From a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

FIRST INTERNATIONAL WIN FOR DUCATI 749R SUPERSPORT

Bologna (Italy), 27 April 2004: MonsterMob Ducati Supersport rider Michael Laverty moved into the lead of the British Supersport Championship after a superb debut victory on the 749 at Snetterton on Sunday.

Laverty becomes the first rider to take Ducati’s all-new 749R to a win in the Supersport category. His victory came at the end of a superb fight-back through the field after he finished the first lap in eleventh place.

The 22-year-old from Toomebridge, Northern Ireland snatched the lead with three laps to go but the race was red-flagged a lap short after an accident. However, Laverty was in the lead when the race was stopped and as a result took his second victory in three years at the Norfolk circuit:

“I had an awful first lap and dropped back to 11th but I rode a steady race and picked them off one by one as I didn’t want to try too hard early on. I never thought I would get through to the front but I was strong at the end of the race. The bike was brilliant and the tyres were good and it all just worked out for me” said a delighted Laverty.

The 749R Supersport, which was unveiled to the international press at Valencia at the end of February during the presentation of the 749R streetbike, from which the racing version is derived, is already obtaining considerable success out on the track.

After three rounds of the World Supersport Championship, one of the most hard-fought and prestigious of all time with the presence of all four Japanese manufacturers together with Ducati, the Ducati Breil rider Lorenzo Lanzi has already obtained some positive results.

The 22-year-old Italian from the province of Romagna has already scored two top 6 finishes, at Valencia (fourth) and Misano (sixth). Laverty’s win with a 749R of Ducati’s satellite structure in Britain, Paul Bird’s MonsterMob team, is a clear indication that the project is on the right track.

Development work on the new bike will now continue on an Italian and international level, starting with the next appointments for Lanzi with the 749R Breil; round 2 of the Italian Supersport Championship, scheduled for May 9 at the Imola circuit, and then in the fourth round of the world championship the following weekend at the Autodromo di Monza.