Your guide to the Ducati Stage

The Ducati Stage at the ABR Festival is where adventure biking’s most inspiring stories are told.

Across the weekend, some of the biggest names in motorcycling will be taking to the stage to share the journeys, experiences, and adventures that have made them the riders they are today. From Charley Boorman lifting the lid on Long Way Home and Richard Hammond talking about a lifelong obsession with motorcycles, to Kinga Tanajewska’s reflections on solo travel and Lyndon Poskitt’s unheard stories from his iconic Races To Places series, these are the sessions that you and your mates will be talking about long after the festival gates have closed.

Some will leave you wanting to ride to the other side of the world. Others will simply make you want to grab your keys and head out for an hour before the sun goes down. But every single one is a reminder of why we all fell in love with motorcycles in the first place.

Here’s a closer look at what you can expect from the biggest Ducati Stage lineup we’ve ever had at the ABR Festival…

Richard Hammond

Yes, the Richard Hammond, the guy off Top Gear and The Grand Tour. Only that’s not all he’s about. In fact, Richard started his motoring journey on a 1984 Honda MTX50 that he bought on his 16th birthday. He was a biker first, before any car came calling, and he’ll be appearing on the Ducati Stage to talk about his love for everything two wheels. One quick look at his astonishing personal collection of motorbikes, and hearing the way he talks about them, shows you just how deeply rooted his passion really is.

From riding the world’s highest road in India to the behind-the-scenes moments from Top Gear and The Grand Tour that never made it to television, this is going to be a fascinating look at the biker behind the celebrity.

See Richard Hammond on Saturday, 27 June.

Charley Boorman

It’s hard to overstate just how much of an impact the Long Way has had an adventure biking, with stars Charley Boorman and his mate Ewan McGregor inspiring countless riders to head out on their own travels.

Now Charley is heading to the Ducati Stage to tell the stories you won’t have heard behind the latest instalment, Long Way Home, which saw the pair travel from Ewan’s house in Scotland to Charley’s home in England via a 10,000 mile diversion through Scandinavia, the Baltics and Eastern Europe.

Expect behind-the-scenes tales, the bits the cameras missed, and what it’s really like travelling across the world with Ewan McGregor once the cameras stop rolling.

See Charley Boorman on Saturday, 27 June.

Kinga Tanajewska, AKA On Her Bike

It’s been nearly a decade since Kinga Tanajewska, AKA On Her Bike, set off on her first solo adventure, and after clocking up more than 120,000 miles on her travels, she knows the reality of a life spent on the road better than most.

Behind the Instagram snaps and reels is the reality of solo travel: exhaustion, loneliness, border crossings that really test your patience, breakdowns in places you really don’t want to stop, and the occasional moment where you question why you started any of it in the first place.

On the Ducati Stage, Kinga will be sharing the parts of long-distance travel that rarely make it onto social media, along with the lessons she’s learned from nearly ten years of figuring things out on her own across the world. Honest and funny, this is a proper look at what a life on the road actually looks like once the honeymoon period wears off. She’ll also give you the crucial guidance you need to overcome adversity on your own adventures.

See Kinga Tanajewska on Friday, 26 June.

Dean Harrison

As a five-time Isle of Man TT winner with 35 podium finishes to his name, Dean Harrison knows exactly what it takes to hustle a motorbike around the Mountain Course at speeds most of us can barely comprehend.

This June, he’s heading to the Ducati Stage to talk you through a full 37 mile lap of the TT course using onboard footage that puts you right in the middle of the action.

From hitting nearly 180mph down Bray Hill and skimming over Ballaugh Bridge to threading through the villages, the mountain section, and the terrifyingly narrow margins that make the TT unlike anything else in motorcycle racing, Dean will explain what’s really going through a rider’s mind when there’s absolutely no room for error.

Fast, fascinating, and guaranteed to make your eyes water, this is about as close as most of us should ever get to a lap of the TT.

See Dean Harrison on Saturday, 27 June.

Jamie Robinson, AKA MotoGeo

The creative force behind MotoGeo, Jamie Robinson, has built a career out of the idea that we should all stop overthinking it and just go for a ride.

A former racer turned adventurer and filmmaker, Jamie’s journeys have racked up more than 83 million YouTube views, taking him from the Bonneville Salt Flats to the mountain roads of Colorado and far beyond.

On the Ducati Stage, he’ll be sharing the stories behind some of his biggest adventures, from racing a Panigale across Bonneville and taking a Multistrada from Los Angeles to Pikes Peak for the legendary hill climb, to exploring Colorado’s towering ‘12ers’ aboard a Desert X and carving through Italy on a Streetfighter.

This one’s not to be missed.

See Jamie Robinson on Friday, 26 June.

Simon & Lisa Thomas, AKA 2 Ride The World

Having spent 17 years riding across 82 countries and clocking up more than 500,000 miles along the way, Simon and Lisa Thomas know a thing or two about life on the road. And, in their experience, the best stories rarely come from the days when everything runs smoothly.

Border crossings that turn into ordeals. Breakdowns in the middle of nowhere. Nights where the plan falls apart completely, only for a stranger to appear to help put it back together again.

On the Ducati Stage, Simon and Lisa will share the moments that shaped nearly two decades of adventure riding, along with the lessons they’ve learned from soldiering on when things got uncomfortable, unpredictable, or occasionally ridiculous. If you’ve ever wondered what it really takes to keep riding when the world gets difficult, this one has to go on your list.

See Simon and Lisa Thomas on Thursday, 25 June.

