There is a lot to be said for maxing out a motorcycle; it's good for the soul. From a PW50 to a Panigale, the feeling you get when you know the gears won't go any higher and the wires won't go any tighter is one you'll never forget.
The trouble is, with a bike as capable as a Panigale, those moments where you're on the limit are very few and even further between and actually, when you're on the limit of what a PW50 can do, then you experience pure enjoyment, but at close to the limit of a Panigale, on track at least, doubt and self-preservation start to cloud the fun.
But there is one limit you can take the Panigale to: top speed. All you need is a piece of tarmac long enough, frankly it doesn't have to be that long...
Just 3 gears in and you're already doing 120mph, 12 seconds after you set off, you're hooking 5th at 150 but then that rush of acceleration simmers down as you hook 6th and watch the digits creep up at a rate that feelings painfully slow. One seven seven, seventy eight, eighty, you crouch more, tuck your elbows in and try and rinse out those last few mph, with one eye on your braking zone; fast approaching. A tiny flash of the redline at 186mph and that'll do but you can't just sit up, unless you want to be punched in the face by the air flowing hard against the Panigale's tiny screen.
With performance like that, you'd see off just about anyone but what if that anyone was driving a Porsche GT2 RS? Well, Chris Harris just happened to turn up in one. Funny that. Can the Panigale hold it off?
Check back for part two of our Porsche versus Panigale series that goes live later on today but why not check out our first offering: Porsche GT2 RS vs. Ducati 1199 Panigale at the 1/4 mile.
Here's part two: Porsche GT2 RS versus Ducati Panigale S flat out.
