Ducati Gives Birth to Corse Off-Road, The Name Everyone Will Soon Fear on Motocross Tracks

There is one type of competition the name is completely absent from at the moment: motocross. Yet, fueled by the successes of 2023, Ducati proudly announced back in October it will take a swing at this as well.

Although the announcement came a bit as a surprise, the Italians said at the time they were planning the move by working on their first-ever motocross bike for the past two years. Yet it was only after the announcement was made that Ducati really began making preparations. Or at least making them public.

We already knew a thing or two about the bike itself and the one who would ride it. We are talking about a very light machine powered by a Desmodromic system probably 450cc in displacement and placed under the control of 2021 Motocross of Nations (MxoN) winner Alessandro Lupino.

We've also learned since October that the Italian brand will first race in the Italian Motocross Championship next year, expanding its presence further into the MXGP World Championship and the AMA Supercross Championship races in the coming years.

As most of you know by now, Ducati's racing efforts are generally handled by an off-shoot business called Corse. Until this week, the organization did not have a division dedicated to motocross racing, but now that has officially changed.

Enter the Ducati Corse Off-Road, the group officially tasked with advancing the company's motocross program. The entity will be headed by the man who was until now (and for the past ten years) the Sporting Director of Ducati Corse, Paolo Ciabatti. The executive will continue, at least for the coming year, to lead the efforts in MotoAmerica, British Superbike, All Japan Superbike, Australian Superbike and CIV competitions as well.

Separately, Mauro Grassilli, the current head of marketing and sponsorships of Ducati Corse will assume a largely similar role over at the new Off-Road division.

As per Ducati, the "division will deal with the organization and management of the sporting program in the MXGP World Championship and the AMA Supercross Championship in the next few years."

The bike maker plans to show the full bike and the motocross team for next year on the weekend of January 21.

The most important motocross competition, the FIM championship, is scheduled to begin in March 2024, and it will come to an end in September. A total of 20 races that will be held in 15 countries are planned for the next season.

What's important to remember is that the new Ducati motocross bike will not be limited to just serving racing needs. If all goes well, an entire family of commercially available such bikes will be created.