Paolo Ciabatti is a prominent Italian motorsport executive who currently serves as the General Manager of Ducati Corse Off-Road. After over a decade leading Ducati’s dominance in road racing, he transitioned in 2024 to head the company's ambitious entry into the world of motocross and supercross.

His team will be racing at the opening race of the European supercross season in Sardinia this coming weekend and the men from the Italian International series caught up with him to answer some questions.

The live streaming will feature two separate coverages, with Marco Gualdani providing Italian commentary and MXGP voice Paul Malin, providing English commentary on all the races broadcast live on federmoto.tv and FIM-MOTO.tv

Q: We know you've just returned from the USA where Ducati made its Supercross debut. How did this overseas adventure start? What did you think of the American scene?

Paolo Ciabatti: I actually just returned to Italy, in time for the race in Alghero, after three weeks in the US to closely follow the debut of the Desmo450 MX in the AMA Supercross Championship. All fans are aware of the extremely high level of competitiveness of the manufacturers, teams, and riders in SX, so we are extremely satisfied with the performance of our bike and the work of the Troy Lee Designs team and Dylan Ferrandis. In the first round at Anaheim 1, our debut in this series, Justin Barcia and Dylan Ferrandis finished third and fourth in Heat 1, demonstrating the value of the bike-rider package. Unfortunately, Barcia's nasty crash in the Main Event, in addition to worrying us greatly (but fortunately the consequences were not too serious), also eliminated a possible contender from subsequent races. In any case, Ferrandis' ninth place finish, repeated in San Diego, and his eleventh place finish in Anaheim 2 are results that give us hope for the rest of the Championship.

Q: You have been involved in the Ducati motocross project since its inception, and I would say that you have made great strides in just a few years. Where are we now?

Paolo Ciabatti: I think we have done a good job, but of course we know we still have room for improvement. This year, we are entering the world championship with the new VMR Promotion team in MXGP and three excellent riders, and we will be making our debut in MX2 and EMX250 with the Beddini team and two young Italian riders. Clearly, the goal is to always fight for the top five in MXGP and to gain experience and develop the new Desmo250 MX in MX2.

Q: A new season starts with many expectations for all the teams, the Internazionali d'Italia see Ducati lining up behind the starting gate with what objectives and from a technical and rider point of view what are the novelties of this '26?

Paolo Ciabatti: I have already answered in part before, but it is important to underline that in Alghero we will be present with all our 5 2026 riders: Bonacorsi, Seewer and Vlaanderen in 450 and Zanchi and Mancini in 250.

Q: Ducati fans are fundamental for the entire motorcycling movement, motocross is an important market for companies, how do you see it today and what do you think about the future of MX?

Paolo Ciabatti: Ducati has decided to engage in off-road with the aim of expanding its customer base by approaching a younger target, which previously did not find in our range models suitable to satisfy their passion for off-roading. The market is in a difficult moment for all manufacturers, but I think that thanks to the unique characteristics of our products, commercial success will not be lacking. From this point of view, the sales numbers of the Desmo450 MX are very comforting and in line with our objectives.