Charting the Ducati Course – The Paolo Ciabatti Interview 1

Ducati, as a brand, oozes charisma. The Italian manufacturer has turned into an unstoppable force in MotoGP and the prospect of such a competitive collective joining motocross with similar ambition has most frothing at the mouth. Understandably so, it must be said. The fact that Paolo Ciabatti, the individual who has excelled whilst at the helm of Ducati's MotoGP team, has left the comfort of asphalt to spearhead this endeavor underlines the intention of those in Bologna, Italy.

Ciabatti can be found wandering the paddock at motocross events across the world. Only recently has he started to don the iconic red sweater that is synonymous with Ducati, as he was in stealth mode prior to the manufacturer's official launch on October 24 of 2023. Those with a keen eye would catch him in conversation with multiple riders and teams, quietly slotting one puzzle piece into another. There is a meticulous approach that's been adopted – it is crucial to adhere to such an outlook when carrying the weight of expectation that comes with this powerhouse.

"Everyone expects Ducati, who has been successful in MotoGP and WorldSBK, to have similar joy in motocross and supercross," Ciabatti told us in an exclusive discussion at a recent round of the Monster Energy Supercross series. "You also know that expectations will be very high when you sign someone like Antonio Cairoli, a nine-time motocross world champion, to develop the bike." Note that Ducati won 17 of the 20 races in the 2023 MotoGP World Championship, as well as the championship, and the gravitas of the name becomes apparent.

The fact that Ducati's so settled on asphalt could cause some to question the decision to enter the off-road space. Where did that come from and, crucially, why now? "The idea to enter off-road was in the mind of our CEO, Claudio Domenicali, for several years," Ciabatti outlined. "It was never the right time or situation to make it happen and receive the approval of the board. Ducati is not a very big company. We produce around 60,000 bikes. It is a very profitable company, successful in the market and within racing.

"It was the right time because Ducati was a profitable company. We are owned by Audi – a part of the Volkswagen group – but all the profits that Ducati makes remain within the company. It was a time where Claudio and the board decided that, finally, the green light should be given to this project. That started back in 2021. We believe that we can come up with a product that has all of the features to be competitive in racing, as well as on the market. It is going to be the only Desmo 450F motorcycle and we think that delivers some advantages."

This is a crucial point to consider about Ducati's position in off-road. Excitement is rife as soon as it is revealed that Ducati's owned by Audi via its Italian subsidiary, Lamborghini, which is in turn owned by the Volkswagen Group. Alas, that does not mean that either giant will be burning money in motocross. Ducati operates as its own financial entity and therefore the likeliness of a golden bull appearing inside of the motocross or supercross paddock is low. For reference, Ducati’s turnover exceeded one billion euros last term. Lamborghini, in contrast, turned over more than two billion in the same timeframe.

"One of the reasons for this decision was to attract a younger customer base," Ciabatti reaffirmed with consideration of the impact that off-road could have on Ducati's revenue. "Obviously, just as you know, Ducati is only producing big bikes from 800cc up. We think that if we are successful in attracting those off-road customers with a 450F and then 250F – that is coming one year later – we can get new people into the Ducati world. Eventually, they could decide that they want to purchase a DesertX or Multistrada to enjoy each day."

Ducati's 250F is set to be in the Italian national series in 2025, before taking the FIM Motocross World Championship in its stride in 2026. Effectively, as Ciabatti claimed, the steed will follow twelve months on from the 450F that has raced two rounds in Italy at the time of writing. Alessandro Lupino, the rider who is the first to race in Ducati red, has won one of the first four motos and is in title contention against a current MXGP competitor, Isak Gifting. Development has been rife in Bologna, Italy, and not just in off-road.

Ducati struck a deal with Dorna, the promoters of the MotoGP World Championship, to supply bikes to those competing in the MotoE World Championship and therefore invested heavily in the technology required to understand that field. This has caused some to ponder the intention behind investing so heavily in off-road combustion engines. Why not wait for motocross to move towards electric and then capitalize on the mountainous amount of research that has been carried out? Unsurprisingly, this topic could be tackled from multiple angles.

"It is a complex answer," Ciabatti said with trepidation. "We took a chance when the MotoGP promoters opened a tender for the next MotoE supplier to get as much knowhow as possible about batteries and electric engines. We needed to acquire that knowhow – that technology is developing very, very quickly. You can extract more power for batteries and lighter batteries too. Jumping at the opportunity of building non-homologated racing bikes allowed us to have the possibility to create a group of engineers to acquire that technology. I think that we are even more structured in that field now.

"Going back to your question, we do not think that combustion engines are at the end of their life. We are keeping an eye on what is going on, for sure, and manufacturers like Stark have been quite impressive, especially with their performance in some national championships. We think that there is still room and enough life in a combustion engine, especially when you look at enduro where you need to ride for longer. There is a future for both, probably, but I do hope that there would be a separate championship for electric bikes in motocross and supercross."

There is a fundamental difference between running a squad within the MotoGP World Championship versus off-road. Dorna helps those within its space with operational costs and so there is less pressure on teams to obtain sponsorship. There is no such funding in motocross, of course, and so Ducati must source income to run their teams. Teams, plural, as racing in a single championship would be obscene. This sport is unique in the sense that manufacturers must compete with independent programs in the United States and Europe. A concept that'd be asinine to those in Formula 1 or MotoGP.

