specials the 1098R is little more than a way of Ducati ensuring its WSB bike is as competitive as humanly possible. But, as the rules have changed for 2008 to allow 1,200cc twins into the series this has created a bit of a monster. In order to appease

the WSB crown in ’94 and ’95, grabbing the title both times convincingly on his booming Ducati 916 and making the vast Japanese manufacturers and their bottomless racing budgets look utterly stupid in the process.His wins at Brands Hatch WSB became

Power: 104bhp Weight: 217kg Fuel capacity: 19L Full Review: This is an SP5 - the best of the bunch. The Italian tradition of rule-bending began and the 851 grew to 888cc to ensure that Ducati wouldn’t have to try too hard to win, they took 17 out

on fighting the Supersport fight but then in 2008 Ducati launched the 848 and not the 750 or 751 you might have reasonably expected. An additional 100cc might not sound like a big deal, but the 848 was ruled out of competing in the Supersport class and since