Ducati WorldSBK rider labels Panigale V4 R a “great bike, but…”

The Ducati Panigale V4 R currently occupies four of the top six positions in the 2025 WorldSBK riders’ standings, but that does not make it an easy bike to ride, necessarily.

Ryan Vickers moved up to the World Superbike Championship this year from BSB. In Britain, he raced Kawasakis, BMWs, and Yamahas, so the Ducati was a new bike for the British rider in any case this year.

The Motocorsa Ducati rider thinks that the complexity of the WorldSBK-spec Ducati comes from the bike’s electronics package, something he’s spoken about on previous occasions this season.

It’s a characteristic that does not necessarily make the Ducati unique in WorldSBK, he says, but that means the Panigale V4 R is only “as good as any other bike” unless the rider understands how to extract its potential.

“As a rider, you have to be able to develop, you have to be able to change, because, if you can’t change your riding, you’re not going to be able to ride one of these bikes fast,” Vickers explained after Race 2 at the UK WorldSBK in July.

“Although the Ducati – okay, you could argue it’s the best bike, it’s been beaten this weekend and it’s also been beaten by other manufacturers further down the field.

“It’s a great bike, but you have to understand how to ride it. Otherwise, it’s as good as any other bike.

“I’m starting to get my head around it. I’ve done many laps around Donington Park, it’s still not easy to go any faster than what I’ve done on the BSB bike around here even though I’m on a full World Superbike, on a Ducati.

“It’s a complicated bike, it’s not easy to ride, and I believe that’s the same with any of the manufacturers.

“If you learn to get the most out of any of the bikes on the grid, I think all of them are fairly capable of being inside the top-five.

“Pretty much every bike on the grid has finished in the top-five this year, but it’s understanding how to get it out of the bike – it’s possible, but you’ve got to understand how.

“Even Iannone, Petrucci, sometimes they’re battling for the win, sometimes they’re battling for eighth.

“It’s not easy to understand these bikes, it’s not easy to get the maximum out of them, and that’s the thing: you’ve got to be able to learn; you’ve got to be a rider that can understand what you’ve got to change.

“That’s not easy because you arrive in World Superbike with a lot of experience – I’ve ridden a Superbike for six years – and now I’ve got to relearn.

“Honestly, I’m riding round thinking about every single move that I do on the bike, which is not a fast way of riding to start with, but you’ve got to build that base in and once you get it you can be as fast as Bulega and Sam [Lowes] and everything.

“Sam’s first year, and then second year – look at the improvement, but he’s adapted. Some people can’t adapt, some people do.”