Ducati Introduces Factory MX Team and Desmo450 MX Prototype
After announcing its plans to compete in motocross racing last fall, Ducati has finally released the first photos of its new prototype racebike, the Desmo450 MX.
The Desmo450 MX was presented at Ducati’s Campioni in Pista event alongside other Ducati racing teams. The Ducati Corse R&D Factory MX team was presented for the first time, with team managers Corrado Maddii and Marco Maddii, test rider and nine-time world champion Tony Cairoli, and rider Alessandro Lupino, who will be racing on the prototype in the 2024 Italian Motocross Championship.
We still don't know too much about the Desmo450 MX's specifications, beyond what can be observed from looking at the bike. We know the engine will have a desmodromic valves, and we can see Showa suspension, Excel rims, Pirelli Scorpion MX32 tires, Brembo brakes, and an Akrapovič exhaust system. Even then, considering it is a prototype, the bike is still a work in progress and we won't know its final specifications until the production model is revealed.
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The new Ducati Corse R&D - Factory MX Team presented in Madonna di Campiglio
After Ducati announced last October 24 its entry into the world of motocross with a range of models that will be available on the market in the next few years, Ducati Corse Off-Road, the Ducati division in charge of racing activity in the world of knobby tyres, has now presented the two prototypes that will be used by Antonio Cairoli and Alessandro Lupino in 2024, in Madonna di Campiglio during the Campioni in Pista event.
The Desmo450 MX, this is the name of the new model, was presented on the PalaCampiglio stage in the racing livery that it will sport in competition this year - in the Italian Motocross Pro - Prestige MX1 Championship - by the Ducati Corse R&D - Factory MX Team managed by Corrado and Marco Maddii. The target of this first season of racing is mainly to acquire data and information in racing to contribute to the development of the Desmo450 MX that will go into production in the second half of 2025.
It will be Alessandro Lupino who will take part in all the rounds of the Italian Championship, as well as in an intense testing program, in which he will be joined by Antonio Cairoli.
The race debut of the Ducati Desmo450 MX is planned for March 16 and 17 in Mantua for the first round of the Italian Motocross Pro Prestige MX1 Championship.
Claudio Domenicali (CEO Ducati Motor Holding)
“It is a great pleasure to inaugurate another Ducati racing season in Madonna di Campiglio, a location that perfectly expresses the values of 'Made in Italy' of which we are proud ambassadors and which last year represented the starting point of an unforgettable season. The path that has led us to be the best in the world in racing is undoubtedly made up of the hard daily work of these years, but also of our ability to work as a team and have fun while putting our maximum effort into what we do. One of the strong elements of our brand is the ability to create a system and today we demonstrate this by jointly presenting the official teams for the 2024 racing season: the Ducati Lenovo Team, the Aruba.it – Racing Ducati Team and the novelty represented by the Ducati Corse R&D - Factory MX Team. Seeing the three bikes next to each other was a great emotion for me because, although different from each other, they are part of a single project. This belonging is underlined by the basic colour of the liveries, Ducati Red, the same for all, and also by a completely new graphic sign that recalls the curve present in the Ducati logo, inspired by the most exciting part of riding a motorbike: the bend. At the same time, these bikes are also an expression of the path that Ducati has taken in recent years, investing in its future. The entry into motocross is in fact the clear example that our will to improve and our desire to win have no limits. In these two days we will have the opportunity to give ourselves the right energy for a season that promises to be full of challenges, in which we will try to confirm our leadership in the main track racing world championships and demonstrate our capabilities in a new terrain such as specialist off-road. Challenges have always encouraged us to bring out the best and we feel absolutely ready."
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I want to see the 450Desmo road single seat rear set pegs clip-on bars - 1 each fork.
This is a copy image of mine from the seventies....bought new in 1974 Oct. Obvious enough that the new version would have liquid cooling but the simplicity of this earlier model has not escaped and can largely be designed-in to a 'retro' update. I hit 100mph on mine on a long country road stretch - going away from friends on their Yamaha 650 and Yamaha 750 upright parallel twin pair of BSA/Triumph wannabees .....
😁😇😁