They are both red and drive very fast. They were made to get along. This is how Ducati and Frecciarossa, a sort of TGV of the national company Trenitalia, united their promotional destinies.
It is especially for the Mugello and Misano races that Trenitalia will become the official carrier of Ducati and the Ducati Team in MotoGP. On this occasion, the national company will carry out promotional operations with the pilots and their motorcycles, and will offer discounted tickets to spectators who will attend the two Grands Prix. These promotions will be available for the Frecciarossa range, but also for the InterCity.
“The agreement with Ducati, which has chosen Frecciarossa as the official train of the Ducati team in MotoGP, fills us with pride and confirms our commitment to the world of sport, competition and the best energies of Made in Italy ", said Gianpiero Strisciuglio, Director of Trenitalia's Long Distance Passenger Division. “ La Frecciarossa de Trenitalia, leader in reliability and quality on its 1000 kilometers of high-speed network, has shortened distances, successfully changing the lifestyle and tourist habits of citizens. »
Who drives the fastest?
According to the railway company, “The Frecciarossa 1000 is the most modern train in the Trenitalia fleet. Comfortable, safe and ecological, it can reach a maximum speed of 400 km/h thanks to the 16 powerful motors distributed across the bogies which make the Frecciarossa 1000 a train to make the most of the grip on the rails ».
We are still far from the record of 574,8 km/h established on April 3, 2007 by the French TGV, but it is a little faster than the other red arrow, the Desmosedici which reached 354,9 km/h with Andrea Iannone during the 2016 Italian GP at Mugello.
Michele Pirro was the fastest this year at Mugello at 354,7 ahead of the 5 other Ducatis from Jorge Lorenzo, Danilo Petrucci, Alvaro Bautista, Andrea Dovizioso and Hector Barbera. The first “non-Ducatist” was Andrea Iannone (ironically) on Suzuki with the seventh top gear at 351,1.
And the SNCF?
The French company had close links with motorcycle racing when the national company sponsored the French Superbike Championship (formerly the French Open Speed Championship) from 1987. Thus this event was called in 1988 "Championship of France Open-SNCF de Vitesse”.
The SNCF is still interested in the FSBK in 2018, and it is discussed on its news site (even if the photo could be more suitable). The effort is appreciated.
