I've been riding motorcycles for thirty years. Thirty years of early morning weekend rides, of winding roads through the Nasho, of that particular kind of freedom that only makes sense to people who ride. And for most of those thirty years, if you'd suggested I do a track day, I would have looked at you like you'd lost the plot.
Track days were for racers. For people with race-prepped sports bikes, in full leathers and a level of commitment to going fast that I simply didn't have. That was the story I told myself. About eighteen months ago, everything changed.
It was an invitation from Steve Brouggy and the team at Motorcycle Events Group Australia, for their 30th anniversary celebration at Sydney Motorsport Park. I went along mostly out of curiosity. What I found was a whole new world of motorcycling that I genuinely didn't know existed.
That first day opened a door I didn't know was there and I've been walking through it ever since. Every single session has taught me something. Every new bike has revealed something different about my riding. Every time I've come back into the pits, I've been a slightly better rider than when I went out. When I stepped up to bikes like a Panigale V4S or a BMW S1000RR, I quickly realised those bike were operating well within their limits while I was very much operating the end of mine. That's a humbling and genuinely useful thing to understand.
Which brings me to the bike I want to talk about.
The Ducati Panigale V2S: The Right Bike at the Right Time
The Panigale V4S is an extraordinary machine, the handling is razor sharp, it turns in faster than you expect, and the aerodynamics are in a different league to anything else I've ridden. On my first session on the V4S I spent most of my time readjusting my lines because the bike was changing direction so quickly I kept missing my apexes. That's not a criticism of the V4S. That's an honest reflection of where I am as a track rider right now. It is more bike than I currently need.
The fully redesigned Panigale V2S is a completely different conversation.
When Ducati unveiled their 2026 centenary range at their Alexandria showroom recently, one of the things that struck me most was just how central the new V2 engine is to the lineup. It's not just in the Panigale V2S, Ducati have dropped it into the new Monster and the Hypermotard V2 as well, which tells you everything about how much confidence they have in this engine. The Monster in particular feels like a significant moment. That bike is woven into Ducati's DNA in a way that very few models are, and the fact that they've chosen this engine to power it in their centenary year says a lot. Having now spent time on the V2S on track, I completely understand why. This is an engine that deserves to be in multiple bikes.
Before we go any further though, we need to address the elephant in the room. Or more accurately, the most beautiful thing in the room.
Every Panigale looks incredible. That's not a controversial opinion, it's just a fact. Ducati make the best looking sports bikes on the planet. The Panigale V2S is no exception. Clean, sharp, purposeful, it has that quality that the very best Italian design always has, where every line looks like it was put there for a reason, and somehow the whole thing comes together as something you just want to stand and stare at.
What I particularly love about the V2S is the cleanliness of the bodywork. Without the aerodynamic winglets of the V4S, there's a purity to the silhouette that I find genuinely beautiful. And before anyone thinks that's a criticism of the V4S, it absolutely isn't. Those wings look purposeful and aggressive in exactly the right way, and on a bike of that performance level they make complete sense. But the V2S has a different kind of appeal, a cleaner, more classic Panigale shape that harks back to what made this family of bikes so visually arresting in the first place. Sitting in the pits before a session, it draws looks. It always does. There's something about a Panigale in a track environment that just looks completely at home, like it was born to be exactly where it is.
I should also mention that I've ridden the Panigale V2 Bayliss, you can check out the full review I did with Tegan if you want the detail on that bike, and while I genuinely enjoyed it, I never quite gelled with it the way I have with the V2S. The Bayliss felt raw. Exciting, yes, but raw in a way that kept me working hard. The V2S feels like a fundamentally different machine, and not just because of the redesign. It feels like Ducati sat down and asked a different question when they built it.
This is not a downsized V4. It is not the V4's smaller sibling, built to fill a gap in the range. Ducati have engineered the V2S from the ground up as its own motorcycle, with its own identity and its own purpose. And you feel that the moment you throw a leg over it.
In Road and Sport modes, the V2S is genuinely approachable. Comfortable, even. The riding position is similar to the Bayliss but somehow less aggressive, less demanding, the kind of position you could actually sustain for a decent ride without your wrists staging a protest. Flick it into Race mode and the rawness is absolutely still there, make no mistake. But the fact that this bike can be both things, genuinely approachable on the road and properly alive on track, is what makes it so impressive.
From the moment I rolled out of the pits, the V2S felt like a bike that was working with me rather than ahead of me. The 955cc Superquadro Mono V2 engine delivers power in a way that feels progressive and accessible, I could actually use it, build on it, feel it responding to what I was doing. Where the V4S demanded I react to it, the V2S invited me to ride it. That's a meaningful distinction, and it's one that matters enormously when I'm still developing my track craft.
The handling is precise without being intimidating. Turn-in is quick but not abrupt, and the electronics package, cornering ABS, traction control, quick shifter, gave me confidence without removing the feeling that I was actually in control. It let me ride, rather than just hang on. What I noticed most was that I could feel myself improving in real time. Hitting apexes more consistently. Carrying more corner speed. Starting to understand what it means to use the full width of the track. If you're a road rider thinking about getting into track days, or an experienced rider who wants to genuinely develop their skills rather than just survive the session, the Panigale V2S is the answer. It's an incredible sports bike that rewards you for getting better. And getting better is the whole point.
The MEGA Team: Thirty Years of Getting It Right
None of this happens without Motorcycle Events Group Australia, and I want to be clear about how good these people are at what they do.
Steve Brouggy and the team have been running track days for thirty years, and the care they put into the experience shows from the moment you arrive. The staff are out on track watching every session, and if they see something worth addressing they'll pull you aside when you come back in and have a quiet, constructive conversation about it. Not to embarrass you. To help you. That kind of coaching, delivered in the right moment, is genuinely invaluable.
What MEGA also offer and I don't believe this exists anywhere else in the world is the ability to hire either a Ducati Panigale V4S or a BMW S1000RR M Sport for the day. If you're considering buying one of those bikes, you can put it on a racetrack and find out exactly what it's capable of before you commit. At $545 on top of your entry fee, it’s remarkable value, and considerably less than a speeding fine at the speeds you’ll be doing.
The community of riders at MEGA events is one of the best things about the whole experience. Welcoming, encouraging, and genuinely good fun. For something that can seem intimidating from the outside, the reality inside the gates couldn't be more different.
I haven't made it to Phillip Island yet, but that's going to change this year. MEGA runs events there as well, and everything I've heard about riding that circuit makes me genuinely excited. If Sydney Motorsport Park is where I learned to love track riding, Phillip Island feels like the next chapter.
When I get there, you'll hear about it.
For more information on upcoming track days at Sydney Motorsport Park and Phillip Island, visit Motorcycle Events Group Australia.
If the Panigale V2S has caught your attention and it should head to ducati.com/au to explore the full 2026 range.