Ducati’s Silverstone Park team into new year on a high after world success in 2022

Ducati UK has confirmed plans to increase operations at its Silverstone Park headquarters following a highly successful 2022 for the brand – including capturing the world’s premier motorcycle racing crown, MotoGP.

Rider Francesco Bagnaia gave Ducati its first MotoGP title in 15 years thanks to a second-half season charge which began with victory in the British MotoGP on the Silverstone Circuit – right next to Ducati UK’s HQ building at Silverstone Park.

During GP weekend, the Ducati UK team played an instrumental role in the brand’s presence and success – organising much activity behind the scenes for Ducati’s VIP guests and fanbase.

Ducati UK MD Fabrizio Cazzoli commented:

“We don’t see ourselves as people in a job; we see ourselves as ‘Ducatisti’.

“We are the people who ride the bike and are passionate about the brand, our dealers, our colleagues. They are our extended family. It is emotionally intense to be part of this organisation!

“We still can feel the pride of winning the MotoGP title from everywhere: colleagues in Italy, dealers and customers around the world. It’s a feeling of ‘we made it’ and the ‘we’ word is very important there. It’s a team effort that spreads from the factory in Bologna through to every part of Ducati around the world, including us.

MotoGP at Silverstone is the most important event for Ducati UK for obvious reasons. We are inside the circuit so it’s important to be ready to organise everything here. The preparation starts months before and in the two weeks before the event it is the top priority for us.

That work for Ducati UK’s 20-strong staff includes on-going liaison with the factory Ducati MotoGP team, organisation and ticketing of the official Ducatisti grandstand for some 1,200 people, a VIP dinner with the squad’s riders, a display area for the brand’s products and other activities.

Fabrizio added: “I see us like commandos as we are not a big army of people.

“For 2023, we plan to repeat everything for the MotoGP weekend but on a larger scale.”

In addition to their ‘day jobs’ the Ducati UK team has major input into the spectacular World Ducati Week which sees several hundred customers from the UK alone ride their motorcycles to Misano on Italy’s Adriatic coast for four days of Ducatisti mania and festivities.

Similarly, much organisation with the UK network goes into a global dealer conference in Sardinia which enables those attending to align with Ducati’s future strategies.

Sales, aftersales, finance, marketing, network development and servicing (of the manufacturer’s fleet of press and demonstrator bikes) are all housed at Ducati UK’s HQ.

There is a notably diverse mix of younger male and female employees, confirming Ducati’s approach to inclusivity and support of young people, and their energies are already working on plans for new Ducati Experience events.

Fabrizio continued: “The Experience events will be for limited participants to ride the Silverstone Circuit, but we want to really give them an experience with stay-overs in the new Hilton hotel and an opportunity to build their relationship with us.”

Fabrizio’s career with Ducati started in 1998 in Italy. From there he has held senior positions in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China but he says there is an added excitement about locating to Silverstone where he has been UK MD since January.

When our colleagues from Italy visit, for them it is so exciting – it’s the home of racing and I feel it, too. There is emotion, like with a golden treasure.

“So we are looking to modernise our offices, just like the big tech companies in the US regularly review their lay-outs, particularly post-pandemic with new ways of working.

“Maybe we will make an environment that has less of an office feel but it will still be a place to work together with colleagues and we also want to increase the area dedicated for training our dealers.

“Ideally, we can make it into a ‘Ducati House’ for the UK. You don’t just come for a meeting; it’s a place to immerse yourself with the world of Ducati.”