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Historic Classics at Salon Privé 2024

Salon Privé is one of the most prestigious automotive shows in the world and has been a regular on the international calendar since its launch at London’s Hurlingham Club in 2006. It brings together luxury automotive brands, classic car owners, collectors and enthusiasts from all over the world.

For this year, Salon Privé featured a special class for Iconic Liveries and we were delighted to support the class. Alongside our celebrated Group C Le Mans car liveries (Rothmans Porsche and Silk Cut Jaguar) we also brought along our Shell Dunlop Porsche 962 and taka-Q Toyota 88C within a display that celebrated the actual cars that featured in the sensationally exciting 1988 Le Mans 24 hours race.

Alongside the Le Mans cars was the world debut of six of our highly significant ex-Works Ducati race bikes.

We brought along three Ducati MotoGP and three Ducati World Superbike Championship winning bikes to support the Iconic Liveries class.

An extraordinary collection

Headlining the collection was Ducati’s actual first ever MotoGP winning bike, the 2003 GP3 that was ridden in period by Italian hero Loris Capirossi who spearheaded the team during Ducati’s opening season culminating in an historic victory at their sixth ever race when Capirossi won at the Catalan MotoGP in June that year, helping Ducati to the constructors’ runner up spot in their debut year, scoring a total of nine podiums in the sixteen-round championship.

Also on display was a 2006 GP6 that was famously ridden to an emotional victory at the Valencia MotoGP by Australian Troy Bayliss in the last race of the season. Bayliss had already brilliantly won the World Superbike Championship only a few weeks earlier and was drafted back into the factory Ducati team as a replacement for the team’s regular rider, Sete Gibernau. It was Troy’s first and last MotoGP win but more importantly he uniquely joined the exclusive club of winning a MotoGP race as a reigning World Superbike title holder.

Arguably the 2003 and 2006 Ducati MotoGP bikes were from the sport’s golden era as the MotoGP class was in its formative but hairiest time as riders struggled with huge horsepower, searing heat from the bikes and some spectacular racing.

The third Ducati MotoGP machine was seven-time MotoGP Champion Valentino Rossi’s GP12 bike from 2011, a unique and historic Ducati because this bike is frame number 1, the very first Ducati built with a - first for Ducati - twin-spar aluminium frame.

The oldest of the World Superbike Championship winning Ducatis on display was Carl Fogarty’s Ducati F99 with which the hugely popular ‘Foggy’ won the world championship in 1999 taking 11 race wins on his way to his fourth title in six years.

Fogarty was ‘The People’s Champion’ of the UK and Italy as he fought with grit, determination and sheers guts on the bike in front of sell out crowds at many circuits on the calendar, capturing the hearts and minds of so many trackside and through the TV broadcasts.

Another title winning bike was Neil Hodgson’s 2003 Championship winning Ducati F03 999. Hodgson and his F03 completely dominated the series that year, winning 13 races and taking seven runner-up spots.

Completing the World Superbike Championship winning line-up was the 2006 Ducati F06, with which Troy Bayliss won the title, before jumping on to the GP6 MotoGP bike in Valencia and winning on the actual bike in the same Historic Classics display.

We have been diligently assembling the Ducatis over the past 15 years, specialising in the authentic parts and ownership lineage for what are some of motorcycle racing’s most breathtaking machinery. Ducatis always have the attention of the hardcore fans but for those outside the pit lanes of the world they are regularly viewed as stunning pieces of art, especially with these evocative liveries!

See more about the bike we took to Salon Privé here

  • 1999 Carl Fogarty ‘Ducati 998’ World Superbike Championship Winner

    This actual bike took Carl to his final World Superbike Championship, his 4th title since his first win, in 1994. Carl dominated the 1999 season, winning half of all of the races, with 85% of his wins on this bike.

  • 2003 Neil Hodgson ‘Ducati F03 999’ World Superbike Championship Winner

    The new Ducati F03 999 dominated that years WSBK championship with Neil winning 11 of the first 12 races on his way to securing the championship with five races still to go.

  • 2003 Loris Capirossi ‘Ducati GP3’, first Ducati Moto GP and Catalunya Winner

    The very first Ducati Moto GP win - the Catalunya round of the 2003 world championship. By utilising the first year of the new 990cc Moto GP era, introduced in 2002, for extensive development, new factory team entrant Ducati opened the 2003 season with a podium finish and this actual bike scored their first victory, by round six.

  • 2006 Troy Bayliss ‘Xerox Ducati FO6 999’ World Superbike Championship Winner

    2001 World Superbike champion, Troy switched back to WSBK after two seasons in Moto GP, all with Ducati and dominated the 2006 world championship, scoring 12 race wins, half of the total season’s races.

  • 2006 Troy Bayliss Marlboro / Alice Ducati GP6

    Due to rider injury, Bayliss was drafted to ride the final race in the 2006 MotoGP at Valencia - having already secured the World Superbike Championship - and won on this bike. This race is seen as one of the most thrilling of all time.

  • 2011 Valentino Rossi Ducati GP12.0

    The first aluminium twin spar chassis frame Ducati. This bike is chassis/frame number 1 of the new full aluminium twin spar frame - the basis of which is dominating MotoGP today. It was tested and developed extensively by Rossi through to 2012.