Ducati Desmo450 MX to Debut in 2026 FIM Flat Track World Championship

Best known for its administration of the Great Britain Speedway Team, VRX Management has partnered with Dirt Store – one of the UK's leading suppliers of off-road apparel, parts and equipment – and will field British riders Tim Neave and Ashton Boughen for Ducati's entry into this fast-growing discipline. The reigning British champion and a former British Superbike Championship contender, thirty-year-old Neave made his FIM Flat Track World Championship debut in 2023 and the following season missed out on an FIM bronze medal on a tie-break. Neave – who has scored four podiums, but is still chasing his first victory at the highest level – will be aiming to improve on his current sixth-placed ranking, while the 2026 season will present a steep learning curve for his teenaged team-mate.

Aged just eighteen, Boughen is regarded as a serious up-and-coming talent who has previously raced Motocross for Yamaha Europe. More recently active in the sport of Speedway, he has now decided to concentrate on the FIM Flat Track World Championship. The pair will line-up on Ducati's ground-breaking Desmo450 MX model – developed in conjunction with Italian legend and nine-time FIM Motocross World Champion Tony Cairoli – that features desmodromic timing and combines cutting-edge technology with race-proven performance.

Extended from six to ten rounds this year as a mark of its fast-growing popularity, the 2026 FIM Flat Track World Championship will visit eight countries and two continents over an intense five-and-a-half-month schedule, starting in Roden in the Netherlands on 9 May and concluding with two rounds in Argentina – its first-ever dates outside of Europe – over the weekend of 24-25 October. Fabrizio Cazzoli, Managing Director Ducati UK, said: " Ducati UK is delighted to extend its congratulations to the newly established VRX Dirt Store Ducati Race Team as they embark on this exciting new chapter. We are proud to see the Ducati Desmo 450 MX showcased in an environment that differs from its traditional cross setting.

As the very first flat track team to utilise this model, this initiative highlights the remarkable versatility and adaptability of the Ducati platform. This project represents an important milestone, demonstrating how the Desmo 450 MX can perform across diverse disciplines while maintaining the performance and engineering excellence synonymous with the Ducati name. We wish the Team every success for the season ahead and look forward to following their progress closely .