Ducati Unveils Desmo450 MX Racer

[Hugh Janus]

Ducati’s Desmo450 MX racer will go into production in 2025. (Ducati/)

A clean sheet. Twenty engineers around a table with the same goal in mind: creating a new milestone for Ducati in a segment it hasn’t explored yet. Strategically it means growth, practically it requires courage. At Madonna di Campiglio on the occasion of Campioni in Pista, Ducati launched the Desmo450 MX in a world premiere.

The Philosophy

The 20 engineers started from scratch because Ducati’s style is not to copy other existing bikes. “The work started with the close analysis of the competitors. In off-road the technical regulations are the same for the last 20 years so our competitors have reached the state of the art in this segment,” Ducati Corse Off-Road technical manager Davide Perni said. “But we wanted to create something unique and we did it in the Ducati way.”

The goals given by Claudio Domenicali, Ducati CEO, were clear. “Strategically Ducati speaks to customers that look for very high-quality products with a medium-high positioning. Passion and sports are part of the brand DNA. Opening to the off-road market, we want to reach a younger audience that can fully enjoy the off-road machine and eventually become the future customer of the Multistrada or the DesertX.”

Davide Perni with Antonio Cairoli (left) and Alessandro Lupino (right). (Ducati/)

The intention at the start of the project was very clear: to build a bike for young, passionate Ducati customers that is light and performs.

“We are really satisfied,” Perni continued, “because with the Desmo450 MX we have created something different. It’s a prototype closer to a MotoGP than a SBK to understand the way.” The engineer cannot reveal too many details, but he does give us an idea of the incredible work done.

The Chassis

“The chassis is quite unusual in terms of production process,” he said. “It was a challenge starting from a white sheet of paper. The first question was: steel or aluminum? The challenge was to find the right compromise between lightness and stiffness.” In the end the final configuration is aluminum.

The Engine

Desmodromic valve actuation, Ducati’s signature in terms of valve train technology, is the heart of the MX bike. “Desmo works well, but it may be heavy,” Perni explained. “This is not completely true. For sure it is a bit complicated, but for us it is the routine and we were able to use the advantages.”

It’s right there in the name: The Desmo450 MX will use a desmodromic valve train. (Ducati/)

A fact for consideration is that this is a racing engine, not a production engine. “We wanted to create a racing engine but with the quality and durability of a street-legal engine,” he said, “to give our customers a good bike with a reasonable cost of maintenance. In MXGP we don’t have limits in terms of fuel consumption and emission, you don’t spend too much energy in low rev, this is an advantage of the desmo system. Then of course we have friction and other things but the balance is positive.”

From Racing to Streetbikes and Vice Versa

The connection between Ducati Corse and Ducati production is very close. The two R&D exchange information. “Working with the desmo system,” Perni related, “we could have access to the data in terms of design and performance of both the MotoGP and the production departments. We are working very closely also for the fuel. In MXGP we use the same fuel used till last year in SBK, and we are working on the eco fuel.”

The Timeline

The model is called internally “21J”: the project was started three years ago in 2021. Considering that the Italian brand was exploring a completely new segment, it took more time to study, build, and develop the prototype.

While it is still considered a prototype, the Desmo450 MX looks production-ready. (Ducati/)

Nine-time world champion Tony Cairoli joined Ducati in autumn 2023 when the project was already in motion. “We started from scratch, but of course Tony’s huge experience for us is very important. We don’t expect him to know the diagram of the distribution of a KTM engine,” the technical director joked. “What we expect from him is his experience: his feeling on the bike and also direction of the development. We expect from him to find the limit of the current bike to develop it the right way. We are young in off-road so the riders’ experience and feedback is fundamental.”

The Riders’ Feedback

Antonio Cairoli doesn’t need a presentation, he is the Valentino Rossi of European motocross with nine world titles—he won six of them consecutively between 2009 and 2014. He retired from full-time professional motocross competition at the end of the 2021 season. He was named Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team manager in 2023, and has now decided to take his post-racing career in a different direction.

“After so many years spent with a brand and so many successes,” Cairoli said, “it was not an easy decision. But in the end I was convinced by this project. It’s a big change but I am a big fan of Italian manufacturers in motorsports so I convinced myself—an Italian racer and an Italian manufacturer.”

Tony won’t race this year, but he doesn’t hide that he might be back on track: “I miss racing.” The Ducati off-road project gives him the opportunity to be a protagonist of the project development. “The bike feels really good. At the moment there is no plan for me to race. It’s been two years, I am not racing at the highest level. It will come. My goal is to develop the bike—but it is fun to ride, so you never know.”

A nine-time MX champ, Cairoli is taking on a new challenge with Ducati Corse and the Desmo450 MX. (Ducati/)

Alessandro Lupino was born in Viterbo in central Italy on January 15, 1991. In his long sporting career he became Italian champion eight times in addition to winning the European and World titles in the 85cc class in 2006.

In 2014 he joined the Fiamme Oro sports group of the state police, and in 2021, together with Cairoli and Mattia Guadagnini, he won the Motocross of Nations, bringing Team Italy the world title.

December 2023, he began his collaboration with Ducati Corse on development of the new Desmo450 MX model, and in 2024 he will take part in all rounds of the Italian Motocross Pro Prestige MX1 Championship with the Ducati Corse R&D.

“Ducati’s professional way to work is amazing,” Lupino said. “I have been impressed by the bike. I didn’t expect a prototype to be so good. The engine is good—fun to ride, we can go much faster than what we are doing now. The feeling is to have everything under control. The bike is easy to ride and comfortable, and the engine feels unlimited. The first impression was that the bike was born ready to race.”

Lupino will be on the start line with the Desmo450 MX March 16 for the Italian Motocross Pro Prestige MX1 Championship. (Ducati/)

The Racing Program

The Ducati Desmo450 MX will take part this year in the Italian Motocross Pro Prestige MX1 Championship, which will start on March 16 and 17 in Mantua with Lupino as the rider. The main goal for 2024 will be to further develop the new model through racing activity, with the support of the nine-time world champion.

The target is to join the MXGP Championship in 2025. The bike will be on sale in the second half of 2025.

Ducati cannot make missteps considering the credibility of the brand, so once the bike is proven to be competitive as it seems already, then the next steps will be to enter Supercross—the US market is just as important as Europe. And then maybe we will see Ducati in the Dakar Rally.

Source

[Pedro]

What’s exciting about this to me, is that there must be a Ducati racing rallies in a couple of years. That’s very cool as the Italians are already enthusiastic about the Dakar, they will fry their brains in excitement then!!!

[boboneleg]

It certainly looks the business , my concern is that the engine maybe unnecessarily overcomplicated for MX ?

[Pedro]

On 26/01/2024 at 17:08, boboneleg said:

It certainly looks the business , my concern is that the engine maybe unnecessarily overcomplicated for MX ?

Desmos are better at controling valves and cams at very high revs, no? From what I gather that’s also most of the current mx engines weak point?

Sounds interesting to see how they cope.

[boboneleg]

1 hour ago, Pedro said:

Desmos are better at controling valves and cams at very high revs, no? From what I gather that’s also most of the current mx engines weak point?

Sounds interesting to see how they cope.

Absolutely , it's the weight of the valve train that might be the problem.  I'm sure they must've cracked it or they wouldn't be going racing with it.  I'm very interested to see how it performs.

[Pedro]

1 minute ago, boboneleg said:

Absolutely , it's the weight of the valve train that might be the problem.  I'm sure they must've cracked it or they wouldn't be going racing with it.  I'm very interested to see how it performs.

Let’s hope that the way they cracked it isn’t a new exotic valvetrain every two hours.