Cupertino, CA - June 6, 2006 - After a highly anticipated unveiling at Mugello this past weekend, the Desmosedici RR will make its next appearance on American soil at the Red Bull USGP, held at the historical Laguna Seca Raceway July 21-23.
The exotic motorcycle will travel with the Ducati Corse Team and will be on display for invited guests in the MotoGP paddock. The Desmosedici RR will also make a brief appearance on the infield of Ducati Island during the race weekend.
The anticipation around the release of this motorcycle is significant, as it is the first ever street legal MotoGP replica. Immediately following the June 1 Mugello announcement, Ducati North America opened the customer ordering period via local Ducati dealers. In less than five hours, enough buyers had placed orders to cover the entire first year forecast for North American production.
Dealers reported customers doing anything they could to move their names to the top of the list when the order period opened at 10am. In an effort to secure a higher place on the reservation list, one customer purchased a Xerox 999R on the spot after discovering 999R owners receive priority on the reservation list through September 30, 2006. Similar scenarios were reported throughout the day as customers rushed to secure their own Desmosedici RR.
"Although we anticipated a high demand for the Desmosedici RR, we never could have imagined securing reservations for all of the 2007 North American production this quickly," said Michael Lock, CEO of Ducati North America. "With the tremendous response to the Desmosedici RR, the news of an appearance of the bike at the US MotoGP and our team now leading the MotoGP series, Ducati certainly has a lot to celebrate at Laguna Seca!"
The MSRP of the Desmosedici RR is $65,000. The motorcycle is street legal and comes with a three year warranty and three years of included service maintenance. For more information on the Desmosedici RR, please visit www.ducati.com.
Founded in 1926, Ducati builds racing-inspired motorcycles characterized by unique engine features, innovative design, advanced engineering and overall technical excellence. The Company produces motorcycles in six market segments which vary in their technical and design features and intended customers: Superbike, Supersport, Monster, Sport Touring, Multistrada and the new SportClassic. The Company's motorcycles are sold in more than 60 countries worldwide, with a primary focus in the Western European, Japan and North American markets. Ducati has won thirteen of the last fifteen World Superbike Championship titles and more individual victories than the competition put together. For more information about the Company, please visit our web site at www.ducatiusa.com.