You Can Bid For 2003 Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP Bike

Calling all Ducati lovers around the UK, this is your chance to grab a piece of racing history. A 2003 Ducati Desmosedici MotoGP bike, unregistered and used by Loris Capirossi, will be available for auction later this month at Silverstone, courtesy of Iconic Auctioneers.

The 2003 Desmosedici GP3 was Ducati’s first-ever MotoGP bike which Capirossi took to fourth place in the championship. The Italian rider rode this exact bike that is being auctioned off with a guide price of £180,000 to £200,000. A bike that can both be a collector’s item or used on track and for parades thanks to the maintenance it’s received, this GP3 machine is filled with goodies.

The bike features a mesmerising 989cc, V4 desmodromic DOHC engine that produces a whopping 220bhp, plus 16,000rpm with the Magneti Marelli injection and ignition. Control yourselves because we haven’t finished… The bike can reach speeds of over 200mph and features a trellis-style frame with an aluminium swing-arm with Ohlins front and rear suspension that’s fully adjustable.

It doesn’t stop there, in fact, it keeps getting better as the bike is fitted with Brembo four-piston calipers on the front and a Brembo single two-piston caliper on the rear. As I said, this is the bike used by Capirossi and it has all the branding and his race number on the front and rear of the bike. At this current time and that of the auction, the bike is fitted with carbon fibre brake discs which are for display usage only. However, the bike runs without the need of factory support from Ducati, making it accessible to be used regularly once won at the auction. 

Ducati’s recent success in MotoGP and World Superbike has made them the face of world championship racing, and at the recent British MotoGP at Silverstone, Ducati paid homage to its first-ever MotoGP race bike by using the 2003-inspired colours as part of the 75th Anniversary of Grand Prix racing.

The GP3 was much like the prototype tested in 2002. The chassis was a minimalist trellis, with the engine providing much of the structural strength which Ducati expanded on even further over time. The swingarm would also see a revamp as time went on. 

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