SPD Action Travel

15/06/2023

Misano/Mugello - Riding the V4S at Misano:

Riding with Ducati is always a great experience because the whole program is put together so well. The people on the administration, mechanical and instructor teams are all fantastic, the food is great, the bikes are in tip-top shape, and even the Dainese suits we rented were all BRAND NEW. We'll continue to do events with Ducati because they provide one of the best experiences for an arrive & ride track experience.

This was the first time at Misano for us and wow, that track is SO fun! The super-fast back section, Curvone, is probably what sets it apart from a lot of other tracks but it's quite a technical track with many late apexes and non-traditional lines. It was another remarkable experience with them and we'll definitely be back in the future!

14/06/2023

Misano/Mugello - Day Ten: MotoGP Grand Prix of Mugello

Saturday provided some great racing in the MotoGP sprint race but Sunday brought with it races for Moto3 & Moto2 as well as an atmosphere unlike any I've experienced before. Flares, smoke sticks, chainsaw & motorcycle engines with megaphone-style exhausts permeated the air and made race day seem more like a festival than a MotoGP race.

Home hero, Pecco Bagnaia took the victory on his factory Ducati and the crowd made sure he felt the love. The post-race track invasion & podium celebration was an incredible thing to be a part of and it's absolutely something every MotoGP fan should try to experience at least once.

After the race, we had a small group dinner as most everyone departed home the following morning. This was the end of two fantastic back-to-back Action Tours and we're already making plans to do this again next year, as long as the schedules allow for it.

13/06/2023

Misano/Mugello - Day Nine: MotoGP Qualifying & Sprint Race

Ah, Mugello. How I missed thee. This place comes alive when MotoGP comes to town and 2023 was no different. The addition of the sprint race seems to have brought more fans to the track on Saturday and the atmosphere was great, and it promised to be even better on Sunday.

The drama started early with Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia getting very frustrated with Marc Marquez in qualifying but he didn't let that impact the rest of his day as he put it on pole and walked away with the win in the sprint race, even with light rain falling. It was a welcome home victory and we all (well, most) held out hope for a repeat in the Grand Prix on Sunday.

Being in the grandstand across from pit lane provided a great view of the grid, race start and pit action, although there was just preparation happening during the MotoGP sprint race and no one came in to switch bikes due to the rain.

It was a great day and Sunday only promised to be better!

13/06/2023

Misano/Mugello: Day Eight: More Florence

This was a full off-day. After having multiple action-filled days in the past week, an easy day allowed everyone to do whatever suited them best. Of course, there was a bit of exploring to be done and some of the views of Florence were breathtaking.

We ended the day with a large group dinner where we were treated with a couple of special guests: MotoGP reporter Simon Patterson and British Red Bull Rookies Cup rider Eddie O'Shea. It was great to be able to ask the two some questions and get their feedback from inside the world of MotoGP. Eddie is a great kid and hopefully he'll be a name you'll be hearing more of in the next few years!

12/06/2023

Misano/Mugello - Day Seven: Off to Florence

After a week on Italy's Adriatic Coast, we ventured inland to the beautiful city of Florence. After arriving, we took a brief walk around the city, found a nice place for dinner and then went on the hunt for GELATO! While we were indulging in our tasty treat, we ended up trapped in what I only hope wasn't a funeral procession out of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. I don't recall being haunted that evening so I don't think we irritated any spirits too much.

11/06/2023

Misano/Mugello - Day Six: More Misano

Of course we had to go back for more - it's riding Ducatis at an iconic Italian track! Misano is incredibly enjoyable - arguably even more than Mugello, and a second day on track was a great experience for some of the group members. Federico Sandi continued working with us through the day and he is a generally nice guy. He is also the Team Manager for the ItalTrans Moto2 team which gave our group a favorite Moto2 team.

After a successful finish to another great track experience, it was back to the hotel to pack for our transfer to Florence the next day to get ready for MotoGP at Mugello on the weekend.

11/06/2023

Misano/Mugello - Day Five: Ducatis at Misano

We made the journey back to Misano to throw a leg over the latest Ducati V4S and turn some laps on the track that we watched World Superbike race at two days before.

The great thing about riding with Ducati is you get to ride with some truly impressive talent. We worked closely with Federico Sandi (former European Superstock champion), Mattia Casadei (current MotoE World Championship frontrunner), Federico Caricasulo (current World Supersport frontrunner) and Karel Abraham (former MotoGP rider). Our group of riders had a great time burning rubber, dragging knees and getting the opportunity to ride around a world-class track on incredible machines.

