Ducati’s top racers celebrate 100 years of the marque

09th July 2026

Adam Wilkins

Italians are synonymous with a passion for motorsport, and our celebration of 100 years of Ducati perfectly encapsulated that spirit. We brought together a roll-call of top-flight riders who had their greatest successes with Ducati for a Balcony Moment to remember.

And their route to the balcony was far from conventional. They rode from the startline, across the Turning Circle and into the House. We’d like to think they may have made their way up the spiral staircase on their back wheels, but they’d resorted to being on foot once inside.

The convoy of two-wheelers was led by four-time World Superbike Champion Carl Fogarty. He’s familiar with the balcony now, having had his own Balcony Moment last year to celebrate his spectacular 1995 season. “It’s very special to have two Balcony Moments in two years,” he told Grace Webb. Looking back on his career, he said: “I was part of what they call the golden era. All the manufacturers were out there and Ducati was at the forefront of all that. To be at the head of the golden era is something I’m really proud of.”

Three-time World Superbike Champion Troy Bayliss spoke next, telling the crowd: “I always believed I was riding the best bike at the time and I had the best crew as well.” After winning the 2006 championship, Bayliss had a guest ride in the closing round of the Moto GP season, and won that too. “It was like a fairytale... that was the icing on the cake,” he added.

Casey Stoner, who won three Moto GP championships with Ducati, recalled his turnaround season. “We were struggling in testing,” he said, “but as the season grew we realised our package was making it work. The consistency was there, the reliability was there.”

The scale of Ducati’s success was illustrated by just how many riders gathered for the centenary celebration. National winners included six-time British Superbike Champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne, as well as Tarran McKenzie and Tommy Bridewell, respectively the 2021 and 2023 winners of the same title, Isle of Man TT winner Josh Brookes, and bringing things right up to date were the current forces to be reckoned with, Lorenzo Baldassarri and Iker Lecuona.

While the Balcony Moment obviously focuses on the personalities involved in Ducati’s success, it’s worth also noting that that this is the only time you’ll see such an illustrious range of Ducati racing machinery outside of Italy.