We are in June 2012. If I'm not mistaken, Ducati won the 2011 WSBK Championship. With a 1098R. By 60 points. That also won the 2008 WSBK Championship. Ducati are the winningest bike manufacturer of all time, and they are not going to lose its lustre or consumers anytime soon. The Panigale is a huge marketing exercise that is simply unproven (rejected actually) and unnecessary tech to try and keep up with BMW/Kawasaki/Aprilia and the technology war that is raging on the showroom floor. The Panigale is an answer to a question that no one really asked for. As far as road bikes go, just what was wrong with the 1198 engine? 170-189hp in road legal form with 100ftlbs torque had even PB declaring the 1198SP motor almost too much for the road. The more I read and listen about the Panigale, the more frustrated I'm getting. Ducati should have done a better job instead of boasting about the new tech and Superquadro this and that. It is proving to be less than 'super' at the moment, despite a 20k price tag in a time of European austerity. The Panigale to watch out for will be the 1199R.
I think they had the right idea in moving with the times (tech, power, ect) even in WSB the Ducati would get out paced easily on the straights BUT their execution obviously wasn't great. Maybe they'll improve it, who knows...