After a great day on the track, we rejoined some other members of our group for the now traditional stop on what has become known as the Gelatour.

10/06/2023

Misano/Mugello - Day Four: Ducati, San Marino & Tavullia

This trip wouldn't be complete without a visit to Ducati for a factory tour and an hour spent giving a thorough inspection to many Ducati models in the museum. We also alleviated the burden of excess apparel from the Ducati gift shop!

From Ducati we made our way back south and spent a few rainy hours in San Marino. The city center was breathtaking and the low clouds throughout the area made for some astonishing views.

To cap the night off, we hopped over to Tavullia to get a sneak peak of Valentino Rossi's ranch, his hilltop home and then we dined on some delicious pizza in his restaurant.
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10/06/2023

Misano/Mugello - Day Three: World Superbike Day Two

The Ducati dominance continued in the Superbike class as Alvaro Bautista completed the clean sweep with two more race wins. We got to witness more great racing and went to a few more viewpoints around the track to see some pretty impressive speeds on the entrance to Curvone at the end of the back straight.

Misano is a fantastic circuit and it was a great end to a good weekend at the track - a track we would be riding in two days with Ducati!

09/06/2023

Misano/Mugello - Day Two: World Superbike @ Misano

The first "action" of this Action Tour was the World Superbike weekend at Misano. We headed to the track in the hopes of seeing home success in the shape of more Ducati wins and the Bologna Bullets did not disappoint. Alvaro Bautista continued his run of success by taking pole position and victory in Saturday's Race 1 and Ducati's factory World Supersport rider (and former Valentino Rossi protege) Nicola Bulega took the win on his V2.

Along the way we were treated to great racing in World Supersport 300 and the Yamaha Blu Cru 300 class, some incredible street bikes on display, a walk down pit lane to get up close & personal with the riders, bikes & teams, as well as some usual entertainment by fan favorite Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, who showed us how he earned the nickname "Stoprak". We were also fortunate enough to catch an incredibly unflattering photo of him in the middle of a backflip after the race day was over.

Overall, it was a great start to a week that just got better & better.
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09/06/2023

Misano/Mugello - Day One: Riccione

The second of two consecutive Italian Action Tours commenced on the first weekend of June when a new group kicked things into gear in the town of Riccione. The first day in town was a relaxed day to explore the seaside town before things got interesting on day two.

Riccione is a very vibrant town and it exudes "beach life". There aren't many places in the US that have a vibe like Italy's Adriatic coast with a beach full of umbrellas for multiple kilometers. It is a stark contrast to other areas in Italy and it's amazing to see such a culture difference in a relatively short distance apart.

02/06/2023

Maranello to Monaco - Day Four: Cinque Terre

While today was intended to be just a transit day from Maranello to Genoa, we took the opportunity to visit Cinque Terre. After taking a train to Riomaggiore, we hopped on a boat to make the journey to Vernazza for a nice lunch at the base of a cliffside castle and then made our way back down to Manarola. The weather was perfect and the experience was absolutely worth the stop on our way to Genoa.

02/06/2023

Maranello to Monaco - Day 3: Pagani!

Our visit to Pagani was one of the more anticipated stops of this trip and it absolutely did not disappoint. Paganis are rolling works of art and we were fortunate enough to get a full tour of the factory, which is somehow even more incredible than the cars on display in the museum. While we couldn't take pictures, we were able to get a glimpse of multiple special Paganis such as the Huayra R, Codalunga, Zonda Barchetta, the original Zonda prototype and the new Utopia. Their design and manufacturing facilities are more of a museum than a factory and they were more impressive than even Ferrari's F1 facility. To top it off, some of us were able to get a glimpse of Mr. Pagani giving a customer a tour of the facility on his own!

After Pagani we spent the rest of the day in central Bologna to get a taste of the great food (and gelato) that the area is known for.

01/06/2023

Maranello to Monaco - Day 2: Ferrari!

What a day. We started off with a factory tour of Ferrari, from the production lines to the Corse Clienti department and everything in between - even the Scuderia Ferrari race department where we were able to see the Formula 1 cars getting prepped for the Monaco race where we would see them in a few days time.

While the whole thing was one giant highlight, the stand-out was getting to watch Ferrari's new Le Mans Hypercar, the 499P, testing at the Fiorano track while we watched from the balcony of the Corse Clienti building.

