Ducati Globetrotter 90th: the exciting around the world voyage with the Multistrada 1200 Enduro comes to an end
The last of the seven globetrotters brings the motorcycle and torch back to Ducati factory in Borgo Panigale, Italy
The most symbolic sites for Ducati, each one a milestone along this memorable trip
Globetrotter 90th: 30,000 kilometres over sixth months in an event that is already part of Ducati history
Borgo Panigale, Bologna (Italy), 16 December 2016 - Ducati Globetrotter 90th ends where it began, in Borgo Panigale, after having covered 30,000 kilometres around the globe. The Italian motorcycle manufacturer’s HQ was the final destination for Timo Schäfer, the last of the seven motorcyclists who, between 4 July and today, have taken turns riding the Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro around the world.
On hand as Schäfer arrived at the factory were Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali and many of the company’s employees. Domenicali congratulated Timo and the other six adventurous globetrotters for having taken on this incredible voyage with grit and passion, a trip that will live on as an important event in Ducati history.
Over the five-month voyage dedicated to Ducati’s 90th anniversary, Indian globetrotter Vir Nakai, Frenchman Laurent Cochet, Belgian rider Jessica Leyne, Brazilian Eduardo Generali, Australian Steve Fraser and Brit Hugo Wilson all played a leading role. Each one an expert motorcyclist, passionate traveller and, above all, skilled storyteller. Day after day on the Globetrotter90.ducati.com blog, they kept an on-board diary, telling the many Ducati fans exactly what was happening during their exciting adventure. Stage after stage, the seven globetrotters passed on the special torch, the symbolic baton created by the Ducati Design Center and equipped with an inbuilt camera to allow for every emotion experienced during the trip to be filmed and shared. From Bologna to Scandinavia, then to Russia and across the legendary Trans-Siberian Highway, to Japan, the USA and back across Europe, before the torch and Multistrada 1200 Enduro finally returned home, having visited all those symbolic places that have played a part in Ducati history.
The seventh and final globetrotter is Timo Schäfer, 30, from Karlsruhe in Germany. A mechanical engineering student, Schäfer left the Isle of Man, in the UK, on 2 December. He travelled first to Maidstone, where he met with former rider Paul Smart. The young German motorcyclist and the legend that is Smart relived what Ducati considers to be its most significant win of all. On 23 April 1972, the first 200 Miglia race at Imola was won by Smart on a production 750 GT, while Bruno Spaggiari finished second with the same bike.
The meeting between globetrotter Timo Schäfer and 73-year old Paul Smart came to a very special end. As they were saying their farewells, Smart simply could not resist climbing onto his Ducati Scrambler to accompany the final globetrotter as far as the Eurotunnel, despite the wet conditions and freezing temperatures!
Having crossed France, Belgium and a good part of Germany, with temperatures that were consistently below zero, globetrotter Timo Schäfer reached Bavaria, where the Audi Forum, in Ingolstadt, is hosting the “More Than Red - Passione Ducati” exhibition until 30 April 2017, in celebration of 90 years of the Bologna-based motorcycle manufacturer. The Multistrada 1200 Enduro and the globetrotter, still muddy after the long trip, were welcomed and soon overwhelmed with photo requests by visitors to the exhibition, who then wanted to hear all about Schäfer’s adventure.
Next, the globetrotter crossed the Alps back to Italy reaching the Monza racetrack. It was here that, on 30 November 1958, the futuristic Ducati Siluro, with just 100cc to its name, set 44 world speed records in the space of just one day. One of the heroes that made this feat possible was Santo Ciceri, and globetrotter Timo Schäfer was extremely privileged to be able to meet the man himself at the very same track.
The Multistrada 1200 Enduro then travelled on to Florence to greet another Ducati living legend - Giuliano Maoggi. Born in 1926, Maoggi won the 4th Motogiro d’Italia in 1956, riding the Gran Sport 100, known as the Marianna and designed by Fabio Taglioni. Having crossed the legendary Futa pass, he finally arrived in Borgo Panigale on 15 December, thus concluding the unforgettable Globetrotter 90th.
To follow the Globetrotter 90th adventure:
on the official site Globetrotter90.ducati.com
on the official Ducati Facebook page
on Twitter and Instagram #globetrotter90