Ducati begins its new era

The hotly anticipated debut of the Ducati Desmo450 MX motorcycle in the Motocross World Championship with nine-time world champion Antonio Cairoli aboard finally happened over the weekend in the Netherlands at Arnhem.

Not only were we excited to see what this bike was capable among such a stacked field but also the return of Cairoli who had been absent from the GPs for three years.And both lived up to realistic expectations.

Importantly for moto fans, next year also sees the motorcycle heading into production, a very exciting milestone for the Borgo Panigale company’s entry into the off-road specialist segment. This will be Ducati’s first motocross bike and it will undoubtedly broaden the appeal of the company to a whole new segment of riders.

The combination the Desmo450 MX being still a very new bike still in development and three years off the circuit for Cairoli meant that top five would be a huge feat in a stacked field at Arnhem – an incredibly difficult, sandy track.

And this is how it went down – Saturday qualifying saw Cairoli running around fourth for a good stint, he was then relegated to seventh. A very strong start.

In Sunday’s race one he struggled at the start and finished in 15th place. In race two, Cairoli showed impressive pace, climbing to ninth and recording the sixth fastest lap time overall. Unfortunately, a technical issue forced him to retire on the sixth lap. The DNF is not ideal but it meant valuable data was able to be collected in anticipation of the bikes entry in the 2025 MXGP World Championship.

“We bring home an excellent test for the bike,” Cairoli said. “Before the GP we did three weeks of testing between Holland and Belgium but the conditions of today’s track were very far from those found in the various tests. Our goal was to test the Desmo450 MX in extreme conditions and I had very positive feelings. Yesterday, in the Qualifying Race, we got a very good seventh place, which is a fantastic result for such a young bike. On Sunday I didn’t get a good start in both heats, but in Race Two I was in the top 10 and so I’m satisfied. After three years away from the GPs it was definitely not an easy race for me, especially on a difficult track like this”.

I reckon Carioli would have been feeling it the next day. Interestingly the Desmo450 competed under the 2025 phonometric limit, serving as a crucial test to validate technical choices for the next season, when the limit will decrease from 112 to 109 dB.

Next stop for the Desmo450 MX and its development is September 1 in the Italian MX Championship in Castiglione del Lago where the manufacturer has been smashing it with Alessandro Lupino aboard, with the formidable pair leading the standings.