In a historic debut at the Italian Motocross Championship, the Ducati Desmo450 MX, ridden by Alessandro Lupino, claimed victory in race one and secured a commendable second-place finish overall, marking Ducati’s entrance into motocross.
Held at the International Circuit of Mantua, Lupino, an eight-time Italian Champion, dominated the opening heat from start to finish after setting the pace in free practice and qualifying. Despite facing a challenging start in the second heat, Lupino salvaged a commendable seventh-place finish, securing second overall in the round.
Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding, hailed the weekend’s achievements as a significant milestone in Ducati’s history, expressing pride in Lupino and the team’s exceptional performance.
“This weekend in Mantua we wrote another chapter in the history of Ducati. Alessandro Lupino and our team gave us some great fun and, despite it being the first motocross race in our recent history, we immediately demonstrated outstanding performance. Best time in free practice, pole and victory in the first heat is truly a debut that lives up to expectations: we have gathered a lot of information that will be fundamental to best develop the bike that will be available to all enthusiasts next year. Congratulations to Alessandro and our entire off-road team, a fantastic start to a new story of sport and passion.”
Lupino himself expressed his exhilaration at the opportunity to debut with Ducati, praising the team’s efforts in crafting a remarkable bike with immense potential.
“These were two very exciting days, my debut with the Ducati was truly a dream: they told me it would be, but today I experienced it!” Lupino said. “Feeling like a Ducatista is a truly special sensation. Congratulations to all the guys who worked on this project, because in a very short time, they created a spectacular bike, with a lot of potential, doing an incredible job. Together we wrote a page of history: first pole and first heat victory for the Ducati Desmo450 MX. Unfortunately, the second heat didn’t go as I would have liked: I got the start wrong and wasn’t able to recover. But that’s okay, now the engineers have the data to analyse two completely different situations!”
With valuable data collected from the weekend’s races, Ducati engineers are poised to further develop the Desmo450 MX, which has already demonstrated the strength of its technical foundation. The Ducati Off-Road project emphasises a commitment to lightweight design, premium components, and engines featuring a broad delivery curve, made possible by the utilisation of the Desmodromic system.
Looking ahead, the Ducati Corse R&D – Factory MX Team, alongside Lupino and Tony Cairoli, will continue testing as they prepare for the next round of the Italian Motocross Championship on the Cingoli circuit in April.
