Copyright 2026 Roadracing World Publishing Inc.

By Sean Bice

“Bucket List” is not part of the lexicon of too many teenagers. But, then again, most teenagers, especially teenage motorcycle road racers, are not like Kayla Yaakov.

The 19-year-old Pennsylvanian, who races in the highly competitive MotoAmerica Supersport Championship aboard a Rahal Ducati Moto with Droplight Panigale V2, recently enjoyed a bucket-list experience during and right after World Ducati Week (WDW), which was held from July 3 through 5 at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” in Italy. Yaakov, along with her Rahal Ducati Moto teammate, PJ Jacobsen, helped Ducati commemorate its 100th anniversary. The centennial celebration attracted a record-breaking 118,036 attendees from 94 countries.

WDW 2026 was sensory overload enough, but it was what Kayla Yaakov did this past Monday immediately following the event that qualifies as “bucket-list-worthy.” And mind you, this is on top of all the things she’s accomplished just this year alone, including being the first woman to finish on the podium in the DAYTONA 200, earning the Supersport pole position at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, breaking the Supersport lap record and getting pole position at Barber Motorsports Park, achieving the Supersport pole position at Ridge Motorsports Park, and notching six Supersport podium finishes so far this season, with one runner-up result and five third-place finishes. How could she possibly top all that?

By doing fast laps at Misano aboard Nicolò Bulega’s Ducati Panigale V4 R World Superbike machine, followed by more fast laps in the saddle of Marc Márquez’s Ducati Desmosedici GP26 MotoGP racebike.

“We knew I was going to go over for World Ducati Week,” Yaakov said, “Especially with the year we’ve had and making history with the brand. The DAYTONA 200 pole position was a big thing for them, and also, the pole positions, lap records, and podium finishes I’ve had so far. 

“They’ve been really supportive of all that. They wanted me to go to Misano and do some laps of honor and meet a lot of Ducati people who were there celebrating the event. So, about a month ago, we knew I was going to be there.

“But then, the whole MotoGP bike thing, that came together within the past two weeks. I kind of didn’t want to get my hopes up because, you know, obviously that’s like a very selective experience. They don’t let just anybody get on those bikes and experience something like that. So, I was kind of just hoping in the back of my mind, but not getting too far ahead of myself, just in case it didn’t happen.”

Everything fell into place perfectly for Yaakov, and she got to spend five days at Misano.

“I had a great time,” continued Yaakov. “I did some laps of honor (on a Panigale V4 S). I met a lot of really great people and had some really good conversations with the MotoGP riders and, you know, everyone in the Ducati family. So that was really nice to have good conversations with them. I had some good dinners and met a lot of the top Ducati customers. Many of them are from America and North America, so it was nice to actually see a lot of those people. Most of them are racing fans but I think, when they finally met PJ and me, it is really nice for them to have someone to kind of root for now.”

And then, on Monday, Yaakov really got to “kick it up a notch,” to steal a phrase from noted Italian-American chef Emeril Lagasse.

We’ll let Yaakov describe her Misano Monday:

“I did four laps on the Panigale V4 S just to get up to speed and familiarize myself with the track again, which I actually kind of liked because, once I got onto the World Superbike, which was next, my brain was already up to speed, and I could kind of push a little bit more.

“I went straight to the V4 R World Superbike, which was Nicolò Bulega’s bike. And from there, I went to Marc Márquez’s Desmosedici MotoGP bike. They allowed me to use (Bulega’s teammate) Iker Lecuona’s settings, his (fuel) map, etc. On the MotoGP bike, they made it as open as they could. The experience was amazing.”

Yaakov climbed quite a performance ladder, going from a Panigale V4 S streetbike, to a Panigale V4 R World Superbike, to a Desmosedici GP26 MotoGP bike. We asked her to describe the procession:

“The Panigale V4 S, obviously, it’s a street bike, and I have one of them at home. So that was not really something…I guess you’re not nervous riding a street bike. So, that was just good to go out and ride. And then, making the jump to the World Superbike, I mean, honestly, the whole day I was kind of feeling like maybe I would be nervous to ride those bikes, but I really wasn’t at all. I was more excited than anything, even though it was my very first time testing a Superbike.