"We are not concerned," Ciabatti said with conviction. "We know that we need to raise money from partners and sponsors to go racing. The bike will not create revenue this year and most of next year, because it will not be available on the market until late Spring 2025. We have already seen with the launch program of the bike that the visibility available to sponsors is quite big. We are pretty happy with the package that we have put together for the Italian Championship, which gives us confidence that we will be able to raise  the money to race in the future without too many headaches."

The hope would be that Ducati's involvement inside of motocross will entice mainstream brands to use the sport for marketing for the first time. Glance at Ducati's prototype and logos from Shell and Lenovo are prevalent – those brands have been transferred across from the MotoGP program per contracts that link them to marketing endeavors like this. Will those brands be involved when their race program enters international competition for the first time? This is a question that a lot of industry heavyweights have pondered.

"Honestly, as you can see, the main partner is Monster Energy currently," Ciabatti explained. "Monster joined Ducati's MotoGP program a few years ago, as well as the Ducati WorldSBK team this year. I was very pleased that they were supportive of this new project, both with supporting the two riders and the team. Some of those MotoGP sponsors are interested. For the moment, some of them are just technical partners and providing material. It is all very promising for the future, where we will need much bigger support from the sponsors [laughs]."

The involvement of those sponsors is a point that has been raised by the teams who have expressed an interest in running the United States program. It is unclear who will take the reins – Phoenix Racing, ClubMX and Joe Gibbs Racing have had in-depth conversations with Ducati at one point or another. "Identifying which team possesses the most technical knowledge is of paramount importance," Ciabatti said. "More than anything else, the technical aspect and knowledge of different conditions is important. We have very good knowledge of motocross in the company and not so much with supercross."

It is for that reason that Ducati is keen to outsource the squad, rather than run it as an in-house factory effort. "If we talk about the Maddii Racing team [the team that is running Ducati bikes in Europe] then we wanted a very experienced structure with experienced people," Ciabatti expanded. "Even though our engineers who are working on the project are motocross experts – some of them have even run their own teams at a decent level in the past – we think that a team that has been competing for more than 20 years with a lot of passion and knowledge would be the way to go.  

"It proves that it is the way to go at the moment, because the testing program is going ahead in line with our expectations. Corrado and Marco Maddii were the right choice to do the first part of our plan to race. What will happen in the future? We do not know. We run the MotoGP team internally, but the WorldSBK is run through an external structure. Both teams work fine. MotoGP needs direct involvement because it is full prototype with a lot of development. There is almost something new at every Grand Prix! Motocross, being very similar to the production bike and even more so here in United States, can be managed in partnership with someone already in the field."

It is thought that the team tasked with leading the program in the United States will be selected in the not-too-distant future, although it's worth noting that ClubMX has withdrawn from the running. In-depth discussions with stars have been had on both sides of the Atlantic, specifically in Grands Prix with the first stop of the 2025 FIM Motocross World Championship less than twelve months adrift. At what level does Ducati anticipate entering competition, considering the burden of expectation that they must carry into the battle?

"It is a good question," Ciabatti pondered. "I think that the answer is that we want to be capable of fighting for podium positions. Now, you know that some of the top riders in MXGP are under contract. Someone like Jorge Prado is coming to do supercross too. There are other riders who we are in contact with as well – they are capable of being inside of the top five and on the podium. I think that this is a reasonable target for us in MXGP and Monster Energy Supercross in 2026."

"I think that the interest is big among the riders and industry. The recent success of Ducati in road racing is making everybody think that if we decide to join motocross then we will do it with the same involvement and investment. It took us a few years to get back to winning in MotoGP! The motocross bike has been developed with many unique features, so we are confident that it is going to be very competitive from day one. Seeing the success of Ducati in racing has made it an attractive proposition for riders and teams."

The Desmodromic system has prompted raised eyebrows from most riders. It is, of course, an all-new concept in off-road and one that should induce concern, but instead the scuttlebutt amongst riders is that the bike will be extremely strong. "The Desmo system is unique to Ducati, for sure, even though it is not patented by Ducati," Ciabatti confirmed. "It was already an existing technology, but Ducati is the only manufacturer that has refined it. All of our sports models feature the Desmo system to activate the valves.

"We think that it has some advantages, obviously," he continued. "We would not use it in MotoGP and WorldSBK otherwise! We can rev higher, if needed, and we believe that the riders can feel that. Even though we can rev higher, we are trying to have very smooth torque delivery and so on. When it is needed then you can rev higher." The system will be used on their full product range: a 450F and 250F for motocross, a 450F and 250F for enduro, a 450F for Supermoto and that is it. According to Ciabatti, these are the models on the docket at the moment. There are no plans for youth bikes at this time.

It was obvious from the moment that news of this project started to become common knowledge within the paddock that it would be done in a correct manner. Ducati's storied history is a very clear indication of their intentions and the fact that Antonio Cairoli was drafted over from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing reinforces the resolve. There is nowhere to hide with a rider of that caliber donning the iconic jacket – the move was one that radiated confidence and power. It is that outlook that will make this an endeavor that attracts eyeballs from the mainstream. An exciting prospect for all.