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Ducati Panigale R and World Cup bike in comparison

Series bike versus factory bike

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The brand new Ducati Panigale R meets its lightning-fast racing version from the Superbike World Championship on the Imola slope. PS chases the two divas around the northern Italian course. What a day!

Davide Giugliano doesn’t even flinch. During the photo trips they come to each other D.ucati Panigale R and the World Cup bike are always dangerously close and occasionally even bump into each other. That doesn’t impress the Ducati World Championship rider. Steeled from countless infights with his colleagues, he fully opposes it when touched, securing his line and with it the formation. After half a lap, the pictures are in the box and he pulls his vehicle in a wheelie towards the pit lane. An interesting experience to get up close and personal with such a caliber. It will be even more exciting later to burn a few exclusive laps in the asphalt with your racer. It’s getting hot, yeah! 

Ducati Panigale R and World Cup bike in comparison

Series bike versus factory bike

Ducati Panigale R. Finally, as a street-legal version, it forms the basis for the works bike. Ducati does not include the cubic capacity in the designation. With this, the Italians prevent mix-ups with the predecessor from 2013. “The current bike doesn’t have much in common with the ‘R’ from two years ago,” explains a spokesman. “It’s more of a cross between the Superleggera and the 1299 Panigale S.” Ducati is also proud of its performance: “Never before has a series machine been so close to a works motorcycle.” This is of course also due to the new World Cup regulations, that severely restricts tuning measures on the engine. When asked whether the new rules actually bring advantages for Ducati, racing engineer Ernesto Marinelli cleverly evades: “Look at it the other way round. The teams can no longer put all sorts of parts in their engines that have nothing to do with the series. Now it depends more on the basic machine. " 

Rock-hard damping tuning

With this, there are now some turns on the program. Reversed circuit diagram and automatic switch with blipper function – the dance can begin. The Imola piste really has it all: blind curve entrances, steep uphill and downhill passages, crests, nasty bumps, crisp acceleration and braking zones. Extremely demanding for rider and bike. But if you shoot yourself on the track, it offers gigantic driving fun. Also and especially with the Ducati Panigale R.

However, the Duc begins to stir violently with the handlebars as the speed increases. The suspension unrest occurs as soon as an impulse gets into the chassis – be it when accelerating over bumps or when shifting up under full load. The wheelbase, which has increased by five millimeters compared to the 1299 Panigale, does nothing to theoretically increase driving stability. The Italians retained the steering head angle of the aluminum frame and the caster. We attribute the movements to the (conventional) spring elements of the Ducati Panigale R, which do not absorb the impulses due to their rock-hard damping settings.

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Driving style is exhausting like hell!

Back to the pits, soften the damping and turn the steering damper a little further. And? Significantly better! But the Ducati Panigale R is still not quietly pulling its tracks. In addition, the front dips far when anchored and the rear settles a bit when accelerating. A lot of experience is required to develop an ideal setup for the Duc. Especially since the adjustable pivot point of the swing arm expands the setting options again. Unfortunately, the tight schedule does not allow any far-reaching measures. The tips from Giugliano’s team-mate Chaz Davies come in handy: “You have to keep the handlebars loose, put your knees close to the tank, put a lot of pressure on the pegs and shift your weight far forward when accelerating. That creates calm. ”The man has nerves! 

But trying things out is better than studying, and over time the gymnastics works quite well. The driving style is exhausting like hell, but it actually tames the Ducati Panigale R. She finally reveals her great qualities. She stabs extremely precisely in the corners and fires quickly even through the "Alta variant" and "Bassa variant", two super tight chicanes. In addition, it burns extremely stable around the radii and provides a lot of feedback at the front and rear. Ducati specifies 184 kilograms for the R. This positions it between the feather-light Superleggera (177 kilos) and the 1299 Panigale S (190 kilos). The past teaches, however, that the work specification is usually added by a few kilos.

20% more power through racing exhaust and mapping?

The brake can easily handle extra pounds. With a correspondingly strong pull on the lever, the pads bite brutally into the windows, and the pressure point doesn’t move a millimeter even under constant stress. That’s how we love it! 

