Last week, Ducati unveiled the new Panigale V4 (and also the V4 S) for 2025. This model is the result of development work that began several years ago and features various innovations for a superbike that is street-legal.
It represents a real evolution from Ducati’s most sporty model, closely resembling their competition bikes, and part of the development work involved test rider Michele Pirro. In an interview with GPOne.com, the Italian rider described the new bike as follows:
– The first time I tested the new Panigale V4 was two years ago at Mugello. I remember that day because there was so much curiosity. As everyone has seen, the new Ducati represents a turning point for our company, and personally, I’m pleased with what we’ve achieved and with the product we’ve brought to the track. At the Race of Champions, the bike demonstrated high performance without any issues.
Pirro has no doubts that there are clear improvements over the previous version of the Panigale V4: ‘I think it’s an easier and improved bike. The braking is indeed different, partly due to the combined braking, as well as the seat and the character of the bike itself. Personally, I am of the opinion that we’ve reached the point where we are talking about a MotoGP bike for the road’.
The rider compared the newly launched Panigale V4 to a MotoGP bike: ‘I would say the GP15. The value of the change is the same I think. With the GP15, Ducati turned around their MotoGP project around, writing a new story on a blank sheet of paper. With this Panigale V4, we are writing a revolution similar to what we did nine years ago’.