A Nikon I Rangefinder From 1948 Becomes The Highlight of the Westlicht 30th Camera Auction on 19th November 2016, Fetching a Price of 384,000 Euros

A Nikon I rangefinder from April 1948 has become the highlight of the Westlicht 30th Camera Auction on 19th November 2016, fetching a price of 384,000 euros, which establishes a new world record figure ever paid for a camera of this brand

It is the oldest known surviving production model Nikon in the world, made in 1948 — one of the two cameras manufactured that year and currently in existence—, featuring the serial number 60924, and the third one made after the first Nikon I which had the serial number 60922

Amazingly, only three years after the end of the Second World War which left their country devastated, the Japanese were able to create and launch into market this gorgeous camera which — in the same way as the rest of Nikon rangefinder models subsequently produced during fifties — combined the best traits of Contax and Leica cream of the crop rangefinders, so it boasts the external appearance of a Contax II from 1936 while internally it doesn´t sport the vertical travelling Contax II shutter with tambour-profiled metal blinds in its curtains, but a focal-plane horizontal travelling rubberized-cloth similar to the Leica shutter begotten by Oskar Barnack and improved by the mechanics genius Ludwig Leitz and Willi Stein during late thirties and first half of forties.

On the other hand, the Nikon I features a negative format size of 24 x 32 mm (enabling to get 40 pictures with a 35 mm film roll), which the Japanese considered the ideal one to match the illustrated publications of the time and made possible high quality enlargements up to 8 x 10 (20 x 25 cm), though instead of wounding eight sprocket holes between frames as the worldly widespread 24 x 36 mm format cameras, it just made it with seven, so it couldn´t be exported to the United States, where besides, the Kodachrome colour film was the sensation then and the slide mounting equipment worked with 8 sprocket holes.

Ravishing minimalist top panel of the Nikon I serial number 60924 from 1948, showing from left to right: the rewinding knob, the hot shoe for auxiliary finder and other attachments, the mythical Nippon Kogaku Tokyo logo engraved with pantograph, the slow shutter speed dial (from 1 second to 1/20 sec), the fast shutter speed dial (from 1/30 sec to 1/500 sec, Time and Bulb modes and located on the slow shutter speed dial), the reversing lever (with arrow A advancing film and arrow R reversing film), the shutter release button and screw (reachable by removing the protecting ring) for attaching wire release, the knurled winding knob which simultaneously winds the shutter and advances film and the counter dial (inside the winding knob) which automatically records picture numbers.

The unutterable beauty of lines of the camera (with its distinct sharp corner edges) matches the nice original early single coated 6 elements in 3 groups Nikkor-H.C 5 cm f/2 standard lens serial number 70811 (which was the eleventh one made) coupled to it and visible on top of the image.

Hans Ploegmakers, one of the world´s leading experts on the history of Nikon, holding the Nikon I serial number 60924 with its Nikkor-H.C 5 cm f/2 lens serial number 70811. A member of the Nikon Historical Society, he has been throughout many decades a key figure in the preservation of the huge historical, cultural and technological legacy of the Nikon rangefinder cameras, lenses and accessories manufactured between late forties and 1960, along with other international first-class experts on Nikon brand like the pundit Robert J. Rotoloni, Uli Koch, Hans Braakhuis, Stephen Gandy, Yuki Kawai, Bill Kraus, Yutaka Ohtsu, Akihiko Suzuki, Bob Rogen, Thierry Ravassod, Jim Emmerson, Tom Abrahamsson and others, in addition to the commendable work accomplished by the Nikon Kenkyukai Tokyo and its recognized authorities on Nikon like Dr. Ryosuke Mori, Dr. Manabu Nakai, Shoichiro Yoshida, Mikio Itoh, Hirosi Kosai, Dr. Zyun Koana, Akito Tamla, Michio Akiyama and others.

Aerial diagonal right view of the Nikon I serial number 60924 from 1948 with Nikkor-H.C 5 cm f/2 serial number 70811 lens beside its near mint condition metallic cap with the Nikon logo.

Baseplate of the Nikon I serial number 60924 with the Made in Occupied Japan engraved inscription, the golden middle tripod socket and the locks (placed on both ends) for removing and replacing the camera back.

On the lower right area of the back of the camera, you can see the eyepiece for combined RF and VF.

Front view of the top panel half area of the Nikon I serial number 60924 showing the focusing wheel (located just above the window of the rangefinder, slightly on the left), the big round winding knob cocking the shutter and making the film advance, the counting dial inside it, the reversing lever (with arrow A and arrow R to respectively advancing and reverse the film), the shutter release button and screw for attaching wire release removing the protective ring to reach the screw, the slow shutter speed dial (in contact with the baseplate) and just on it the fast shutter speed dial, the engraved Nippon Kogaku Tokyo logo and the hotshoe for auxiliary finder and other attachments.

View of the Nikon I serial number 60924 with its Nikkor-H.C 5 cm f/2 lens serial number 70811 leaned against the table, displaying all the dials and buttons of this entirely metallic camera, whose manufacturing standard of quality was superb for the time and intended to be used throughout many decades of professional hard work, flawlessly functioning with full reliability currently in 2016, 68 years after its creation, and lacking the programmed and fast obsolescence inherent to current digital cameras both in the amateur and professional domain.

On the left of the image, just under the R letter, can be seen the small toothed wheel used to focus lenses

Front view of the Nikon I serial number 80924 without its lens, exhibiting the focusing scale in meters and the windows of the rangefinder (on the left of the image) and the viewfinder (on the right), as well as the eight screws to secure the faceplate.

Needless to say that the chrome-silver finish oozes class and beauty to spare.

On the other hand, the finder magnification is of 0.60x.

Back view of the Nikon I serial number 80924 from April 1948 with the black round eyepiece (surrounded by a thin fluted silver chrome ring) of its 0.60x magnification viewfinder visible on top left.

Inner film chamber of the Nikon I serial number 80924. It was roughly finished, hand painted and features some unevenness, something inevitable at the time, only three years after the beginning of the Second World War, when the budgets were very tight.

Amazingly, the original curtain is in good condition, in spite of the fact that its material was not as good as the one boasted by later Nikon rangefinder cameras like the Nikon S, Nikon S2, Nikon SP and Nikon S4, which had the Habutae silk shutter.

Bottom cover plate of the Nikon I serial number 80924 from April 1948 with its two locks for removing and replacing the camera back. It doesn´t sport any system to protect the adjustment of the shutter tensions.

Right half area of the Nikon I serial number 80924 top panel in which we can see the shutter release button located between the high shutter speeds dial (on the left) and the knurled winding knob with the frame counter inside on the right.

The whispering sound brought about on pressing the shutter release button of this camera is almost inaudible, and comparable in this regard to the likewise utterly mechanic shutters featured by the screwmount and M rangefinder Leicas, enabling a great discretion during the photographic act, as well as possessing the amazing stability when shooting at very slow shutter speeds like 1/15 sec and 1/8 sec, thanks to the absence of a swivelling mirror typical of the mirrorless with rangefinder cameras to which the Nikon I belongs.

Text and Photos: José Manuel Serrano Esparza

CÓRDOBA, 1955 CHRISTMAS DAY: LADISLAO RODRÍGUEZ BENÍTEZ OUTLINES THE MID FIFTIES SITUATION CREATING A TIMELESS EXTRAORDINARY PICTURE

SPANISH

December 25th, 1955. Sixteen years have already elapsed since the end of the Spanish Civil War, but its economical, social and political aftermath is still fully being suffered by the country inhabitants.

Most of the Cordovan civil population has become mostly impoverished, immersed in a context of nutritional imbalance, lack of all kind of raw materials and shortage of meat and fruit, whose price has skyrocketed.

The unemployment is wreaking havoc among the working age people, whose exceedingly meager economic resources make them often be only able to eat once or at most twice a day, helped by relatives and friends.

But there´s another specific segment of the population even under worse conditions, on the verge of the most absolute destitution: they are the unemployed Cordovans who haven´t been able to find work, whose nearest and dearest are in a similar plight, and so are wandering through the city looking for a morsel of anything to eat.

Poverty stricken, some of them have gone to San Jacinto Convent (then called San Jacinto Asylum) searching for food and are now queueing waiting for their turn in order that three nuns and an auxiliary young woman give them bread and baked potatoes as a meal, because the Cordovan Town Hall has decided to donate 1,500 vittles for jobless workers of the city (nurturing aids which would have to be increased shortly after).

A disabled man who lost his left leg when he was thirteen years old (after suffering an accident at a grocery in 1930) and a photographer by trade, is in the place at those moments, very near the unemployed men who are being delivered food by the three nuns and the ancillary young woman.

His name is Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez.

He has been working as a professional photographer since 1946, year in which he left his comfortable lifetime permanent job as a chartered accountant civil servant (after having passed the public examinations in early forties), in favour of photography, which he loves to his utmost, and he has got his recognition as a photojournalist through his own travail since then.

He is grabbing in his right hand a 24 x 36 mm format Leica IIIc with a 7 elements in 4 groups Summitar 5 cm f/2 lens and loaded with Kodak Super-XX 35 mm film, while he holds with his left arm and hand a wooden crutch enabling him to keep his balance on the ground.

Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez is paying great attention to what´s happening, being standing up and doing his best to go unnoticed by all means, since it is a delicate context, with human beings in dire straits, so respect to them and discretion are key factors to photograph them.

The three nuns and the auxiliary young woman go on giving bread and filling with baked potatoes the dishes brought by the unemployed Cordovans.

It´s a situation held sway by misery and deeply touching the photographer, a man featuring great sensitivity and humanity, deeply loving both his city and its people and he gets pictures to earn his living and particularly to take home the daily livelyhood for his woman and children, so there´s an empathy with the people in need being the main characters of what he is seeing.

Ladislao Rodriguez Benitez´s concentration is utmost and as a good professional photographer he knows "to see the picture", something that he has been doing since early forties.

Kodak Super-XX 200 ASA black and white 35 mm film. It was the high speed and versatile par excellence photojournalistic emulsion from 1940 to 1954, year in which appeared the then 200 ASA Kodak Tri-X, which with its excellet acutance and huge exposure latitude, enabling to use it between 50 and 3.200 ASA, prevailed in the photographic market at a worldly level since mid fifties. Nevertheless, the Kodak Tri-X launching into market made that the Kodak Super-XX 200 ASA 35 mm film (manufactured until 1958) was still widely used by the Cordovan photojournalists due to the fact that its price dropped significantly — with the saving on film it entailed before the more expensive Tri-X— , and though its acutance (because of the emulsion thickness) and grain quality didn´t reach the Tri-X level, it was acceptable (in the photojournalistic images their technical quality isn´t the most impostant factor, but to get the picture and be at the right place at the adequate moment, such as happens to name just one example with the vertical photograph Midnight Mass at Scanno, Abruzzo, Italy, made by Henri Cartier-Bresson in 1953 with a Leica IIIc coupled to a Summitar 5 cm f/2 - though his favourite lens was a Zeiss Sonnar 5 cm f/1.5 in LTM mount- shooting handheld at 1/8 sec or 1/15 sec, also with 35 mm Kodak Super-XX 200 ASA b & w film, with very apparent grain on the three monks faces of the lower left half of the image, but it doesn´t matter at all and amazingly boosts the instant atmosphere, which is even more reinforced by their black habits), its characteristic curve was fairly long, with a great exposure latitude making possible to expose it at different sensitivinesses between ASA 100 and ASA 800 without any problem and being subsequently treated with a comprehensive range of both long and short developers, along with special compensating formulae.

