Little by little we are getting to know some of the jewels that will go up for auction at the Classic Motor Show in Birmingham. The last one that we have heard of is the Ducati 1199 Panigale R that Marco Melandri rode in 2018. This was the last motorcycle from the Italian factory with which one of those riders competed who, despite having won only one title, the 250 in 2002, earned a place among fans for his charisma.
After a long career in the World Speed Championship, Marco Melandri began competing in the WSBK starting in 2011, debuting with Yamaha as he did in MotoGP before moving to BMW and, later, to Ducati. He spent two seasons there where he achieved good results, although without achieving the title.
Melandri’s last Ducati has also been ridden by Fogarty
Even so, in the 2018 season, his last at Ducati and the penultimate as a professional driver, Melandri piloted the Ducati 1199 Panigale R that will go on sale in November during the Classic Motor Show in Birmingham.
With it he achieved two victories in Australia, was on the podium a total of 10 times and finished the championship in fifth position. We are talking about a Ducati that at that time was not as competitive as it ended up being, but that was laying the foundations for what we have seen in recent years.
Although that is not all the “pedigree” that the bike has, because in addition to Melandri himself, Carl Fogarty himself also got on it this year during the Goodwood Hill Climb at the Festival of Speed, which is why it sports that sticker with the number four.
As for the price, it will not reach the figures expected for Andrea Dovizioso’s Desmosedici GP19, but the range ranges between 60,000 and 80,000 pounds, which with the current exchange rate would be between 70,000 and 92,000, so we are not dealing with a motorcycle that the general public can access either.
