Ducati Desmo450 MX: historic debut in the Italian Motocross Championship [PHOTO]

A more than positive debut for the Ducati Desmo450 MX driven by Alexander Lupino in Italian Pro-Prestige MX1 Motocross Championship. After taking pole position with the prototype that marks Ducati's entry into specialist off-road racing, Lupino achieved victory in the first heat, finishing the first round of 2024 in second place overall.

In the first round of the Italian MX1 Championship, held on the International Circuit of Mantua, Lupino, after having set the best reference both in free practice and in qualifying, led from the first to the last lap in the opening heat of the championship. In the second heat, after a difficult start, the eight-time Italian Champion finished a good comeback in seventh place, gaining the second overall position of the day.

The satisfaction of Domenicali and Lupino

Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding, said: “This weekend in Mantua we wrote another chapter in the history of Ducati. Alessandro Lupino and our team really made us have fun and, despite it being the first motocross race in our recent history, we immediately demonstrated great performances. Best time in free practice, pole and victory in the first heat are truly a debut that lives up to expectations: we have gathered a lot of information which 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 beautiful start to a new story of sport and passion."

Alexander Lupino, official rider of the Ducati Corse R&D – Factory MX Team, said: “They were two very exciting days, my debut with the Ducati was truly a dream: they told me so, but today I tried it! 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 analyze two completely different situations!”

Continuation of tests

Sunday's two heats allowed Ducati engineers to collect the first important data to continue the development of the Desmo450 MX which, upon its debut, confirmed the validity of the technical basis of the prototype. The focus of the Ducati off-road project, which will continue in view of the next race on 27 and 28 April on the Cingoli (MC) track, is a combination of research into extreme lightness, top-of-the-line components and engines characterized by very wide delivery curve. The latter is obtained thanks to the use of Desmodromic system, used on all the sports bikes of the Borgo Panigale company starting from the MotoGP.