Suddenly, magic comes up : the nun being furthest from the camera (wearing glasses and located in the middle of the image) is offering a medium size cooking pot with potatoes to a young unemployed man being roughly 18-20 years old who has just filled his dish — staring at it— while another man being around 30 years old (placed on the left of the image) is impatiently waiting for the aforementioned nun to also offer him potatoes of the medium size pot.

In the meantime, the third and fourth men in the queue are awaiting their turn.

The facial expression of the third man (being approximately 40-45 years old and whose head can be seen behind the sunlit right shoulder of the young unemployed filling his dish with potatoes from the medium size being offered to him by the nun) is exceedingly distressed: he is engrossed in his thoughts, plunged into despair and brimming with anxiety before a gloomy and uncertain future.

It´s now when the photographer chooses this defining instant to press the release button of the 100% mechanic horizontal travelling shutter with rubberized silk curtains of his Leica IIIc (boasting some improvements designed by Ludwig Leitz and Willi Stein with respect to the already excellent original shutter of the Leica III created by Oskar Barnack, and likewise generating an almost imperceptible noise because there isn´t any swivelling mirror), while he strongly leans the stretch against his left armpit and holds the camera with both of his hands, creating a highly revealing image of the postwar Cordoba city, which 61 years after being taken, makes up an exceptional graphic document, even more heartrending and meaningful than it could seem, for the almost tangible hardship and dismay of the scene (in the same way as the rising smoke of the pots being heaten on the spot and the smell emanating from them)

are even more boosted by the toilsome effort which is being done by the around 30 years old man on the left of the image who strives after gathering as much food as he can, has already taken six breads — appearing enhanced by the tridimensional effect brought about by the very powerful natural light coming from the left and lighting the image — with his right hand which isn´t able to cope with more, is holding with a precarious balance between his right forearm and chest a bowl that he will try to fill with baked potatoes, and  is simultaneously grasping with his left hand a handicraft wicker basket, while fidgety, is staring at the nun wearing glasses, whom — because of need— , he will endeavour to convince to get more breads inside it) and by the distraught countenance of the auxiliary young woman watching how the nun wearing glasses offers the medium size pot (taking it on one of its handles with her right hand) to the young unemployed man, while her left hand is resting on the cardboard box with breads inside.

It´s a hard and very representative image, whose semantic epicenter is the face of the roughly 40-45 years old man (located just behind te two ones nearest to the camera and which are being delivered food),

The grain of the by the time high speed 200 ASA Kodak Super-XX black and white film and the not 100% accurate focus (typical in the photojournalism made with Leica rangefinder cameras in which the fastness when shooting is essential) combine to further increase the drama of the picture, factors which were also used by Bruce Davidson three years later when he made with a Leica M2, Tri-X film and a Leitz Summaron 35 mm f/3.5 lens the portrait of the clown Jimmy Armstrong with his naked torso, suspenders, his face painted, his right arm bent backwards in the elbow area and a small white curtain on his head during the month he was photographing the Beatty-Cole-Hamid Circus in Palisades, New Jersey (United States).

overwhelmed by the uneasiness and fear before a murky future, and which corresponds conceptually to the golden period of photojournalism (thirties, forties and fifties).

Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez undoubtedly belongs to this golden generation of the world photojournalism defined by photographers formed working with black and white chemical films, who got top-notch pictures with utterly mechanical cameras, without any electronics or programmed obsolescence, coupled to excellent manual focusing lenses, metering through estimation according to their experience and talent and sporting an innate ability to "see the picture" and "become invisible" at the supreme moment of the photographic act.

It´s a working dynamics similar to the one fulfilled by Walker Evans, Robert Doisneau, Izis Bildermanas, Willy Ronis, Èdouard Boubat, Brassaï and others, daily walking the streets of his city throughout decades, earnestly focusing on taking the best feasible photographs, both in full daylaight and at night, devoting their existence in body and soul to photography, which becomes not only his profession but also a way of life.

Therefore, Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez knows Córdoba like the back of his hand intensively, from sunrise to sunset, lives and loves photography with all-out passion and has to steadily be available, even very late in the nigths, if the hot news or the necessity to go to a place to get pictures at the adequate moment urge to it.

But in my viewpoint, this photography goes beyond the high level photojournalism and the concept of iconic image (although it can be bluntly deemed as such) and provides a further commendable qualitative step from the standpoint of rising above oneself accomplished by a human being.

This picture was made with the heart and the soul by a man from head to toe who, though lacking a leg, always managed to reach everywhere at the suitable moment and place himself in the best possible position to get his pictures, something of extreme difficulty for a one-legged disabled man, and which had to undoubtedly mean for this great photojournalist to make a huge level of constant effort, often on the brink of exhaustion, during his entire career as a photographer, because the classic social photojournalism using primes (particularly with 50 mm lenses, which because of their short tele nature are more complex to use than the 35 mm — photojournalistic lens par excellence — and 28 mm wideangles) requires constant and fast movements with both feet to be able to do the framings, so it can be inferred that the courage, amour propre, level of self-commitment and professionalism of this man who passed away in 1988 had to be truly impressive, in the same way as this picture taken by him and containing another fundamental ingredient: the very strong Andalusia sun which penetrates diagonally into the image from the upper left corner, bathing the whole scene in light and specially striking the faces and thoracic area of the three nuns and the auxiliary young woman who are feeding the unemployed Cordovans, along with the large pot inside which potatoes are being baked and the cardboard box containing the breads, both of these elements making up the extreme high key of the picture along with the bosom of the nearest nun to the camera.

Such a use of the very powerful sun light giving rise to quite strong high keys, shadows and contrasts, is quantically related to images created by Werner Bischof (vertical photograph on the famine in Bihar, India, 1951, in which the woman placed in the lower area is protecting herself from the sun beams with her left hand, while an old man and an old woman located  standing behind her area leaning against long canes), Mario de Biasi (Grandmother holding in arms her grandson in Sardinia, 1954), Yuri Eremin (Camels in a Street of Bujara, 1928), Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (Two children in Ascona, 1926), Manual Álvarez Bravo (Girl Watching Birds, 1931 and Recent Tomb, 1939), John Thomson (Street of the Healers, Cantón, 1869, also with a great depth of field), Dorothea Lange (Unemployed Workers waiting outside the California State Employment Agency at Tulelake, Siskiyou County, September of 1939), Eugène Atget (Flowers Seller, Paris, 1899, in which appears a man wearing a hat on the left holding small flowers in his right hand covered with a white glove, while the woman on the rights is offering him a bunch of bigger flowers and the word Degustation can be seen painted on the background wall, in the upper area of the picture), Joel Meyerowitz (A Blind Man with Glasses and Black Beret in a Spanish Café, 1967, likewise with a great depth of field enabling to discern with full sharpness the persons of all ages visible beyond the large glass of the premises, who are watching a travelling show made by two gypsies boys, one playing a trumpet and the other one making a drum resound while a goat is balancing on a small size base on top of a little ladder, and in the background of the image, in its upper left zone, you can see a Citröen 2 CV and a Seat 600), Samuel Coulthurst (Street Photographies in the Bustling Swan Street Market of Liverpool, between 1889 and 1900) and others.

It´s also an image featuring a number of compositive elements which have been so masterfully combined by the photographer that the result simultaneously oozes spontaneity and simplicity alike.

Selective reframing of the left third of the photograph, in which can be seen the woman leaned against the wall and holding between her hands the jacket of her husband who is waiting in the queue to be given his food ration. The 24 x 36 mm negative surface featuring a four times smaller size than the 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 format and six times smaller than the 6 x 9 cm format (both of them were used by some photojournalists at that time, specially the 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 Rolleiflex, 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 Ikonta B 521/16, 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 Ikonta B 523/16 , 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 Zeiss Super Ikonta B 532/16, 2 1 /4 x 2 1/4 Agfa Super Isolette, 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 Mess-Ikonta 524/2, 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 Super Ikonta C 531/2 and the Voigtländer Bessa RF with which both 2 1/4" x 3 1/4" and 6 x 4.5 cm format negatives could be exposed, without forgetting the large format 4 x 5 -contact of 10 x 12 cm- ) results in an inevitable loss of image quality in comparison to the entire picture on making enlargements of specific areas of the negative.

On the other hand, the wise selection of probably f/11 diaphragm by Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez, taking advantage of the abundant quantity of available mighty sun light to get a great depth of field shooting handheld without any trepidation, makes that all the compositive elements and persons visible in the picture appear sharp, even the woman standing in the background near the upper left corner of the image, propped up with her back against a white wall, while she holds between her hands the dark jacket of her husband (who is one of the men standing in the row, waiting for his turn), in which can be glimpsed two breads protruding partially outside one of its pockets, whilst her mien bespeaks despondency, together with a little child unaware of what is happening, playing with his back towards the camera and probably being the woman´s son.

Moreover, the picture confirms the good sharpness, contrasts and translation of different tones delivered by the Leitz Summitar 5 cm f/2 lens on being stopped down (while at full aperture its performance is lower), something particularly ascertainable in the streaks and damaged sections of the old door with large wrought iron knocker and in the texture of the wicker basket, though the very fragile front element of the aforementioned standard lens featured some greatly inevitable cleaning marks and some small scratches.

But what really matters is that the photographer displays his mastery and experience choosing the most important and significant moment to press the shutter release button of his camera with a remarkable accuracy in the timing, fruit of his talent, know-how and intuitive instinct inherent to great photojournalists, managing to also go unnoticed and capture all the persons appearing in the image without anyone of them detect his presence, something really praiseworthy, since he shoots from a very near distance of around 4 meters.

And this image vividly proves that obtaining very high resolution and contrast, utter lack of grain, 100% flawless image enlargements to king sizes, having lenses with first-rate optical level aspherical elements, a creamy bokeh, etc, aren´t at all the most important factors when it comes to get a great photojournalistic image, being much more decisive the photographer´s eye and his ability to know to see the photograph, along with the evocative nature of the captured image.

And the prone to flare character of the Leitz Summitar 5 cm f/2 has been counteracted by the savvy use of the Leitz SOOPD shade by Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez  (one of the most accomplished photojournalists in the History of the Cordovan Photography, pioneer of the Cifra Agency — later on called EFE Agency — and Europa Press, as well as working as a graphic reporter for the newspaper ABC, Diario Informaciones, Pueblo and the magazine Dígame — illustrated weekly publication edited in large format during sixties and seventies — and El Ruedo, having likewise been graphic editor of La Hoja del Lunes, a weekly newspaper published by the Cordovan Press Association), a man who worked with a slew of cameras and lenses throughout his long professional career, turning into a knowledgeable expert in photograhic mechanics, to such an extent that he was able to assemble and disassemble cameras of different formats to watch their functioning and amassed a valuable collection of them which has been fondly preserved by his son Ladislao Rodríguez Galán.

José Manuel Serrano Esparza

The author wants to express his gratitude to Ladislao Rodríguez Galán, Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez´s son, outstanding Cordovan photographer, for his kindness and work searching for the picture in his father´s historical archive along with the trust placed, and to Antonio Jesús González (graphic editor of the Diario Córdoba and foremost researcher of the Cordovan and Andalusian photography) for taking the necessary steps to send the picture main subject of this humble article.

