Ducati brings WorldSBK swingarm updates to Hungary after customer team recalls

A swingarm update has been introduced by Ducati at the fourth round of the 2026 season, the Hungarian WorldSBK.

Ducati’s update comes after it found issues with some of its swingarms at the Dutch Round on 17–19 April that resulted in some recalls for units from its customer teams.

Italian publication GPOne, who first reported the recall at Assen and spoke to Ducati technical director Marco Zambenedetti about the issue during the Dutch weekend, reports that in Hungary Ducati has been able to introduce a revision to the design of its swingarm in order to reinforce it structurally.

This has been done by adding a weld to the front part of the swingarm, just behind the footpeg.

Ducati introduced a new double-sided swingarm this season as it made a major model update to its Panigale V4 R for the first time since the original version was introduced in 2019.

The 2026 Panigale V4 R also features an updated aerodynamics package and changes to the engine compared to the previous model. The updated swingarms is designed to address the key issues of the previous bike, notably stability in hard braking and acceleration, as well as weight, since the double-sided swingarm can be lighter than the single-sided one seen on the old bike.

The Italian factory has won all nine races so far this season with its new bike, all nine coming with the number 11 machine of Nicolo Bulega.

Bulega was not fastest in opening practice on Friday morning at Balaton Park, the Italian beaten to the top spot by his teammate, Iker Lecuona, who sits second in the championship and has finished second in each of the last six races.

Lecuona led an all-Ducati top-four in FP1 in Hungary, Bimota’s Alex Lowes being the fastest non-Ducati rider in fifth and almost a second behind the Spaniard.