Last week, Ducati announced an all-new 250 motocrosser, the Desmo250 MX. The 250 made its debut over the March 8-9 weekend at the Ottobiano motocross track in Ottobiano PV, Italy, for round one of the Italian Prestige Motocross Championship.
Alessandro Lupino, the brand’s lead test rider and nine-time Italian champ, is, once again, taking the helm for the motocross 250 project in the same manner as the Desmo450 MX, which debuted in the Italian Championship last year.
Lupino is piloting the new 250 under the Beddini Racing team tent as they manage the new Factory Ducati effort. This team won the Italian MX2 title in 2024 and plans to race all six rounds of the Italian Motocross Prestige MX2 Championship.
Saturday’s qualifying saw Lupino earn the second fastest time aboard the new Ducati. The 34-year-old Italian rider has never raced the MX2 class in his home country and last rode a 250cc four-stroke more than 10 years prior.
Race one on Sunday came with Lupino starting outside the top five but moving to fourth after lap one. He quickly moved to third and battled with Simone Mancini for the second-place position. The two riders connected and both hit the ground, which ultimately caused damage to the Ducati. Lupino remounted and salvaged 10th.
Race two looked much better for the Italian native as he rounded turn one in fifth place. In the opening laps, he made his way into podium territory and crossed the line second behind Valerio Lata. Lata swept the day with 1-1 finishes ahead of Czech rider Julius Mikula’s 2-3 results. Lupino claimed third overall and landed the new Ducati on the podium in its debut race.
“I’m happy once again,” Lupino said. “We did a great job, and I have to congratulate the team at Ducati, who performed a miracle. The Desmo250 MX has only been running for three weeks, and today, we came for a test day. However, if I hadn’t been taken out, we could have secured two second-place finishes. As a rider, I’m pleasantly surprised to have made it onto the podium and to already have such a competitive bike on our first outing.”
Lupino sits third in the standings as the Italian Prestige Championship heads to the Mantova circuit on March 29 and 30 for round two. CN
Italian Prestige Results
MX2 (Top 5)
- Valerio Lata (Hon) 1-1
- Julius Mikula (TM) 2-3
- Alessandro Lupino (Duc) 10-2
- Mirko Valsecchi (GG) 3-11
- Samuele Bernardini (Hon) 6-5
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