350 days, five continents, eight sets of Pirelli tyres and nearly
100,000km (62,000 miles) aboard his Ducati Multistrada 1200 S are just
some of the incredible numbers that underline Paolo Pirozzi’s impressive
round-the-world adventure.
The 31-year-old President of the Naples Ducati Dreams Club, Paolo
Pirozzi, says he’s a “motorcyclist” by profession - and so he should.
His life and work revolves entirely around motorcycles and his passion
for Ducati, whether on day-to-day journeys or one of his celebrated
adventures. Pirozzi has clocked up over 450,000km (280,000 miles) aboard
his many Bologna-made Ducati motorcycles, including the realisation of
his latest round-the-world dream trip, which covered an incredible list
of countries and visited 80 of the D.O.Cs (Ducati Owners Clubs) located
around the globe.
Not only in character with the famous Italian manufacturer’s heritage of
victory, success and pure Italian style, Pirozzi’s latest adventure
also characterises the award winning Multistrada 1200. Its innovative
four-bikes-in-one concept has set a new benchmark in motorcycling by
combining Ducati’s race-proven technologies to provide the
electronically selected riding modes of Sport, Touring, Urban and
Enduro.
Pirozzi’s round-the-world trip began at World Ducati Week in Misano in
June 2010 and ended with his grand arrival at the racetrack of Imola at
the end of May 2011. Hundreds of people witnessed his finishing
ceremony, including Ducati’s President and CEO, Gabriele Del Torchio,
who wanted to welcome the Neopolitan adventurer back in person. A podium
was constructed by Pirozzi’s “Ducatisti” friends with two of his former
Ducati motorcycles, “Nenna”, a Monster 900, and “Jessica”, a
Multistrada 620 on either side. Both bikes had been ridden on previous
adventures such as Bologna to Beijing. On the top step of the podium was
the Ducati which had just taken him safely across five continents – the
Multistrada 1200 S affectionately named “Lidia” by Pirozzi.
He had set off from Misano onboard what was a brand new Multistrada 1200
S, one of the first to roll off the production line at Bologna, and
along the way demonstrated the special relationship between a Ducati and
its rider and how cultural barriers can be removed with shared passion
for motorcycling.
The challenge of this epic voyage was welcomed by Ducati, who supported
Pirozzi from the factory in Bologna by helping with his logistics and
carefully taking note Paolo’s valuable technical feedback during the
journey.
From Misano, that journey went through Greece, Bulgaria, Romania,
Belgium, Eastern Europe and Northern Europe and was marked along the way
with the familiar warmth of Ducati Owners Clubs which enthusiastically
hosted Pirozzi. In Moscow, one particular local Ducatista, became a much
appreciated travel companion riding with him for three weeks through
freezing Siberia.
On then to Japan, where Paolo’s Multistrada 1200 S checked in for its
second service at 24,000km (15,000 miles) and then to China and the
Asian Ducati Week event in Malaysia held during the MotoGP race. It was
in Malaysia that Pirozzi realised another dream by riding around the
track with his hero, Troy Bayliss. Through China and on to Pakistan and
as the total kilometres increased, so did his popularity.
As kilometres and autographs went hand in hand, he went on to Australia
and Canada before arriving in the USA, where his schedule was already
crammed full. American clubs, Ducati events and meetings with local
personalities were scheduled at 700km (435 mile) intervals along his
route in addition to a mass of local newspapers and television crews who
wanted the story of the unstoppable Ducati ambassador.
It was while in Miami that Ducati organised a memorable birthday party
for Paolo by flying his mother across the Atlantic from Italy to
celebrate with him. In Las Vegas the celebrations are now set to be
repeated every year, even without Paolo, as local Ducatisti will mark
the 8 November as the official “Paolo Pirozzi Day”.
Mexico finally saw Paolo enjoying a few days of rest prior to continuing
down to South America and stopping off in Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama,
Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and the Tierra del Fuego before
finally reaching Ushuaia, the southernmost inhabited place on earth.
After that, Paolo and his Multistrada 1200 S returned to Europe where
they visited England, France, Portugal, Morocco and Spain, before
reaching the finish line of the famous racetrack in Imola, Italy at the
end of May 2011.
Discover all the journeys details and videos in the
Around the world in 80 clubs official site.