CÓRDOBA, NAVIDAD DE 1955 : LADISLAO RODRÍGUEZ BENÍTEZ SINTETIZA LA SITUACIÓN DE MEDIADOS DE LOS AÑOS CINCUENTA CREANDO UNA EXTRAORDINARIA FOTOGRAFÍA ATEMPORAL

ENGLISH

25 de Diciembre de 1955. Han transcurrido ya 16 años desde el final de la Guerra Civil Española, pero sus consecuencias económicas, sociales y políticas son aún sufridas de lleno por los habitantes del país.

La población civil cordobesa se halla mayormente empobrecida, inmersa en un contexto de precariedad alimenticia, falta de materias primas de todo tipo y escasez de carne y fruta, cuyo precio está por las nubes.

El desempleo hace estragos entre las personas en edad laboral, cuyos exiguos recursos económicos obligan a que con frecuencia sólo puedan comer una o a lo sumo dos veces al día, ayudados por familiares y amigos.

Pero existe otro sector poblacional todavía en peores condiciones, al borde de la más absoluta miseria: son los cordobeses desempleados que no han podido encontrar trabajo, cuyos allegados están en situación similar, y que vagan por la ciudad buscando un bocado que llevarse a la boca.

Algunos de ellos, sumidos en la pobreza, han acudido al Covento de San Jacinto (denominado entonces Asilo de San Jacinto) en busca de alimento y están ahora haciendo fila esperando su turno para que tres monjas y una muchacha auxiliar les den comida en forma de panes y patatas cocidas, ya que el Ayuntamiento de Córdoba ha decidido donar gratuitamente 1.500 comidas a obreros en paro de la ciudad (ayudas alimenticias que habrían de ser aumentadas poco después).

Un hombre minusválido al que le falta su pierna izquierda desde los 13 años (tras sufrir un accidente en una tienda de ultramarinos donde trabajaba como contable en 1930), fotógrafo de profesión, está en el lugar en esos momentos, muy cerca de los hombres en paro a quienes están entregando comida las tres monjas de caridad y la muchacha auxiliar.

Su nombre es Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez.

Lleva ya nueve años trabajando como fotógrafo profesional desde que en 1946 abandonó su puesto fijo vitalicio como perito mercantil funcionario del estado (tras aprobar unas oposiciones a principios de los años cuarenta), en favor de la fotografía, a la que ama con todo su ser, y desde entonces se ha ganado a pulso su reconocimiento como fotoperiodista.

En estos momentos agarra con su mano derecha una cámara fotográfica Leica IIIc telemétrica formato 24 x 36 mm con objetivo Summitar 5 cm f/2 de 7 elementos en 4 grupos y cargada con película de blanco y negro Kodak Super-XX 100 ISO de 35 mm, mientras sujeta con su brazo y mano izquierdos una muleta de madera para poder mantener el equilibrio sobre el suelo.

Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez está muy atento a lo que ocurre, de pie e intentando pasar desapercibido por todos los medios, ya que se trata de un contexto delicado, con seres humanos en situación desesperada, por lo que el respeto hacia ellos y la discreción son factores clave para poder fotografiarles.

Las tres monjas y la muchaha auxiliar continúan dando pan y llenando con patatas cocidas los platos que traen los obreros cordobeses en paro.

Es una situación presidida por la miseria y que afecta profundamente al fotógrafo, hombre de gran sensibilidad y humanidad que ama profundamente a su ciudad y a sus gentes y hace fotos tanto para ganarse la vida él mismo como sobre todo poder llevar el sustento diario a su mujer y sus hijos, por lo que existe una empatía con las personas necesitadas protagonistas de lo que está viendo.

La concentración de Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez es máxima y como buen fotógrafo profesional "sabe ver la foto ", algo que lleva haciendo desde principios de los años cuarenta.

Película de blanco y negro Kodak Super-XX ISO 100 ASA de 35 mm. Fue la emulsión fotoperiodística de alta velocidad y uso versátil por excelencia desde 1940 hasta 1954, año en que apareció la Kodak Tri-X por entonces ISO 200, que con su excelente acutancia, muy alta sensibilidad para la época y enorme latitud de exposición que permitía utilizarla entre 50 y 3200 ISO, se impuso en el mercado fotográfico a nivel mundial desde mediados de los años cincuenta. No obstante, su aparición hizo que la película Kodak Super-XX 100 ISO de 35 mm (fabricada hasta 1958) fuera todavía ampliamente utilizada por los fotoperiodistas cordobeses debido a que su precio bajó notablemente — con el ahorro en película que ello significaba frente a la Tri-X de precio más elevado — , y aunque su acutancia  (debido al grosor de la emulsión) y calidad de grano no llegaban al nivel de la Tri-X, era aceptable (en las imágenes fotoperiodísticas la calidad técnica de las mismas no es el factor más importante, sino el conseguir la foto y estar en el lugar adecuado en el momento adecuado, tal y como sucede, por mencionar solo un ejemplo con la fotografía vertical Misa de Media Noche en Scanno, Abruzzo, Italia, hecha por Henri Cartier-Bresson en 1953 con una Leica IIIc acoplada a objetivo Summitar 5 cm f/2 - aunque su objetivo favorito era el Zeiss Sonnar 5 cm f/1.5 en montura LTM-, tirando a pulso a 1/8 seg ó 1/15 seg, también con Kodak Super-XX 100 ISO de 35 mm, con grano muy visible en las caras de los tres monjes de la mitad inferior izquierda, pero que no importa en absoluto y realza de modo impresionante la atmósfera del momento, potenciada aun más por sus hábitos negros), su curva característica era larguísima, con una gran latitud de exposición que permitía exponerla a diferentes sensibilidades entre ISO 100 e ISO 800 sin problemas y ser posteriormente tratada con una amplia gama de reveladores tanto largos como cortos, así como con fórmulas especiales compensadoras.  

De repente, surge la magia: la monja más alejada de la cámara (con gafas y ubicada en el centro de la imagen) está ofreciendo un puchero mediano con patatas a un joven desempleado de unos 18-20 años de edad que acaba de llenar su plato — mirándolo fijamente — mientras otro hombre de unos 30 años de edad (situado a la izquierda de la imagen) aguarda impaciente a que la mencionada monja le ofrezca también a él patatas del puchero mediano.

Mientras, el tercer y cuarto hombre de la fila aguardan su turno.

La expresión facial del tercer hombre (de unos 40-45 años y cuya cabeza es visible tras el hombro derecho iluminado por el sol del joven parado que está llenando su plato con patatas del puchero mediano que le ofrece la monja) es devastadora: se halla en profunda introspección, sumido en la desesperanza y saturado de ansiedad ante un futuro sombrío e incierto.

Es ahora cuando el fotógrafo elige este instante definitorio para apretar el botón liberador del obturador horizontal 100% mecánico con cortinillas de seda engomada de su Leica IIIc (que incorpora algunas mejoras diseñadas por Ludwig Leitz y Willi Stein con respecto al ya de por sí excelente obturador original de la Leica III creado por Oskar Barnack, e igualmente produce un ruido casi imperceptible al no existir espejo basculante), mientras apoya fuertemente la muleta en su axila izquierda y sujeta la cámara con ambas manos, creando una imagen muy ilustrativa de la Córdoba de posguerra, que 61 años después de ser captada, constituye un excepcional documento gráfico, todavía más desgarrador y elocuente de lo que pudiera parecer, ya que la angustia y tensión casi tangibles de la escena (al igual que el humo ascendente de los pucheros que están siendo calentados in situ y el olor que emana de ellos)

Reencuadre selectivo en cuyo centro se aprecia como el hombre a la izquierda de la imagen ha cogido con su mano derecha todos los panes posibles mientras sujeta un cuenco blanco como puede entre su antebrazo derecho y la zona derecha de su cuerpo, al tiempo que su mano izquierda se aferra fuertemente con los cinco dedos a la cesta de mimbre en la que quiere conseguir como sea introducir más comida. Este contexto de necesidad, miseria y tensión es magistralmente captado por Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez con inefables niveles de discreción y sutileza.

son catalizados aún más si cabe por el notable esfuerzo que está haciendo el hombre de unos 30 años ubicado a la izquierda de la imagen (que intenta hacer acopio de toda la comida que puede, ha cogido ya seis panes — que aparecen realzados por el efecto tridimensional generado por la poderosa luz natural alta procedente de la izquierda y que ilumina la imagen —  con su mano derecha que ya no da más abasto, sujeta con precario equilibrio entre su antebrazo derecho y su pecho un cuenco que intentará llenar de patatas cocidas, y tiene a la vez agarrada con su mano izquierda una cesta artesanal hecha de mimbre, mientras nervioso, mira fijamente a la monja con gafas, a la que, fruto de la necesidad, intentará convencer para que introduzca más panes dentro de ella) y por el semblante afligido de la muchacha auxiliar que observa como la monja con gafas ofrece el puchero mediano con patatas (agarrándolo con su mano derecha por una de sus asas) al joven desempleado mientras su mano izquierda descansa sobre la caja de cartón con panes en su interior.

Es una imagen dura, muy representativa y con valioso contenido informativo, cuyo epicentro semántico es el rostro del hombre de unos 40-45 años (situado justo detrás de los dos más próximos a cámara que están recibiendo comida),

El grano de la emulsión de blanco y negro Kodak Super-XX 200 ASA por entonces de alta velocidad y el enfoque no preciso al 100%, (típico en el fotoperiodismo hecho con cámaras Leica en el que la rapidez al disparar es fundamental) se combinan para aumentar todavía más el drama de la fotografía, factores ambos que fueron utilizados también por Bruce Davidson tres años más tarde cuando hizo con una Leica M2, película Tri-X y un objetivo Leitz Summaron 35 mm f/3.5 el retrato del payaso Jimmy Armstrong con el torso desnudo, tirantes, la cara pintada, su brazo derecho doblado hacia atrás por la zona del codo y una pequeña cortina blanca sobre la cabeza durante el mes que estuvo fotografiando el Circo Beatty-Cole-Hamid en Palisades, New Jersey (Estados Unidos).

presa de la desazón y temor ante un futuro lóbrego, y que corresponde conceptualmente a la época dorada del fotoperiodismo (años treinta, cuarenta y cincuenta). Una expresión facial de desesperanza que no le va a la zaga al trabajador emigrante que aparece con la mirada perdida y notable preocupación, con su mujer dando el pecho a su hijo justo detrás de él, en la fotografía hecha por Dorothea Lange el 1 de agosto de 1938 a los tres en un campamento improvisado junto a la carretera en Blythe (California), tras huir de la sequía en Oklahoma

Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez pertenece sin ningún género de dudas a esta generación de oro del fotoperiodismo mundial caracterizada por fotógrafos formados en el blanco y negro con película química que hacían fotos de gran nivel con cámaras totalmente mecánicas, sin electrónica ni automatismo alguno, sin obsolescencia programada, con excelentes objetivos de enfoque manual, midiendo por estimación conforme a su experiencia y talento y con una innata capacidad para "ver la foto" y  "volverse invisibles" en el momento supremo del acto fotográfico, todo ello en el marco de una concepción artesanal de la fotografía.

