Cupertino, Calif Ducati North America is excited to announce a new contest for Ducati owners, The Ducati Island Showdown, which will take place at five major road races in 2009. All Ducati owners are encouraged to fire up their beloved bikes and ride to the nearest round of the competition. The Ducati Island Showdown will take place at both US rounds of the MotoGP World Championship and the Miller Motorsports Park round of the World Superbike Championship; in addition to the the Daytona International Speedway and Barber Motorsports Park rounds of the AMA Pro Racing Championship. In order to participate, Ducatisti simply need to ride their pride and joy (Ducati only) to one of the aforementioned races and park on Ducati Island. No pre-entry is necessary and all Ducatis – modern or vintage – are eligible. If you return to your bike Friday or Saturday* to find a selection tag; you will be eligible for Sunday’s Island Showdown where winners in of each of five categories: Superbike, Air-Cooled, Vintage, Modified, and Wildcard will be chosen. One of the five lucky bikes will also be awarded The Motorcyclist Magazine award for the best motorcycle of the event. *Daytona round will take place Wednesday-Friday March 4-6th. Each category winner will receive a gift bag with a rare Ducati Factory Yearbook, a Puma/Ducati Backpack, $250 Puma gift certificate, subscriptions to Motorcyclist and Moto Euro magazines, a pair of the new Oakley Ducati Sunglasses and a bag of Pirelli goods. The Motorcyclist Magazine best overall winner will also receive a set of Pirelli Diablo Rosso tires for their winning bike and a copy of the desireable Pirelli Superbike Annual. Prizes are courtesy of Ducati’s contest partners. In addition to the gift bag all winners will be featured on the www.ducatiusa.com website. For more information and dates for the Ducati Island Showdown; as well as all the latest news from Ducati; please visit www.ducatiusa.com.