Behind The Scenes Of Ducati’s Mint 400 Win

[Hugh Janus]

Jordan Graham won the inaugural Hooligan class at the Mint 400. (Ducati /)

The Mint 400 is one of the oldest off-road races in the United States, and for 2020 the Hooligan class was added. Hooligan flat track has drawn racers and fans to venues all over the US, and now the Mint is looking to capitalize on the buzz with the new class. On March 6, heavyweight, multi-cylinder bikes based on streetbikes blasted out into the desert. Less than five hours later Jordan Graham crossed the finish line on his Ducati Scrambler Desert Sled 45 minutes ahead of second place. 

Months before, we ran into Graham during a multi-bike test in his home town in Central California. He had just signed the deal with Ducati to race flat track on a Ducati Scrambler and he let us in on the plan to race a Desert Sled at the Mint 400. Having seen him destroy the hill climb event at the HighPipe Scrambler Festival on his flat track bike in 2018, we had no doubts he would be the first to the checkers. 

Spider Grips prepped the Fasthouse duo’s Ducati Scrambler Desert Sleds for the Mint 400. (Ducati /)

Graham was joined on the team, which was a partnership with Ducati and Fasthouse, by Ricky Diaz. The two went straight to the front of the standings on their highly modified, Spider Grips-prepped Scramblers, with Diaz grabbing a short-lived lead over Graham. Graham then put on the charge we knew he would, and pulled ahead. 

Diaz unfortunately dropped out of second place and the race when a rock destroyed his shifter. Another Spider Grips Desert Sled piloted by the tag team of Alexander Smith (yes, that Smith) and Michael Allen moved from third to second thanks to Diaz’s mechanical. 

Graham crossed the finish line, completing two 80-mile loops of the course, in 4 hours, 45 minutes, and 33 seconds. Check out the video below from Ducati Scrambler to go behind the scenes of the Mint 400. 

Sign up here to receive our newsletters. Get the latest in motorcycle reviews, tests, and industry news, subscribe here for our YouTube channel.

Source