Ducati Globetrotter 90th, the final stages, with the places and people that have created the legend
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- The around the world trip with the Multistrada 1200 Enduro will end up in Borgo Panigale on 15 December
- The seventh and final globetrotter has departed from the Isle of Man and will cover the remaining 2000 km of this incredible adventure
Ducati Globetrotter 90th is now in its final exciting phase. Having started in Borgo Panigale on 4 July, the around the world voyage on the Multistrada 1200 Enduro will come to a close on 15 December, with the bike returning to its starting point at the Italian manufacturer’s Bologna-based HQ.
The seventh and final globetrotter is Germany’s Timo Schäfer, who began his journey from the Isle of Man on 5 December. During this last stage of Globetrotter 90th, Schäfer will cover the remaining two thousand kilometres of this incredible adventure, which has involved 30,000 km of riding to some of the symbolic sites that have contributed to the first ninety years of Ducati’s history.
Timo Schäfer, from Karlsruhe in Germany, is 30 years old. A mechanical engineering student, his first motorcycle was a Cagiva Elephant with a Ducati engine. Today a smiling Schäfer confirms: “Clearly Ducati was my destiny all along!” During the final phase of Globetrotter 90th, Schäfer will stop in the city of Canterbury to meet with Paul Smart, who starred in what Ducati considers the most significant win of its history. On 23 April 1972, the first Imola 200 Miles was in fact won by a young, unknown Smart, riding the standard 750 GT; Bruno Spaggiari crossed the line in second place, with the same bike.
Then it’s on to Belgium, where the seventh globetrotter will visit the Spa - Francorchamps racetrack where, in 1958, Alberto Gandossi won on board the 125 Desmo. Timo Schäfer will then continue on to Germany and once in Bavaria, he will visit the Audi Museum in Ingolstadt that, up until 30 April 2017, will house the "More Than Red - Passione Ducati" exhibition, celebrating the motorcycle manufacturer’s 90th anniversary. Lastly, the return to Italy, and to Monza, where long ago on 30 November 1958, the futuristic Ducati Siluro, with a mere 100cc displacement, set 44 world speed records. There is no doubt that Timo Schäfer’s planned meeting with Santo Ciceri, one of the heroes of that day in the late ‘50s, will be a moving one.
After this, Schäfer will head to Florence to see Giuliano Maoggi, born in 1926 and a living legend for Ducati. In 1956, Maoggi won the 4th Motogiro d’Italia on the Gran Sport 100, known as the Marianna, designed by Fabio Taglioni. Having crossed the renowned Futa Pass, the Multistrada 1200 Enduro will arrive in Borgo Panigale on 15 December, thus concluding the epic Globetrotter 90th voyage.
Before the torch and Multistrada were passed on to the German, the final globetrotter, they were entrusted to Englishman Hugo Wilson. The Brit left Lisbon on 17 November and travelled day and night in all conditions, covering almost two thousand kilometres across Portugal, Spain and France before boarding the ship at St. Malo. Having crossed the Channel, Wilson arrived home, where the Multistrada 1200 Enduro was exhibited at Motorcycle Live in Birmingham, Britain’s biggest motorcycle show. Straight after this, the globetrotter travelled to Silverstone, because it was here that Mike Hailwood won two races in two different classes – both on a Ducati - on the same day in 1960. At Donington, the World Superbike temple, Hugh Wilson relived Ducati’s SBK wins right from the very first race of the first championship, or rather 3 April 1988 with Marco Lucchinelli on the newborn 851 SBK.
Lastly, on the Isle of Man, Wilson met with the seventh globetrotter Timo Schäfer. The baton was passed on here because the Isle of Man is a truly evocative setting. Long ago, on 2 June 1978, during the demanding Tourist Trophy, Mike Hailwood, who was 38 at the time and had already retired from racing, scored a victory with the Ducati 900 SS TT IOM that deeply moved the 300,000 spectators, a feat that Ducati would celebrate the following year with the birth of the legendary 900 Mike Hailwood Replica.
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