We ride new 999R

MCN’s Adam Child rode the new Ducati 999R at Laguna Seca this week. Here are our first pictures as they arrive from the States, and his first impressions of the bike.

They will be followed by a full first test report in MCN, out on Wednesday.

The new 999R has a new front fairing, new swingarm and suspension and an upgraded 150bhp engine (up from 139bhp).

Child said: “The track takes some real getting used to. During the first session I ended up braking at the wrong point and using a gear too high – but that revealed the new 999R’s real useability.

“On the slow corners the engine improvements were most obvious. The front would life almost too easily out of the final turn and again in second with the use of a bit of clutch – never the case on the older model.

“Ducati has made the bike more fun to ride. The only slight criticism was the gearbox. Once or twice I found false neutrals on the down changes.

“There are only small changes to the suspension, decreasing the size of the fork springs and redesigning the front topout spring – and the result was a huge amount of feedback.”

“This bike turns what could be a daunting race track into a playground.”

Child is riding the bike on the road today (Friday) and his road test will be included in our full test in Wednesday’s MCN

The whole WSB circus is in Laguna Seca right now for this weekend’s round. Will bring you news of the event throughout the weekend.

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