The engine also deserves a lot of applause. The drive works almost identically in the rare and precious Superleggera. We remember: pistons with milled bottoms and only two rings, milled combustion chambers, light crankshaft with small cheeks, counterweights made of super-dense tungsten, titanium connecting rods. In contrast to the Superleggera, there are no titanium screws in the engine of the Ducati Panigale R and the exhaust valves are not made of the light material, but of steel. When actuating the valve, the designers created space for a camshaft with a longer stroke, which is used in the World Cup bike. In addition, the covers of the cylinder heads and the coupling were given stabilizing struts. 

Ducati promises 205 hp for the R. As in the Superleggera, both maximum torque and peak power are available much later than with the other machines in this series. In addition, they turn much higher with a remarkable 12,500 rpm. Their exhaust systems are also identical. Because of the slightly longer elbow pipe under the seat, the new Ducati Panigale R is also only available as a monoposto. For the presentation, Ducati equipped the test machines with a racing exhaust and matching mapping. As a result, it should generate up to 20 percent more power in the middle range, and the peak output should also increase by around six to eight hp. Spiced up in this way, the Ducati Panigale R shoots brightly through the speeds with a mighty rumble of thunder. It pulls out of the tight corners confidently even in second gear and shoots into the five-digit range without a noticeable drop in performance – great! A separate test with the machine, which costs around 33,000 euros and is not limited in number, must show how it performs in series production. Question to Bologna: We’ll get one to test, please? 

ABS regulates wonderfully late

According to Ducati, the driving assistance of the Panigale R is controlled by the same electronics as on the 1299. Emotionally, however, the R intervenes a little earlier, at least in the sharper levels. In addition, it is not possible to clearly determine whether the wheelie or traction control – or both in combination – slightly slows down the forward thrust at corner exit. As driving aids are becoming more and more powerful and complex, it is becoming increasingly complicated to work out a perfect electronics setup. A separate test is also available for this. It is already clear today: At level one, the ABS regulates wonderfully late, which enables braking points beyond good and bad. 

Suddenly the asphalt shakes. The factory bike with the number 34 is ready and inspires the author with a lot of respect. After a short briefing with the race engineer, you go through the pit lane with the speed limiter activated – bam-bam-bam-bam-bam. "Do not shift into second gear until you reach the white line just before the track," warned the man. "This is the only way for the system to recognize exactly where the bike is and to adapt the entire electronics precisely to each section of the route." Corner-to-corner coordination, wow! That works really sensationally. Example uphill passage after the Tosa curve: Here the front wheel always hovers a hand’s breadth above the asphalt at full throttle. Without the extremely fine interventions, you are guaranteed to flip over there. If the electronics release full power, for example on the start / finish straight, the load rushes towards the horizon at Mach 2. She always serves her killer punch extremely evenly. 

WM motors don’t turn much higher

Tuning details of the factory racer? No luck! “Unfortunately I can’t tell you that,” grins Technician Marinelli when asked how many millimeters the greater valve lift of the racing camshafts is. After all, he gives credible assurance that the World Cup engines don’t turn much higher than the series engines. “We are only allowed to use seven engines in the entire season. We can’t take any major risks. ”The other measures are also limited: improved air supply, optimized intake funnels, slightly higher compression, larger radiator, racing gearbox with a long first gear. Ducati attests a modest 210 hp to its world championship bikes. That is of course a gross understatement. How many ponies the Reds actually send into the race remains their secret. Roughly estimated, the Ducs easily push 220 to 225 hp. 

And the landing gear? Bomb! The WM-Duc is even more manageable, more precise and, above all, much more stable and stable around the slopes: no stress, no quirks, nothing. Just pure pleasure. There is also some movement in the framework, but that is within manageable limits. In contrast to the engine, the regulations allow far-reaching interventions in the chassis. That is why the factory bikes have different suspension elements, longer swing arms, different deflection levers for the shock absorber and lighter wheels. To do this, the team is experimenting with different steering head angles and fork offsets. “Compared to the competition, we have advantages in cornering speed,” reveals Racer Davies. “On the other hand, our bike is a bit more restless when braking and accelerating. In order to drive really fast, you have to work really hard. ”However, normal people do not enter these areas. That’s a good thing. Because the few remaining minutes of the turn are left to enjoy. What a day!

Data and conclusion

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Pictures: Ducati Panigale R and World Cup bike in comparison

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