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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION NOT PART OF THE ORIGINAL DUCATI WEBSITE MARKETING 75 Anniversary marketing: Ducati began celebrating their 75th anniversary via marketing material in the summer of 2001 and it carried over into 2002 due to print cycles. Most collateral for the 2001 model year was printed in August 2000, so it was the marketing collateral for the 2002 model year that was printed in August 2001 which saw the 75 anniversary logo on the back of their catalogues, on their posters, etc. In certain markets they released special 75th anniversary posters and other materials to celebrate. For example, Germany received a fold-out poster of the 996R with the 75th anniversary logo. This also of course extended into real life such as at WDW 2001 and the livery of Bayliss's 998 F01 at Imola. Sony PlayStation: Ducati World Racing Challenge 2001, Sony PlayStation 1 Duke Video: A film crew from Duke Marketing were present at the Valencia press launch. They created a special 10 minute DVD feature of the event titled "The Ultimate Superbike - Ducati 996R". [6] Superbike World Championship Review, 2001 DVD - Released by Duke after the 2001 WSBK season and covers all of the race highlights plus additional specials and interviews. Posters: There was only 1 official marketing poster of the 996R that was sent out to dealers. It's the one everyone knows, looking at the front of the bike on the cover, and having the new Testastretta engine and specifications printed on the reverse. They were of course different likenesses and angles of the 996R for other marketing materials, but that was to be the only official poster sent to dealerships and that were available for purchase. It should be noted that the 996R used in the poster and some promotional material was a pre-production bike. This is because the lower NACA duct on each side is not exposed carbon-fibre but painted red instead, no holes in the rear brake disc, no provision for the metal mesh air extractor along the top of the side fairings, no rubber wiring loom straps on the frame, no torque inspection marks, and a couple of other minor items being slightly different. 2001 Team Infostrada Troy Bayliss ad. Sponsor marketing - Infostrada ad Marketing collateral: For 2001 there was a full-line catalogue & price sheet which was in-depth, and there was also a much more abbreviated fold-out brochure. Ducati Apparel and Accessories Catalogue Ducati Performance 748 916 996 998 Accessories Catalogue RACING SUCCESS Breakdown (998cc Testastretta only) World Superbike Championship (2001): 15 wins British Superbike Championship (2001–2002): 29 wins Italian CIV Superbike Championship (2001): 5 wins AMA Pro Thunder (2001): 4 wins Total: 53 wins - This was a record for the most wins ever for a single model of Ducati superbike until the V4 R in 2023 broke that record across the 2022 and 2023 seasons. After disappointing tests at Mugello in Sept 2000, Carl Fogarty finally announced his retirement, leaving the door open to Troy Bayliss to succeed him. [1] Ducati Corse supported two teams in World Superbike. In the team Ducati Infostrada, Ruben Xaus joined Bayliss, while Ben Bostrom resumed full works status, but in a separate L&M sponsored team, on Dunlop tyres . Both teams were run under the instruction of Davide Tardozzi , and they were the only teams with the Testastretta engine for 2001. 174HP@12,200RPM with 60mm throttle bodies. [1] It's also notable that these were the very first bikes to have radial mount front brake calipers as opposed to axial mount. Bayliss was immediately happy with the 998 F01, and with six wins, he took the Riders' Championship. After a slow start, Bostrom won 5 races in succession and Ducati gained its 10th manufactures title with 15 wins. [1] Hodgson proved surprisingly competitive against the new generation factory machines in the World Superbike Championship. [1] WSBK - 2001 Superbike World Championship - These in 2001 were run on 998 F01 bikes running the new Testastretta engine: Troy Bayliss - 1st Ben Bostrom - 3rd Neil Hodgson - 5th (Not being a factory rider, he was on the old Desmoquattro 996RS) Ruben Xaus - 6th After being crowned the champion at the next to final race in Assen , Ducati painted his F01 bike silver for the upcoming final race in honour of Paul Smart. [14] BSB - 2001 Britis h Superbike Championship - These in 2001 were run on 996RS bikes running the old Desmoquattro engine. In Britain, John Reynolds, Sean Emmett, and Steve Hislop were unbeatable. 168HP@12,000 for the 996RS with the final iteration of the Desmoquattro. [1] John Reynolds - 1st Steve Hislop - 2nd Sean Emmett - 3rd Paul Brown - 5th Isle of Man TT - Cancelled in 2001 due to Foot & Mouth disease [7] It's know that 2 non-serialised production bikes (non-RS) produced at the very end of 2000 were sent off to be prepared for Rutter, however they were sold off due to the cancellation of the race. [15] Michael Rutter - Scheduled to run and was favoured to win at the time. Bayliss's winning F01 at the Ducati Museum, still wearing it's commemorative livery which officially was known as "Imola 9th September 2001" in print. There were a total of 14 998RS bike built per Ducati. THE LEGEND The 996R set the mould what for all Ducati R bikes would be, right through to the present day, which is amazing for a bike of its time. Things like always having the following years engine upgrades, to the gold anodised upside-down Öhlins with the blue adjusters, steering damper, to the carbon fibre fairings and the 190 series rear tyre. To celebrate Troy Bayliss's winning 2001 machine, Ducati would release the 2002 998S Bayliss Edition and the Panigale V2 Bayliss Edition in 2020 to mark the 20th anniversary of this win because it was so historic for Ducati. Interestingly enough, this 20th Anniversary bike would see the return of the 955cc big twin coming full circle right back to the original 916 racing bikes. For perspective, even the 20th Anniversary bike in 2020 only has 155hp, a mere 6hp more than the 996R with the full 54mm exhaust system & race ECU, and it only has 3 more Nm of torque. |
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