WorldSBK star gets to try out Ducati’s new V4 R at Aragon
Aruba Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega got his hands on the upcoming Ducati Panigale V4 R at the WorldSBK test at Aragon.

The next-generation Ducati Panigale V4 R has been spotted, after Nicolo Bulega was handed the keys to the new bike at a WorldSBK test at Aragon.
The test of Ducati’s new range-topping superbike seems to have been highly successful, with Bulega topping the time sheets around half a second ahead of BMW’s Toprak Razgatlioglu. Bulega’s best time was recorded as 1m 48.829 seconds, meaning had the production-based bike lined up on the Aragon MotoGP grid earlier this year, he’d have only been around three seconds off Marc Marquez’ pole time of 01m 45.704 seconds. That feat again highlights how close WorldSBK is now getting to the prototype MotoGP class.

Ducati first pulled the wraps off its latest-spec Panigale V4 at the end of 2024. Since then, all eyes have been on when the Borgo Panigale brand would follow it up with its road-going homologation machine.
While the R variants of the Panigale V4 have always been road legal when they leave the factory, they are firmly aimed at the track. The purpose of it is to fulfil WorldSBK regulations, which stipulate that 125 units are produced by the first race, 250 by the end of the first year, and 500 by the end of the second year, for the bike to remain eligible for racing.

Unlike the standard Panigale V4 and V4 S, the R variant gains a host of trick parts and mandated equipment straight out of the box. The previous bike gained things like an aluminium fuel tank, manually adjusted Ohlins suspension and more. Indeed, the previous spec bike’s 998cc engine pushed out peak power of 205bhp in standard trim, although that could be boosted to a claimed 236bhp with the addition of a race-kit exhaust system.
You may like to read our Ducati Panigale V4 R review.
No further information about when the V4 R will be landing is given, although there is a strong possibility that we’ll get our first look at it at EICMA later this year.
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