Ryan Vickers delivers first assessment of WSBK Ducati after switch from BSB
Ryan Vickers describes his first feeling on the🌌 Ducati Panigal🧜e V4 R
Ryan Vickers has provided his first feedback on the Ducati Panigale V4 Rꦜ.
Vickers will swap OMG Racing’s Yamah♈a in the British Superbike Championship for Motocorsa’s Ducati in the World Superbike Championship in 2025.
But Vickers was in action on his new machine ꦚat the postseason WSBK test in Jerez on Tuesday.
Vickers compared his BSB bike to the new WSBK machine: “It is very different. I am not rid♓ing it in the same sp🌊ec.
“The Ducati? You’ve got to get the bike out of the corner, get it upright, use the power. It is ꧅super fast💟.
“But, if you’💞re on the edge of the tyre, the electronics won’t let you go anywhere.
“The bike has great mid-corner speed. I thought I’d have to be more stop-start becaus💝e the Yamaha is renowned for being really good mid-corner.
school almost done for 🧑🏫📚 — WorldSBK (@WorldSBK)Vickers went seventh-fastest on Day 1 of the test on Tue𒆙sday, 🌠his debut on a WSBK bike which he described as “awesome”.
He added: “It’s always difficult getting on a 𒁏new bike at a pretty new track - I hadn’t been here for four years.
“It was about familiarising mཧyself, and electronics. The Motocorsa team have made me feel welcome.
“Step by step w💫e learned a lot about the bike and the way I’ve got to ride it.
“I’m prettyཧ sure that I understood it well. We learned a lot.
“I am really happy, the Ducati is an amazing bike, it’s super 🌳fast. It was a great experience.”
The additional electronics o𒉰n a WSBK bike compared to what he’s become used 🅘to in BSB will be a major change.
Vickers expla🌸♉ined: “It’s actually using the electronics which is the hard thing.
“I am used to riding below spin to save the highside. Learning to ride i▨nto th꧙e electronics - because it will catch you! - is the difficult thing.
“But I am🌄 getting there. The electronics system works great and it’s consistent.
“I am able to go out each♓ time and get closer to where I need to be.
“There’s loads more to c𝔍ome. When you change traction control, what does it do? All of th🔜ese things…
“There was plenty learned. My head hurts!”
Vickers tweꦬaked his Ducati throughout Tuesday to continue his adꦆaption.
“We made changes, we learned a lot about getting comfortable, changing bits on the bik༺e like the gear lever,” he said.
Vickers also rode✱ the Ducati on Wednesday on Day 2 of the Jerez test. But he knows that working off-track will also be key.
Vickers promised to “spend a couple of hou🎐rs with the guys in the garage, analysing the data”.
He said: “Overlaying my data to other riders to see if I’m doing anything wrong, or whatever꧙ I need to do to make myself be🎉tter.”
A beaming Vic🦋kers said: “It’s a super proud moment. An amazing part of my life. I will remember this day for a long time.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a deca🐻de covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
