Excerpts of the Introduction spoken by

"Last year was an extraordinarily successful one for Ducati Corse, with victory in the World Constructors’ championship (a tenth title) and Riders’  Championship glory for Troy Bayliss, as well as 14 wins (6 for Bayliss, 6 for Bostrom and 2 for Xaus), which all demonstrated the competitive nature of the new 996R Testastretta, not forgetting the one win at Donington for Neil Hodgson on the 996 Factory 2000.

"Research and development is carried out in close collaboration with Ducati Motor Holding, and the constant exchange of know-how and information help in the development of not only the racing bikes but also those destined for the general public.

"For 2002 Ducati Corse will again tackle the season with three brand-new 998R bikes run directly by the factory. The title sponsors of the two internal teams have also been confirmed: Infostrada, which has a long and successful relationship with Ducati, for the Bayliss-Xaus team, and Philip Morris, in its second year of partnership, present on Ben Bostrom’s bike with the L&M logo.

"The collaboration with Shell is also very important: the development of fuels and lubricants is vital in order to achieve maximum performance, and the work carried out with Shell is giving excellent results.

"The new 998 ‘Testastretta’ engine, with its 104mm bore size, developed by Chief Engineer Filippo Preziosi, has produced a further increase in power and ‘rideability’ and has already given excellent results in the winter tests, allowing us to look to the championship that is about to get underway with considerable optimism.

"So it just remains for me to wish our ‘three musketeers’ all the best for the coming season and say that as always, we will do our utmost to enable Troy,  Ruben and Ben to achieve all the satisfaction they deserve."

Ducati 998R Factory '02

Engine : 999cc (Testastretta) 4-stroke L-twin
Bore x stroke : 104mm x 58.8mm
Valve train : Desmodromic DOHC, four-valves per cylinder
Fuel system : Electronic injection system, MF3S module
Ignition : Magneti Marelli electronic ignition
Injector : Magneti Marelli IWF1, one per cylinder
Final drive : Regina chain
Horsepower : 188HP at 12500 rpm
Lubrication : gear oil pump, with oil cooler
Frame : Tubular steel trestle
Front suspension : 42 mm upside-down Öhlins fork
Rear suspension : Single-sided magnesium swingarm, with Öhlins shock absorber
Front brakes : Twin 320mm (290mm in some conditions) Brembo floating discs
Rear brake : Single 200mm (218mm in some conditions) vented disc
Gearbox : 6-speed, dry multiplate clutch
Length : 2045mm
Width : 680mm
Dry weight : 164kg, with oil and water
Wheelbase : 1425mm
Fuel tank : 23.9 litres

Sporting Director for the factory Ducati Infostrada and Ducati L&M teams in 2002 will again be Davide Tardozzi, a former Superbike rider who won 5 Italian Championships, 1 European title and 5 races of the World Superbike Championship during his career. In the 1991 and 1992 WSBK championships Davide raced against Ducati legend Carl Fogarty and the Italian even succeeded in beating him on occasions.

In his role as sporting director Tardozzi has won four World Superbike titles for Ducati: in 1996 with Troy Corser, in ‘98 and ’99 with Carl Fogarty, and in 2001 with Troy Bayliss. Last year he steered Ducati to its 10th World Manufacturers’ crown.

With more than twenty years’ experience in racing, he is also responsible for looking after all the Ducati Corse riders and ‘scouting’ for new talent. Davide Tardozzi, born in Ravenna, Italy on 30 January 1959, is married to Sandra and they have one child, Andrea.

Corrado Cecchinelli is the chief engineer and has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Turin Polytechnic, specialising in automotive engineering.  Cecchinelli has worked for Ducati since 1997. Previously he accumulated considerable experience in firms from the same sector. Cecchinelli is the chief engineer for Ducati Corse track activity and co-ordinates the work of the race engineers for the two factory Superbike teams.

Back in the factory, Cecchinelli is responsible for the work of the engineers, mechanics and technicians who work on the track and the assembly of the engines used by the factory riders. Corrado Cecchinelli was born in La Spezia on 7 July 1968 and is married to Marella.

TROY BAYLISS

In 2001 Troy Bayliss became the second Australian to win the World Superbike Championship after an outstanding season in which he clinched the title at the penultimate round in Holland. The 369 points accumulated by the 32-year-old from ‘Down Under’, which included six wins at Monza (2), Lausitzring, Misano Adriatico and Assen (2), helped Ducati clinch its ninth Riders’ and its tenth Constructors’ title.

The Australian has been a revelation ever since he was given his big break in the 2000 WSBK championship, when he stepped onto the winner’s podium in only his third race for the first of two wins that year. Troy Bayliss was born in Taree (Australia) on 30 March 1969. He lives in Europe with his wife Kim and their two children, Mitchell and Abbey. Bayliss began his racing career in 1992 with a Kawasaki KR-1 in 250 cc Sport Production. In 1993 he took part in several national races in the 600 cc category, again on a Kawasaki.

In 1994, with a bike from the same manufacturer he took part in the Australian 600 cc Championship, finishing 6th overall. In 1995, he took part in the Australian 600 cc Championship and finished 2nd. In 1996, he raced in the Australian Superbike Championship for the first time with a Kawasaki, finishing 3rd overall.