Es una dinámica de trabajo afín a la de Walker Evans, Robert Doisneau, Izis Bildermanas, Willy Ronis, Édouard Boubat, Brassaï y otros, pateándose a diario durante décadas las calles de su ciudad, buscando con ahínco las mejores fotos posibles, tanto de día como de noche, dedicando su existencia en cuerpo y alma a la fotografía, que se convierte no sólo en su profesión sino en una forma de vida.

Así pues, Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez conoce Córdoba como la palma de la mano y trabaja a destajo, de sol a sol, vive y ama la fotografía con enorme pasión y tiene que estar permanentemente disponible, incluso de madrugada, si la actualidad o la necesidad de ir a un lugar para hacer fotos en el momento adecuado así lo precisan.

Pero en mi opinión, esta fotografía trasciende el fotoperiodismo de alto nivel y el concepto de imagen icónica (pese a que en gran medida pueda ser calificada sin ambages como tal) y aporta un admirable escalón cualitativo más desde el punto de vista de superación de sí mismo por parte de un ser humano.

Esta foto fue hecha con el corazón y con el alma por un hombre de los pies a la cabeza, que aunque le faltaba una pierna, siempre conseguía llegar a todas partes en el momento adecuado y situarse en la mejor posición posible para hacer sus fotos, algo de extrema dificultad para un minusválido y que tuvo que significar sin duda para este gran  fotoperiodista de raza realizar un enorme nivel de esfuerzo constante, con frecuencia al borde de la extenuación, durante toda su carrera como fotógrafo, ya que el fotoperiodismo social clásico con ópticas fijas (especialmente con objetivos de 50 mm, que por su naturaleza de teles cortos son más complicados de usar que los angulares de 35 mm - óptica fotoperiodística por excelencia- y 28 mm) precisa de constantes y rápidos movimientos con los pies para poder realizar los encuadres, de lo cual se infiere que el coraje, pundonor, nivel de autoexigencia y profesionalidad de este hombre fallecido en 1988 tuvieron que ser ciertamente impresionantes, al igual que esta fotografía hecha por él y que contiene otro ingrediente fundamental: el fortísimo sol de Andalucía que penetra diagonalmente en la imagen desde la esquina superior izquierda inundando con luz toda la escena e incidiendo especialmente en los rostros y zona torácica de las tres monjas y la joven mujer auxiliar que están dando de comer a los parados cordobeses. así como en el gran puchero en el que se están cociendo patatas y la caja de cartón que contiene los panes, elementos ambos que junto con el pecho de la monja más próxima a cámara conforman la zona high key extrema de la fotografía.

Dicho uso de la luz solar muy poderosa que genera fortísimas altas luces, sombras y contrastes, entronca en intensidad cuántica con imágenes realizadas por Werner Bischof ( Fotografía vertical sobre la Hambruna en Bihar, India en 1951 en la que la mujer situada en la zona inferior se protege del sol con su mano izquierda mientras dos ancianos ubicados de pie tras ella se apoyan en cañas), Mario de Biasi (Abuela que Sostiene en Brazos a su Nieto en Cerdeña, 1954), Yuri Eremin (Camellos en una calle de Bujara, 1928), Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (Dos Niños en Ascona, 1926), Manuel Álvarez Bravo (Muchacha Viendo Pájaros, 1931 y Tumba Reciente, 1939), John Thomson (Calle de los Curanderos, Cantón, 1869, también con una gran profundidad de campo), Dorothea Lange ( Trabajadores en paro esperando fuera de la Oficina de Empleo Estatal de California en Tulelake, Condado de Siskiyou, Septiembre de 1939), Eugène Atget (La Vendedora de Flores, París, 1899, en la que aparece un hombre con sombrero a la izquierda que sujeta flores pequeñas en su mano derecha cubierta con un guante blanco mientras la mujer de la derecha le ofrece un ramo de flores más grandes y se aprecia la palabra Degustation pintada en la pared del fondo, en la zona superior de la fotografía), Joel Meyerowitz (Ciego con Gafas y Boina Negra en una Cafetería, España, 1967, asimismo con una notable profundidad de campo que permite discernir con plena nitidez a las personas de todas las edades visibles más allá del cristal del establecimiento, que están contemplando un espectáculo ambulante realizado por dos muchachos gitanos, uno que toca la tormpeta y otro que hace resonar un tambor, mientras una cabra hace equilibrios sobre una base de reducidas dimensiones en lo alto de una pequeña escalera de mano, pudiendo apreciarse al fondo de la imagen, en su zona superior izquierda, un Citroen 2 CV y un Seat 600), Samuel Coulthurst (Fotografías Callejeras en el Bullicioso Mercado de la Swan Street de Liverpool, entre 1889 y 1900) y otros.

Es además una imagen que posee abundantes elementos compositivos que el fotógrafo ha combinado con tanta maestría que el resultado destila a la vez naturalidad y sencillez.

Reencuadre selectivo del tercio izquierdo de la fotografía, en el que se aprecia al fondo a la mujer apoyada en la pared sujetando entre sus manos la chaqueta de su marido que está esperando en la fila a que le entreguen su ración de comida. La superficie de negativo de 24 x 36 mm, cuatro veces más pequeña que el formato 6 x 6 cm y seis veces menor que el formato 6 x 9 cm (usados ambos por algunos fotoperiodistas de la época, en especial la Rolleiflex 6 x 6 cm, Ikonta B 521/16 de 6 x 6 cm, Ikonta B 523/16 de 6 x 6 cm, Zeiss Super Ikonta B 532/16 de de 6 x 6 cm, Mess-Ikonta 524/16 de 6 x 6 cm, Agfa Super Isolette de 6 x 6 cm, Ikonta C 521/2 de 6 x 9 cm, Ikonta C 523/2 de 6x9 cm, Mess-Ikonta 524/2 de 6 x 9 cm, Super Ikonta C 531/2 de 6 x 9 y la Voigtlander Bessa RF con la que se podían exponer tanto negativos de 6 x 9 cm como de 6 x 4.5 cm, sin olvidar la Speed Graphic de gran formato 4 x 5 — contacto de 10 x 12 cm—) hace que inevitablemente se pierda calidad de imagen con respecto a la fotografía entera al realizar ampliaciones de áreas concretas del negativo.

Por otra parte, la sabia elección de diafragma probablemente f/11 por parte de Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez, aprovechando la abundante cantidad de luz solar disponible para obtener una gran profundidad de campo tirando a pulso sin trepidación, hace que todos los elementos compositivos y personas visibles en la fotografía aparezcan nítidos, incluso la mujer situada de pie cerca de la esquina superior izquierda de la imagen, apoyada con su espalda sobre una pared blanca, al tiempo que sujeta entre sus manos la chaqueta oscura de su marido (que es uno de los hombres que permanecen de pie en la fila esperando su turno), en la que se aprecian dos panes que sobresalen de uno de sus bolsillos, mientras su semblante indica resignación, junto a un niño pequeño ajeno a lo que está ocurriendo, que juega de espaldas a cámara y es probablemente su hijo.

En otro orden de cosas, la fotografía confirma la buena nitidez, contraste y traducción de diferentes tonos que obtiene el objetivo Summitar 5 cm f/2 al ser diafragmado (mientras que a plena abertura su rendimiento es inferior), algo especialmente verificable en las vetas y tramos deteriorados de la madera de la vieja puerta con aldabón de hierro forjado y en la textura de la cesta de mimbre, pese a que en este caso el muy frágil elemento frontal de la mencionada óptica standard presentaba varias marcas de limpieza en gran medida inevitables, así como algunos pequeños arañazos.

Pero lo verdaderamente importante es que el fotógrafo muestra su maestría y experiencia eligiendo el momento más importante y significativo para apretar el botón liberador del obturador de su cámara con una más que notable precisión en el timing, producto del talento, experiencia e instinto intuitivo propio de los grandes fotoperiodistas, consiguiendo además pasar desapercibido y captar a todas las personas que aparecen en imagen sin que ni una sola de ellas detecte su presencia y mire a cámara, algo que tiene un enorme mérito, ya que dispara desde una distancia muy próxima, de unos 4 metros.

Y esta imagen es un vívido ejemplo de que conseguir una muy alta resolución y contraste, ausencia total de grano, ampliaciones de imagen sin mácula a enormes tamaños, tener objetivos con elementos asféricos de primerísimo nivel óptico, un bokeh cremoso, etc, no son en absoluto los factores más importantes a la hora de conseguir una gran imagen fotoperiodística, siendo mucho más trascendental el ojo del fotógrafo y su capacidad para saber ver la foto, así como el carácter evocativo de la imagen captada.

Por ello, la marca o tipo de cámara y objetivo utilizados no son lo que decide la calidad de las fotografías, sino los ojos y cerebro del fotógrafo, así como su experiencia y talento.

Y la clara tendencia al flare de este objetivo ha sido contrarrestada por el sabio uso del parasol Leitz SOOPD por parte de Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez (uno de los más eximios fotoperiodistas en la Historia de la Fotografía Cordobesa, pionero de la Agencia Cifra — posteriormente denominada Agencia EFE— y Europa Press, además de trabajar como reportero gráfico para los periódicos ABC, Diario Informaciones, Pueblo y las revistas Dígame — rotativo gráfico informativo editado en gran formato durante los años sesenta y setenta —  y El Ruedo, habiendo sido también redactor gráfico de la Hoja del Lunes, semanario editado con periodicidad semanal por la Asociación de la Prensa de Córdoba), que utilizó una pléyade de cámaras y objetivos a lo largo de su dilatada carrera profesional de más de cincuenta años, durante la cual se convirtió en un experto en mecánica fotográfica, hasta el punto de que era capaz de armar y desarmar cámaras de distintos formatos para observar su funcionamiento y atesoró una valiosa colección de ellas que ha sido preservada con cariño por su hijo Ladislao Rodríguez Galán.

José Manuel Serrano Esparza

El autor desea expresar su agradecimiento a Ladislao Rodríguez Galán, hijo de Ladislao Rodríguez Benítez, señero fotógrafo cordobés, por su amabilidad y trabajo buscando la fotografía en el histórico archivo de su padre así como por la confianza depositada y a Antonio Jesús González (redactor gráfico del Diario Córdoba y eminente investigador de la historia de la fotografía cordobesa y andaluza) por realizar las gestiones para el envío de la fotografía objeto de este modesto artículo.

VICKI SMITH: DUCATISTA IN BODY AND SOUL

Throughout approximately 25 years of very hard work, passion and love for the brand, Vicki Smith has become a significant living legend of the Italian motorcycling firm and a full-fledged authority in the marque, as well as being a key person in the expansion of Ducati in the United States, with a praiseworthy work with Ducati North America and the development of a number of further skills encompassing a remarkable mechanical knowledge, a deep grasp of the market circumstances and evolution and an indefatigable activity visiting Ducati motorcycle events all over the world.

A woman featuring a tremendous expertise, working capacity, professionalism and enthusiasm for every aspect concerning Ducati bikes, Vicki Smith has performed a fundamental role as a worldwide sales enhancer of Ducati motorcycles of different kinds, power and epochs, through her many years of unwavering devotion and dedication to divulge the unique traits, superb performance and historical milestones of the Borgo Panigale firm models, along with the advantages of its state-of-the-art desmodromic system which goes on being the benchmark when it comes to attaining a flawless behaviour of the bikes engines at amazingly high rpm and the maximum feasible top speeds.

