The Ducati Story is brought right up to date in this new edition of Ian
Falloon’s authoritative book, covering the complete history of the
marque. Initially under government control, Ducati went through several
decades of ups and downs, characterized by dubious managerial decisions.
Held together by the great engineer Fabio Taglioni, the father of
desmodromic valve gear, Ducati produced some of the finest motorcycles
of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s: the Marianna, desmo 125 single, Mach 1,
750 and Pantah. Taglioni also instigated Ducati’s return to racing, and
victory in the 1972 Imola 200 was the turning point. Mike Hailwood rode
the 900 Ducati to victory in the 1978 Isle of Man Formula One race and
Tony Rutter took four World TT2 Championships. Cagiva purchased Ducati
in 1985, bringing a new engineer, Massimo Bordi, and new designs - most
famously the Desmoquattro. In various guises, this model dominated the
World Superbike Championship during the 1990s, particularly in the hands
of Carl Fogarty. Landmark models included the 916 and Monster, and, with
the sale of Ducati to the Texas Pacific Group in 1996, the company
continued to grow. The racing program expanded to MotoGP and new model
families were introduced. With control taken by the Italian company
InvestIndustrial in 2006, Ducati embarked on the next era of
development: Casey Stoner winning the MotoGP World Championship in 2007.
Now under the Audi umbrella Ducati continues to thrive. This new edition
includes a brand new chapter featuring all the models from 2012 up to
2018.
