Hundreds of Ducati enthusiasts were on hand last Thursday night for the unveiling of NCR's New Blue at Ducati New York. The capacity crowd enjoyed Rosso Corsa (Racing Red) Cosmos and Apple Ducatinis as Ducati North America CEO Michael Lock unveiled NCR's homage to the legendary bike campaigned by Cook Neilson and Phil Schilling.

The packed house kept guest of honour Cook Neilson busy the entire night as he signed autographs and entertained an audience of enthusiasts, industry leaders and journalists. Ducati Formula Extreme rider Larry Pegram and representatives from NCR were also an hand. In addition to New Blue, the Desmosedici, 1098 S Tricolore and Hypermotard were all on display at the party. All of these amazing bikes can be seen at the New York round of the Cycle World International Motorcycle Shows and at every subsequent round.

NCR was recently commissioned to create a modern replica of "Old Blue"—the 1977 Daytona winning 750SS campaigned by Cook Neilson and Phil Schilling throughout the mid 1970’s. Cook Neilson, the then editor of Cycle magazine, possessed a unique combination of skills making him successful as both a journalist and a racer. With the help of Managing Editor and ace mechanic Phil Schilling, they were able to build the 750SS into a remarkably successful race bike through a remarkable combination of experimentation, tuning and rider skill. Phil quickly nicknamed the motorcycle “Old Blue” in reference to the team’s attractive livery.
 

On March 11th, 1977 the team celebrated a monumental victory in the AMA Superbike race at the legendary Daytona Speedway. The first win for Ducati at Daytona, the race was a significant event in Ducati's American history. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of this historic event, a recreation of this motorcycle was built by NCR.

“New Blue,” which began life as a Ducati SportClassic Sport 1000 S, was sent to NCR’s factory for cosmetic replication and race preparation. NCR was able to remove an astounding eighty-four pounds of dry weight and add an additional 30 horsepower to the motorcycle. This was achieved by the usage of lightweight materials such as titanium, carbon fibre and magnesium throughout the project. The revised engine output is 116hp at 8450rpm. The motorcycle was completed with a titanium plate bearing the signatures of both Cook Neilson and Phil Schilling.

The North American introduction of the motorcycle took place at Ducati New York on Thursday, January 18th. The motorcycle will also now be on display at the remainder of the 2007 IMS Motorcycle Shows. In addition, NCR will be building a limited quantity of these special production motorcycles for the American market.