Ducati current Off-Road General Manager, Paolo Ciabatti , enjoyed the 2024 World Ducati Week (WDW) as the first time he left his position in the MotoGP class .

The former Ducati MotoGP sports director will debut in 2024 in a new aspect of the Borgo Panigale brand. The focus will be on competitions such as the Suzuka 8-hour race, SBK (Super Bike) in Italy and Motocross.

During the World Ducati Week, last weekend, Paolo Ciabatti attended the sports media “GPOne.com” where he spoke about his new position at Ducati .

“I really like this new project, which I actually started following at the beginning of 2023. Now, this project has become my main project since the beginning of 2024,” Ciabatti said as reported by MotoSan.

“I competed in the main SBK Championship and the Suzuka 8 Hours which was an incredible experience. A career that is difficult to describe to those who have not experienced it.”

“We came home fourth because that would have been a big achievement, but we were third at the break. We then finished the race on Suzuki.”

Ciabatti compared what he experienced in MotoGP with his current position focused on other competitions, such as Motocross.

Ducati seems to be the reigning brand on every Motorcycle track, now can it also be on Motocross.

“It’s a big challenge. We are convinced that we have approached it with the right approach, but with typical Ducati technical solutions so that our bike is not even visible from a technical point of view to the others.”

Francesco Bagnaia reportedly wants to take part in the Suzuka 8 Hours race.

“Pecco ( Francesco Bagnaia’s nickname ) wanted to do it and I think the fact that Valentino did it and won it bravely for his Academy was a stimulus to try to follow in the footsteps of his own teacher,” said Ciabatti.

“There is still one year in which the current Panigale will be used in the race. So hopefully we can return to Suzuka in 2025 so that we can compete thanks to the experience gained.”

“Although there is no Suzuka 8 Hour race that has not been won by a Japanese rider, we also want to write our own bit and make history.”

Ducati is currently winning the competition against Japanese brands and at home it would be more than just an achievement.

“It will be difficult, but difficult challenges never scare us,” Ciabatti said.

“Now we are dedicated to analyzing all the data collected in this edition to understand how to work to improve ourselves.”

“There are some aspects that we have to improve. I repeat, I will say that finishing competitively, marking a fast lap in the race and without major technical problems, is already an excellent result.”

“Now we will work for 2025.”