Never give up!

There are those who make their mark on the world by rising to fame, others who go down in history by setting new records. Then there are those who do both. Like Ducati, the world-famous motorbike manufacturer, a success story built on circuits—of both the racing and electrical kinds.
It was in the mid-1920s when Adriano Ducati, then an enthusiastic physics student, successfully established a radio link between Italy and the United States with a shortwave radio of his own invention. The breakthrough would make the fortunes of the family company that soon after was established in Borgo Panigale, then a small provincial town that has since become a quiet district of Bologna.
The radio link might not have brought Adriano a Nobel Prize, like the one awarded just a few years earlier to his countryman Guglielmo Marconi, but it did earn him a patent. And a knighthood from the Italian Crown, making him the youngest man ever to receive one.

The “Società Scientifica Radio Brevetti Ducati” was officially established on 4 July 1926. From there, it wasn’t long before the company’s shortwave radio research brought the first product to be branded Ducati—the “Manens.” Sold in a box tied with a yellow silk string, the Manens was an electrical capacitor no bigger than the size of a coin, and it was only the start of a series of ever-more sophisticated models.

In March 1935, the cornerstone of a new era was laid. One year later, in March 1936, the new Borgo Panigale factory opened for business. Between the Aemilian Way and the Wild West stood Ducati. In just ten years, production grew by leaps and bounds, as the workforce expanded from just over one thousand to more than four thousand workers. Alongside capacitors and radios, other precision instruments made their appearance: the office intercom system “Dufono”; the “Raselet,” Italy’s first electric razor; the micro-camera “Sogno”; and the calculator “Duconta.” Then there were devices of all kinds, from field telephones and radio equipment to optical instruments.

Every product needs its stage and back then there was no better arena than the Milan Fair to showcase the latest products and prototypes.
Italy’s first national expo was staged in the late nineteenth century (1881) and it took a few decades for the idea of regular industry fairs to take hold. But it finally did in April 1920 with the first Milan Fair along the bastions of Porta Venezia. The turning point would come three years after the purchase of the land around Piazza d’Armi, with the construction of the first pavilions of the new fairgrounds—including the Sports Pavilion, which would become home to the Automobile, Bicycle, & Motorcycle Show, as well as to dedicated boat and air shows.

Then came the war and the intensification of events in 1943, which complicated the scenario, to say the least. The efficient factories forced by the occupying Germans to support their war effort would become the target of massive Allied bombing. It was a disaster that spared nobody, not even Ducati.

With the end of hostilities, post-war reconstruction was an opportunity for all industries.
From the ashes of its bombing in 1944, Ducati would rise again. Getting the factory back up and running was the first strategic objective; reconverting the electrical engineering business, the winning strategy.
A new era loomed large and the company was ready to move forward. New products soon arrived to meet the changing needs of a population on the move and in need of cheap and practical transport. Italy’s economic miracle was just around the corner.
In 1946, the first auxiliary engine for motorizing bicycles was launched on the market. It was a turning point, with the “Cucciolo” (baby) engine becoming the first of a long series of milestones.
Even the Milan Fair was back on its feet and ready for the new era. In 1952, the Bicycle & Motorcycle Show celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in a brand new venue, the Mechanics Pavilion, which would become its permanent home.
It wasn’t the era of motorcycling glory yet, but the signs were all there.

In the late 1950s, new designers and engineers joined the factory, bringing a great new wave of innovation—the desmodromic valve system, the L-twin-cylinder engine, and the trellis frame all pioneered new frontiers. The advances in engineering came hand in hand with the first victories on the track, including the Viareggio Grand Prix in 1947, the Motogiro d’Italia in 1955, the Swedish Grand Prix in 1956, and the Nations GP in 1957, 1959, and 1960.
The challenge of motorcycle racing was a test bench for the development of road bikes, which were becoming ever-popular as the motorization of the country moved into full swing. At the Milan Fair, visitors rushed to see the latest lightweight motorbikes and mini-motors produced by motorcycle makers. They were a dream.

One man more than any other took that dream to new heights. Mike Hailwood was one of the greatest riders of all time. For over twenty years, he was regularly on the top spot of the podium, racing for different manufacturers, in different classes, on different tracks.
Seats and suspensions of the twin-cylinder Desmo 250cc were personalized specially for him at Ducati, and the fuel tanks hand-crafted for each motorbike he raced on the track. The engineers even took into account his knees, which made a difference to the aerodynamics.
His legend would be sealed at the end of the decade on the Isle of Man, when in 1978 he won the Tourist Trophy. The road race crossed the entire island, mountains included, with 200 turns in just over 37 miles. Racing might not be for everyone, but Hailwood was a born natural.

The 1970s brought other victories, other models, other riders. In 1972, Paul Smart won the Imola 200 on a GT 750, cheered on by 70,000 fans; in 1977, Cook Neilson triumphed on the Daytona Speedway on a California Hot Rod, 750 SS; and in 1986 and 1987, Marco Lucchinelli won the podium again for Ducati at the Laguna Seca Raceway and Daytona.
With its engines firing, Ducati was ready for a new challenge—to take the thrills of speed and racing onto the road.

In the 1990s, technologies took off and the pace of research and development accelerated, propelling motorcycles to a whole new level for riders, bikers, and enthusiasts. The motorbike was raised to a status symbol, as legendary new models were released, such as the Monster (1993) and the Ducati 916 (1994). The 916 instantly became the superstar of the motorcycling world, celebrated for its innovative design and victorious track record. Designed by Massimo Tamburini, the 916 marked the turning point for superbikes, introducing innovations that would become production classics, such as the single swingarm and under-seat exhausts. And where else could such a true icon be debuted if not at the Milan Fair?! Combining state-of-the-art electronics and mechanical engineering, the motorbike’s performance features made for a thrilling, interactive experience both on and off the track. As the legend grew, it would be celebrated by enthusiasts in an ever-growing number of meetings and events like World Ducati Week.
The turn of the century brought a windfall of new titles in all racing classes. New bikes, new champions—in the WorldSBK, Neil Hodgson, James Toseland, and Troy Bayliss, and more recently in the MotoGP, Loris Capirossi, Casey Stoner , and Andrea Dovizioso.

With the market saturated for a few decades by the automobile boom, the transfer of the dedicated industry show to Rho in 2005 marked a new turning point for the two-wheeled motoring world. The EICMA—or Milan Motorcycle Show—is now again an annual event, growing from strength to strength to become the world’s biggest industry show for the sector. The numbers speak for themselves—the 80th Milan Motorcycle Show in 2023 featured as many as 1700 exhibitors from 45 different countries.

As the sector is getting ready for this autumn’s show, another countdown is on.
In less than a year, the Borgo Panigale company will be reaching a new milestone when on 4 July 2026 it celebrates the centenary of its glorious career.
The century that Ducati is leaving behind as it races towards the future has been a story of innovation and success, restarts and victories, built on a solid know-how applied to different industries. A story that continues, and of which Fiera Milano is proud to be a part.