He’s moving to supervise Ducati’s motocross program, a crucial move for the Italian team as they expand in MXGP.
To get ready for motocross, Ducati will test its 450cc prototype machines in Italian competitions before officially joining the MXGP World Championship in 2025.
Mauro Grassilli will take over Ciabatti’s role. Grassilli, who was Director of Sports, Marketing, and Communications for Ducati, is set to guide the team through this strategic shift. Despite Ciabatti moving to motocross, he’ll still be involved in other races like MotoAmerica, British Superbikes, All Japan Superbike, Superbike Australia, and the CIV series in Italy.
This change in Ciabatti’s role is a major shift for Ducati in 2024. Massimo Bartolini, the team’s chief engineer, is reportedly taking an offer to become the technical director at Yamaha.
At 66, Ciabatti has been in his role since 2013, seeing successes like the MotoGP world title with Casey Stoner in 2007 and consecutive world championships with Francesco Bagnaia. As Ducati navigates these changes, the upcoming seasons promise to be an intriguing chapter in their racing history.