Double MotoGP champion Casey Stoner decided to stay in Italy after the manic World Ducati Week, in order to take part in the new Ducati DRE (Ducati Riding Experience) Enduro school, held on a historic family estate at Castello di Nipozzano, just outside the historic city of Florence.
Run by experienced Italian Dakar competitor Beppe Gualini and Andrea Rossi, one of the Ducati test riders responsible for the development of the new model, DRE uses the new Enduro version of the 1200cc Multistrada and includes two days of off-road riding in one of the most beautiful and exclusive areas of Tuscany, alternating training exercises and extreme situation simulations, with some traditional tours or enduro style practice routes.
Unsurprisingly, Ducati ambassador Stoner was buzzing about his two days in Tuscany, saying: “I don’t have words to explain my weekend, it’s been awesome. The Frescobaldi family estate is really something special and it’s so beautiful to look out of the hotel window over most of Tuscany. It’s a perfect place for a riding experience like the DRE Enduro!
“Basically you can’t really explain to people how good this bike is, you just have to experience it. I’ve spent enough time on dirt bikes in my life and riding such a big bike like the Multistrada 1200 Enduro can be a little bit daunting at first, but after a couple of hours on the bike I was already very comfortable, and then I realized that you can basically go wherever you want to. It’s fun and you can really go out into the bush with the bike and enjoy it for the day. Riding through the hills of Tuscany is amazing: you just can’t believe what you are doing with the bike and where you are riding. It makes the experience so much better, and off-road I believe this bike is second to none.
“You are always cautious in the beginning with bikes as big as this, but both Beppe Gualini and Andrea Rossi have been fantastic in making the transition a little easier, giving me a few pointers to ride the Multistrada. I started to push pretty hard in the end and everything I did the bike responded and said to me to go another level. You couldn’t reach the limit of the bike in the trails and although some of them got very steep and rocky, the bike never lost its footing and it felt safe over every obstacle. This bike is truly exceptional, very comfortable to ride and something very special.”
While Stoner, who the Italian press are suggesting may even enter the Dakar rally raid in coming years, is hardly impartial, Bike Social will be on hand to give our verdict when we follow in the Australian’s tyre tracks and try out the DRE Enduro course for ourselves this weekend.
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