized during long tours, and this is particularly true of the latest arrival, the ST4S, which combines comfort and reliability to a distinctly sporting spirit.

“Ducati Around The World” was initiated last year with a journey in the USA. Denver, Santa Fe, and Las Vegas were all included as 11 motorcyclist’s astride ST4S’s made the 3000 kilometer journey last October. It was a dream tour through the Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon and finally to Las Vegas and the Ducati Revs America event.

For 2002 “Ducati Around The World” sets a decidedly more challenging test, the Trans-Siberian. To face this challenge Ducati chose Edi Orioli, the four time winner of the Paris-Dakar, twice of which he won on a Ducati. Edi accepted the challenge of taking an ST4S over one of the most famous and difficult roads in the world with great enthusiasm. The eternal fascination of Red Square, the unending landscapes of Siberia and the nomads of Mongolia are all part of a legendary journey on a bike designed for such challenges. For this event Edi’s ST is fitted with satellite navigation and a Ducati Performance comfort kit (taller fairing for improved rider protection and higher more comfortable handlebars.)

In addition to Edi Orioli, the expedition team includes five support staff and a Russian guide, following in two vans. They will set off from the Santa Monica (Misano Adriatico) race track, the venue for the World Ducati Week2002, on 15 June.

The adventure will be followed real-time by ducati.com. When you visit ducati.com you can receive daily updates for each leg of the journey, browse the photos of the daily events and “chat” with members of the expedition.

EDI ORIOLI

Edi Orioli climbed onto his first motorcycle, a Gori 50cc, in the eighth grade.In 1979 at age 17, he won his first Italian Enduro title, and in 1981 he won his first world championship. The first opportunity to race in Africa surfaced in 1986 when Massimo Ormeni sponsored him for the Paris to Dakar, which Orioli finished in sixth place overall.

Orioli was crowned King of the Olympus of African rallies, and became the greatest Italian champion of all time by winning the great desert challenge four times:1988, ’90, ’94 and ’96.

In 1990 Edi took his motorcycle to the first victory for an Italian motorcycle in the Paris to Dakar, and then repeated the victory in ’94 with the win of the standard-production class.

Both winning motorcycles had something in common, a Ducati engine. Edi has chosen once again the Ducati engine to face his longest Touring Rally, the Bologna-Moscow-Vladivostok, along the route of the legendary Trans-Siberian railway. This new challenge follows the three memorable experiences of the Desert Challenge, the motorcycle expeditions that Edi organized and completed in: the Ténéré in Nigeria, the Atacama in Chile, and the Gobi Desert, in Mongolia.

THE JOURNEY
The route follows the longest railway in the world, the Trans-Siberian. Departing from the Bolognese roots of Ducati, it will conclude the city of Vladivostock;, a destination very far from ordinary. Vladivostock, like many other cities along the route, owes its development to the legendary trans-siberian railway 14,000 km, in three weeks.

A test requiring mechanical perfection and masterful riding. A whole continent to be crossed – the biggest continent on the planet. Different cultures and traditions, some hostile. A mixture of riding, diplomacy and adventure.

DATEPLACEKILOMETRESSTATE
14/6Bologna, 0, ITALY
15/6Bologna Misano Udine, 510, ITALY
16/6Udine Vienna Brno Katovice, 850,POLAND
17/6Katovice Varsavia Brest Kobrin,550, BIELORUSSIA
18/6Kobrin Smolensk, 630, RUSSIA
18/6Smolensk Mosca,400, RUSSIA
20/6Mosca
21/6Mosca Rajazan Penza, 630, RUSSIA
22/6Penza Samara, 430, RUSSIA
23/6Samara Ufa, 471, RUSSIA
24/6Ufa Celjabinsk,460, RUSSIA
25/6Celjabinsk Confine Kazakistan, 480, KAZAKISTAN
26/6Confine Kazakistan Omsk, 330, RUSSIA
27/6Omsk Novosibirsk, 700, RUSSIA
28/6Novosibirsk Kemerovo, 540, RUSSIA
29/6Kamerovo Krasnojarsk, 520, RUSSIA
30/6Krasnojarsk Tulum, 670,RUSSIA
01/7Tulum Irkutsk, 391, RUSSIA
02/7Irkutsk Ulan-Ude, 450, RUSSIA
04/7Ulan-Ude Cita, 670, RUSSIA
06/7Cita Habarovsk, 2000, RUSSIA
06/7Habarovsk Vladivostok, 780, RUSSIA
08/7RETURN TO ITALY

THE STAGES

THE BIKE
The ST4S was designed for the Sport Touring customer who is performance-oriented, but who also wants his bike to offer comfort and functionality for long journeys and touring holidays.

