La Desmosedici celebrates its 20th anniversary at Mugello 

Today, Ducati has no less than eight Desmosedici on the grid. MotoGP, nine at the Italian GP with the wildcard of Michele Pirro, tester for the brand. But when it started, in 2003, there were only two driven by Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss. It was ahead of the 2002 Italian GP that Ducati took the wraps off its prototype.

The history of the Borgo Panigale firm in Grands Prix cannot be limited to the last 20 years. You should know that Ducati, founded in 1946, took its first official steps in 125cc GP in 1958 with the first Desmo designed by engineer Fabio Taglioni. Alberto Gandossi won twice that year (Belgium and Sweden) and Bruno Spaggiari won the season finale at Monza. Ducati almost came close to taking the manufacturers' crown, but it was ultimately MV Agusta who had the last word.

The 125 1958 Desmo at the Ducati Museum in Bologna (Photo: Thomas Morsellino)

In the 1960s, Ducati did not have an official presence in GP, ​​but the firm continued to compete on a national scale as in Great Britain in 250cc with a certain Mike "The Bike" Hailwood. 

It was only in 1971 that Ducati decided to return to GP with a 500cc twin-cylinder based on its 750 GT road bike. But the adventure was only short-lived... in 1973, the arrival of two-stroke engines straight from Japan spelled the death of the four-stroke Ducati or MV Agusta, to name just these two brands.

From left to right: the 2003 Desmosedici (Loris Capirossi), the 2007 Desmosedici (Casey Stoner, titled that season) and the 1098 2008 Superbike (Troy Bayliss, titled in WorldSBK that season) at the Bologna Museum (Photo: Thomas Morsellino)

It was only when the end of the 500cc two-stroke was announced to make way for the 990cc four-stroke in 2002 that Ducati saw the opportunity to make its comeback by fielding the Desmosedici in 2003. From the first round in Japan, Loris Capirossi was on the third step of the podium… and it only took six races for the Italian to win.

Since 2002, Ducati has achieved 62 victories, 192 podiums, 60 pole positions and three manufacturers' titles. Only Casey Stoner in 2007 managed to take the pilot crown.