Ducati secured their 20th Manufacturers’ Championship title in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship during the Prometeon Spanish Round. Victory for Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in Race 1 at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto was enough to wrap up the title for the Italian factory after a stellar 2024 campaign, where five riders on the Panigale V4 R claimed victory and contributed to their success.
The season got off to the perfect start in Australia as Bulega won Race 1 in Australia, before he added victories at Magny-Cours, Estoril, and Jerez to cap off his rookie season with six wins and second in the Championship, behind only Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in the standings. The #11 also claimed 24 podiums after a stellar start to his World Superbike season.
His teammate, Alvaro Bautista, took four wins in 2024 as he finished third in the standings and relinquished his title to Razgatlioglu. His first win of the season came on home soil in Barcelona in Race 2, before victory in the Tissot Superpole Race at Assen in Round 3. He then had to wait until MotorLand Aragon for his third and fourth victories, where he took a Sunday double as he returned to winning ways.
Barni Spark Racing Team gave two winners to Ducati’s cause this season. First of all, an inspired tyre gamble by Nicholas Spinelli helped him to victory in a wet Race 1 at Assen, where he took the team’s first win in the Championship. Then when WorldSBK headed to Cremona, Danilo Petrucci took an emotional hat-trick on home soil for his first wins in the Championship, making his own bit of motorsport history.
Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) added his name to Ducati folklore too as he ended an eight-year drought for victory. After his MotoGP™ win at the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix, Iannone waited until Race 1 at MotorLand Aragon this year before returning to the top step of the podium. His famous win helped Ducati achieve their goal of winning the Manufacturers’ Championship.
The Bologna-based manufacturer have now taken 20 WorldSBK crowns in their history, including the last three-in-a-row despite missing out on this year’s Riders’ Championship. They previously won it in 2011, which game after they won it back-to-back in 2008 and 2009. Between 1998 and 2006, they won the title on all but one occasion, when Suzuki bettered them in 2005. Before that, they won it between 1991 and 1996, before Honda interrupted their run in 1997.
Gigi Dall’Igna, General Manager of Ducati Corse, spoke about the success, saying: “The victory of our 20th WorldSBK Manufacturers’ title is certainly something exceptional. It comes in a challenging year, where the regulations and the ever-increasing level of the Championship put us to the test. However, we managed to respond in the best possible way, achieving another historic and important milestone. This year, the Panigale V4 R reached the top step of the podium with five different riders, the same riders who, with their results, helped to accumulate the points that once again allowed us to reach the top of the world. So, thanks to Nicolo Bulega, Alvaro Bautista and Aruba.it Racing – Ducati, to Danilo Petrucci, Nicholas Spinelli, and Barni Racing Team, to Andrea Iannone and Team GoEleven, and more generally, to all the Ducati riders and their teams. Finally, as always, a heartfelt thanks to all the men and women of Ducati Corse who, with passion and enthusiasm, embraced and overcame the challenges of this season!”
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Source: WorldSBK.com