Ducati Globetrotter 90°: the torch travels from Japan to the USA
Belgian Jessica Leyne, the only woman on the tour, has crossed Japan to successfully conclude part three of the seven-stage Globetrotter 90° trip
Tough weather conditions in Japan did not prevent Jessica and her Multistrada 1200 Enduro from keeping to their tight schedule on this exciting world voyage
The Globetrotter 90° torch and the Multistrada 1200 Enduro are now in the hands of Brazilian Eduardo Generali, who will cross the USA from San Francisco to Indianapolis
Borgo Panigale, Bologna (Italy), 6 October 2016 – Globetrotter 90° achieves its next target: Belgian rider Jessica Leyne, the only woman to take on this trip around the world on the Multistrada 1200 Enduro, has now concluded stage three. Having arrived in San Francisco, she has handed the torch to the next Globetrotter, Eduardo Generali. With four stages still to run, the Globetrotter 90° adventure aims to cover a total distance of 30,000 km. This round-the-world trip is a real homage to Ducati and its first 90 years, and one that only 7 riders, chosen from among 3000 candidates, get to experience. With the first Globetrotter having left Bologna on 4 July, the fantastic torch now continues on from San Francisco with Eduardo Generali. The Brazilian Globetrotter will cover 3900 km in 13 days, to reach Indianapolis, documenting the trip in real time thanks to the Globetrotter torch. The Globetrotter 90° ‘baton’, created by the Ducati Design Centre, is equipped with a video camera that allows the riders to document and share the entire world voyage on globetrotter90.ducati.com
It has been a hugely successful trip for Jessica Leyne, 27 and originally from West Flanders, a maths teacher and web designer who has completed another adventure of which to be proud on the Japanese islands. On previous trips through Norway and Romania, Slovakia and Italy, nothing ever stood in her way, not a frozen visor or waist-high mud, not even a fractured wrist. In Japan she had to deal with typhoon Malakas that, unfortunately, having caused havoc in southern China, then lashed Taiwan and the Japanese archipelago with gusts of wind of up to 100 mph, also causing flooding. But Jessica, with her slight build (she’s just 162 cm tall), bravely decided to continue her journey with the Multistrada 1200 Enduro and was barely delayed by the typhoon as she crossed the Land of the Rising Sun.
Jessica left Tokyo on 17 September and immediately took to the roads of Mount Fuji, the volcano that dominates over the city, populated by 35 million. Then it was on to Kiushi in the south of Japan, and the Hiroaki Iwashita museum, which houses the world’s only remaining prototype of the Ducati Apollo, the first superbike designed in Borgo Panigale, boasting 1257 cc and, for the first time, a 90° L-twin, a distinctive feature of Ducatis ever since. Jessica then continued her journey, stopping off at the Motegi racetrack, such a memorable place for Ducati. In 2007, the Twin Ring was the setting for Ducati’s great win in MotoGP. Australian rider Casey Stoner, having won ten races throughout the course of the championship, finished in sixth place here to score the world title. But that wasn’t all, as the race was won by the other Desmosedici, ridden by Loris Capirossi, an indelible memory for all fans. After Motegi, Jessica also visited another glorious racetrack for Ducati, Sugo’s Sportsland. It was here, in 1998, that Carl Fogarty won the deciding race to achieve his third Superbike world title, the seventh for Ducati, in a spectacular final battle against Aaron Slight. Between 1990 and 1998, the red twins also dominated with Raymond Roche and Doug Polen.
Jessica’s trip was packed with emotional experiences, as she herself recounts. On Kinki island she saw the famous “Meotoiwa”, or rather the “married couple rocks”, a symbol of love. The contrast between very modern Osaka and the forests and white beaches she saw en-route proved to be an evocative one, as was the traditional castle in the centre of Ch??-ku city - “A great example of how the ancient can live in the modern”, recounted the Globetrotter. Once back in Tokyo, “Jess” crossed the Pacific, arriving in San Francisco to meet with Brazilian Eduardo and hand him the bike and torch on 5 October.
Now it’s the turn of Eduardo, 28, a tour guide and riding instructor. He hails from Itu, in the State of São Paulo in Brazil, and his passion for two wheels was passed on to him by his father. He will travel the roads of the Western United States, from California to Indiana in the Midwest. He will visit legendary racetracks such as Laguna Seca and adventurous routes such as Pikes Peak in the Colorado mountains, the setting for the famous “race towards the clouds” that Ducati won on three consecutive occasions from 2011 to 2013.
To follow the Globetrotter 90° adventure:
on the official site globetrotter90.ducati.com
on the official Ducati Facebook page
on Twitter e Instagram #globetrotter90