From a press release issued by Ducati UK Ltd.:

DUCATI WIN THREE MAJOR 2002 MCN AWARDS

At last night’s annual Motorcycle News awards held in Birmingham (U.K.), Ducati scooped no less than three of the prestigious awards for 2002.

Ducati Motor Holding Chairman Federico Minoli made his first visit to the stage as Ducati were crowned ‘Manufacturer of the Year’ by the panel of expert judges from Motorcycle News.

“Ducati were deemed to be the manufacturer that are closer to their customers than any other”, commented MCN editor and host for the evenings awards, Adam Duckworth.

Ducati’s next award came in the Sports Bike over 601cc category. The 999 won this ultra – competitive class, eclipsing its rivals with levels of technology and performance previously unseen on its predecessors and competitors.

The final and possibly most prestigious award came at the end of the evening when each category winner was judged to become overall machine of the year. Federico Minoli made his final visit to the stage as the 999 was voted Machine of the Year!

Vice President of Sales & Marketing Nicola Greco commented, ” Fantastic! This is a great honour for everyone at Ducati. Everyone has worked so hard this year, and as a manufacturer we strive to be as approachable for our customers as possible. We are all thrilled!”

Ducati plans to have their awards on display at the forthcoming International Motorcycle Show at the NEC in Birmingham between the 14th and 24th November.