The ST4s is equipped with our best racing-derived components and offers all-day riding comfort.. Start with the awesome Superbike 996 cc Desmo 4 valve liquid cooled, fuel injected engine and six speed transmission.

Add the latest Showa fully adjustable upside-down forks, an incredible Ohlins remote reservoir rear shock and a new aluminium rear swingarm.
Edi Orioli’s ST4S is fitted with satellite navigation and a Ducati Performance comfort kit which includes a taller fairing for improved rider protection and higher, more comfortable handlebars. It remains very similar to the production motorcycle.

THE TEAM

Alessandro Beltrame -cameraman
Alessandro Beltrame, 33, has a scientific background with information technology. and electronic skills. He is the owner of AGB video production company. Combining work and play, he enjoys mountain climbing, rock and ice scrambling, trekking, mountain biking, scuba-diving and downhill skiing.

He is an expert in post-production analog and digital systems as well as the Internet. Lately, he has been testing new technology for WEB video use and high-speed transmission.

In this project he is the director of photography and the cameraman. He has completed closed-to one hundred productions for International clients (National Geographic) and italian television (RAI and Mediaset). Among his achievements include documentaries in Europe, Australia, USA, Mexico, Chile, Mongolia, Brazil, the Amazon and Africa.
Orazio Truglio – photographer
Born in Milan in 1960, Orazio began work in 1980 as a photographer for a well-known Milan publisher that’s specialized in fashion magazines. He worked on features, fashion shows and still-life compositions of accessories.
In 1986 he left the publishing house and opened his own studio, which he named Variego. His activities diversified into integrated communications where he worked with some of the biggest Milan communications and advertising agencies to produce publicity work for the print and poster media.

His first work with motorcycles was in 1991.
For about ten years he has been commissioned to shoot major motor events including both Formula 1 and the Superbike championship. He produces photographic services for some of the most famous and successful teams.

His photographic work can be seen regularly in print advertising campaigns and posters. He met Edi Orioli at the Gobi-Mongolia 2001 Desert Challenge, where he was working as the expedition photographer.

He lives and works in Milan.

Mauro Sant – mechanic

Mauro Sant was born in Udine on July 29th 1968. His love for motorcycles began during his adolescence, and as soon as he was old enough to hold a liscence he launched himself into the world of off-road Enduro biking.

He raced in the Veneto Regional Championship with success and made numerous other appearances on the podium. In 1989, he won the Young Italy Championship and the “Sei Giorni” competition in France. In Czechoslovakia he won the silver medal and took the bronze in Italy.

Carlo Peano – Doctor

Carlo Peano, sports doctor, 42 years old, specializes in orthopedics and traumatology, lives in Reano, near Udine.

An endurance sport enthusiast, he also undertakes journeys to the most desolate places on the continent.

Both as a participant and as a doctor, he has been on various alpine expeditions ranging from the Himalayas to Karakorum and the Andes. He has made 6 climbs of over 6000 metres and many other high-altitude treks.

He has crossed the Sahara as well as the Chilean and Asian deserts (Atacama and Gobi respectively). He has crossed swathes of the polar regions on foot and on skis (Svalbard and Baffin territories) and has scuba-dived and kayaked in various parts of the world.

His hobbies include motorcycling and silent flying (parapending and gliders).

WORLD DUCATI WEEK 2002 TO HOST DUCATI PERFORMANCE FASHION SHOW

Ducati has announced that it will host a fashion show to launch an exclusive line of clothing inspired by the fun and emotion of World Ducati Week 2002, the Company’s huge, biennial motorcycle rally for enthusiasts.

To be know as the “WDW collection”, this selection of products embraces the excitement which characterizes the thousands of motorcyclists who gather together in Misano Adriatico to celebrate the historic, championship-winning Italian motorcycle brand. T-shirt branded with logos from the Ducati’s rich 75 year history, caps, handy backpacks, pouches, k-ways, mobile holders, sweatshirts and key holders are just a taste of this unmissable motorcyclist kit.

World Ducati Week will take place at the Misano racetrack, near the beach, with additional events at the aqua-park, Le Navi in Cattolica. And to capture the spirit of the seaside, Ducati Performance, Ducati’s accessories and apparel arm, has designed a line of beachwear including seaside accessories, a bath towel, shorts, sunglasses and flip-flops.

Three fashion shows will present the collections in addition to Ducati Performance’s full 2002 Collection – the first to be designed entirely by Aldo Drudi. His famous designs uniquely combine safety, high-tech components and unmistakeable Ducati style.

Ducatisti – Ducati enthusiasts – are increasingly interested in branded accessories and apparel which make a clear statement of which motorcycle tribe they belong to. In this case it is clear. They are all part of the ever-growing World of Ducati.