Unfortunately, photos aren't allowed in any of the factories so you'll just have to come along next time to see what the factory is like!

After the factory tour, we spent some time at both Ferrari museums in Maranello and Modena and closed the day with a very delicious meal at La Locanda del Mulina.

01/06/2023

Maranello to Monaco with the Ferrari Owners Club of Minnesota - what a trip! Most of the group is back in the US now and after a few days of recovery, we're all set for the next group coming in today for the Misano/Mugello Ducati World Superbike & MotoGP trip.

While things are kicking off for our next group, a brief recap of the last trip is in order, starting with Day 1:

The first order of business upon arrival into Maranello was to take delivery of the Ferrari Roma that was rented by one of our guests. After that, we made our way to Lamborghini for a factory & museum tour. Some of our guests have Lamborghinis currently in production and it was great for them to see where their new toys are made!

After Lamborghini, we made our way to Ducati for a factory & museum tour their as well. Going behind the scenes of these two Italian motorsport powerhouses really got us excited for Day 2, which was ALL about Ferrari.

20/05/2023

While our large Ferrari group has been packing to leave for Italy, we've been doing some research for future group trips to Lake Como. We're wrapping up here in the morning and heading to meet the group at the Bologna airport tomorrow afternoon for the beginning of an action packed trip culminating in two days at the Monaco Grand Prix. It's going to be fantastic!

06/05/2023

We're heading back to the Nurburgring in October and we're offering $500 off each package through May 31!

This trip includes:
- Two days at the Nurburgring with a minimum of eight laps on track
- ADAC Westfalen Trophy race weekend on the Nurburgring GP track
- Swiss Air Force live fire demonstration high in the Alps & much more!

Package includes flights, accommodations, ground transportation, use of track car, track fees, and entry into the air show.

Last year's trip was incredible and this year we're adding even more time at the Nurburgring!

https://www.spdactiontravel.com/nurburgring-2023

20/12/2022

Available slots to ride with Ducati at Misano are going FAST! Join our group today to get on track with a V4S! Trip details can be found here:

Italy, MotoGP, World Superbike & riding Ducatis on track. The perfect summer motorcycle vacation.

15/12/2022

Do you want to ride a Ducati at Misano? Go to a World Superbike round? How about MotoGP at Mugello? Hang out with your partner on the beach? Visit Florence? In 2023 you can join us while we do all of those in a little over a week. Opportunities like this don't come along very often so take advantage of it and experience an Italian trip of a lifetime! More details can be found here: https://www.spdactiontravel.com/misano-mugello

These packages will go fast, especially riding with Ducati at Misano, so pull the trigger soon so you don't miss this opportunity.

28/10/2022

Day 10 - We wrapped up our trip with a day in Paris. Compared to our other stops on the trip, Paris wasn't overly amazing but spending the day wandering the city was a great way to wind down on the last day of this trip.

27/10/2022

Day 9 - Normandy: We started the day at the Normandy American Cemetery which is a very surreal place. After that, we visited another museum and drove through the French countryside on our way to Paris.

26/10/2022

Day 8 - Omaha Beach. It's hard to not feel emotion when walking on the beach or driving through the Normandy countryside. While it's been almost 80 years since the D-Day invasion, in the grand scheme of things that's no time at all and the evidence that is still standing all around Normandy is proof of that.

26/10/2022

Day 7 was supposed to be a tough day with a roughly twelve hour drive from Switzerland to Normandy, France. A last minute decision to stop at a relatively obscure museum gave us a multi-hour break in the middle of the day which was perfect. The museum was the private collection of military jets, Abarth race cars, vintage motorcycles, fire trucks and an uncountable amount of memorabilia. Oh, and a chateau - can't forget that. We ended the day after dark when we arrived at our apartments on Normandy beach. After a long day on the road, being able to close out the day with personal reflecting time on this historic beach was very emotional.

26/10/2022

Day 6 was a rest day in Wengen. It was great to experience this ski village in the off season and it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We spent the day walking around the village, hanging out in the local bar and finished the day with home-cooked spaghetti, fondue and racing videos.

20/10/2022

Day 5 - Unbelievable. The AXALP! Swiss Air Force demonstration is one of the most incredible things ever.

18/10/2022

Day Four: Travel day from Strasbourg to Wengen, Switzerland with a last minute stop at what turned out to be an amazing car museum. The train ride to Wengen was incredible and the views from our accommodations are simply unbelievable.