“I was expecting to be nervous because I haven’t ever been on a Superbike. I mean, literally, never. I went out on it, and I honestly felt pretty comfortable, which is really a testament to how good the Ducati is. The (Panigale) V2 (that I race in MotoAmerica Supersport) is such a good steppingstone for the Superbike.

“I did four flying laps, and the thing was amazing. So good. I mean, the performance of the bike was awesome. The only thing that was different was, I was on Pirelli tires, but aside from that, I mean, the thing was just killer. It did everything I wanted it to do.

Yaakov got to spend some time with Bulega, who, to her surprise, has been paying attention to how she’s been doing in MotoAmerica.

“We talked,” Yaakov said. “He was like, ‘You’re doing very well in America,’ and he just kind of praised me, which is very cool. To find out that the World Superbike guys follow MotoAmerica and me on the Ducati, was just incredible to hear.”

Next up for Yaakov was the Desmosedici GP26 MotoGP bike.

“Yeah. Incredible. There are really no words for it,” said Yaakov.

“I actually enjoyed it way more than I thought. You know, with Ben (Spies) being my team principal, obviously, he’s in my ear all the time telling me, ‘This is probably what you’re going to feel. It’s going to be very stiff. It’s going to be this; it’s going to be that. It was definitely everything he described, but that bike was just amazing.

“(Former MotoGP Champion) Casey Stoner was there, as well. I got to spend time with Casey throughout the weekend. He’s been following me for a little bit, especially since he and Ben are really good friends. The past couple of years, you know, I’ve gotten occasional messages from Casey, which has been awesome. After the weekend, he stuck around just for me while I rode the World Superbike and MotoGP bike. He is really an awesome guy.”

We had to find out more about how it felt for Yaakov to ride the Ducati MotoGP bike, and she said, “It was a rocket ship.”

“Wide open right away. The thing pulls in every single gear. On a (production) bike, it mellows out a little bit. Once you get to fifth and sixth gear, the curve starts to go down. But, this thing, it never stopped pulling. It was just a complete rocket ship. And turning the thing was actually quite amazing. You’re not really getting that ‘backing in’ sensation. There is no real pitch from the bike, no backing it in on corner entry. So, you don’t really have that pivot point. That was definitely different. I absolutely loved it. I got four or five flying laps on it, and it was just, I was smiling the entire time.”

MotoGP bikes have carbon brakes, which need to get some heat in them before they deliver peak performance, so we asked Yaakov if the Desmosedici GP26 she rode had carbon brakes:

“That was one of the two things we weren’t able to try. Carbon brakes and the ride-height device. Casey suggested to them that it would probably be better if I just had steel brakes since I was only going to be able to do four or five laps. With the carbon brakes, it takes a couple of corners for them to come in, and it’s very abrupt. They wanted me to be comfortable right away and just enjoy it from the first lap.

“It was the best bike I’ve ever ridden and, obviously, the fastest, too. And I wasn’t really pushing. I didn’t feel like I was even close to the limit. There was so much more to get out of it. I told Casey, ‘If I had a full day or a full weekend on this thing, I really feel like I could get a lot out of it.

“They were actually quite surprised that I could do something pretty decent in the four or five laps I got on each bike. And just the feeling on both bikes was way better than I expected. Casey was kind of in their ears all weekend trying to get me the best experience I could have. It was truly like a dream come true. The dream for everybody in motorcycle racing, like, you ask anybody in the paddock, they’d say they want to be on a MotoGP bike or be a MotoGP World Champion.

“I got a little emotional coming back into the pit because, like wishing on a shooting star, I’d been saying ‘I want to be in MotoGP. I want to ride a MotoGP bike,’ and that happened for me. I’ve worked really hard to get here. When I was little, I would draw pictures of myself being on a MotoGP bike, and I actually got to do it in real life. It’s the best thing I’ve ever gotten to do, and of course, I hope I can do it again in the future.

“It’s also special because it’s the final year of the 1000cc MotoGP bikes, as well. So that was really cool to get to do. It was really the right time. I’m just so thankful.”