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From a historical perspective, motorcyclists couldn’t ask for anything better than the Ducati Museum in Borgo Panigale.
Its curator is named Livio Lodi,
and his guide, who is going to help us now, is one of the greatest Ducati experts.
His name is Valentino Rossi.
Hi, everyone. I’m the guide.
Guide, what can you tell us about this item?
Well, since we’re in the Ducati Museum, let’s start from the beginning.
This is the Cucciolo (“puppy”) — Ducati’s first bike.
Actually, it’s Ducati’s first engine...
because since there wasn’t much money in post-World War I Italy...
Ducati made this engine to put on bicycles in order to let people move faster
Many of Preziosi’s ideas for the Desmosedici came from this.
Oh, really? Yes, in fact, you can see that.
For someone who learned this all five minutes ago, you’re doing well!
This is the first racing 125cc, the Marianna.
This is also a very important model for Ducati, because it was one of the first true race bikes.
Preziosi also learned a lot from this one.
Preziosi was already working hard, even back in ’59!
This bike was designed by Taglioni "the wizard"
who designed all of Ducati’s race bikes until the ’80s
and who invented the desmo system.
This is Mike Hailwood’s first bike.
Hailwood raced for Ducati for a number of years, starting with this bike.
It was the first with the desmodromic system,
which is still on today’s Desmosedici and all Ducati street bikes.
Why the prancing horse?
Livio Lodi…Why the prancing horse?
He is Livio Lodi, the Ducati Museum manager
The horse is because Taglioni was from Lugo di Romagna,
which was also the hometown of fighter ace Francesco Baracca
Baracca personalized his planes with this black horse, which was later used by Ferrari.
Since Taglioni couldn’t actually sign the bike, this was his autograph.
Here’s something that’s very important for Ducati fans.
It’s Taglioni’s drawing board, where he designed all the bikes from the ’50s to the ’80s.
More than thousand projects and I don't know how many bikes...
We want to win, so let’s touch it, touch the Desmo, so that we can absorb Taglioni’s positive energy.
I also wanted to show you Hailwood’s 900, which he rode to the Tourist Trophy win in ’78.
It has Mike’s famous tennis ball, which he filled with soapy water and this sponge,
for cleaning his visor during the lap, since there weren’t tear-offs back then.
He would clean it like this.
Having ridden the Tourist Trophy course, I can tell you there aren’t many relaxed moments for doing something like that!
Also, they didn’t yet have knee pucks,
but the riders of that time dragged their feet.
They’d finish the race with bloody toes where their boots wore out.
Here we pass into more modern times, with the superbikes.
Is there one that’s special?
Here we have this one the 888, and one year later came that one
which looks like it came out 20 years later.
The 916 was an historic bike for Ducati, as it took a huge step forward.
Corser, Fogarty, Bayliss, and then Haga, and then the 1198.
Here there are only the bikes that won at least a race... As the guide, you obviously know this room.
and the room in which we hope to find a place...
...and we will put our bike too!
This is where all of Ducati’s MotoGP bikes go, beginning with Loris’.
They’ve all won at least one race, so let’s hope we can also add this year’s bike.
We’ll find a spot for it.
I don’t think its politically incorrect to point out to our guide that he had some troubles with this bike.
Yes, it’s the one that beat us in 2007. It was a very fast bike that we weren’t able to beat.
Now we’ve changed sides, so let’s hope we can add more MotoGP wins with Ducati.