In 1997, Troy finished runner-up in the Australian Superbike Championship with a Suzuki, and finished 5th in both races of the World Superbike round at Phillip Island, where he was entered as a ‘wild-card’. He also finished 6th on a 250 cc GP bike in the Australian Round of the Grand Prix championship.  In 1998, he moved to England to take part in the British Superbike Championship with a GSE Ducati, and finished 8th overall. He also took part in the two WSBK races at Brands Hatch.

In 1999, he continued with GSE Ducati in the British Superbike Championship, where he won the title by 28 points, winning 6 races and setting 6 pole positions. He also started from the front row a further 5 times and stepped onto the podium 14 times, all results that helped Ducati to win the Constructors’ title.

In 2000, Troy raced in the USA for Ducati Vance & Hines and set pole position in the Daytona 200, the first round of the AMA Superbike Championship. He was then drafted into the factory team for the 2000 world championship after the crash that ended Carl Fogarty’s career and won two races (Hockenheim and Brands Hatch), finishing sixth overall in the world championship with 243 points in ten rounds.

RUBEN XAUS

At the end of the 2001 season, Ruben Xaus set World Superbike alight with a series of impressive performances to finish sixth overall in the championship with 236 points. The 23-year-old from Barcelona picked up two wins (Oschersleben and Imola) and four second places in the last three rounds to end his debut season on a high note and emerge as a leading title candidate in 2002.

Xaus is one of the championship’s most talented young riders and during the year established an excellent feeling with his Ducati 996R. His sheer determination and physical presence make Xaus a perfect rider for the Bologna manufacturer, which has placed great hopes in him for the future.

Ruben Xaus was born in Barcelona (Spain) on 18 February 1978. He lives with his family in Barcelona, and trains on motocross bikes and jet-skis. In his free time he goes snowboarding. Xaus is 1.83 m tall and weighs 75 kg. Ruben made his racing debut in 1993, taking part in the 80 cc Criterium category. The following year he competed in the Spanish Open Championship in the 600 Supersport category, finishing 17th. He raced in the same championship in 1995, finishing 3rd overall. He also took part in the Thunderbike Championship and in 5 rounds of the World 250 cc Championship. Xaus finished 6th in the 1996 World Thunderbike Championship and the following year in 1997 moved on to the Supersport World Series.

In 1998 Ruben rode a Superbike for the first time in the German Championship where he finished 6th overall, and made his WSBK debut in the German round of the championship at the Nurburgring. In 1999 he embarked on the first of two seasons in the Supersport World Championship, finishing 5th on a Yamaha. This excellent result earned him a place in the factory Ducati Supersport team.

In 2000, he raced for the factory Ducati Infostrada team in the Supersport World Championship, finishing 7th overall, but that season he will be remembered above all for his superb win at Assen.

BEN BOSTROM

In 2001, Ben Bostrom finished third overall with 312 points in an astonishing year in which he wrote his name down in the record books. The 27-year-old Californian equaled Carl Fogarty’s 1993 record of five successive wins during a superb mid-season run. Bostrom, who set the championship alight with his spectacular tail-sliding style, won a total of six times, at Kyalami, Misano Adriatico, Laguna Seca (2) and Brands Hatch (2).

A product of American dirt-track racing, Bostrom rode a bike for the first time at the age of 4 and took part in his first race at the age of 8, continuing a family tradition. Ben is the son of a former rider and his two brothers Eric and Tony are also professional road-racers.

Ben Bostrom was born in Redding (California) on 7 May 1974 and lives in Granada Hills. He trains on motocross bikes, dirt-track and in the gym. His favourite sports are rock-climbing, snowboard and golf. He is 1.74 m tall and weighs 71 kg.

In 1992 Ben took part in the AMA National Championship in the Dirt Track 600 category and finished 6th overall. He turned professional in 1993, taking part in the Grand National Series in the 750cc category, winning the Rookie of the Year award. He took part in two different AMA championships in 1994, finishing 14th in Dirt Track 600 and 9th in the 883 category with a Harley Davidson.

In 1995, after considerable experience in Dirt Track racing, he switched to the track and finished 7th in the AMA Super Twins championship. In 1996 he again raced in two different AMA categories, finishing 4th in Supersport 600 and 2nd in the Super Twins. His debut in the American Superbike Championship dates back to 1997 but that year Ben also took part in two other categories. He finished 16th in Superbike, 12th in Supersport 600 and 2nd in Supersport 750.

The title of American Superbike Champion came in 1998 on a Honda, a result that earned him a place in the American Ducati team. In 1999, Ben came close to repeating the result of the previous year on a Ducati Vance&Hines 996. He finished runner-up and won the Laguna Seca round of the world championship where he took part as a ‘wild-card’ rider, outpacing the WSBK regulars. In 2000, he was signed by Ducati Corse to take part in the World Superbike Championship as team-mate to four-time WSBK champion Carl Fogarty. Ben concluded the season in the Ducati NCR satellite team and finished on the podium four times.