In this regard, her labour as editor of the Ducati specialized Ducati.net and Ductalk sites along with her work as chief photographic consultant for Benzina magazine have been an invaluable source of information for Ducati fans on the whole globe, elaborating on a comprehensive range of subjects: Ducati bike models, Ducati events, technological breakthroughs, new powerplants, MotoGP, SBK World Championships, limited production series models, restoration projects of single cylinder and 90º L V-Twin classic Ducatis, wizard tuners, mechanical subjects, in-depth interviews with riders, designers, managers, top engineers and all kind of people related to the brand, bikes tests, motorcycle gear and apparel, customized Ducatis, World Ducati Weeks editions, Cafe Racers, tires developments, vintage Ducati Festivals and booking info on them, Ducati dealers, bikes electronics, world premiere presentations of Ducati motorcycles, and many others.

THE BEGINNING OF A LIFETIME PASSION

Throughout almost twenty years, between early seventies and late eighties, Vicki Smith was a professional car race driver, acquiring a great know-how in all sides linked to speed, a word that has been the core of her long motorsport professional career.

She took part in a number of racetrack competitions like the World Challenge for Endurance Drivers, the World Championship for Drivers and Makes, the IMSA GTU Championship, Lime Rock Track, the IMSA Camel GT Championship, Daytona International Speedway, Sebring International Raceway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, the Kelly American Challenge Competition, Mosport International Raceway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Road Atlanta, Bicentennial Park and others, driving very fast cars like the Porsche 911, Ford Maverick, AMC AMX, Audi 80 Coupé, Pontiac Firebird, Jaguar, Aston Martin Nimrod NRA/C2, etc, including some prototypes, in addition to having been part of the International Motor Sports Association´s GTP prototype era during the 1970s and 1980s.

Her passion for speed was something inherent to her personality and the racetrack world had become her biotope, it all with the added bonus of innate qualities for motor competition, a very strong will and a steady eagerness to learn and increasingly improve, together with the needed stamina to endure the pressure and physical attrition of every race.

Those were the halcyon days of sportscar racing in the U.S and Vicki Smith was part of it.

Years elapsed and in 1986 Marco Lucchinelli won the Battle of the Twins in Daytona with a Ducati 750 F1, also attaining a historical victory the following year at the 1987 BOTT in Daytona riding a Ducati 851 prototype which made a sensation because of its Italian gorgeous beauty and classic design, along with a top-notch small and light 90º V-Twin desmodromic engine working through valve operation in such a way that the valves are opened and shut mechanically instead of getting it done with springs.

Furthermore, the Ducati 851 exhibited in Daytona (United States) incredible smoothness at full speed, unique torque and mid range strength and power to spare, with the added advantage of a perfect computer controlled Weber-Marelli fuel injection delivery without any flat spots.

This amazing performance. unutterable elegance of design and riding capabilities of Lucchinelli´s Ducati 851 in United States hadn´t gone unnoticed for Vicki Smith, and two years later, the 1988 season became a turning point in the history of sports motorcycling when two almost simultaneous events took place:

a) The arrival of the production series Ducati 851 c.c roadster bike featuring a bore x stroke of 92 x 64 mm and a weight of 185 kg (30 kg more than Lucchinelli´s factory racer) for customers to buy.

When the first purchasers of the Ducati 851 put this dream machine to its paces in 1988, particularly in United States, England, Germany, France and Italy, a collective thrill arose on realizing that it had roughly the same maximum output as the best four cylinder Japanese 750 cc bikes, but with a much wider range of power spread, which gave it the upper hand in a lot of situations, as well as featuring a very different appearance, sound, riding comfort and feeling.

On the other hand, the Ducati 851 boasted the hallmark of three Italian historical world class pundits of the motorcycles mechanics and powerplants: Massimo Bordi, Gianluigi Mengoli and Franco Farné.

But the Borgo Panigale firm didn´t rest on its laurels, improving the Ducati 851 in a lot of aspects during 1989 and 1990, until in 1991 it created the new bore x stroke 94 x 64 mm Ducati 888 factory racer which combined a blazing speed for the time of  152 mph (244,62 km/h), a significantly improved reliability and a wonderful very small and light liquid-cooled four-stroke V-Twin four valves per cylinder desmodromic engine with valve operation and shim adjustment.

b) The introduction of the World Superbike Competition, a scope which would give many days of glory to Ducati from 1990 hitherto, with such foremost SBK World champions as Raymond Roche, Doug Polen, Carl Fogarty, Neil Hodgson, James Toseland, Troy Bayliss and Carlos Checa, making up a total of 15 SBK World Championships for Ducati.

But 1987 with the introduction of the Ducati 851 and 1988 with its launching into market for private buyers were not only the years in which an iconic exceedingly powerful and fast for the time two cylinder bike brought about soaring expectation within the motorcycling sphere.

Developments were going to quickly reach far beyond prospecs, because since 1988 Ducati´s new keynote was based on one of the most incredible scientific and technological breakthroughs ever made in the motorsports field and the desired aim with it:

The manufacturing of state-of-the-art exceedingly powerful (130 bhp) and fast belt driven desmodromic V-90 twins bikes featuring dual overhead camshafts, two cylinders with a total of eight valves (four per cylinder), rolling chassis and a very advanced programmable fuel injection with which being able to defeat the cream of the crop of Japanese 750 c.c four-cylinder bikes of the time:

 -The Yamahas FZR 750R OWO1 (featuring five-valve technology and 40º inclined cylinders, vast majority of its parts made in titanium and carbon fiber, along with an exceedingly oversquare and short-stroked engine, 119 hp at 14,000 rpm and a top speed of 170 miles per hour, 273,58 km h).

- The Hondas RC30 (queens of the 1988 and 1989 Superbike World Championships, boasting a sweet feeling, a 90º V4 engine with 16 valves directly operated by the camshafts, forged titanium connecting rods and a top speed of 280 km/h) with a respective weight of 187 kg and 152 kg (the Ducati 851 factory racer had a weight of 145 kg).

Likewise, the Ducati 851 outperformed the nifty Bimota YB4 (featuring the pioneering four-stroke 749 cc five valve, liquid-cooled, DOHC, in line four cylinder steeply inclined Yamaha FZ750 engine since 1985, but adding Weber-Marelli electronic fuel injection to boost power), a highly successful bike in the SBK World Championship and which had won the 1987 Formula TT title (ridden by Virginio Ferrari in partnership with Davide Tardozzi), very fast in straight stretches, boasting an excellent power (121 bhp at 10,500 rpm) to weight (only 180 kg) ratio and a superbly crafted rolling chassis, aside from being exceedingly fast on changing direction thanks to its short wheelbase and quick steering, but whose midrange torque and low down output was clearly inferior to the Ducati 851.

Therefore,  against all odds, Ducati achieved its goal in 1990, with the unforgettable duo made by Raymond Roche and Giancarlo Falappa.

Roche became Superbike World Champion in 1990 with a Ducati 851, getting 8 victories, 7 runner-ups and 2 third places,

while the beloved Falappa stunned the world with his unique spectacular riding style and boundless courage, who turned him into one of the most competitive riders on dry circuits and the best pilot in the world on wet tracks.

But once more, the Borgo Panigale firm bettered itself and in 1991, after a lot of further improvements and strenuous work. increased the capacity from 851 c.c to 888 c.c, creating the Ducati 888 with which Doug Polen won two more consecutive World SuperBike titles for Ducati in 1991 (with a record of 17 victories, still to be beaten) and 1992.

Powerplant of the Ducati 888 cc SBK from 1992, one of the most significant milestones in the history of motorcycling racing engines. The Ducati 888 won 43 of 52 World Superbike races in 1991 and 1992

Detail of the multidisc dry clutch of the Ducati 888 c.c SBK from 1992.

One of the two timing toothed belts (one for each cylinder) of the Ducati 888 SBK from 1992 in its stretch beside its upper cylinder head (the bike has got two cylinders and four valves per each one). On the higher area can be seen the two overhead toothed camshaft gears and under them the two tensioner/idle wheels

This way, the Italian firm attained its goal, and in early nineties the Ducati 888 became the undisputed queen of the Superbike World Championship, with its state-of-the-art bore x stroke of 94 x 64 mm 4-stroke 90º L-Twin cylinder engine featuring a desmodromic timing system with double camshaft and 4 valves per cylinder, an outstanding power of 134 HP at 12,000 rpm, six speed transmission, tubular trestle frame, multi-plate dry clutch, a very light weight of 145 kg and a top speed of 295 km/h.

On the other hand, the 851 and 888 became the first road Superbikes available to the general public and enthusiasts.

Vicki Smith´s love for Ducati increased more and more and in 1989 she bought a Ducati 851 whose performance, top speed, Italian styling and superb design enraptured her.

But the network of Ducati dealers in United States was small at this time and the Italian brand had been mostly known until then thanks to the victories of Jimmy Adamo in the AMA´s Battles of the Twins Grand Prix races in 1982 and 1983 riding a Ducati bevel-drive bike tuned by Reno Leoni (these two men played an important role in early Ducati racing period in the States), but the Ducatis 851 and 888 had meant a defining moment in the evolution of the Borgo Panigale firm desmodromic technology as to huge increase in power, reliability and a cutting-edge 115-120 bhp Desmoquattro V-Twin engine with four valves per cylinder, so Vicki Smith and other Ducatisti started an emailing list discussion group to glean as much information as possible, though this wasn´t apparently the best way to bring it off.

Within a short time, it dawned on her that the new technology of internet and the immense possibilities it opened to get Ducati fans and professionals all over the world in real time contact, could be the key factor to provide information, and in 1993 she founded Ducati.net,

a highly successful professional site devoted to a myriad of aspects related to the Italian brand and dealt on in depth, which has been a reference-class source of information to Ducati enthusiasts on the whole globe for 23 years, enhanced by the steady contact of Vicki Smith with some world-class Ducati experts like Phil Schilling (a foremost wizard of Ducati bike mechanics, who in 1977 gave the Borgo Panigale firm its first AMA Superbike win in the United States at Daytona, preparing the famous air-cooled bevel-twin "Old Blue" Ducati 750 SS enlarged to 883 cc four-stroke 90º V-Twin with two valves per cylinder desmodromic distribution and five gears, the fabled " California Hot Rod " ridden by Cook Neilson and developed by him into a highly competitive SBK motorcycle, to such an extent that his tuning made it run two seconds per lap faster than the rival factory bikes in Daytona 1977, beating them all, particularly the two Yoshimura R & D Kawasakis taking part in the competition ridden by David Emde and Wes Cooley, while becoming one of the most influential bike photojournalists ever as manager editor of Cycle magazine since 1979, turning it into the best selling motorcycling illustrated publication in the world, and who was always infatuated with Ducati bikes performance. particularly those ones featuring desmodromic V-Twin engines), Pat Slinn from Poynton, England (who was Mike Hailwood´s mechanic for many years and was also the tuner of Tony Rutter´s Ducati 750 TT, winning four TT2 World Championships for Ducati), the Desmodromic Professor Rich Lambrechts (a top-notch engineer, world-class restorator and an authority in single cylinder and V-Twin Ducati powerplants, as well as possessing very deep knowledge on properties of metals applied to bikes manufacturing and their mechanizing) and the tech guru Harlyn Jenkins, also a great lover of Ducati bikes.

