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Ducati Day Daytona
Daytona Bike Week 2006
By Vicki Smith
Contributing Writer, Cycle Crossroads
April 1, 2006
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When you think of Daytona Bike Week traditions, what comes to mind? Maybe the rumbling sounds of Harley-Davidsons, attending custom bike shows, enjoying coleslaw wrestling matches, watching burnouts, etc? But what about the thrill of seeing hundreds of Italian sport bikes glistening in that Florida sun? Huh? That’s right! Ducati Day Daytona was held on Friday, March 10th and is one of Daytona’s longest running traditions. It is a red gem in that swollen sea of black and orange! Ducati Day Daytona is a celebration of the famous Italian marquee, and the longest running Ducati owners’ club event in the USA.
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In 2006, DDD as it’s know to “Ducatisti,” the term affectionately applied to the folks passionate about the Italian L-Twins. It attracted over 3,000 owners and fans to enjoy what Dave Despain reported to Speed channel, “As the best Bike Week weather EVER!” DDD was held at Speed Park Daytona, a go-cart park and game arcade just across from the historic Daytona Speedway. It’s the perfect venue for the festivities which include Concorso Ducati Day Daytona, a Ducati only bike show, American Ducati Idol, a motor sound contest judged by the Ducati club of Rome, Italy, a series of tech talks in “Ducati University”, a Ducati apparel show put on by Ducati North America and a host of other events that went on throughout the day.
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It’s a destination in itself for some, including Federico Minoli, CEO of the company, who flew in from Italy for the event and the AMA Superbike race.
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Joining him was Mike and Vicki, a couple who traveled from Gurnee,IL to attend the party and were the winner’s of the gorgeous Cycle Cat trophy for the two valve class in the Ducati Idol contest when Vicki’s 2005 Ducati Monster S2r with Arrow pipes proved a favorite of the Roman judges. “We come every year, but this is the first time we have brought my bike,” she said, “We always bring Mike’s, so this is great!” Vicki has a new Monster S4rS on order and plans to bring it back to defend her title in 2007.
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For some, DDD is the highlight of Bike Week. Mark and Vicki, from Deland Florida brought their son Alex, 8, to DDD. “He’s very excited to meet the factory racers” said Mark, “He worked all week to build a Ducati model, now some friends have bought him a 999 replica so he could bring it to the party and have it signed. It’s all he’s talked about.”
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Tradition takes a harder-core form for Jim Wilde, who takes the trip to Daytona each year specifically for the DDD. “Wildeman” as he is known to his friends, lives in Gardner, Kansas, but came to Daytona this year via California. No, he wasn’t lost; he was breaking an “Iron Butt” long distance record on his ST4s. Jim’s ride of 5,079 miles in four days, 18 hours earned him the coveted “Iron Butt Saddlesore 5000” which betters the “Bunburner Gold” award he earned last year by riding 1,851 miles in 23 hours and 33 minutes to the DDD. Jim spent the day as a volunteer, directing the Ducati parking in the front lot with his wife Laureen who drove her car from Kansas City to join him, towing her 2006 Ducati Monster 620. Jim’s hard ridden 2001 ST4s was still grimy from the ride and has over 94,000 miles on the clock, but it must have impressed the judges, as the highly modified red machine with custom paint and a quaking duck horn took home the Cycle Cat Concorso trophy for “Best Tourer.”
This year the hands down crowd favorite had to be the Ducati North America fashion show. Shelby, from Fort Lauderdale, swore this year the umbrella girls “were the best looking ones yet.” Qualified to know, Shelby was attending his 15th straight DDD, and has no plans to miss one anytime soon. Shelby drove up for the weekend but hopes to rent a motor home next year and take off a full week. Umbrella girls’ aside, he wasn’t immune to the fashion side of the show, either. He went home with a pair of Ducati Corse crew pants he saw worn at the event, finding a pair at the Ducati dealer display, Euro Cycles of Tampa Bay. He wasn’t the only one buying, as crowds were lined up all day to buy their own personal event shirts and Ducati apparel; taking home their piece of traditional memorabilia.
If you are a rider and attend Daytona Bike week, then you most likely understand and respect tradition. The Thesaurus defines “tradition” as “ an inherited or established way of thinking, feeling, or doing.” Tradition, during this year’s Daytona Bike Week, was bent to the limit at Ducati Day Daytona, where passion and tradition go hand-in-hand. If you feel lacking in tradition and passion as a rider, you need to come over to the wild side, Ducati style! See you next year…
Photos by:
Steve Leukanech
Vicki Smith
Reprinted by permission of CycleCrossroads.com