Aruba.it Racing Ducati reveals final Panigale R for 2018 WSBK
The Aruba.it Racing Ducati squad has pulled the wraps off its 2018 World Superbike challenger, the final Panigale R, alongside riders Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri.
The factory Ducati squad lost out on the 2017 World Superbike titles to Kawasaki but Davies produced a strong late season charge to take the runner-up spot in the riders’ championship behind triple world champion Jonathan Rea.
The Aruba.it Racing Ducati squad has pulled the wraps off its 2018 World Superbike challenger, the final Panigale R, alongside riders Chaz Davies and Marco Melandri.
The factory Ducati squad lost out on the 2017 World Superbike titles to Kawasaki but Davies produced a strong late season charge to take the runner-up spot in the riders’ championship behind triple world champion Jonathan Rea.
Davies secured seven wins in total last season, and an additional 11 podiums, while team-mate Melandri notched up his first World Superbike victory since 2014 in race two at Misano on his way to fourth place in the championship.
2018 sees an unchanged line-up for Aruba.it Racing Ducati in a year which will mark the last season with the v-twin Panigale R ahead of the highly-anticipated debut of Ducati’s Panigale V4 in 2019.
The factory Ducati squad have also been getting to grips with the new World Superbike technical regulations including the maximum rev limiter which is thought to have hit the Italian team hardest out of all manufacturers.
Ducati technical chief Gigi Dall’Igna has hinted at a raft of Panigale R updates which will be debuted at the final pre-season test which will be held at Phillip Island on the 19-20th February ahead of the circuit hosting the 2018 season opener on the 23-25th February.
Aruba.it Racing Ducati also unveiled Michael Ruben Rinaldi at its 2018 WSBK launch who will compete for its junior team on a third bike at all the European rounds. Rinaldi secured the 2017 European Superstock 1000 championship last year with the factory-supported Ducati team.
