Time flies doesn’t it? It’s already been a year since Ducati launched its first rally-inspired adventure bike aiming its crosshairs at the competitive off-road ADV segment. Since then, Ducati has been giving the keys over to enduro legend Antoine Meo to show the upper limits of what the 937cc DesertX is capable of. The latest test? Taking on the infamous Erzbergrodeo enduro race.

The DesertX’s debut at the most competitive hard enduro race in the world made history for Ducati with Meo snatching a win in the Erzbergrodeo Iron Prolog. Adding to the impressive performance, Meo also took part in the Mitas Rocket Ride side race, finishing fourth overall and first in the twin-cylinder category. 

Now, Ducati is giving a behind-the-scenes look at what it took to get the DesertX shredding at the famous event. The video shows Meo and team giving the bike a good shakedown on the demanding course and testing the capabilities of the suspension. We also get to see the DesertX in action as it goes head-to-head with a field of much lighter, enduro machines.

The Iron Road Prolog is the race used by the over 1200 riders entered in the “Rodeo” to qualify for the final event. Divided into two sessions, it is held on an ultra-fast climb (over 600 meters of gradient for 13.5 km) for single and twin-cylinder bikes and, thanks to its spectacular nature, over the years it has become one of the most hard-fought and eagerly awaited races of the entire event. In the Iron Road Prolog, the dominance of Meo and the DesertX was impressive, with a double victory in the category reserved for twin cylinders. In Friday’s race, the advantage over his closest rival was no less than 12 seconds while in the second race, on Saturday, with a track made even more difficult by the passage of the bikes, the margin rose to 20 seconds, further confirming the potential of the Borgo Panigale twin.

The Mitas Rocket Ride, a race open to single and twin-cylinder bikes, saw 277 riders challenge each other on a steep and rugged uphill course. The format of the race included two timed practice sessions from which the 48 fastest riders then went on to challenge each other in heats of 6, starting from the gate in motocross style and in a knock-out for the last 3. In this race, Antoine Meo rode with determination right from the qualifying phase to finish sixteenth out of the 277 entrants. He then finished second in the last-16 round, third in the quarterfinals and second in the semifinals. These results allowed him to qualify for the Superfinal, the only rider to do so on a twin-cylinder, and there the French ace and the Ducati DesertX captured a surprising fourth place overall.

To tackle the Erzberg Rodeo, the DesertX’s fork and monoshock were revised to offer more suspension travel. As for the tires, the choice fell upon the Metzeler Six Days Extreme, specifically designed for extreme enduro racing. The preparation of the DesertX was completed by mounting a Termignoni racing exhaust and a skid plate offered as original accessories from the Ducati Performance catalog. To participate in the Erzberg, the Centro Stile Ducati designed a special livery for the DesertX that combines the white, the black and the three reds typical of the MotoGP and Superbikes.