Vanessa Ruck, AKA Girl On A Bike

Having come back from life changing injuries to ride in 35 countries and compete in some of the world’s toughest desert rallies, Vanessa Ruck, AKA Girl On A Bike, knows a thing or two about how fear, doubt and a lack of confidence can hold you back from achieving what you want on a motorcycle.

So if you’ve ever found yourself hesitating before making the next step on your adventure biking journey, Vanessa’s talk on the Ducati Stage will be packed with practical tips and inspiring stories to get you riding better and thinking bigger.

See Vanessa Ruck on Thursday, 25 June.

Lyndon Poskitt

Dreaming of his perfect motorcycle journey, Lyndon Poskitt settled on an idea that was as ambitious as it was crazy. He’d ride around the world on a motorbike and compete in an international cross country race on each continent along the way.

Setting off in 2014, Lyndon and his heavily modified KTM, better known as Basil Bike, spent the next five years covering 234,000 miles through 74 countries, crossing deserts, conquering mountain ranges, and trekking through jungles in the process.

The journey became the hugely popular Races To Places film series on YouTube. Now Lyndon’s heading to the Ducati Stage to talk about the new book inspired by those adventures, revealing the stories the cameras missed along the way.

And yes, you’ll be able to get your copy signed afterwards too.

See Lyndon Poskitt on Friday, 26 June.

Lavi & Ollie

In 2023, Lavi and Ollie became the youngest pair to ride around the world by motorcycle. Since then, rather than settling down and buying sensible furniture, they’ve carried on exploring the parts of the map they missed first time round, riding through India, China, and Bhutan along the way.

But travel has changed for them too. Lavi now rides solo, and together they’ve been trying different ways of seeing the world by bike. Sometimes that means guided tours. Sometimes it means buying motorcycles locally and figuring things out as they go.

Join them at the Ducati Stage as they explore the different ways you can travel the world by motorcycle and the unique challenges and rewards behind each approach.

See Lavi & Ollie on Thursday, 25 June.

Sam Manicom

Sam Manicom has been shot at, jailed, crashed badly enough to break 17 bones, and still somehow came away convinced that travelling the world by motorcycle is a good idea.

To be fair, after 200,000 miles through 55 countries across six continents, this hugely popular travel writer and adventure biker has probably earned the right to his opinion.

In an age where you can watch someone else ride across Mongolia from the comfort of your sofa with a beer in hand, Sam still believes the best part of motorcycling is getting out into the world yourself, even when it’s uncomfortable, unpredictable, and occasionally terrifying.

Join him at the Ducati stage as he shares endless stories and loads of laughs from a lifetime on the road.

See Sam Manicom on Friday, 26 June.

Rich and Ewa, AKA On The Road Adventure

Rich and Ewa are the adventure biking duo behind the hugely popular On The Road Adventure YouTube channel, built around the idea that you don’t need the perfect plan to have a proper adventure.

Together, they’ve travelled across the UK, Europe, and most recently the highways, backroads, deserts, and small-town diners of the USA, learning first-hand what long-distance motorcycle travel as a couple really looks like once the honeymoon period wears off.

On the Ducati Stage, they’ll be sharing the moments that make travelling together unforgettable, the occasional challenges that come with spending that much time on the road as a couple, and why you don’t need the perfect bike or perfect timing to begin your own adventure.

See Rich and Ewa on Saturday, 27 June.

Henriette Thiim, AKA For The Love Of Wheels

Henriette Thiim has travelled more than 200,000km through 72 countries across five continents, but not all that long ago, a life spent riding around the world felt was just a pipedream.

Before motorcycles took over, Henriette worked in corporate management, living the sort of life where big adventures were something other people did. Then COVID arrived, plans changed, and she found herself stranded in Africa with nowhere to be and no real choice but to slow down.

On the Ducati Stage, Henriette will be sharing stories from three years spent travelling through Africa and the Middle East, from surviving malaria far from home to crossing Iraq under military escort, and the lessons she learned once the focus shifted from covering miles to simply experiencing the places and people around her.

See Henriette Thiim on Saturday, 27 June.

Tom and Lauren, AKA I Like Motorbikes & Kiki Rides

Most people planning a ride across Africa start looking at big adventure bikes, aluminium panniers, and a suspension setup for all terrains.

Tom and Lauren went in a different direction entirely. Better known as I Like Motorbikes and Kiki Rides, they rode 40,000 miles from the UK through 31 African countries, across the Middle East as conflict began unfolding around them, and all the way back home again on a pair of Honda CG125s.

Now they’re bringing their story to the Ducati Stage. From spectacular roads and unforgettable encounters to the moments they genuinely wondered whether either they or the bikes would make it home, this is a tale of travelling big on small motorcycles, overcoming doubts, stretching budgets, and discovering that adventure riding has a lot less to do with the bike beneath you than most people think.

See Tom & Lauren on Thursday, 25 June.

Alison Grün

For most of us, motorcycles are about freedom. A chance to clear your head, disappear for a while, and go somewhere new just to see what’s there.

For Alison Grün, founder of FreeW, they’ve also become a way of opening doors for women who were never expected to ride in the first place.

On the Ducati Stage, Alison will share stories from India, Nepal, and Pakistan, where motorcycles have helped women gain independence, find work, travel further than they ever thought possible, and challenge the expectations placed on them.

From first-time riders discovering the confidence that comes with controlling their own machine, to women using motorcycles to support themselves and their communities, this is a fascinating look at the ways two wheels can change lives far beyond the riding itself.

See Alison Grün on Friday, 26 June.

As you can see, there’s a lot happening on the Ducati Stage this year, and the only way you’ll catch it all is with a Weekend Ticket. And with more than 90% of them already sold, you need to secure yours now to make sure you don’t miss out.