Through the hours of relentless rain that preceded and accompanied the weekend, the question hung in the air: would motocross actually happen? Ottobiano Motorsport answered with a resounding yes — decisive, clear, and in many ways remarkable. Thanks to the sandy Lomellina soil that drains water like few other circuits in Italy, and thanks to the tireless work of brothers Luca and Roberto Gualini and the entire organising club, Round 1 of the 2026 Italian Pro-Prestige Championship 24MX – Ufo Plast went ahead as planned, delivering the kind of racing that lives long in the memory.
More than 24 hours of torrential rain had turned the track into something close to a swamp. At virtually any other venue in Italy, the weekend would likely have been cancelled. But Ottobiano is not any other venue. The Lomellina sand absorbed the deluge, the club worked through the night, and when the time came to bring the bikes to the gate, the race was on. The schedule had to adapt — second motos were cut to allow mechanics time to restore the bikes after the mud-soaked morning sessions — but everything that matters was present: adrenaline, drama, and real riders in real conditions.
Saturday: the Trofeo Italia is born, and so are its first heroes
Saturday brought with it a double first: the absolute debut of the Trofeo Italia, the new competition for Expert and Fast category riders, contested on the most unforgiving day of the weekend. The mud showed no mercy to anyone — but some riders handled it better than most.
In the MX2 Trofeo Italia, brothers Luca and Luigi Gerlini (Honda – Gazza Moto) emerged from the quagmire with real authority. Luca was the more consistent of the two: he won race one and finished second in race two, taking the red plate from the opening day. Luigi won race two and claimed second overall. Alessio Righetti (Honda – No Fears Team) completed the podium with two solid finishes in third and sixth. In the MX1 Trofeo Italia — run as a single race — Lorenzo Bernini (KTM – Lago d’Iseo) left nothing to chance, sweeping both motos to claim the day’s title. Stefano Sonego (Honda – Gaerne) and Andrea Fossi (Yamaha – 04 Park) filled the remaining podium places.
Sunday: Lupino makes history, Lata refuses to stop
Sunday dawned with real uncertainty: the circuit was waterlogged and conditions were on the edge. The organising club dug deep again, and the races went ahead — with a revised schedule and no second motos, but with the full intensity that only deep mud can draw out of a rider.
In MX1, Nicholas Lapucci grabbed the Pro Grip holeshot and led the opening laps ahead of Jan Pancar. A crash dropped him back, leaving Pancar and Alessandro Lupino at the front. What followed belongs to Italian motocross history: Lupino attacked Pancar, passed him almost effortlessly, and from that moment the race had only one winner. Pancar then suffered a mechanical issue that forced him to retire — the same fate, shortly after, befalling Mattia Guadagnini, who fell on the opening lap and was later eliminated by mechanical problems, one of many victims of a day that offered no second chances.
Lupino won unchallenged, with a magnificent Morgan Lesiardo (Triumph – Lago d’Iseo) taking a superb second place — a master class in riding in extreme conditions. Lapucci (Honda – Castel San Pietro Terme) snatched third on the final lap from Ivo Monticelli (Kawasaki – Fagioli), with Federico Tuani (Honda – Berbenno) fifth. But the real headline was a number: with this victory, Alessandro Lupino now has 35 wins and 50 podiums in the Italian Prestige Championship — an achievement without equal in the history of the series.
In MX2, the day’s biggest news came before the gate even dropped: Simone Mancini, following a lengthy assessment with the Ducati team, did not take part in the race. Lata, meanwhile, lined up visibly carrying the effects of his Argentina incident. He spent the opening laps assessing conditions — but when he decided to push, it was over for everyone else. The reigning champion stretched away and finished with complete authority. Behind him, a race full of incident: Riccardo Pini grabbed the Pro Grip holeshot then crashed; Manuel Iacopi (Yamaha – La Rocca) rode intelligently to a surprising second; Jekabs Kubulins (Yamaha) overtook Maxime Grau (Honda) on the final lap to steal third.
A weekend that deserves double the credit
Getting an event like this to the finish line, in these conditions, is never a given. It requires capable organisers, the right track, and a community that believes in what it is doing. Ottobiano demonstrated once again that it has all of that. Brothers Luca and Roberto Gualini and the entire organising club deserve recognition that goes well beyond the paddock: without their commitment, this weekend simply would not have happened.
The Italian Pro-Prestige Championship 24MX – Ufo Plast now heads to Maggiora on 2nd and 3rd May. Saturday will feature the Trofeo Italia MX2 and the Women’s Prestige Championship; Sunday will be the day of the premier classes. The red plates belong to Lupino and Lata. The season has only just begun.
Credits: Ph. Daniele-Barreca
