DesmoSport Ducati have lifted the covers off the Panigale V4 R superbike that Broc Pearson will race in the 2023 Australian Superbike Championship. The design, first seen on the 1098 that team co-owner, Troy Bayliss raced to two victories on during his final professional round of the World Championship before retiring as World Champion in 2008. During a highly successful two-day test in Sydney, where Pearson continued to make strong progress posting a best lap of 1:30.235 in only his second visit to the circuit, the bike was revealed to Broc and the rest of the DesmoSport Ducati team.

Team co-owner, Ben Henry: “Marty (Underground Designs) came to me with an idea for the bike in 2023 and to be honest I wasn’t too sure, but I’ve trusted him for a long time with the look of our bike, and so I put it in his hands to show me what he was imagining, and the end result is nothing short of amazing. We get to race our Panigale V4 R superbikes in an iconic design that pays respect to Troy, and I couldn’t be happier with that. I’ve never actually seen Broc lost for words before, so it’s fair to say he’s pretty blown away to see his name and number paired with a design that has that much meaning behind it.”

Team co-owner, Troy Bayliss: “When Ben first told me about Marty’s idea for the bike, I was a bit torn. DesmoSport has its own identity and its own direction, it doesn’t need to be brought back to my history, but as we moved forward with the layout and we started seeing parts of the bike with Broc’s details on it, I started to look forward to seeing Broc’s reaction to it. Now that we have the covers completely off it, I love what we’ve come up with, and that Broc is so excited on it, and I appreciate that the team wants to connect so strongly with my racing.”

Broc Pearson: “The bike looks great! The team revealed it to me during the two-day test in Sydney last week and I was a bit lost for words for a minute there. Instantly I recognised it as Troy’s 1098 livery from Portimao and I straight away sent a sneaky pic up to dad. I’ll have to wait until Phillip Island to get to ride it looking like this but I’m pretty honoured that the team, and Troy especially, want me to ride the bike with these colours. It’s great motivation to keep pushing forward and I can’t wait for round one.”

With pre-season testing all but over, DesmoSport Ducati take a few shorts week break before arriving on Phillip Island for the opening round of the ASBK alongside WorldSBK on February 24 to 26.