Get ready for Ducati, the road racing and style icons of Italy that now aim to compete and succeed in motocross all over the world.

WORDS: ADAM WHEELER
PHOTOS: COURTESY DUCATI & MONSTER ENERGY

Maybe it’s the altitude, perhaps it is the cold; but the disorientation feels real. Yes, Ducati have just unveiled their stunning Desmo450 MX. Yes, the bike is placed next to MotoGP and WorldSBK world championship-winning machinery on a stage in an idyllic ski resort high in the magnificent Dolomite mountain range of Italy. Yes, nine-times world champion Tony Cairoli is part of the show in a Monster Energy cap after fourteen years in orange and almost two decades as one of Red Bull’s signature dirt bike athletes. Yes, the Desmo450 MX carries a rare desmodromic engine that already has other manufacturers stroking chins and, yes, the luxury Italian marque that sold 58,000 bikes in 2023 and nudged over a one-billion turnover rate for the first time in their history during 2022, are talking merrily about prototypes, expectations, MXGP, and seeds of AMA SuperMotocross. There is pomp aplenty for what is the glitziest MotoGP and WorldSBK team launch of 2024… with the brand’s new passion for motocross enjoying a fine piggyback.