Ducati “reached the limit” of WorldSBK challenger ahead of 2026 update

Ducati WorldSBK technical director Marco Zambenedetti says the Bologna factory had “reached the limit” of the performance potential of its previous WorldSBK bike before introducing a new one this year.

The previous version of the Panigale V4 R won two world titles, in 2022 and 2023, in the hands of Alvaro Bautista, and finished runner-up in the two years after that with Nicolo Bulega on-board, the Italian beaten only by BMW’s Toprak Razgatlioglu, whose performances earned him a move to MotoGP.

This year’s Panigale V4 R is the first major update to the bike since the first one was introduced in 2019, and features a raft of updates, most notably a new double-sided swingarm and a new fairing.

“It’s easier to say what is not new,” said Marco Zambenedetti, speaking to WorldSBK.com.

“It’s a new generation bike for us, so we completely revised the project with an improvement in the aero packaging, in the ergonomics, and also a new chassis layout. 

“The experience is always the key for the improvement, and also gives us the direction.”

Zambenedetti added that the new bike saves weight in unsprung areas compared to the old one. This is thanks to the double-sided swingarm, which is able to be lighter than the single-sided unit on the old bike without costing stability.

“The weakest point of the old bike was the rear, let me say, suspension and layout,” Zambenedetti said.

“So, for this reason, we put our experience, changing completely the layout of the chassis – especially the rear of the bike, it’s evident with the new double-sided swingarm.”

He added: “We saved some weight in the unsprung mass, that is really important in terms of getting the best from the tyre performance. 

“We stay in our philosophy to try to get the best from our experience in racing, and try to put as much as possible on the street bike because we achieve what are the limits, in our idea, of the single-sided swingarm solution and we needed to make a step ahead.”

Bulega: “The only problem now is…”

For Nicolo Bulega, the bike is clearly a good one, since he won all three races at the first round of the 2026 season in Australia, even in the pouring rain of Race 2.

The Italian feels the bike is more stable than the previous generation thanks to some of the changes that were made, most notably the swingarm.

“The first impression of the new Panigale is good,” Bulega said.

“It’s a completely new bike and I believe a lot in what Ducati did during this winter. 

“When you see it, you feel a bit the body position is a bit different, and then when you push you feel the swingarm, you feel a bit less nervous than last year.”

Bulega added that the swingarm helps to provide a better feeling at both ends of a straight: in acceleration, as well as in braking.

“The bike is more stiff in the acceleration, it’s moving less, and also helping you to stop a little bit better – you can brake harder,” he said.

There is one problem with the new bike, though, that Bulega wants to overcome.

“The only problem now is to try to turn a little bit better, but I think it’s just because we didn’t make a lot of kilometres [in testing],” the Italian said.