PAOLA CAZZOLA ON THE DESMOSEDICI

She was the second woman to ride a reigning class motorcycle and the first woman to ride a Ducati Desmosedici. November 8, 2005 will remain an anniversary for Paola Cazzola, the 2005 Italian Women’s Velocity Champion from the Ducati Y2K Women’s Team because it was on that day, on the Valencia circuit, that Paola’s breath-taking dream came true.

Four laps around the track on Loris Capirossi’s motorcycle - enough to make your head spin. It was a unique experience that is hard to put into words. Paola’s adventure began with a call from Filippo Falsaperla, from the Gazzetta dello Sport who said: “Would you like to be our tester for the end of year tests on the Ducati GP5?” Paola Cazzola, hitting 292 Km/h became the fastest Ducatista in the world (and probably, the most envied too) and the happiest Desmosedici rider thus far!

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Read Paola's article

PAOLA WINS THE CHAMPIONSHIP!

Paola Cazzola of the Ducati Women's Team Y2K won the 2005 Italian Women's Championship. Paola Cazzola won a spectacular 1st place while her team mate, Chiara Valentini, came in 3rd. Once again Ducati makes racing history: winning the first Italian Women's Championship is another important historical racing achievement for the Borgo Panigale company.


PAOLA CAZZOLA

Paola was born in Vicenza on September 29th 1977 and her racing background is from the world of motocross. She was the Italian motocross vice-champion and also competed in the US for a few years. Last year she competed in the Italian Women's Championship and scored fifth position in her category. "Riding is my life, because in life, as on the track, I'm always challenging. When I ride I feel the adrenaline and I can't do without it…"
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CHIARA VALENTINI

Chiara is from Rome and born in 1975, began riding 12 years ago. In 1995 she won the competition "A woman riding is beautiful" and had the opportunity to ride as "wild card" entry in the Cagiva Cup at Vallelunga. In the following years she became an instructor in several riding schools for the Technical Committee FMI. In 2004 she participated in the Italian Womens Championship on a Ducati Multistrada, finishing fifth in her category. "Races often end in a way you did not expect, not only as far as results are concerned but also as far as emotions are concerned… When I ride I feel like I am in Disneyland!"
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