Easy Rider

Fully updated and dripping with even more carbon-fibre, the second-generation Panigale SP is now even easier to ride like a pro on track. We grabbed some hot laps at the Misano MotoGP racetrack

- Adam Child Photography

JUST 12 MONTHS AFTER THE LAUNCH OF the Panigale V4 SP, Ducati have introduced an updated SP2 version of the Bologna factory's exotic, track-focused superbike.

 

Now the SP2 is brought into line with the 2022 Ducati Panigale with a 1.5-hp boost for a maximum of 215.5 hp at 13,000 revolutions per minute (rpm), with max torque of 123.6 Nm at 9,500 rpm a and four riding modes: Street, Sport, Race A, and Race B. There is an STM-EVO dry slipper clutch that sounds fabulous and a lighter 520 chain along with an optional titanium Akrapovič system that takes the power up to 228 hp while trimming five kilograms from the SP2's mass. Suspension, too, is aligned with that found on the new V4 S, meaning Ohlins Smart EC 2.0 electronic control system with Ohlins NPX25/30 forks replacing the NIX-30 units and a TTX36 shocker at the rear.

Primarily, though, the SP2 is a glorious exercise in microweight saving. At 173 kg (dry), it weighs the same as the original SP and is just one kilo lighter than the V4 S but the ounces shaved are done in critical areas, carbon wheels for example, the mission being to make a Ducati V4 even easier to ride blisteringly fast on track. There is more carbon-fibre-the front mudguard, for example, which, along with carbon rims, further reduces unsprung mass compared to the V4 S (1.4 kg lighter wheels, same as the older SP)-as well as the revised tank and riding position adopted by the V4 S this year. The aero winglets have been re-designed for less drag, compared to the older SP1, and there is that striking "Winter Test" livery to help the SP stand out from a crowd of red V4s. Essentially, take the new 2022 Panigale V4 S and add the SP trinkets,