DUCATI.COM AT THE WDW2002
The Ducati website at World Ducati Week 2002.

Ducati.com is organizing the first major creative competition in Ducati’s history for World Ducati Week 2002. Dedicated to customized bikes based on production Ducatis: the special@WDW2002 contest is open to Ducati “customization-junkies” everywhere.

At the Ducati.com stand at the Santa Monica racetrack in Misano Adriatico, a full- fledged photo-set will be dedicated to shooting all customized models participating the first DucatiSpecialContest2002.

Numerous important sector journalists and magazines will cover the contest. All bikes entered will be photographed and the unique sound of their engines recorded.

Entries for the Special@WDW2002 can only be submitted online by filling in the form provided at www.wdw2002.com. The three most beautiful and original customized bikes will be awarded a trophy by Ducati.

In the wake of the success of DucatiPeople2002, Ducati’s advertising campaign featuring real Ducati riders from all over the world, casting will begin for DucatiPeople2003 after the end of WDW2002. Once again the campaign will be dedicated to Ducati riders and enthusiasts worldwide. A special “pre-casting” photo-shoot is being organized especially for Ducati owners at WDW.

All the thrills of the world’s biggest Ducati motorcycling rally can also be felt simply by visiting www.wdw2002.com, which can also be reached from Ducat.com. Visitors will find photo-galleries, services, track-side articles, digital videos, images from the WDW Beach, professional stunts, live music, and the unforgettable “WDW Nights”.

And for fans of extreme touring, WDW presents two not-to-be-missed opportunities: the start of the Bologna-Vladivostock supertour with Edi Orioli aboard a Ducati ST4s and the launch of the legendary Motogiro d’Italia. Two incredible challenges you can follow every step of the way on www.ducati.com.

With more than 600,000 visitors and 9 million pages viewed per month, as well as 55,000 registered users, www.ducati.com is Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A’s most important single channel of communication and among the most visited official motorcycling websites in the world. With 6100 pages, more than 2000 articles, and over 8000 photos it stands out as one of the most complete and wide ranging sites in the sector for information, technical data, pictures, and services. The online sale of special series like the MH900e, 996R, Monster S4 Fogarty, and 998S Bayliss have also made Ducati.com one of the major successes of Italian e-business and world online motorcycling.

DUCATI CORSE PRESS INFORMATION
Bologna (Italy)
Monday 10 June 2002

FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCE FOR DUCATI DESMOSEDICI AT WDW

Two weeks after being officially unveiled to the world’s press at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello on May 30, the Desmosedici, Ducati’s new prototype for the FIM MotoGP championship, will go on display for the general public at Misano Adriatico’s Santamonica circuit on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 June.

Misano Adriatico is the scene for World Ducati Week, Europe’s largest one-make motorcycle rally, which attracts ‘Ducatisti’ from all over the world to a week of festivities involving the Italian manufacturer. WDW2002 takes place from June 14-20, the week leading up to the San Marino Round of the World Superbike Championship, scheduled for the same circuit from June 21-23.

WDW participants will be the first to get a look at the final version of the Ducati Desmosedici, a 989cc four-stroke, “double-twin” machine, with a unique twin-firing order (called “twinpulse”).

The Ducati Desmosedici is a brand-new prototype and will be on display in the red livery of Team Ducati Infostrada, which, in the hands of reigning champion Troy Bayliss from Australia, is currently leading the 2002 FIM World Superbike Championship.

The new bike will undergo nine months of development and testing before making its debut at the first round of the 2003 World Championship in Suzuka (Japan).

Ducati has a long-term vision of being able to challenge for top honours in MotoGP, exploiting to the full its experience with four-stroke production-based motorbikes in the World Superbike Championship, in which it has won 9 Riders’ and 10 Constructors’ titles in the last 14 years.

“Competition has always been the main vehicle of promotion for Ducati” declared Ducati Motor Holding President Federico Minoli “and the new Desmosedici represents the icon of our philosophy: the construction of technologically advanced bikes, representing Italian genius and style in circuits throughout the world.”

The new bike has been designed by a team led by Ducati Corse Managing Director Claudio Domenicali, together with Technical Director Filippo Preziosi.

“The Desmosedici project is clearly the largest commitment ever faced by Ducati in motorcycle racing” declared Domenicali, “but we believe we have built a competitive motorcycle and track tests will get underway soon.”

“The Ducati tradition of desmodromic valve system, tubular trestle frame, L-shaped engine layout, unmistakeable design, together with its experience in Superbike and years of collaboration with international partners, have made it possible to realize this dream” added Ducati Corse Technical Director Filippo Preziosi.