That year of 1993 Ducati launched the Monster bike, a revolutionary all-around performer "muscle naked concept" motorcycle showing engine and frame, designed by Miguel Angel Galluzzi and boasting a tubular steel trellis frame (optimizing structural efficiency and being an integral part of the design enhancing the aesthetic appeal of the bodywork, which resulted in a riveting sight of mass and strength), outstanding power and rideability, tiny dimensions and a surprising agility, so it was a tremendous commercial success.

And in 1994, Ducati launched into market the supreme Borgo Panigale historical paradigm of beauty, elegance and design:

                                                © Ducati Corse

the Ducati 916, smaller than the 888 and which also featured last generation cutting-edge technology, with an engine size upped to 916 c.c through a new crankshaft, bore x stroke of 96 x 66 mm, a tiptop symbiosis between a unique slipper clutch (preventing the rear wheel from going sideways) and the engine braking to boot of the bike, a new and highly advanced computer chip, titanium exhaust valves, upgradings in flywheel and camshafts and a top speed of 300 km/h.

Moreover, the Ducati 916 steering was very accurate and stable, which enabled to do instant changes without losing any balance and it was faster, easier to ride and more exotic than any rival bike from other brands, including the excellent Honda RC45 V4.

It was very light and handeable and its motor torque pushed the bike like a shot at mid revs, in the classical Ducati 90º L V-Twin way, as well as boasting a chrome-moly Trellis frame and underseat exhausts improving aerodynamic performance.

This luscious mustering of mid-range torque in synergy with the likewise great performance of the bike at maximum rpm thanks to the desmodromic camshafts use for opening and closing the valves of its liquid-cooled 90º V-Twin fuel injected 4-valve per cylinder engine delivering 114 bhp at 9,000 rpm created by Massimo Bordi, gave the rider an incredible level of control and comfort over the bike in circuits.

Besides, it boasted a unique single-sided swingarm (also present in the Ducati 1098) that made possible quick changes of wheels during the stops at boxes.

Therefore, this jewel of Italian craftsmanship and mechanics produced a bit less outright power than the Japanese competitors of the time, but its V-Twin desmodromic engine delivered a much more even torque spread.

Needless to say that the design of the Ducati 916 made by Massimo Tamburini was exceptional, a real Italian artwork blending impressive beauty of lines, elegance beyond words, leading edge technology and awesome performance.

Vintage advertisement of 1995 on the Ducati 916 and its exceptional performance. This has been one of the most successful racing bikes ever, having won nothing less than four SBK World Championships (three of them ridden by Carl Fogarty in 1994, 1995 and 1998 and a further one by Troy Corser in 1996). Carl Fogarty won his fourth title in 1999 with a Ducati 996 (featuring both the same first-rate single-sided swingarm and the multitubular steel Trellis frame as the Ducati 916), which attained one more triumph in the SBK World Championship in 2001 with Troy Bayliss riding a Ducati 996R.

And in the same way that had happened with the Ducatis 851 and 888, this combination of second to none aesthetics and engineering paid off with a very important increase in sales of the Ducati 916 not only in Europe, but also in United States, Canada and Australia, because this bike set new standards of performance, design, handling, braking and exquisiteness, in addition to becoming a further revolution in the sports motorcycle category at its highest level.

There wasn´t any possible cure for the Ducati passion and Vicki Smith also bought a Ducati 916 in 1995, after having reserved it two years before, and a Ducati 916SPS in 1997.

THE DECISIVE YEARS

The decade of nineties was the key stage for Ducati reaching its current status as one of the strongest and most prestigious motorcycle brands on the market and probably the leading one in terms of innovation, performance, and spectacular designs.

And eleven years after having bought Ducati in 1985 (through a joint venture with the Bologna brand which supplied it four-stroke engines between 350 c.c and 1000 c.c), the Cagiva Group sold the Borgo Panigale firm to the American Investment Fund Texas Pacific group in September of 1996.

The 11 years of Cagiva tenure as owner of Ducati were one of the most fascinating and innovative periods in the history of the Borgo Panigale firm, and Cagiva founder and owner Giovanni Castiglioni (a man with a tremendous passion for motorcycles and a penchant for maximum quality of components, the adoption of exclusive solutions like the steering damper and the designing and manufacturing of dream bikes as the mythical two-stroke Cagiva Freccia C9 125 c.c from 1987 with wraparound fairings and mudguards greatly improving the aerodynamic flow, the Cagiva 125 c.c T2 — which meant a revolution in the category in late eighties — , the Cagiva Mito 125 c.c Series 2 from 1992 — featuring a new cylinder, a different regulation of the exhaust valve making it reach a power of 33 H.P at 11,000 rpm and a top speed of 174 km/h —, the Freccia C12R 125 c.c from 1989 — with s 7 speed gearbox enabling shorter relations between the gear changes, a power of 29 HP and a top speed of 165 km/h— and the Cagiva Mito Evolution Series 3 from 1994, with which Valentino Rossi started his professional career in both regional and national speed competitions in Italy) had the wisdom of giving the Borgo Panigale formidable team of engineers and designers (Massimo Bordi, Gianluigi Mengoli, Franco Farné, Massimo Tamburini, Pierre Terblanche, Miguel Galluzzi, Sergio Robbiano and others) total freedom to unleash their immense talent, creative skills and innovative ideas.

As a matter of fact, Giovanni Castiglioni himself had financed the Ducati 851, 888 and 916 projects, along with the Monster which was really the Ducati bike which greatly saved the firm and  mostly allowed the future of the brand from an economical viewpoint, thanks to its huge worldwide sales, without forgetting the awesome impact of the Ducati 916, whose first year´s production run was entirely sold in United States through anticipated reserves.

Castiglioni was a maelstrom of new ideas, passion, creativeness and constant innovation, and from scratch he had perceived the technological far-reaching significance of Massimo Bordi´s 1978 Doctoral Thesis "Desmoquattro Cylinder Head Design" (which he had begun to draw up in 1973) at the University of Bolonia, inspired by the Cosworth DFV 90º V8 internal combustion engine (superior to the Ferrari V12 thanks to its highly narrow angle between the valves, its flat pistons, its very straight inlet manifold and the very accurate location of the spark plug just in the center, optimizing a better combustion and faster performance ) manufactured in 1967 for Colin Chapman´s Team Lotus, featuring four valves per cylinder, 2993 c.c, a power of 408 hp at 9,000 rpm and cylinders angled upwards, as well as leaving wide space under the car to get the adequate underbody profile which largely increased downforce and rendered a more efficient aerodynamic balance.

The real turning point in terms of progress had been the Ducati 851, which arrived when the capacity was increased to 851 c.c with a power of 110 HP. Besides, the chance of enlarging the diameter from 88 to 92 mm in the 851´s desmoquattro engine had enabled to raise the compression ratio with flatter headed pistons, with the added bonus of the bike featuring the same Weber-Marelli electronic fuel injection as the Ferrari F40.

To properly understand what meant Massimo Bordi´s brainstorm of applying some important concepts of the 1966 Cosworth 16-valve 1600 c.c 225 bhp FVA engine for Formula 2 (which would subsequently be the basis for the three litre Cosworth DFV 90º V8 408 bhp Formula 1 racing car engine) to twin-cylinder Ducati bikes — above all the introduction of two cylinder heads with four valves each one, along with the wonderful combustion chambers following the Cosworth concept— and make them synergize with the state-of-the-art desmodromic system (to avoid friction losses and increase the engine output to maximum possible rpm along with top control and rideability) added to them by Bordi (who was able to resolve the technical conundum of attaining a narrow angle of 40º between the valves), suffice it to say that Mario Andretti (1978), Alan Jones (1980), Nelson Piquet (1981) and Keke Rosberg (1983) won the Formula 1 Drivers´ Championship with Cosworth DVF V8 engines.

Castiglioni grasped perfectly the historical milestone of the liquid-cooled Desmoquattro twin cylinder engine with two four-valve desmodromic cylinder heads designed by Massimo Bordi and Gianluigi Mengoli for the Ducati 851 and particularly their most important goal: to beat the tetracylindric 750 mm Japanese factory racing bikes with extraordinary Ducatis V-Twin bikes boasting two cylinders and a total of eight valves (four per cylinder) which pioneered a new combined chain and gear-drive arrangement instead of the original belt-drive concept used since the introduction of the Ducati Pantah in 1979.

And the team made up by Massimo Bordi, Gianluigi Mengoli and Franco Farné managed to do it, working day and night, firstly creating the powerplants of the Ducati 748 prototype from 1986 which disputed the Bol d´Or of that year, the Ducati 851 (between 1987 and 1992, father of all Ducati Superbikes and boasting a steel trellis frame designed by Massimo Bordi and modified by Massimo Tamburini), the Ducati 888 (between 1991 and 1993) and the Ducati 916 (between 1994 and 1998), bringing for Ducati a lot of victories in SBK World Championships and United States AMA Championships, which were seminal both for augmenting the international prestige of the firm and for boosting the sales, specially in United States.

Moreover, the team labour among these three world-class engineers worked wonders through a spirit of comradeship and tons of experience, talent, ingenuity, love for their trade and an uncommon ability to come to grips with technical hitches of the highest difficulty, with Bordi making the starting sketches and often the chassis structure and engine layout, Mengoli (codesigner of the Demoquattro 851 and 888 with Bordi) developing the drawings and transferring to metal Bordi´s ideas (the genius from Budrio, near Bologna, also featured tremendous technical knowledge on bike engines and mechanics — he is one of the foremost authorities in the world regarding this sphere — , cylinder heads and valve control, awesome discernment on materials properties, combustion chambers, hydraulic steering dampers, ergonomic manual switch arrangements, betterment of the height of exhaust silencers from the ground, motorcycle development, series production of projects which could be really fulfilled and a preeminent figure in the impressive increase in both reliability and performance of Ducati motorcycles since late eighties hitherto), and apart from being the creator of the 851 and 888 engines along with Bordi, he would subsequently be the mastermind spawning the powerplants of the Ducati ST series bikes from 1994 onwards.

But in 2001, because of restructuring needs, Cagiva was forced to sell Ducati to the Texas Pacific Group (TPG) American investment firm.

This way, the arrival of the American Texas Pacific Group in late 2001 with new marketing strategies and a highly experienced economical management board meant a very important financial recovery for Ducati.

The starting and fundamental informative labour on the brand in the United States had already been implemented with the excellent articles by:

- Cook Neilson (Superbike rider and Managing Editor of Cycle magazine between 1969 and 1979, Ducati North America Hall of Fame and AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2006).

- Phil Schilling (inducted into the AMA Hall of Fame in 2011, a world-class Ducati tuner and Managing Editor of Cycle magazine between 1979 and 1989, who was able to increase the sales of this illustrated publication up to the incredible figure of 500,000 copies, turning it into the best motorcycle magazine ever). 

