WORLD SUPERBIKE AND THE 888
In little over a year, Ducati’s 851 had gone from working concept to production motorcycle. Now the factory targeted the inaugural World Superbike championship as the perfect showcase for its new flagship model.
No other major motorcycle company has relied so heavily on racing success for sales as Ducati. So much was hanging on this first season of Superbike.
Early in 1988 it manufactured 300 of the 851 Stradas with a heady price tag of $25,000. It also quickly produced 200 race-kitted versions to meet the series homologation requirements.
In a time when four-cylinder engines housed in beam-alloy chassis seemed the only way forward, Ducati’s 851 was an oddity. It was the only
