Ducati and Troy Lee Designs sign an important agreement to prepare the Borgo Panigale company’s entry into AMA Motocross and Supercross with the Desmo450 MX. After the debut victory in the Italian Prestige MX1 Championship 2024 with Alessandro Lupino and the upcoming entry into the MXGP 2025 World Championship with Jeremy Seewer and Mattia Guadagnini, Ducati’s strategy in fact contemplates the arrival in US racing in the near future.

The agreement was announced on January 10th at the first round of the AMA Supercross 2025 at the Angel Stadium in Anaheim, the traditional opening of the American indoor championship, with the presence of Tony Cairoli, rider and Ducati Brand Ambassador, and Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati Corse Off-Road General Manager, along with other Ducati and Ducati North American representatives. The American team displayed in the paddock a Desmo450 MX bike in ‘proto’ version with special graphics created by the well-known Californian designer.

“We are super stoked to be partnering with Ducati, one of the most prestigious brands in motorcycling,” stated Troy Lee, founder of Troy Lee Designs. “Racing is core to our brand and enables us to develop our products for safety at the highest performance levels. I look forward to making history together with this partnership.”

The presence of Troy Lee Designs, in Ducati Corse colours, will continue at seven more rounds of the 2025 AMA Supercross Championship, in which also a sectioned Desmo450 engine will be on display, allowing fans to see the workings of the desmodromic timing system live.

The Desmo450 MX will also be the protagonist of a special exhibition on Ducati Island, the circuit area reserved for Ducatisti at the Grand Prix of the Americas, on the COTA circuit in Austin, Texas, on March 30th. Shortly afterwards, in June 2025, the bike will be available to all enthusiasts at selected European dealers. Further information on the Ducati Desmo450 MX is available at this link.

A unique bike in the Motocross segment

The Desmo450 MX is the only motocross bike in the world to be equipped with Desmodromic valve timing. This system, also used by Ducati in MotoGP and WorldSBK, allows higher revs than a traditional spring-loaded system. In turn, this allows riders to reduce the number of gear changes between corners to the benefit of performance on the track and even more importantly at the start, where a significant difference is made in racing today. Another uniqueness of the Desmo450 MX is represented by extremely evolved electronics, derived from those used by Ducati in MotoGP, which is unique in the off-road world. Other main features of the Ducati motocross bike include a weight that is a reference in its category and an ease of handling that, in addition to guaranteeing high performance on the track, will allow all amateur riders to get the most out of the single-cylinder 450 made in Borgo Panigale.

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Desmo450 MX

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