Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. is an Italian motorcycle company, a subsidiary of the larger Ducati family of companies. Ducati is owned by Lamborghini, in turn owned by Audi, and is a part of the Volkswagen Automotive Group.
In 1926 Antonio Cavalieri Ducati and his three sons, Adriano, Marcello, and Bruno Cavalieri Ducati; founded Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati in Bologna to produce vacuum tubes, condensers and other radio components. In 1935 they had become successful enough to enable construction of a new factory in the Borgo Panigale area of the city. Production was maintained during World War II, despite the Ducati factory being a repeated target of Allied bombing. Meanwhile, at the small Turinese firm SIATA (Societa Italiana per Applicazioni Tecniche Auto-Aviatorie), Aldo Farinelli began developing a small pushrod engine for mounting on bicycles. Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called the "Cucciolo" (Italian for "puppy," in reference to the distinctive exhaust sound) to the public. In the 1960s, Ducati earned its place in motorcycling history by producing the fastest 250 cc road bike then available, the Mach 1. In the 1970s Ducati began producing large-displacement V-twin motorcycles and in 1973, released a V-twin with the trademarked desmodromic valve design.
In April 2012, Volkswagen Group's Audi subsidiary announced its intention to buy Ducati. Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piëch, a motorcycle enthusiast, had long coveted Ducati, and had regretted that he passed up an opportunity to buy the company from the Italian government in 1984. Analysts doubted a tiny motorcycle maker would have a meaningful effect on a company the size of Volkswagen, however, Italian luxury car brand Lamborghini was strengthened under VW ownership, and Audi AG's Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. subsidiary acquired 100 percent of the shares of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. on 19 July 2012.
This Italian motorcycle manufacturer has so far only appeared in Tourist Trophy.
List of Motorcycles
Ducati in Motorsports
Ducati's history with motorsport began with speed records on Cucciolo motorized bicycle factory racers in 1951, followed in 1954 when they brought in Fabio Taglioni to found a road-racing program with the 100 Gran Sport. As of 2009, Ducati was still pursuing the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" business model and spending 10% of company revenues on its racing business.
Ducati has won the MotoGP World Championship once in 2007, the Superbike World Championship 14 times from 1990-2011, and the Formula TT 6 times from 1978-1984. Ducati has over 50 other independent and privateer victories in other regional championship events, and has won the Manufacturer's Championship 17 times from 1991-2016.
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