The Ducati Desmo450 MX ridden by Alessandro Lupino took pole position and victory in the first heat, making its racing debut in the Italian Pro-Prestige MX1 Motocross Championship, finishing the first round of 2024 in second place overall. The prototype marks the entry of Ducati in the specialist off-road sector and represents the first step of a project that will see the birth of a complete range of off-road motorcycles, developed on the most demanding racing fields.
In the first round of the Italian MX1 Championship, held on the International Circuit of Mantua, the eight-time Italian Champion, after having set the best reference in both free practice and qualifying, led the opening heat of the championship from the first to the last lap . In the second heat, after a difficult start, Lupino finished a good comeback in seventh place, gaining the second overall position of the day.
“They were two very exciting days, my debut with Ducati was truly a dream: they told me so, but today I tried it! Feeling like a Ducatista is a truly special feeling. Congratulations to all the guys who worked on this project, because in a very short time they created a spectacular motorcycle, with a lot of potential, doing an incredible job”, said Lupino.
Ducati Corse R&D – Factory MX Team
Photo by: Ducati Corse
“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 made a mistake at the start and wasn't able to recover. But it's okay, now engineers have the data to analyze two completely different situations!”, he added.
“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 some very impressive performances “, commented the CEO of Ducati, Claudio Domenicali.
“Best time in free practice, pole position 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”, he concluded.
Alessandro Lupino, Ducati Corse R&D – Factory MX Team
Photo by: Ducati Corse
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 is a combination of the search for lightness pushed to the extreme, top-of-the-line components and engines characterized by a very broad delivery curve.
The latter is obtained thanks to the use of the Desmodromic system, used on all the sports bikes of the Borgo Panigale company starting from the MotoGP. In fact, Ducati is the only company in the world that uses the same valve return system on its highest performing production motorcycles as it uses on racing prototypes.
The next race of the Italian Motocross Championship is scheduled for 27 and 28 April on the Cingoli (MC) track. In the meantime, testing of the Desmo450 MX will continue with Alessandro Lupino and Tony Cairoli, present in Mantua to support the eight-time Italian Motocross Champion and greet all his fans.
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