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The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is welcoming records by the round and the Pirelli Dutch Round at the TT Circuit Assen saw a historic milestone for Ducati. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) delivered a 400^th win for the manufacturer and his 40^th with the brand, in what cements them as the most successful manufacturer in WorldSBK. We look back at their best race wins, the iconic numbers along the way and look back at some famous names.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS: Ducati started well, and only got stronger

Ducati’s winning success has been as long as the Championship itself, winning the second ever race at Donington Park with ex 500cc Grand Prix World Champion Marco Lucchinelli, who’d add to the tally later on in the year. Raymond Roche became the first serial winner for them from 1989 to 1992, taking the manufacturer’s first World Championship in the class in 1990 with domination. Into the 1990s and Ducati’s success kept on going with riders such as Doug Polen, Stephene Mertens and Giancarlo Falappa all coming to the fore; American Polen became a double WorldSBK Champion for the brand in 1991 and 1992.

However, it was 1993 onwards where Ducati would be etched into the forefront of everyone’s minds as Britain’s Carl Fogarty became one of the most popular riders ever seen in WorldSBK – and one of the most successful. Missing out on the 1993 title despite 11 wins, Fogarty ran riot in 1994 and 1995, clinching back-to-back titles and becoming a real superstar. Also during that time, the rise of Troy Corser, who became a rookie winner in 1995 at the Salzburgring in Race 1 before Fogarty won Race 2, Ducati’s 100^th.

FIRST GOLDEN ERA: classic fights and unrivalled success

Then, in 1996, John Kocinski’s stunning start to life in WorldSBK was a winning one at Misano. In a memorable race Down Under, Corser clinched the 1996 crown for Ducati in Race 1; there was nothing stopping Ducati. Fogarty was back in Ducati red in 1997 but missed the title, whilst 1998 saw them back on top, with a particular highlight being a podium lockout in the pouring rain of Albacete, as well as Fogarty and Pierfrancesco Chili’s epic battle at Assen. 1999 came and Fogarty dominated to make it a fourth crown, with another memorable race being Phillip Island’s Race 2, as Corser and ‘Foggy’ swapped places on the final lap.

WILDCARD FEVER: new names, fresh faces, same strength, more titles

After Fogarty retired through injury at the start of 2000, the question was who could possibly replace him? Coming over after a BSB title in 1999, Troy Bayliss was the answer, but it would be a wildcard who gave Ducati their first win of the season with Neil Hodgson in a heroic Donington Park Race 2 charge, with him taking Frankie Chili on the final lap, closing in by over a second for his first win. Bayliss won at Hockenheim in Race 1. Another wildcard winner would come in the form of John Reynolds at Brands Hatch at the end of the season whilst a year later, it was Bayliss who returned Ducati to the Championship, winning an epic battle at Monza against rival Colin Edwards for a first win of the year. In 2002, Bayliss started by making history, becoming the first rider in WorldSBK to win six straight races, and whilst he’d fight until the end of the year the title would be missed. However, 2003 welcomed Neil Hodgson’s domination and a mighty nine race wins on the bounce at the start of the year., including Ducati’s 200^th podium. However, wildcard Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne completed a memorable double at Brands Hatch, a highlight in the Italian brand’s campaign.

As Hodgson took the 2003 title and Ducati won every race, 2004 was similar; one of WorldSBK’s finest races was at Misano 2004, when Frankie Chili took his final win with a tyre gamble whilst James Toseland went on to become the youngest ever World Champion. The title was taken in 2006 with Troy Bayliss, who conquered Assen’s Race 2 in 2007 in a classic duel with James Toseland. A year later, it was Lorenzo Lanzi who profited from a final corner shuffle at Valencia in Race 1, whilst it was a final hurrah for Bayliss who retired from racing as a Champion with victory in his final race. In 2009, Michel Fabrizio won at home for the first time, whilst in 2011, the title was back in Bologna with Carlos Checa – Checa took the crown at Magny-Cours, having achieved Ducati’s 300^th win at Silverstone.

SOMETHING NEW: enter the Panigale model

Four wins in 2012 preceded a barren spell in 2013 and 2014 as the new Panigale V-Twin struggled to fight with rivals. However, 2015 called and Chaz Davies was competitive straight away and took the model’s first win at Aragon in 2015, although it was a heroic Sepang Race 2 that saw Davies come to blows with eventual Champion Jonathan Rea, denying the Ulsterman a double. 2016 saw Davies win again but it was Marco Melandri’s return to WorldSBK and winning ways at Misano that came as a highlight of 2017, whilst the Italian beat Rea in a head-to-head belter at Phillip Island a year later.

The current era of success however came with the Panigale V4 R, which came into use in 2019, with rookie Alvaro Bautista at the helm. Nobody saw which was he went for the first 11 races of 2019, with his final race win of the streak coming in Race 2 at Assen, before his title challenge faded. 2020 welcomed Scott Redding and Michael Ruben Rinaldi as race winners at Jerez Race 1 and Teruel Race 1 respectively, whilst Chaz Davies would sign-off his factory Ducati career with a win – his last one –  in an emotional final race for the team at Estoril. With Redding in third overall in 2021, he took a brilliant win at Most in Race 2 – where he’d go on to propose to girlfriend (now wife) Jaycey.

BACK TO BOLOGNA: title back in red in 2022 as records shattered

But it was all about 2022, when Alvaro Bautista was back in the Ducati team and back to winning ways straight away. He racked up victory after victory, including at Most where his win gave Ducati a massive 1000^th podium in WorldSBK. After more wins came through the year, it was a second place at Mandalika that returned the title to Ducati after 11 years with a round to spare. However, the final round at Phillip Island saw one of the greatest comebacks, with Bautista coming from as low as 16^th on Lap 1 to win after a bold tyre gamble. With the #1 back on a Ducati for the first time since 2005, Bautista dominated the opening race of the 2023 season in the rain at Phillip Island, before Ducat’s big 400^th win came at Assen in Race 2, completing his second hat-trick of the year and taking an eighth win from nine races.

IN NUMBERS: the heavy-hitting stats regarding Ducati’s wins

400 – Ducati claim 400 wins in WorldSBK; their nearest rivals are Kawasaki at 177. With their 400^th win, it was also the 700^th different podium that Ducati have been represented on.

60 – The #1 on a Ducati has won a race 60 times, six different riders contributing and the rider with the most #1 Ducati wins is Fogarty, at 24.

55 – Carl Fogarty’s 55 wins for Ducati means he’s the most successful, followed by Troy Bayliss at 52.

40 – Bautista clinched his 40^th win in Race 2 at Assen, exactly 10% of all of Ducati’s wins.

36.840s – The biggest Ducati victory margin was 36.840s at Brands Hatch in 1993’s Race 1 with Giancarlo Falappa finishing ahead of Kawasaki’s Scott Russell.

32 – 32 different riders have won a WorldSBK race for Ducati, with five being one-time victors for the brand: Andreas Meklau at the Osterreichring in Race 1 1993, Jamie Whitham at Sentul Race 1 1994, Anthony Gobert at Laguna Seca in Race 1 1999, John Reynolds at Brands Hatch Race 1 2000 and Garry McCoy at Phillip Island Race 2 2004.

8 – Eight riders from United Kingdom and eight riders from Italy have won races for Ducati, more than any other nationality.

4 – Fogarty’s four titles remain the most by a single rider for Ducati in World Superbike.

0.005s – The closest finish won by a Ducati was actually a Ducati 1-2 with Corser beating Fogarty at Phillip Island in Race 2, 1999.

Watch the 2023 season unfold and see if more magic is in the offing with the WorldSBK VideoPass!