When I catch up with the stuff I ought to be doing (miles behind with benzina #10, the Benelli's forks have seized, family want feeding) and have finished the excellent Pedalare, Pedalare - a history of Italian cycling by John Foot, this is next on the reading list. Sir Alan of Cathcart is world famous for having ridden more Ducatis than pretty much anyone else on the planet, and at speeds that allow a real insight into their strengths and weaknesses. Now that one V Rossi has formally given up on Ducati's MotoGP effort, I'll wager Alan's sitting by the 'phone waiting for the call.
Jim Gianatsis is less well known in the UK, but his claim to fame is snapping the pix on the Fast Dates calendar. He's a diehard ducatista who owns an example of the ultimate streetlegal customer version of each generation of the Ducati Superbikes. The coffee-table format is a perfect mix of track tests and the technical tricks that make the factory Superbikes tick, illustrated with photos of glamorous women posing alongside them. Approved by the Ducati factory, this is a unique one-make motorcycle history book.
Best of all for those who appreciate benzina's printing quality it's a beautifully-produced publication, telling the story of the Ducati V-twin Superbikes from the very first 750cc prototype produced in 1986 to the new 1199 Panigale. And bravest of all it's self published - clearly I haven't made plain to Alan how expensive this is even if, like benzina, it allows complete editorial integrity and quality production values. Available at Amazon UK, where you can browse sections of the book, as well as other major Amazon sites
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