With 1.4 million visitors per year, the theme park near Ravenna is the second largest amusement park in Italy and belongs to the Parques Reunidos Group. There the “DUCATI WORLD” is being created in an area of 35,000 m² (376,737 square feet) as the first themed area in the world inspired by a motorcycle brand. The “Ducati World” will offer special thrills with interactive motorcycle elements and thus appealing not only to motorcycle and motor sport fans, but every guest who admires thrill.

Interactive High-Tech Rollercoaster

The main attraction is the high-tech roller coaster from the Munich based company, Maurer Rides. It is a new world-wide novelty, where the passengers can duel on two parallel tracks like in a World SBK Race. The riders sit on Ducati Panigale V4 based roller coasters which have their own drive systems like real motorbikes. Via the throttle grip, the pilots determine interactively how fast they want to accelerate. This is realized by an electric drive with a torque of 1050 Nm, which accelerates the vehicles even faster than a real superbike!

Sporty layout for a maximum race feeling

The entrance to the roller coaster bikes in the Ducati designed experience takes place at the station. The vehicles stop briefly at a traffic light. Now, complete concentration is required. Red, yellow, green! Full throttle! The Ducati is catapulted with 1.2 g forward. Into a right-left combination in which the vehicles cross over each other. Past the queuing area, and the pilots are challenged to the extreme in the 270° turn. But immediately, they can accelerate out of the bend again in order to lie down fully in the long stretches of the course. A jump-like camelback over the station is then followed by an even higher hump over the monorail. This is where the uplifting forces act that every rider dreams of. Into the narrow winding curves, the rider climbs up 22 m (72 feet) with maximum inclination and then plunges back down into the valley shortly afterwards. There isn’t much time to enjoy the ride along the banks of the ride’s idyllic lake, because now a narrow chicane follows under the monorail and you’re already in the home straight heading for the checkered flag.

The design of the ride based on the Maurer Spike® roller coaster system enabled the planners to create the route and ride elements completely free of the common coaster energy obstacles and to adapt the route ideally to the terrain. Block brake sections and drive straights, which in conventional roller coasters repeatedly force engineers to subordinate their creativity to technology and physics, are not necessary with the Spike® system. In addition, the 100% traction of the Spike® drive always ensures sufficient propulsion for your creative fun with up to and over 1g right up to the end.

Design

The SPIKE® vehicle from Maurer Rides was perfectly suited for the implementation of the Ducati theme. No other roller coaster offers the passenger so much safe freedom of movement and such a low seating position. The passenger sits virtually directly on the rail and thus becomes one with the track. The SPIKE® has been complemented by original components from the Ducati Panigale V4. The front with its striking lights, fuel tank, windscreen and tail lights have been faithfully reproduced and integrated into the design. The surfaces and elegant edges transport the sporty aggressive character of the Ducati brand. The original components such as display and lights are fully functional. In addition, a sound generator provides the full Ducati sound when accelerating to create the perfect overall experience.

SPIKE®

SPIKE® Racing is a relatively new development from Maurer Rides. The innovative drive concept has been developed since 2009. In 2017, the first ride of this kind opened in the Allgäu Skyline Park in Germany and was immediately awarded the IAAPA Best Product Award. On this roller coaster, passengers can interactively control the speed and acceleration themselves via a throttle grip. The vehicles contain an extremely powerful electric drive. If required, the drive can catapult the passengers to top speed with a torque of 1050 Nm within a few seconds. The torque is transmitted slip-free via a gear wheel to the rack mounted on the track. The drive system on the vehicles is also used for braking, so that block brakes and fixtures that were previously necessary can be dispensed with. As a result, vehicles can start at intervals of up to less than 10 s, thus enabling capacities of over 700 pph despite the fact that the vehicles have only two seats. The control system ensures a maximum safety level and monitors, among other things, the minimum speed, so that capacity is not restricted even with cautious drivers. The necessary power supply of the vehicles as well as the regeneration of the braking energy is carried out via a busbar.

 

• «Previous Post
• Next Post »

---