The Ducati Desmo450 MX made its competitive debut last weekend in the Italian Motocross Prestige Championship.
Alessandro Lupino, a former MXGP World Championship rider and winner of the 2021 Motocross of Nations with Team Italy, was able to guide the Desmo450 MX to MX1-class pole position on Saturday, and to a win in its first ever competitive motocross race in the first moto on Sunday.
Unfortunately for Lupino, a bad start in the second moto meant he was unable to seal the overall victory, but took second overall instead with 1-7 finishes on the day.
Antonio Cairoli (left), Ducati Desmo450 MX test rider; Alessandro Lupino (right), Ducati factory motocross racer.
The overall win was taken by Isak Gifting, who has made the step up to 450s this year having stepped into the MX2 World Championship midway through 2020 and ended his time as a 250cc rider by winning last year’s British MX2 title. Gifting, riding a Yamaha YZ450F, finished sixth in the first moto after crashing at the start, before winning the second race.
The race took place at the same Circuito Internazionale Motocross Citta di Mantova as hosted the aforementioned 2021 Motocross of Nations.
Despite missing out on the overall victory, the Desmo450 MX, which was unveiled at the same event as the factory Ducati WorldSBK and MotoGP teams back in January, clearly showed its potential to be a competitive motorcycle, even in its first outing. Ducati will continue competing with the Desmo450 MX and Lupino for the remainder of this year’s Italian Championship, before an MXGP World Championship debut for both make and model is anticipated for 2025.
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