Ducati and Troy Lee Prepare for Desmo450 MX US Arrival
Troy Lee Designs will be present in the paddock of eight AMA Supercross races with the Desmo450 MX as it readies for a stateside debut
Ducati is leaning on motocross royalty, as Troy Lee Designs (TLD) is drafted in to help drum up buzz around the new Desmo450 MX prior to its official launch.
The move is Ducati’s first step towards debuting the machine at eight AMA Supercross events, before the bike lands in US dealerships. Ducati has already made waves in 2024, with Alessandro Lupino bagging the Borgo Panigale brand’s debut dirt bike win in the Italian Prestige MX1 Championship. 2025 though will be the real test for the machine, as it takes on the quickest bikes and fastest riders in the world in the 2025 MXGP World Championship with Jeremy Seewer and Mattia Guadagnini behind the bars.
The news of the partnership broke at the season-opening round of the 2025 AMA Supercross season at the Angel Stadium, Anaheim. Joining the specially livered bike, which features decals designed by TLD, were Italian motocross legend Tony Cairoli and Ducati Corse boss, and head of the off-road racing program, Paolo Ciabatti. The ‘Proto’ version of the Desmo450 will now go on tour, hitting seven more rounds of the 2025 AMA Supercross Championship where it will be displayed in the paddock. It’s joined by a cut-away engine, giving fans the chance to check out the desmodromic timing system for themselves.
Speaking about the partnership with Ducati, Troy Lee, founder of Troy Lee Designs, said:
“We are super stoked to be partnering with Ducati, one of the most prestigious brands in motorcycling … 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 Desmo450 MX will also be taking centre stage at the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas at COTA later this year. The bike will be at the heart of a special exhibition on Ducati Island, the circuit area reserved for ‘Ducatisti’.
It’s expected that Ducati will make its racing debut in AMA Supercross in 2026 with the Troy Lee Designs team, which ran GasGas’ factory squad between 2022–2024.
Bikes are expected to be in European dealers in the second half of 2025. More information can be found on the official website.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
