The 1198 S Corse Special Edition sports a bold red, white and black colour scheme to mark the historic introduction of a new Ducati Corse logo and celebrate the winning of both the World Superbike and Superstock Manufacturers’ titles. The Special Edition ‘S’ features a factory team-style aluminium fuel tank and race kit as well as world-beating Ducati Traction Control.At 168kg (370.3lb) (dry weight) the Special Edition model weighs in at 1kg (2.2lb) less than the 1198 S thanks to the beautifully made lightweight fuel tank, which also boosts the bike’s fuel capacity by 2.5 litres (0.66 US gal) to 18 litres (4.75 US gal). The tank is formed in 2mm thick aluminium, brush finished and clear-coated to maintain a factory race tank feel and proudly displays the new Ducati Corse logo on top.
The 1198 R Corse comes in the red, white and black Corse Special Edition livery bodywork with the new aluminium fuel tank clear-coated for all to see. The Trellis frame is also in red with the front and rear 7-spoke Marchesini wheels finished in black. The front fender and side panels are left in a contrasting natural carbon fibre finish while the belly-pan is painted, but reveals its carbon fibre material inside the aerodynamic recess for the side-stand. A subtle ‘1198 R Corse Special Edition’ graphic on the tail fairing leaves no doubt as to what this magnificent bike is.This top-of-the-range model is supplied with a race kit that includes a full racing exhaust system with 102dB carbon fibre mufflers by Termignoni and dedicated ECU which raises power output to approximately 186hp (intended strictly for track use only). Also in the kit is a unique Ducati Corse branded bike cover designed by Aldo Drudi and rear paddock stand as well as an official cased plaque of authentication that confirms the collectable value of this exclusive motorcycle.





Ducati's sporting boss Filippo Preziosi has admitted that he is concerned Valentino Rossi's testing programme could be hampered by his recovery from shoulder surgery.
Now, not since 1997 have I given so much time during a season to ferreting around a 125 team's garage while on my paddock wanderings. It's the Finnish-run Ajo Motorsport garage with Marc Marquez and the super-nice German-with-the-Italian name, Sandro Cortese that I've visited. There are some great guys in the garage from all over Europe - Finns, Germans and Spaniards. Young guys, old guys, new guys, race-winning mechanics and a world champion with Emilio Alzamora who's trying to 'win it' all over again with Marc, some 11 years after he won it himself at Buenos Aires in 1999.














