Ducati
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...
Ducati 996
The Ducati 996 is a Ducati sport bike motorcycle made from 1999 to 2002, based upon the earlier 916.
Model history
From 1999, there were three different models of the 996: a base, or Biposto; the 996S with Öhlins suspensi ...
and Ducati 998 range of superbikes. This motorcycle enjoyed great success in World Superbike, and was raced in the series through the 2007 season, despite no longer being produced, pending rules changes by the series' governing body, FIM, to allow competition of the new
Ducati 1098
The Ducati 1098 is a sport bike made by Ducati from 2007 to 2009, in three versions, the 1098, 1098S, and 1098R. The 1098 was succeeded by the 1198 in 2009, though the 1098R remained in production that year.
The 1098 shares more design elements ...
.
The 999 was designed by
Pierre Terblanche
Pierre Terblanche is a South African motorcycle designer born on 6 November 1956 in Uitenhage, Eastern Cape. He started his career in advertising but felt the need to move into the design world. After moving to Germany and working with ...
, amid much controversy over its styling. It is known as a high performance, race oriented motorcycle. With its traditional
Ducati
Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...
L Twin Desmodromic Valve actuated engine layout, it has a linear power delivery, with high power and torque figures available even at low RPM. Additionally, with its high spec suspension and trellis chassis, it is one of the finest handling motorcycles for its time.
Subsequently, more powerful 999S and 999R versions were introduced, both capable of 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in under three seconds; and a top speed of over .
The 2005 Ducati 999S won the Maxisport category for the prestigious international Masterbike 2005 comparison and finished second overall. It has received critical acclaim from many corners, such as MCN of the U.K. which called it "simply the best V-Twin on the planet", and Motorbikestoday.com, which described it as "the most desirable, most exciting roadbike on the planet" in 2004. MotorcycleUSA.com described it as "stupendous" and "the epitome of V-Twin power." Also known as “the F1 of the motorcycles” in 2005.
Racing
From the start the 999 was very successful in the Superbike World Championship, winning world championships in:
* 2003
Neil Hodgson
Neil Stuart Hodgson (born 20 November 1973) is a British former motorcycle racer, who won the 2000 British Superbike Championship, and the 2003 Superbike World Championship titles. He then went on to have a moderately successful four years in t ...
* 2004
James Toseland
James Michael Toseland (born 5 October 1980) is an English former motorcycle racer and vocalist of his own rock band named Toseland. For 2020, he is team-manager of Wepol Racing with riders in World Supersport and Supersport 300.Troy Bayliss
Gregorio Lavilla
Gregorio Lavilla (born 29 September 1973) is a Spanish former professional motorcycle road racer. He has raced in MotoGP (full-time in 250s, and part-time in 500s and MotoGP itself), the Superbike World Championship, and the British Superbike Ch ...