Aruba Ducati riders Chaz Davies and Davide Giugliano debuted a new Akrapovic exhaust in the second World Superbike free practice at Portimao a couple of races back and it propelled the pair to the top of the speed list.
Davies was clocked at 308.6kph on the Portugese track’s start/finish straight on his way to the fourth fastest lap of the day an advantage of almost three kilometres per hour over the pack.
World Superbike technical director Scott Smart explained the new system at Portimao: “It’s a new concept for Ducati and results in one exhaust outlet high on the right-hand side, so it is more like the megaphone arrangement of MotoGP bikes.
“It it still legal, the silencers are in the same place, one on each side and hopefully gives them a little bit of extra performance.”
Since its debut the Ducati has been the strongest bike on top speed, we hope this development makes its way to the public but, with a price tag of R60k for the normal performance pipes for the Panigale, you are going to have to dig a little deeper for this pipe should it come out.
