[UPDATE, 10/13/22: Ducati World Première 2023 Episode 4: This Is Racing has officially been rescheduled. It will now take place on Friday, October 14, 2022 at 4 p.m. CEST, which is also 10 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.
Ducati’s description of the bike to be revealed says that it is “a model that represents the essence of racing. A motorcycle capable of setting new performance benchmarks with unprecedented solutions derived directly from the world of racing.”
The accompanying image appears to show a number one racing numberplate on the nose of a shadowed front closeup image of a Panigale. The daytime running light in the left headlight cluster is illuminated, and only the top portion of that entire headlight assembly is visible—at least, the way that Ducati has presented it.
Adjusting the brightness and contrast slightly on the image, we can see the rest of the left headlight and even the inner portion of the right headlight, which are both dark. No other parts of the bike are visible this way, however. Is it a Panigale V4 R? At least we only have to wait until tomorrow (at the time of writing) to find out for sure.]
The Ducati World Premiere 2023: Episode Four image, with brightness adjusted.
Original piece follows.
Ducati’s World Première 2023 season kicked off on September 2, 2022. At the time of writing, we’ve seen three of the seven new machines that the team from Bologna are excited to reveal to us all this time around.
First came the Streetfighter V4 Lamborghini Limited Edition to start the party. Next, we met the 2023 Ducati Monster SP. In Episode Three, the 2023 Multistrada V4 Rally officially beckoned riders to ‘unlock Earth.’ So, what’s next for Episode Four?
On October 6, 2022, Ducati sent out a slightly different note than usual. According to its original timeline, Episode Four was scheduled for its world premiere on October 7, 2022—which is today, at the time of writing. In usual cases, the company would send out a little reminder to people a day or two before, just to make sure we all had it on our calendars. However, the note was different this time—because Episode Four has now “been postponed to a date to be determined.”
New For 2023:
Ducati’s World Première episode titles typically offer at least a small clue to what bike we can expect to be revealed during each episode. The postponement note makes no reference to Episode Four by name, but the original calendar’s title for this event lists it as “This Is Racing.” Is it an updated Panigale V4 R?
That’s certainly a reasonable guess, particularly since Ducati already unveiled the rest of the 2023 Panigale V4 range all the way back in July. Although 2023 marks the first year that Ducati will be the sole supplier of electric bikes for the MotoE series, it already wheeled that bike out in front of a small group of selected press in June, 2022.
The remaining chapters in the 2023 Ducati World Première season are a bit vaguer in their titling conventions. Episode Five, scheduled for October 20, is called Push Forward. Episode Six (October 28) is Dare to be Bold, and Episode Seven (November 7) is Next Gen Freedom.
When will we get to learn what Ducati wants to show us that racing is? That’s unclear at this point, but as soon as we have more information, we’ll be sure to let you know.
Source: Ducati