2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S: Track Review

The Setting

We are at the Ducati Ride Experience, or the DRE Race Track Academy, being conducted at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand. Ducati invites customers to experience their bikes, the new Panigale V4 in this case, under the expert guidance of their in-house racers and development riders.

I’ve been put in a group led by Dario Marchetti, an unassuming, over 60-year-old who is so effortlessly quick on a motorcycle, he could easily down a plate of spaghetti Aglio Olio while lapping us. It’s not just him - Ducati chief development test rider Alex Valia and MotoGP bike development rider Michele Pirro are handling other batches. It is in this eclectic company that we got the opportunity to experience the new Panigale V4. And boy! This motorcycle is something else.

We had three sessions to ride at the circuit, followed by two laps to record GoPro footage. As you can imagine, the very thought of understanding a circuit and riding a 216bhp, red-hot Italian monster seemed like a daunting task.

The New Panigale V4

Ducati wanted to make the new Panigale V4 faster, friendlier, and more accessible than ever before - while also pushing the envelope of electronics and technology further, to help mere mortals handle that colossal power. Speaking of, the 1103cc, Desmosedici Stradale V4 makes 216bhp, has new camshafts, new cooling system, and revs up to 14,000rpm!

The bike also gets a new front frame with lateral stiffness reduced by 40 per cent. That makes it more forgiving and makes the bike more planted around bumpy sections of the racetrack or even the road. Complementing the frame is the new, double-sided swingarm for better feel from the rear tyre as well as new rear suspension for better mechanical grip and bump absorption. Brembo’s new Hypure brake callipers are what offer stupendous stopping power, and then there’s the comprehensive electronics suite. You can tailor the engine configuration, ABS intervention levels, the amount of give that the traction control system offers, and even the level of damping that the Ohlins SmartEC 3.0 suspension offers. Additionally, there’s the new Race eCBS or combined braking system. Even if you apply the front brake, the system automatically applies a little bit of the rear brake – helping you tighten the line around a corner and quickly position the bike to pick it up and accelerate out of the corner, thereby saving time.

The design of the bike is also sharper, sleeker, and compact, compared to the outgoing Panigale V4. It’s more focused, thanks to the large winglets, cuts on the side fairing, and the sleek rear. The new fuel tank design has carved out more purchase for the rider’s knees, while the ergonomics have also been tweaked. The seat is now 35mm longer and 50mm wider, making it easier for even tall riders to slide back and tuck into the fairing. Even the footpegs have also been moved 10mm inside on each side, which in turn improves cornering clearance. All of these changes over the outgoing Panigale V4 have resulted in a bike that’s nothing short of astonishing!

The Experience

That mindboggling speed that you read about in the beginning of this story was the back straight at the Chang International circuit. It’s about a kilometre long and this was the perfect setting for us to experience the sheer lunacy of the Desmosedici Stradale facilitated acceleration.

Powering out of Turn One, I rolled onto the throttle as hard as I dared. The bike hooks into the tarmac and charges ahead ferociously. The angry roar of the intake and exhaust fills my senses as I hold onto the bike. In fact, the sheer speed and time in which the Panigale V4 gobbles up a kilometre straight is unfathomable.

Before you know it, you are braking hard for Turn three, and this is where I was amazed by the brutal stopping power of the Brembo Hypure brakes. Working in conjunction with the well-calibrated cornering ABS system, the brakes are simply incredible. I’ve never braked so hard, so deep at a racetrack, or even trail-braked so easily ever in my life.

The bite, feedback, and precision of the brakes instill so much confidence that by the second session itself, I was braking later and harder than I’d initially dared. What also deserves special mention is the consistency of the brake bite and there being no brake fade to speak of, throughout any of the sessions.

The thrilling performance aside, what makes the new Panigale V4 such a star is its stellar handling. The frame, swingarm, and the Pirelli Supercorsa tyres come together to make the bike flow from corner to corner. The highlight, to me, was the ultra-fast Turn four, which is taken at speeds between 190-200kmph or even more, depending on the rider’s experience. Those are serious speeds but never once did the Panigale V4 feel on the ragged edge. It was smooth, composed, and boy did I have a huge grin on my face every time I took that corner, with nary a doubt in me. I think this speaks volumes about the faith the Panigale V4 instills in a rookie race track rider like me. This is, in fact, a huge statement because the old Panigale V4s were very demanding and required one to bring their A game, and then some more, to the table. The new Panigale V4, in contrast, is extremely friendly and forgiving. There were times when I ran wide while entering corners or messed up my lines as I learnt the circuit. And never once did the bike not have my back. It simply allows you to carry on and enjoy to the fullest as it keeps you out of trouble.

The best, however, was saved for the last, when we shifted from Sport to Race A and Race B modes. This sharpened the throttle response further, made the acceleration more urgent, and also stiffened the electronic suspension. To add to it, the eCBS system worked like a charm and allowed me to bring the bike to apex sooner and power out quicker, while working silently in the background.

The few laps that I spent in Race mode were more than enough to cement my admiration for what is truly a wonderful superbike. The way the bike hooked into corners, as if on a velcro patch, the telepathic way in which it turned into corners and the sheer theatre of speed and sound that it surrounds you with gives you that sensation of feeling alive. I’d do this all day long if I could. It goes without saying that my heart sank when the chequered flag fell on the last session of the day. The range of emotions I felt as I rolled into the pitlane, while pulling in the clutch and dropping in a few rev bombs to hear the big V4 sing for the last time, is something I feel even now. I was ecstatic, elated, sad, euphoric, and delighted in equal measure.

Should You Buy it?

I’d answer this question with a resounding, Yes! What Ducati has managed to achieve with the new Panigale V4 is well and truly special. What you’ve got here is a supremely fast, forgiving, and hugely entertaining motorcycle - this without demanding too much from the rider. It gives you the feeling that it is working with you to ensure you have a whale of a time. As I said, this is an astonishing motorcycle and I’m sure that given the paucity of time, we could barely scratch the surface of its true potential on a race track.

Even in that short time, the bike left such a lasting impression that I hope every motorcyclist worth their salt experiences this magnificent motorcycle. For those of you who can afford the Rs. 36 lakh ex-showroom price of the bike, there needs to be no second guesses to buy the bike. I, for one, can only be eternally grateful that I rode such a capable superbike at the MotoGP-class race track. Talk about checking off items off the bucket list.

Images by Ducati India