Since Ducati announced their intentions to fully dive into the world of motocross a year ago, the Italian manufacturer has been charging ahead with their new weapon dubbed the Desmo450 MX. The motocross racer is not only slated to make its debut in next year’s MXGP World Championship but will also go into production as a 2025 model, opening a new chapter in the company’s storied history. 

Nine-time world champion and factory rider, Tony Cairoli, has confirmed to MCN there is more in the works though. In fact, the Desmo450 MX is part of an enduro project that is set to spawn a range of off-road motorcycles for Ducati. Among the bikes being developed is a road-legal 450 enduro model that Ducati estimates will be available to the public by 2027. However, the timing will depend on the completion of a few milestones the Italian manufacturer wants to achieve first.

Currently, Ducati is still developing the future Desmo450 MX by racing the prototype at a series of motocross races with the goal of participating in the entire championship in 2025. Before the street-legal enduro goes to production, Caroli says the next step is to complete the development of a 250 motocross platform.

So far, it has been revealed that the street-legal enduro will be based on the Desmo450 MX, which includes Ducati’s renowned desmodromic valve system, used on all their sports bikes, including MotoGP. However, the plated machine will use a reworked powerplant better suited for its intended versatility. Other changes will include different suspension tuning and a smaller rear wheel size, which will drop from 19-inches to 18-inches.

Ducati says their ambitious venture in the off-road arena was heavily influenced by their desire to reach younger riders. “It’s a very challenging complex world, but in the end we decided to go ahead, and one of the reasons was because we want to help even younger generations to discover the world of Ducati,” said Vice President of Ducati’s Global Sales and Aftersales, Francesco Milicia. “We saw that within the people of Ducati here in Borgo Panigale, there were so many passionate about off-road, that in the end, we said, yes, let’s go ahead with that project.”

In the meantime, the prototype’s development program is on track and will continue on August 31st and September 1st at Castiglione del Lago in the fifth round of the Italian Championship. Ducati factory rider, Alessandro Lupino, currently leads the general classification with two rounds to go after the results obtained in the last round of the Italian MX Championship at Ponte a Egola. In the Tuscan race, Cairoli, on his return to competition, won the first heat. Alessandro Lupino won overall and took the lead in the championship, signaling promising competitiveness with the Desmo450 MX.