Many famous competitors and machines got their start with the T.T. race over the years, but none of the fans will forget the 1978 T.T. race. That is the year that the great Mike " Mike the Bike" Hailwood came out of retirement to race one more time. Mike Hailwood had already won 9 World Championships and 76 Grand Prix's prior to retiring from motorcycle competition. He went on to race Automobiles and F-1 racers, but broke his ankle in 74, so was out of competition again. His miraculous come-back to motorcycle racing and the winning of the 1978 Tourist Trophy will stand out as a fantastic achievement for years to come. Mike rode a Ducati bike during this race and to commemorate the event this famous Italian motorcycle firm released a super sport "Mike Hailwood Replica" in 1980.

Based upon the popular 900SS Ducati, but with full cowl and painted in the red and green of the Italian team, and with the single riders seat. Engine is a 90 degree V twin of 863.9cc which produces 63hp and can propell this bike to a maximum speed of 222km/h. This engine is said to be symbolic of Ducati, and in particular its valve system. On the normal 4 cycle engine, valve opening is done with a cam and closing by return spring. At high RPM's this system can contribute to "valve float". Ducati's system, called "Desmodromic", was designed by their engineer F.

 Taglioni in 1954, and uses cams to both open and close the valves, which allows for a much higher RPM. The engine is mounted in the diamond frame in an "L" format which is characteristic of Ducati. This compact engine arrangement accounts for the nimble handling and makes the bike competitive with the larger bore Japanese bikes. Standard suspension of double front forks and rear swing arm, plus triple disc brakes rounds out this bike, making it a superlative performer.