- Peter Egan (writer of feature articles and Editor-at-Large of Cycle magazine, and probably the all-time best motorcycle columnist along with Phil Schilling)

- Vicki Smith with her website Ducati.net

- Bruno de Prato (another international authority on Borgo Panigale firm bikes and highly experienced engineer sporting a lavish knowledge on different technical bike designs, who was Ducati Press Officer, Artistic Director and Translator during seventies, being fluent in several languages and a top level expert in Ducati mechanics, aside from highlighting as a writer of many excellent in-depth articles on motorcycles from different brands) in Cycle World magazine, having also written books like Ducati Power, Moto, and Ducati 916, all of them edited by Fba Moto Italiane)

and the mechanic feats accomplished by:

- Reno Leoni (an extraordinary racing bike builder and tuner and another foremost figure in the history of Ducati, who began his career as a frame builder and Sach engine installer for NSU being only 16 years old, building two years later 2-stroke engines for Minarelli, supervising its 2-stroke 125 cc powerplant line, until he became Ducati test rider in 1959, subsequently turning into one of the greatest experts in the world in engines assembly, his international success arriving when he prepared Jimmy Adamo´s bevel-drive Twin engine Ducati TT2 600 cc turning it into a TT1 specs — 750 cc or more — bike , winning the 1985 Battle of the Twins race at Laguna Seca, and also being the creator of the Ducati Mille BOTT Reno Leoni Racer in 1986 in which once more he excelled with his tuning of the Ducati MHR Replica Mille and Ducati 1000 S2 shared air cooled, four stroke, 90°“L”twin cylinder, SOHC, desmodromic 2 valve per cylinder 80 hp at 7500 rpm powerplant, the last bevel-drive V-Twin Ducati bike and its technological apex, making it to deliver a power of 90 hp and a top speed of 146 mph. in addition to boasting crankshafts with plain bearing big-ends anticipating the ones featured by the belt-driven V-Twin and parallel-Twin Ducati bikes from late eighties onwards, and a number of improvements to foster durability, without forgetting the previous great work made by him during second half of seventies with the Moto Guzzi Le Mans boasting a longitudinally mounted four-stroke air cooled 844 cc OHV 2-valve per cylinder V-Twin engine which he tuned for the rider Mike Baldwin with whom he attained historical accomplishments like the victory at the Superbike 1977 race in Harrisburg, N.C, attaining a speed of 250 km/h, a competition in which Kurt Liebman — riding a Ducati, also prepared by Reno Leoni— was the runner-up) and 

- Eraldo Ferracci with its Fast by Ferracci Superbike competition racing team winning the SBK World Championship twice, in 1993 with Doug Polen and in 1994 with Troy Corser, as well as creating his amazing Ducati 916 SPA Corsa 955 c.c for AMA Superbike, along with his mechanical feat in 1997 when he did a top-drawer tuning of a Ducati 748 SP, boring its two cylinders to get 94 mm pistons into them, and managing to get an impressive mid torque of almost 63 foot-pounds at 6.800 rpm.

A GREAT PROMOTER OF THE MOTOGIRO D´ITALIA AND ITS REVIVAL

As well as being an authority in modern gorgeous V-Twin 90º Ducati ottovalvole bikes, Vicki Smith has been a remarkable enthusiast of classic Ducatis with handcrafted details galore  for twenty-five years, being the owner among others of two gorgeous machines:

a) A 103 kg, 174.5 c.c Ducati F3 factory racer from 1959 with the vintage Meccanica Bologna logo on it, top speed of 160 km/h, and a power of 19hp at 9700 rpm and boasting a four-stroke twin-cam bevel driven single cylinder engine with a 4-speed gearbox, a sturdy little machine exuding elegance and an outstanding performance, to such an extent that Franco Farné was able to win the 250 c.c class race at Daytona at the beginning of 1959 with a very similar 175 c.c Ducati factory racer delivering 16 horsepower at 9000 rpm.

b) A Ducati 175 SS, a lightweight four-stroke 175 c.c single-cylinder overhead camshaft engined bike from 1958, built on racing lines but delivering the performance of a much larger model, in addition to exhibiting excellent roadholding qualities.

Therefore, from scratch, Vicki Smith has been in contact with both passionate owners (George Betzhold, Alberto Sisso, Cook Neilson, Peter Matthew Calles, Lawrence Auriana, Seth Wolins, Robert and Gale Lawrence, Marty Dickerson, Peter Egan and many others) and restaurators ( Henry Hogben - perhaps the greatest restorator of Ducati singles ever along with Rich Lambrechts and Enea Entati- , Jim Dillard and Guy Martin — a tuning master increasing Ducati bikes performance and building engines, both in the sphere of vintage bevel-driven motorcycles and 2 and 4 valve belt-drive powerplants —) of vintage Ducati motorcycles and has visited a number of worldwide events where these dream machines were the main characters (very often being a highly regarded judge): the Amelia Island Concours d´Elegance, the Monterey Motorcycle Meet, the Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show, the Big Kahuna AMA weekend at Road Atlanta, a comprehensive range of Cafe Racer bike shows, the Quail Motorcycling Gathering in Carmel (California), the Boca Raton Concours d´Elegance, Los Angeles Ducati Week, Ducati World Week at Misano (Italy), Barber Vintage Festival at Leeds (Alabama) and many others.

But there was a a pending subject: to bring the Motogiro D´Italia back to life again.

                                                   © ducati.com

This legendary competition had started in 1914 and kept on until 1957.

But in 2001, forty-four years after its interruption, it was recovered by Dream Engine and Ducati Motor Holding, with a five day timed rally format instead of the original 6 day staged race from town to town, though preserving the full-fledged excitement and historical glamour of the original one.

This way, through great effort and a painstaking planning previous to each Motogiro d´Italia, this unique motorcycling race disputed by classic bikes from different brands (Ducati, MV Agusta, Guzzi, Morini, Benelli, Motobi, Bartali, Mondial, Mival, Bianchi, Perugina, Bianchi, Piaggio, etc ) has been enhanced by a number of vintage motorcycles enthusiasts like Viki Smith, Bob Coy, Jim Dillard, Remo Venturi, Giuliano Maoggi, Leopoldo Tartarini, Allen Peat, Tullio Masserini, Greg Pullen, Mike Gontesky, John Gumina, Eric and Christian Clark, Frank Smith, Patois DeBlanc, Carl Liebold, Hugh Schink, English Pete, William van Dongen on a Rumi, Alice Coleridge, Gemma Wilson and Marco Rimondi of Ducati Dream engine, Neil Spalding, Denise Talabach, Rick Hammond, Dan Bockmier, Randy Garver, Mike Aquino, Shawn Lamb, Tracy Lamb, Warren Egger, Jeffrey Cinnamon, Duner Tor, Randy Zelany, Brian Brown, Rich Lambrechts, Erin Rose, Alfio Sorgato, Bruce Sherrod, John Gumina, Phil Hitchcock, Dave Knibbs, Nigel Wanlass, Antonio Benelli, Sacha Kripgans, Emilio Tono, Graham Fisher and others.

Advertisement of the Motogiro d´Italia 2015 edition, disputed between May 17 and 23, 2015.

Dream Engine and Ducati have made since 2001 a praiseworthy labour regarding the overall organization, logistics, schedule of the stages, booking of hotels, range of meals, awards bestowed, etc, so enabling the participants on riding, relishing the wonderful Italian landscapes, make friends and tasting the wide assortment of Italian food and wine.

To put it in a nutshell. the Motogiro d´Italia is an unforgettable experience in which the riders follow a route across public roads, with checkpoints in a number of beautiful villages and towns along the way, with a different route each day ending in a new town.

Vicki Smith has taken part in every Motogiro d´Italia since it was revived in 2001 and was inducted into the Motogiro d´Italia Hall of Fame.

864 cc air-cooled four-stroke 90º L Twin Cylinder helical gear driven SOHC desmodromic valve Bevel L-Twin engine of a gorgeous Ducati 900 Desmo SS from 1976, featuring a bore x stroke of 86 x 80 mm, two valves per cylinder, five speed transmission and delivering a maximum power of 80 hp at 7.500 rpm. A great machine embodying the no compromise manufacture traditionally inherent to light and charismatic Ducati racing and sports bikes. Mike Hailwood (the best rider ever along with Valentino Rossi, Giacomo Agostini, Angel Nieto, Carlo Ubbiali, Mick Doohan, Eddie Lawson, Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Casey Stoner and Troy Bayliss on October 29, 2006 in Valencia) won the unforgettable 1978 Formula 1 TT Race at the Isle of Man riding a Ducati 900 SS prepared by the great British tuner from Sport Motorcycle Ltd Manchester team Steve Wynne (who managed to increase Hailwood´s bike power to 86 hp at 9.000 hp and provided the motorcycle with state-of-the-art American 87 mm Venolia forged racing pistons of great strength and excellent preservation of properties at high temperatures thanks to its very special aluminium alloy used in the production of aircraft engines) during his mythical comeback, beating the four-cylinder Japanese Honda CB750 bikes that delivered 20 horsepower more, proving its mechanical efficiency and an impressive optimization of the usable power, as well as subsequently achieving another extraordinary victory at Mallory Park in June 1978, riding the same bike.

On the other hand, needless to say that this event has as main characters truly vintage masterpiece bikes, authentic works of art on which often vast sums of werewithal have been invested on restauration to have them virtually brand new and what´s even more valuable, in perfect working condition and a relish to watch in action for any lover of utterly mechanical bikes like:

Vintage advertisement as a remembrance of the feat accomplished by the Italian riders Leopoldo Tartarini (Ducati test rider and development engineer, a creative driving force in himself and future founder of Italjet, whose 49 c.c minibikes sold  more than 15,000 units of different types in United States, as well as having been design consultor for the begetting of the Ducati 900 Super Sport Darmah and the Ducati 750 Sport V-Twin) and Giorgio Monetti (export manager of Ducati at the time), who made 60.000 km around the world during the year 1957 on their respective Ducati 175 TS Meccanica Bologna single cylinder bikes, crossing 42 countries of the five continents. This motorcycle model has often taken part in the new Motogiro d´Italia since its first edition in 2001.

Ducati 175 TS Meccanica Bologna, Aermacchi Harley-Davidson, the Rumi 125 c.c from 1953, Motobi 125 cc from 1955, the Parilla 175 hicam, the Parilla 175 SS, Parilla 175 MSDS, Morini 175, Puch 175 SGS, Derbi 65 cc, Ducati 125 Sport 0,5 Mach Meccanica Bologna, 3 1/2 Morini, Laverda 100, Honda CB150, Bianchi Cervino 175 c.c, Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans, Morini 175 cc from 1954, Ducati Desmo 200,  Ducati 900 Super Sport Darmah, Laverda 750 SF, Mondial 175, Ossa 250, BSA Bantam, Reiju, Ducati 200 TS Mechanica Bologna, Ducati 250 24 Horas (built in Spain under licence by Mototrans), a restored Imola 1974 Paul Smart Ducati, BSA 650, Aermacchi HD SS, Ducati 750 SS, Ducati Bardahi, Ducati 350 Desmo from 1974, Ducati 500 Desmo, Laverda 750 SFC and many others.

