While Italian Ducatisti made up 60% of the total attendance at WDW2010, the remaining passionate Ducati fans travelled from 28 nations and five continents to underline the huge international appeal of the Ducati brand. Owners from Europe, USA, Australia, Russia and India, united with those from Brazil, China, Malaysia and even Gabon and Nepal to celebrate their shared passion and loyalty to the Ducati brand.
Four sun-drenched Ducati days peaked on Saturday, 12th June when the full program of events climaxed in a spectacular knock-out drag race competition that featured Ducati MotoGP and Superbike team riders aboard asphalt-ripping Ducati Streetfighters. True to form, the eight riders - Battaini, Bayliss, Byrne, Checa, Fabrizio, Haga, Hayden and Stoner - put on a fantastic show from the moment they left the pit garages, playing to the crowds that filled Misano's paddock terraces. World Superbike Ducati Xerox Team rider, Noriyuki Haga won the photo-finish final, just fractions of a second ahead of American former MotoGP Champion and current Ducati MotoGP Team rider, Nicky Hayden, with Troy Bayliss in 3rd and Casey Stoner in 4th.
Immediately after the all-star drag race, the riders joined Ducati's top management - Gabriele Del Torchio, Claudio Domenicali and Filippo Preziosi - on stage before a stunning light and sound show pushed the evening's excitement even further into the red.
The packed four-day program provided both entertainment and interaction for the 60,000 visitors, including events on the track and courses in the "Ducati University" presented by Ducati engineers, riders and managers from the Bologna-based manufacturer. While the Mangusta helicopter aerobatics display provided an incredible show in the air, stunt shows, vintage bike shows, motocross freestyle displays, dragsters and race track demonstrations by the Ducati Xerox Team provided the same on the ground. The event also staged concerts by four Ducati Bands, chosen from a list of local artists submitted by Ducatisti in the run-up to the event.
While WDW was entertaining people in Misano, Italy, the rest of the
world enjoyed a virtual WDW online by connecting to the official website
wdw2010.ducati.com,
where more than 200 official photographs and 30 videos were uploaded in
real time from the event. During the four days of WDW, a record 400,000
visits were also recorded on Ducati's
official Facebook page and over 60,000
people watched the action moment-by-moment by viewing videos on
Ducati's YouTube channel, making it the world's most followed
automotive channel that week.
Yet it doesn't end there: Ducatisti attending the event can tell
everyone about their own WDW experiences by posting on Twitter and
Flickr.
By uploading their photos and posting their tweets with the tag #wdw2010
they too have made a vibrant contribution to the WDW site.
WDW record-breaking numbers over 4 days:
• 60,000 visitors!
• 38 million km covered by Ducatisti in order to reach Misano - 80 times
the distance between the earth and the moon!
• 21,000 traditional ‘piadinas' eaten!
• 1.2 tons of sausages eaten!
• 8,600 litres of cold drinks and over 50,000 litres of mineral water
consumed!
• 56,000 photographs taken by staff photographers!
