A clean sweep of the opening round at Misano was the perfect start to Fabrizio Pirovano's title defence, despite not yet having Ducati's latest 916 model beneath him. He further hindered himself a week later at Vallelunga by breaking his foot in qualifying, but even this didn't stop him taking another win before the pain overwhelmed him. Valerio Destefanis took advantage to win his first of the year as part of a strong title challenge, though ultimately he couldn't out-pace Pirovano and finished a close second in the points while the reigning champion added a fourth crown to his collection. Piergiorgio Bontempi's season was derailed early on by a bout of bronchitis but once recovered he was on pace with Pirovano and scored three wins of his own - including a hard-fought four-way battle on his return at Monza. Also struggling through the season was Yamaha's Mauro Lucchiari who fought mechanical issues and a shoulder injury - sustained in an innocuous pit lane crash at the first round - in a difficult debut for his new team.