OFFICIAL - Ducati enters motocross with Cairoli as tester

Now it's official: Ducati will enter motocross and the 9-time world champion Tony Cairoli will be there to test the new bike. The Borgo Panigale manufacturer has been working for two years on a prototype that will debut next season in the Italian Motocross Championship, with the aim of validating the technical choices made on the bike on the track. This is a multi-year project that will see the birth of a complete range of off-road engines and motorcycles. The models will progressively become part of a family of knobby motorcycles branded Ducati, starting with motocross.

The Bologna-based company has signed an agreement with nine-time Motocross World Champion Antonio Cairoli as test rider for the new project : “I am extremely happy to become part of the universe of Ducati, which has always been a symbol of Italian spirit throughout the world, and to begin this exciting new adventure, in an all-Italian project. Being able to make my contribution to the development of the Borgo Panigale motocross bike is a dream come true and a source of great pride for me.”

Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati Motor Holding, commented: "I am proud to announce Ducati's entry into Motocross. A totally new world for Ducati in which we want to bring our talent in designing lightweight motorcycles, with excellent components and high performance and - above all - which can excite more and more motorcyclists. Just as we believe that the track is the best laboratory to develop and test the bikes that will then be available to customers and enthusiasts. This is why we have decided to cooperate with an undisputed champion like Tony Cairoli who, together with the passion and dedication of many of us here in Borgo Panigale, will contribute to making Ducati in off-road as capable in offering very high-performance products to its passionate customers as we have proven on the asphalt. The project is possible thanks to the company's excellent results in recent years and confirms our desire to extend our presence into new worlds, speak to new motorcyclists and therefore grow the Ducati Community.”

Ducati has also signed a multi-year agreement with Maddii Racing, one of the most experienced teams in the motocross paddock, which will be the reference structure for the MX racing activities and will take part in the 2024 Italian Motocross Championship with Alessandro Lupino, eight-time Italian Champion and 2021 MXoN winner, also contracted to Ducati as racing and test rider.

The last curiosity revealed in the official press release is that the engine that will equip the motocross bike will have Desmodromic distribution, the trademark of all Ducati racing bikes.