Ducati Globetrotter 90 sets off

An official world tour called ‘Globetrotter 90’ has set off from the Ducati headquarters in Bologna as part of the 90th anniversary celebrations the company kicked off at last weekend’s World Ducati Week.

All of the Ducati employees assembled wearing red t-shirts outside the factory to see the first rider off on the trip that will circle the globe. Seven different riders from around the world will be riding different legs around the world with Indian rider Vir Nakai taking the first leg of seven to ride from Bologna to Moscow.

The Globetrotter 90 trip set-off on Monday, July 4; 90 years to the day since the Italian firm was founded in Bologna, Italy. All seven riders will use the new Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro for their leg of the trip.

Ducati’s press release explains: “The first Globetrotter is Vir Nakai, a 37 year old from India who is a highly experienced rider and traveller; he was passed the torch directly by CEO Claudio Domenicali, to then set off from via Cavalieri Ducati in the direction of Moscow, where on 29 July he will pass the baton to the second of the seven travellers. The torch is also meant to be the symbol of Ducati passion, ready to cross the five continents and bring a positive and enthusiastic message.

“To send-off the first rider/torch-bearer in Borgo Panigale, an impressive 160 representatives from DOCs – Desmo Owners Clubs – participated, coming from 40 nations. Obviously the DOCs arrived on their bikes directly from Misano Adriatico (RN) as “veterans” of the great WDW2016 Ducati gathering, which was held from 1 to 3 July.

“The departure of the Globetrotter 90 is a strongly symbolic moment for the company, as on this 4 July 2016, all the employees at Borgo Panigale, the many DOCs that are the core community of Ducati and the departure of the Indian Globetrotter all represent the strength to identify the past, present and future of this motorcycle manufacturer that is increasingly projected toward significant goals.”

 

THE SEVEN GLOBETROTTERS AND SEVEN STAGES

1 BOLOGNA-MOSCOW |  Rider: VIR NAKAI – INDIA

37 years old, Vir has a motorcycle repair shop in Mumbai, but he is a travel writer and photographer. Motorcycling is all his life and has been since he was a child, travelling on the tank of his father’s bike. “There is no other adventure in the world but the one you can find riding a motorcycle,” he says. He has travelled throughout India, from the Himalayas to Bangalore, and in the coming venture he would like to “absorb every drop of it in order to become a part of it, smell the scents, smile and tell the tale”.

2 THE TRANS-SIBERIAN ROUTE | Rider: STEVE FRASER – AUSTRALIA

50 years old, from Kalamunda, Perth, Steve describes himself as a “professional photographer and adventurer”. Specialised in portraying panoramas, at the age of 8, Steve would run home from school to get on his little bike and ride it into the night. He loves to learn about new cultures and experience the intense sense of adventure while riding a motorbike. Sharing the experience is what he is passionate about.

3 JAPAN | Rider: JESSICA LEYNE – BELGIUM

27 years old, from Leke, Flanders, Jessica is a maths teacher and web designer – but above all, as she says, “has more oil and fuel than blood in her veins”. She has visited Norway and Romania, Slovakia and Italy riding her motorcycle, with no obstacles that would have stopped her – not even the frozen visor, mud up to the saddle or as much as a fractured wrist. Because “on a motorbike I’ve had many challenging days, but I’ve never had a single bad day”.

4 SAN FRANCISCO – INDIANAPOLIS | Rider: EDUARDO GENERALI – BRAZIL

28 years old, from Itu, São Paulo State, Eduardo is a travel guide and instructor. His passion for bikes, which his father passed on to him, has become his job. He arranged and conducted tours through the Atacama desert in Chile, in Patagonia and Bolivia. But the journey that he loved most was the one accomplished with his brother – 30,000 km from Brazil to Alaska. He loves motorcycling so much, that when he’s not riding he’s planning the next trip.

5 INDIANAPOLIS – LISBON | Rider: SAMUEL BENDALL – USA

31 years old, from Los Angeles, a brilliant journalist and photographer, at the age of 5 Samuel decided to devote himself entirely to his passions: writing, photography, travel and especially motorcycling, also as an instructor. “Since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to explore, learn about new cultures and travel the world” says this Ducati Globetrotter. “Today I can finally accomplish that dream on a Multistrada Enduro and it’s going to be awesome!”.

6 LISBON – ISLE OF MAN | Rider: HUGO WILSON – UK

54 years old, BIKE magazine editor, Hugo comes from Stamford in Lincolnshire – He has travelled by motorcycle mostly around Europe and the Mediterranean. A writer and photographer, he admits his passion for motorcycling started at the age of 10 when he first saw his cousin’s Ducati. “It was love at first sight! And when I finally bought my first bike, it could only have been a Ducati… Once a Ducati, always a Ducati”.

7 THE ISLE OF MAN – BOLOGNA | Rider: TIMO SCHÄFER – GERMANY

30 years old, from Karlsruhe, Timo is a mechanical engineering student with a passion for motorcycles that he acquired from his brother. His first motorcycle was a Cagiva Elephant, so he likes to say that Ducati actually was a question of fate (the Cagiva Elephant had a Ducati engine, when the latter became part of the Castiglioni Group). Cheerful and enthusiastic, he wants to live every adventure to the full.

 

FOLLOW THE GLOBETROTTER 90th ADVENTURE on:

the official globetrotter90.ducati.com website

the official Ducati Facebook page

Twitter and Instagram using the #globetrotter90 hashtag