Troy Bayliss Opens New AD Ducati Showroom
Troy Bayliss opens a huge new high-tech Ducati Abu Dhabi
by Patrick Littlejohn
Welcome news to residents of Abu Dhabi is the opening of Ducati’s new super sized showroom based in the Mussafah area. Not only is this the first time that Ducati has come to Abu Dhabi with it’s existing base in Dubai but the showroom offers a new level of experience and attraction for bikers. Being one of the largest Ducati show rooms in the world the new store has become more of a Ducati destination than simple store and workshop.
Ducati service bay
Contained in a glass fronted warehouse the store is impressively big and contains some great features. Of course number one is the bikes, from the latest Panigale superbike to the cruising Diavel and the all terrain Multistrada, A huge selection of Ducati branded and motorcycle clothing and accessories, a decent sized cafe and meeting area for bikers to share a good natter and coffee that sits between the Ducati showroom and the soon to be new Harley showroom which will open next door.
The DynoJet room
One of the highlights of the new setup is a Dynojet machine contained within triple glazed glass walls to get the ultimate view of your motor being tuned without the ear shattering noise to go with it, by the café, coffee drinkers will be able to watch the activity on TV screens. Behind the scenes is equally impressive, a ride in workshop down a short tunnel brings you straight to a huge service bay area and one very unique feature, a 38 bay bike lockup facility for long or short term storage. Accessible by fingerprint technology, the high tech lockup will be open 24 hours a day, a perfect place to leave your precious 2 wheeled beauty away from the heat and dust yet at your disposal with a touch of a finger.
Troy Bayliss former World Superbike champion was on hand to open the new store, familiar with the middle east through racing in Qatar as well as previous visits as a prominent Ducati’s brand ambassador.
With the champ on hand we had the opportunity to have him answer some questions:
Is the Panigale the best Ducati yet?
As a straight out road bike it’s the best thing I’ve ever been around on and the closest thing to a superbike straight out of the box, it’s incredible fast, very light and an easy bike to ride
Do all the rider electronic aids make a better rider or cover up their mistakes?
I’ve seen it many times, at a recent DRE event in Mizano on some dodgy track conditions after some rain I had the bike on wet mode and you’d have to do something pretty wrong to have a crash. Defiantly for the track day the systems we have now are incredible and for a road it’s all aimed at safety, but even in Moto GP we have many electronics.
Any advice to young new riders?
Take care, have awareness, crashing on the track is much safer than crashing on the street.
Your favorite Ducati to date and what’s in the garage?
For the track the Panigale is beautiful, I love the 999 the most which is one of the superbikes I won on because Ducati spent the most money on that to make it competitive whereas now with the new bikes they are so close off the shelf. I have all my competition bikes, I used to ride an 1198s but now I mainly ride on track.
How is the Troy Bayliss Experience going?
Great, we’re looking at hooking up with the Australian Superbike Championship next year and running it side by side. People are loving it and they love the two seater experience more than anything else, I get quite a kick out of it as well just to see the look on people’s faces and how they are when they get off the bike and with the right person on the back I can put some pretty good lap times in.
Any chance of seeing it here in the Middle East?
The DRE (Ducati Rider Experience) is big in Europe and my deal is going OK in Australia so it’s a matter of organization, it could be really good for Abu Dhabi and Dubai and I’d like to see motorcycles growing in the UAE and some championships here.
How do you keep fit for racing?
When I used to race and lived in Italy, I would ride to the Gym and do an hour and a half 4 days a week, on the other days and if I wasn’t racing I’d do a long ride. My passion though is still road bicycling and I’m out nearly every day.
Finally, Rossi’s move?
Valentino’s been good for Ducati and the company’s doing well, the results haven’t been as expected and it’ll be interesting to see how it goes for him next year, he must believe he can go and win, Time will tell. As for Ducati, you can’t win all the time and I believe in them and always have so I’m sure we’ll see them coming back to winning ways again.
Impressive! More a destination than a dealership, would like to see it up and running…