Ducati to go motocross racing next year

I say "yet another" because Triumph has been openly working for a few years now toward launching its own motocross racing program. Triumph has not been shy about its plans, releasing a series of teaser videos, dribbling out details as the development and testing proceeded, and making the high-profile hire of Ricky Carmichael, considered by many to be the best motocross racer ever, to participate in the project. By comparison, Ducati has been working for the past two years on developing its motocross bike with considerably less publicity.

About the only interesting detail Ducati has revealed so far about its new motorcycle is that it will use desmodromic valve actuation, just like the Italian brand's top sport bikes that it is better known for. Beyond that, we don't know much about the motorcycle. Ducati says it will embody "lightness pushed to the extreme" and top-level components, but that's a baseline for competing in professional motocross and Supercross today, not a revelation. We don't even know if Ducati's debut will be in the 450 class or the 250 class.

Another difference between the Ducati and Triumph efforts is that Ducati is initially aiming its sights a little lower. Triumph will have a factory-supported team in the 250 class in the most competitive series in the world, the Monster Energy AMA SuperMotocross World Championship, when racing starts in January. Ducati will start by racing in the Italian national championship. But that doesn't mean Ducati is approaching this half-heartedly. In addition to hiring Lupino as a rider, the team will be run by Maddii Racing, an experienced outfit, and Ducati hired nine-time world champion Antonio Cairoli as a test rider.

Does it make sense for companies like Ducati and Triumph to dive into the hypercompetitive motocross market or would they be better off staying in their lane and building street bikes? Opinions are free right now, and only time and results (both on the track and in showrooms) will show who's right or wrong. Both companies have been successful enough in recent times that they feel ready to take on the challenge. Ducati's announcement quoted CEO Claudio Domenicali as saying, "The project is possible thanks to the company's excellent results in recent years and confirms our desire to extend our presence into new worlds, speak to new motorcyclists and therefore grow the Ducati Community.” And that hints at some other reasons why the risk of this expansion could be seen as worth the potential payoff.

Ducati says the motocross bike will be just the beginning of "a multi-year project that will see the creation of a complete range of off-road engines and motorcycles. The models will gradually become part of a family of knobby motorcycles branded Ducati, starting with motocross." Aside from the immediate opportunity of selling new motorcycles to the many enthusiastic amateur motocross racers around the world, the new line will provide a new entry into the Ducati brand for younger riders. That's how it can grow the Ducati community, as Domenicali put it. Get a 10-year-old motocross kid on a Ducati and you don't have to wait until he or she is 35 years old and has the disposable income to buy a Multistrada or a Panigale before you can attract them to the brand.

Considering Ducati's long history in racing and its current strength in MotoGP and World Superbike, going racing in the Italian championship feels more to me like dipping a toe in a quiet lake, while Triumph, with its more limited involvement in racing, looks like a company doing a back flip into the shark tank. It will be interesting to see if they sink or swim.