Ducati claims big sales lift

"The performance of our Superbike and SportClassic models placed Ducati as the number one European brand in the supersport category, while sales of our Monster models puts us in front of two of the major Japanese manufacturers in the naked category," said the company.

"Our YTD growth can be attributed in particular to the introduction and great success of new models including the SportClassic range featuring the Paul Smart 1000 Limited Edition, the Sport 1000 and the just released GT 1000, also the most extreme Monster ever produced, the Testastretta powered Monster S4R."