Ducati Globetrotter 90°: The Torch Is Passed On In Moscow. The Journey Continues.....

• Stage one of the world tour to celebrate 90 years of Ducati comes to a successful end
• Indian rider Vir Nakai has reached Moscow for the symbolic handing of the torch to the second of the seven Globetrotters, Frenchman Laurent Cochet
• Frenchman Cochet is travelling the legendary Trans-Siberian Highway, from Moscow to Vladivostok

Borgo Panigale, Bologna (Italy), 7 September 2016 – Ducati Globetrotter 90°, the worldwide trip undertaken by seven riders chosen from among 3000 applicants, has reached the end of its first stage.
30,000 kilometres on the Multistrada 1200 Enduro to retrace the streets and places where the most important pages of the first 90 years of Ducati history have been written. Having begun on 4 July at Ducati HQ in Bologna, the tour has now reached Moscow, where the first Globetrotter, Indian rider Vir Nakai, symbolically passed the baton to the second ‘torch-bearer’, Frenchman Laurent Cochet, who is currently covering 9100 km of the legendary Trans-Siberian Highway in the direction of Vladivostok, the end point of this tough second stage.

Having left Borgo Panigale on 4 July, Vir Nakai reached Moscow after completing the 3850 km that made up stage one. 37 years old from Mumbai, Vir manages a bike repair workshop but is also a travel writer and photographer, with a passion for bikes and two-wheeled adventure holidays. Carrying the original “torch” created by Ducati, Vir has used wonderful images to tell the tale of his Europe-Asia trip on the official site www.globetrotter90.ducati.com

Vir, the first of seven selected motorcyclists who will take turns riding the Multistrada 1200 Enduro, crossed Italy, travelling via Lake Garda before taking on the Dolomites and climbing the Stelvio pass, with its 48 hairpin turns, to a height of 2757 metres. The Globetrotter covered more than 1700 km and crossed 3 countries before reaching Hedemora, in Sweden, an important site in Ducati’s history. It was in Hedemora, in 1956, that the Ducati desmodromic system made its debut in the 125 Desmo Grand Prix: 6 bikes, never before tested, ridden by Italian Gianni Degli Antoni, Swedes Bengt Svensson, Ake Ostbolm, Lennart Lindell, Olle Nygren and German Willi Scheidaured. Degli Antoni won the race, followed by Svensson, second, and Ostblom in third, an unforgettable result that saw 5 Ducatis finish inside the top ten.
In Hedemora, Vir also visited the Motorcycle Museum, comprising just two small garages and a basement but home to a collection of bikes dating from 1908 to 1958, examples from other eras, and various mementos.

From Sweden, the Ducati Globetrotter travelled on to Norway along the Atlantic Ocean Road, also known as the Road to Nowhere, crossing isolated, unspoiled landscapes. Then, after crossing the Eide archipelago which includes Averøy island, Vir headed for Moscow where he met with the Ducati importer and local Club.

In the Russian capital the torch was passed on to the next Globetrotter, Frenchman Laurent Cochet, who rides the Multistrada 1200 Enduro along the Trans-Siberian Highway from Moscow to Vladivostok.

“Lolo” Cochet, 48, is a professional you-tuber. His very popular videos always feature bikes and tell of his travel adventures. A passion that he’s had since the age of 14 when he tried to ride motocross with his first scooter. His many adventures have included a Paris – North Cape trip in the middle of winter and a tour that took in Dakar, Sharm el Sheik and Siberia. During this experience, Globettrotter 90° rider Laurent would like to meet new people and experience different cultures, sharing his discoveries and emotions on the web.

The Trans-Siberian Highway is one of the world’s longest, most adventurous routes. The famous railway, from which it takes its name, is flanked by a road, the very road along which the second Ducati Globetrotter is travelling. The trip encompass seven different time zones, as Cochet takes in the Ural Mountains and crosses the immense Russian steppe in total solitude. Throughout Ducati’s history, various riders have taken on the Trans-Siberian, including Edi Orioli (who won the Paris-Dakar in 1990 on a Ducati-powered Cagiva Elefant) and Paolo Pirozzi, who achieved the feat in 2008 on a Multistrada 620 and again in 2010, riding a Multistrada 1200.

Laurent left Moscow on 24 August and will travel for 23 days before arriving in Vladivostok. The third Globetrotter, Jessica, waits nervously in Japan for the torch, which will signal the start of her own particular adventure, across the Land of the Rising Sun.

Follow the GLOBETROTTER 90° adventure:

• on the official site globetrotter90.ducati.com
• on the official Ducati Facebook page
• on Twitter and Instagram #globetrotter90