Ducati Globetrotter 90th, the “torch” and Multistrada 1200 Enduro are back in to Europe
The sixth stage of the Ducati around the world trip begins in Lisbon
The latest globetrotter is Englishman Hugo Wilson who will travel to the Isle of Man
A look back at the previous stage, from the American Deep South to New York
Borgo Panigale, Bologna, 18 November 2016 - The sixth stage of Globetrotter 90th, the around-the-world trip with the Multistrada 1200 Enduro, is now underway. Australian Steve Fraser has concluded his trip from America’s Deep South to New York, and the “torch” and Ducati motorcycle have returned to Europe, to Lisbon, where they are now in the hands of Englishman Hugo Wilson, who will ride to the Isle of Man.
Aged 54, the latest globetrotter is a motorcycle magazine editor. He has travelled the length and breadth of Europe by motorcycle, as well as all over the Mediterranean. A writer and photographer, Wilson has been passionate about motorcycles since he was 10. “When I first saw my cousin’s Ducati, it was love at first sight! – recounts the globetrotter – And when I finally bought my own bike, it was of course red… a Ducati is forever”.
Hugo Wilson will make various stops, each more exciting than the last. Wilson will visit Silverstone, where legendary champion Mike Hailwood rode Ducati motorcycles to achieve two race wins in two different classes on the same day in 1960. The next destination for the globetrotter will be the Donington Park track in the UK, where, on 3 April 1988, the very first World Superbike race took place, won by Marco Lucchinelli on the brand new 851 SBK. The Multistrada 1200 Enduro, on completing its round-the-world voyage, will be showcased at the Motorcycle Live show in Birmingham. The final destination during this sixth leg of Globetrotter 90th will be the Isle of Man, where Mike Hailwood achieved his greatest ever victory, winning the Tourist Trophy on 2 June 1978 with the Ducati 900 SS TT IOM to the joy of 300,000 spectators, a result that Ducati celebrated with the 900 Mike Hailwood Replica.
While waiting for stage six of Globetrotter 90th to play out, here is a summary of the previous stage, during which Australian Steve Fraser covered 4,200 kilometres, travelling from the Deep South of America up to New York. Fraser, aged 50, is a landscape photographer as well as an expert rider who has participated in MX, enduro and desert races. Steve Fraser travelled for 17 days, heading first to Cincinnati before crossing the Kentucky mountains to Nashville, in Tennessee. From there he continued on to Birmingham, in Alabama, home to the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, the largest motorcycle museum in the United States.
Then came a long ride along the roads of Georgia, and on towards Florida and the Daytona track. The Australian globetrotter was particularly excited to take to the track at which Ducati scored two of its legendary wins, with Franco Farnè on the 125 Desmo VI in 1959, and with Marco Lucchinelli on the Ducati 750 F1 in the 1986 “Battle of the twins”.
Finally, Fraser reached the country’s most southerly point, the Key West islands, covering more than 200 kilometres of viaducts in the middle of the sea, in torrential rain no less. And then northwards, towards the North Carolina mountains, but taking on a series of hairpin turns through which he could really unleash the power of the Multistrada 1200 Enduro.
Fraser was then in Virginia and New Jersey, and the town of Summit. It was here, on 25 January 1924, that a radio signal arrived from Europe. It had been transmitted from Bologna by 21-year old Adriano Cavalieri Ducati, the first shortwave intercontinental transmission ever to be made, with the use of a minuscule device that Adriano had built and that required just 100 watts to cross half the world, the same as that of a light bulb. This worthy homage to a moment that changed history marked the end of the American stages of Globetrotter 90th.
To follow the Globetrotter 90th adventure:
on the official website Globetrotter90.ducati.com
on the official Ducati Facebook page
on Twitter and Instagram #globetrotter90