Tourist Trophy 2008: on 6th June
Ducati celebrates the 30th anniversary of Mike Hailwood’s
legendary win and the 50th anniversary of its participation
in the TT
Bologna, May 2008 – The 2008
edition of the Tourist Trophy, the classic road race
held from 24 May to 7th June around the Isle of Man,
is sure to be a special event and a great opportunity
to celebrate with Ducati.
Of all the causes for celebration, the most important
is undoubtedly the 30th anniversary of 2 June 1978,
the date of Mike Hailwood’s unforgettable race
to victory on a Ducati 900.
It was an achievement as longed-for as it was unexpected,
because Hailwood hadn’t taken part in any official
motorcycling competitions for a long time. “Mike
the Bike”® stunned the crowds by beating
the odds-on favourite Phil Read on his Honda.
In 1958, exactly 50 years ago, Ducati officially
participated in the Tourist Trophy for the first time,
racing with a 125 team. The factory team, which in
its TT debut claimed second place in both the riders’
championship and the team rankings behind MV Agusta,
was made up of legendary riders such as Luigi Taveri,
Dave Chadwick, Romolo Ferri and Sammy Miller. Ducati
used the race to launch its Ducati 125 Gran Prix Desmo,
the first racing Ducati fitted with the Desmodromic
system that immediately proved the value of engineer
Fabio Taglioni’s design.
During the course of its history at the Tourist Trophy,
Ducati has led not only Mike Hailwood but many other
equally famous riders to victory - riders such as
Tony Rutter, who won the TT2 race on several occasions.
Now, for the first time, the Ducati museum in Bologna
has allowed eight of its precious vintage bikes -
representing milestones of the past, present and future
of the Italian manufacturer - to grace the famous
road route.
The following sensational bikes will be exhibited
at the Tourist Trophy 2008:
- 125 Gran Sport “Marianna” 1956, the
first bike designed by Fabio Taglioni
- 125 Gran Prix Desmo 1959, the first Ducati fitted
with the Desmodromic system
- 250 Twin Cylinder Gran Prix Desmo 1960, one of
the first racing bikes used by Mike Hailwood
- 900 SS IOM TT 1978, the bike that Mike Hailwood
rode to TT victory
- 888 SBK 1991, one of the first 4-valve twin cylinder
bikes ridden by American legend Doug Polen
- 916 SBK 1994, the first SBK used by Fogarty to
win his first World Title
- 999 SBK 2006, the latest Ducati to have earned
the SBK World Championship Title with Troy Bayliss
- Desmosedici MotoGP 2007, the bike ridden by young
Australian Casey Stoner to win the MotoGP World
Championship last year.
These will be on show alongside other Ducatis from
private British collections. There will also be a
parade of vintage Ducati bikes on the track and special
guest appearances by Ducati personalities such as
Carl Fogarty, Paul Smart, Tony Rutter, Michael Rutter,
Sammy Miller, Trevor Nation, James “Jamie”
Whitham and Dave Hailwood, son of the great British
champion.
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