Ducati Heritage Competition will carry forward the history of WDW 2026
World Ducati Week is usually all about the noise, the crowds, the new machinery and the current crop of Ducati race heroes, but the 2026 centenary edition will also give Borgo Panigale’s past a big role at Misano.
Ducati will use WDW 2026 to create a dedicated Heritage Village, bringing together pre-2000 road bikes, owner-preserved classics, a formal heritage competition and appearances from past champions including Casey Stoner, Troy Bayliss, Loris Capirossi and Carl Fogarty.
As MCNews previously covered in the lead up to this centenary edition, World Ducati Week 2026 will run from 3-5 July in MisanoWith the Race of Champions, Ducati Legends, riding experiences, heritage displays and the world premiere of a new model all part of the programme.
It follows Ducati’s extensive centenary effort, which includes Borgo Panigale Centenary Presentation and Reveal of the Superleggera V4 Centenario Tricolorewith global #WeRideAsOne 2026 Celebration Which helped warm up the engines for Ducati’s 100th year.
Heritage Village at WDW 2026
The Heritage Village will be one of the main historical focal points of the World Ducati Week 2026, giving Ducati a dedicated area to showcase restored motorcycles, privately owned classics, official displays, owners’ stories and rider presence.
It also gives this year’s WDW a slightly different tone. The Race of Champions and rider activity will again provide clear sporting theater – Australian interest will also be intense Josh Waters earns rare Race of Champions call-up – but the centenary year gives Ducati good reason to pay more attention to the machines and personalities that shaped the company before the modern MotoGP and WorldSBK eras.
Ducati Heritage Competition
The centerpiece of the Heritage Village will be the Ducati Heritage Contest 2026, an official competition for road-going Ducati motorcycles manufactured up to the year 2000.
The competition is aimed at collectors and owners of significant Ducati road bikes, with a focus on authenticity, originality, historical significance, state of conservation, quality of restoration, aesthetic value, design and supporting documentation.
The entered motorcycles will be evaluated on Friday, July 3 by a technical jury composed of representatives of motorcycle associations, Ducati experts and a renowned Ducati rider. Ten finalists will be selected from those entries.
Those finalist motorcycles will be on display in the Heritage Village from Saturday, July 4, where World Ducati Week visitors will also be able to vote for their favourites. The joint process will help determine the final rankings.
Finalists on display in Misano
Winners will be announced on Sunday, July 5 on the WDW Main Stage. Ducati Memorabilia Awards will be presented to the first, second and third place entries, while the Technical Jury will also award a special award to a motorcycle of exceptional historical significance.
That special prize will be a historic Ducati Corse fairing, signed to mark the occasion. All ten finalists will also receive the Borgo Panigale Experience, giving them a behind-the-scenes look at Ducati’s home base and production facility.
The heritage village will not be limited to the finalists of the competition. Ducati owners with road-going models built up to the year 2000 will also have access to a dedicated and controlled parking area, effectively turning part of the WDW paddock into an open-air Ducati history display.
This should make for an interesting trip through the brand’s back catalogue, with everything from earlier single and bevel-drive machinery to air-cooled road bikes, Tamburini-era superbikes and other modern classics expected to be represented by owners who continue to preserve and use them.
A comprehensive Ducati history thread
The Heritage Competition also continues a theme that has become increasingly prominent in recent editions of World Ducati Week. In 2024, Ducati used WDW to mark three decades of the 916, covered by MCNews 916, 996 and 998 celebrations in MisanoIncluding a showcase of important production and racing machines from one of Ducati’s most important superbike families.
For 2026, the lens has broadened from a single model family to the full sweep of Ducati road-going history dating back to the turn of the millennium. This makes the Heritage Competition less about just concours polish and more about the machines that helped move Ducati from a relatively small Italian manufacturer to one of the defining brands in sporting motorcycles.
100 years, 100 stories, one legend
Ducati will also host a dedicated heritage exhibition titled “100 Years, 100 Stories, a Legend”, tracing the company’s evolution through 100 milestones from its first century.
The display will include key racing achievements, technological developments, design milestones and production models that helped define the Borgo Panigale brand. For Ducati, the centenary year gives WDW 2026 an additional historical angle beyond the usual mix of track activity, rider attendance and owners’ gatherings.
The Heritage Village is designed to bring those elements together in one area, giving visitors a place to step into Ducati’s past while also meeting owners, restorers, collectors and riders from different eras of the company’s history.
Ducati Legends will participate
Ducati’s racing history will also be represented by a number of high-profile names from the brand’s past, with riders such as Casey Stoner, Loris Capirossi, Troy Bayliss and Carl Fogarty expected to attend the weekend.
They will take part in the traditional Lap of Honour, one of the regular highlights of World Ducati Week, in which former Ducati champions parade around Misano in front of crowds.
The Heritage Village will also host interviews, meetings and discussion sessions involving Ducati legends, giving fans the opportunity to hear directly from riders who have contributed to some of the company’s most significant racing chapters.
The Heritage Village World Ducati will be open to the public from 0900 to 1830 on all three days of the week. World Ducati Week 2026 will take place from 3-5 July at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
