Ducati top brass check out Triumph's class

Manufacturers checking out manufacturers is nothing new. At trade shows like Intermot rival manufacturers are as eager as the journalists to see the new models being unveiled.

I happened across three of Ducati's top brass checking out the bikes on Triumph's stand, Left to right you have: Diego Sgorbati, Marketing Director, Gabriele del Torchio, CEO and Claudio Domenicali, the boss of Ducati Corse.

As they walked up to Triumph's stand, they went straight to the new Trophy 1200 and spent a good few minutes looking at the bike, checking out the spec sheet and talking it over. It was interesting to hear del Torchio asking Sgorbati about the bike; how many cylinders did it have, what it cost, how the engine was different to the Tiger Explorer.

It might sound obvious but I didn't think someone like del Torchio would care about anything like that. It was great to see these guys talk passionately about bikes away from their own stage where they reel off perfectly polished spiel about their own line-up and you never really know if they believe their own hype.

Seeing them poring over the new Trophy showed me another side.

By Ben Cope