Motobi Catria Imperiale Sport 1955. The Motobi 125 c.c with 5 speeds controlled by rocker pedal on the right side is a fascinating bike delivering a lot of power in spite of its relatively small size and slowness. Vicki Smith had a first version original blue Motobi 125 c.c (delivering 5,8 hp at 6,500 rpm, because it belonged to one of the first batches in which after the firm had managed to attain 7 and 8 hp at the test bench, Piero Prampolini decided not to take risks that year) throughout ten seasons and took part in some Motogiros d´Italia riding it, making a sensation and proving her mettle and prowess as a pilot, since this machine doesn´t precisely feature the best suspension, so there´s a lot of vibration in the handlebars, to which must be added a low performance of the brakes. But apart from that, this highly coveted dream bike is a very reliable and sturdy motorcycle whose wonderful design oozes stunning elegance, beauty and class, with breathtaking handling and steering, particularly on cornering, and from a mechanical viewpoint its gear driven working is flawless for hundreds and hundreds of kilometers and perhaps more related to Swiss horology than to the bike scope

The legendary egg-shaped engine of the 93 kg Motobi Catria Imperiale Sport 125 cc single-cylinder motorcycle from 1955 showing the distribution elements with axle camshaft that directly drives the oil pump, the primary drive gears, the cylinder head on top slightly on the right and the power flywheel magnet. Designed by the engineer Piero Prampolini, it is one of the historical flagships of the Italian motorcycling industrial design. This horizontal air-cooled single-cylinder 4-stroke overhead valve powerplant with pushrods and rocker arms bike churns out 11 hp at 8,500 rpm and reaches a top speed of 75 mph. 

The Motogiro d´Italia is a thoroughly organized competition open to bikes authorized for road use of every brand and is divided into three classes:

a) Vintage Racing Class:

Motorcycles up to 175 c.c capacity and manufactured before 1957, greatly inspired by the motorcycles that raced in the original Motogiro d´Italia. This is a par excellence vintage racing class.

b) Taglioni Memorial Class: Street:

Bikes from different firms featuring 350 cc or higher and manufactured between 1968 and 1978, so it includes a number of legendary vintage Ducati twin motorcycles created by engineer Fabio Taglioni.

c) Touring Class:

Newer bikes from all brands wishing to take part on a more relaxed and non competitive basis.

A HIGHLY EXPERIENCED PHOTOGRAPHER OF MOTORCYCLING EVENTS

Another of the manifold talents of Vicki Smith is her remarkable ability as a photojournalist of motorcycling events, a field in which she has excelled for more than twenty -five years (as proved by her images in ducati.net, ductalk.com, Motorcycle Classics magazine, GizMag, Cafe Racer magazine, Motorcycle magazine and Benzina magazine, of which she is chief photographic consultant) getting her own pictures and writing her own texts featuring a wealth of valuable information in every conceivable regard not only for Ducati enthusiasts but generally speaking for all bike bugs.

Vicki Smith´s style of photographing is firmly grounded on her expertise and vast knowledge on all kind of sides related to Ducati bikes (most representative models, famous riders, deft tuners, most defining mechanical components of specific motorcycles, engines, electronics, CEOS of the firm, project managers, technical directors, top-notch engineers, mechanics, bike designers, customized Ducatis, vintage Ducati models, restaurators of bevel driven Ducati motorcycles, tuners, MotoGP riders interviews, SBK World Championship riders interviews, members of Ducati Owners Clubs, etc).

And she will strive after approaching them as much as possible, taking advantage of her immense grasp on Ducati bikes, her acquaintanceship with everybody belonging to the brand scope, whether professional bike industry or racing, and her unutterable ability and intuition to discern where is the epicenter of interest at every moment to immerse into it and get the pictures.

Therefore, the gist of her photography is to be in the adequate place at the suitable moment and to approach as much as possible to her subjects, getting pictures from every angle,whether they´re persons or machines. As to the latter ones, she doesn´t only photographs different Ducati bikes but also legendary vintage motorcycles from other brands like MV Agusta, BSA, Vincent, BMW classics, Harley-Davidson (including the old Knuckleheads with the hand-shift four-speed transmission, wrap-around oil tank and chrome accents turning them into the kings of the road), Indian, Triumph, Matchless, Mondial, Italjet, Capriolo, Guazzioni, Norton, AJS, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Bimota, Cagiva, Motobi, Aprilia, Morini, Laverda, Moto Guzzi and others, along with more modern jewels of innovation and breakthrough technology like the handbuilt Brittens V1000 racing motorcycles manufactured in early 1990 by the visionary genius John Britten and his Britten Motorcycling Company in New Zealand, which are among the most sophisticated bikes ever made until now, with a weight of only 138 kg, exceedingly avant-garde design, a water cooled belt-driven 4 valves per cylinder 999 cc 60º V-Twin quad cam 4-stroke engine delivering 166 hp at 11800 rpm and a maximum speed of 303 km/h, featuring superb aerodynamics, engine data logging, extensive use of carbon fiber, frameless chassis, radiator placed under the seat and double wishbone front suspension, titanium conrods and valves).

                                                    ©  Cafe Racer TV

DESMOPRO, AN UNSWERVING COMMITMENT TO BRING TO FRUITION TOP-NOTCH RESTORATION OF DUCATI VINTAGE BIKES

The symbiosis between Vicki Smith´s exceedingly broad knowledge on Ducati history, the features of every motorcycle of the Italian brand along with her entrepreneurial gifts and long experience in the motorcycle sector and the huge technical skill, pateince, passion, awesome grasp of the different design and manufacturing technologies used to make every model since the very origin of the Borgo Panigale firm and steadfastness developed by the world-class restorator Rich Lambrechts gave rise in February 2003 to DesmoPro, a very high level firm whose aim is begetting the best possible restorations of Ducati bikes from varios periods, doing their best to utterly recover the full performance and traits of their original design and heritage, through a painstaking handcrafted manual work of metals, a witty choice of the best components, materials, composites and alloys (he is an authority in metals physical properties on being applied to motorcycles to bring old Ducati wonderful machines back to life and make them look brand new again), together with an extensive labour of hundreds of hours in the exhausts, thorough welding, and a phenomenal machining work among many other things, also tailoring to the customers individual needs if necessary.

The ingenuity and resources displayed by the topflight engineer, restorer and tuner of Ducati vintage bikes Rich Lambrechts are truly awesome and have paid off so far now in the creation of four dream bikes restored by him:

A) The Deja Blue, one of the most accurate to the original restorations ever made. It is an exact mechanic and cometic replica of the legendary Ducati 750 SS Old Blue with which Cook Neilson as rider and Phil Schilling as tuner (the latter increasing the power of the bike, turning it into a 883 cc Desmo Ducati) won the 1977 Daytona Superbike race, beating the cream of the crop of the four cylinder Japanese (Yoshimura R & D Kawasakis ridden by David Emde and Wes Cooley) and Twin European (1001 cc BMW R90S featuring a a 4-stroke air-cooled pushrod ohv 180 degree Boxer twin cylinder bike delivering 102 bhp at 8600 rpm ridden by Reg Pridmor and the superb Moto Guzzi Le Mans boasting a longitudinally mounted four-stroke air cooled 844 cc OHV 2-valve per cylinder V-Twin engine, ridden by Mike Baldwin and tuned by Reno Leoni), with a difference of 27 seconds over David Emde, who was second.

It is currently exhibited at Barbers Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham (Alabama).

B) A 1974 Ducati 750 Super Sport "Green Fame" , owned by Robin Lawrence, who delivered it to Rich Lambrechts for him to provide it with identical cosmetic presence and riding experience of its original time during seventies, something really difficult which was achieved by Mr Desmodromic bike art with high marks, managing to preserve this unique motorcycle´s mechanical performance heritage and its pristine original appearance with a peerless accuracy.

C) The Ducati Cafe 31, born as a homage to Cook Neilson, Phil Schilling, Rino Carrachi and Giorgio Nepoti, four towering figures in the Ducati racing history. 

D)  The Ducati Santamonica, an exceedingly complex restoration to fulfill, because it was a Ducati 750 from late eighties, so it was more than twenty years old and suffered from both important and minor flaws, and the already lofty challenge became an even more toilsome challenge when the owner pined for the bike being returned to him as it had left the Borgo Panigale factory when he bought it.

And once more, the genius Rich Lambrechts was able to do it at his DesmoPro workshop, wholly rebuilding the frame, painting it according to the Italian factory correct colors (doing the same with the bodywork), as well as reconditioning every internal of the engine, reblacking all engine externals, using top of the line OM materials to give the stock exhaust a new life, replacing all of the bearings, stripping and repainting the wheels (also making a repolishing of them), reconditioning many of the original bolts and even reproducing all graphics to factory original specs, being presently shown at the Vintage Motos Museum in Denver.

A REMARKABLE DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS

By dint of perseverance, tremendous knowledge of every model of Ducati bikes and its mechanic and technical features, a deep cognizance of the history of the brand, steady attendance to the most important motorcycling events all over the world, great experience as an sports car and bike racer grasping the necessary sensory inputs to handle them with accuracy at great speeds, the daily contact with other Ducati experts from United States, Italy and other countries, an incredible working ability, love for her trade, long experience in the automobile and motorcycling sales and dealership administration, parts distributorship and a full commitment in everything she does, Vicki Smith has implemented a stunning gift and nose for all kind of entrepreneural activities and possibilities of businesses in every conceivable sphere of the motorcycling industry, with a proven ability to make them not only highly profitable but also yielding an excellent working environment and unforgettable experiences, thanks to her exceedingly comprehensive insight of the market circumstances and her known qualities of leadership, organization capacity, charisma, kindness and charming personality.

This way, in her impressive entrepreneurial background of almost thirty years stand out:

- Her partnership with Action Sport Cycles (an all-Euro brand dealer in Fort Lauderdale).

- The parts distributorship with North American Gio.Ca.Moto which became the official factory source for Ducati components, the start of Ducati Island at Laguna Seca with Smith´s Action Sports Cycles and Gio. Ca. Moto,

- Her decisive activity with Ducati North America Marketing Department since 1994 hitherto (22 years) enhancing the presence of Ducati brand in the United States, working on the DNA Event Team.

- Work with riders Troy Bayliss (three times SBK World Champion) and Johnny Lewis.

- Media Manager and Publicist for Lloyd Brothers Motorsports AMAPro Flat Track.

- Dealer Principal/Partner of Action Sports Cycles between January 1990 and January 2002 (12 years) with dealership of Ducati, Triumph, Bimota, MotoGuzzi, Aprilia and MZ bukes, as well as developing different projects.

- Steadfast work with Ducati Corse and the Scrambler Unit and Social Media team in Bologna (Italy).

- Work with AMAPro Racing.

- The Ducati Day Daytona party during the Daytona Bike Week.

- The overseeing of some Ducati Owners Clubs in South Florida.

- Her labour as a  Ducati North America liaison to help other Ducati clubs.

- Her organization of volunteers of the Team Ducatisti.

- Her activity as a consultant and expert in the finding, valuation and selling of historic and collectible vintage motorcycles.

- Her accomplishments as a contract Ducati historian for North America, sharing endeavours with the also Ducati pundit and great Ducati restaurator Rich Lambrechts, etc.

- Work with the LBM Flat track team as publicist and media manager.

- TV Show-Cafe Racer season 4: "The Challenge": MotoCorse Performance builds and challenges Ben Bostrom to a race. Ben requests the Desmopro Cafe 31 Ducati for the race, with a team made up by Vicki Smith, Rich Lambrechts, Chris Boy and Ben Bostrom.

- Class organizer and judge of the Amelia Island Concour´s d´Elegance Week with fellow judges Dale Walksler and Danny Sullivan since March 2015.

© Text and Photos: José Manuel Serrano Esparza