Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali Named President Of Italy's 'Motor Valley'

Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali has been given the new role as President of the Motor Valley Association in Italy. The announcement was made at a press conference held at the Ducati Auditorium in Borgo Panigale, and the event was attended by delegates from the district's companies and international race circuits, and regional institutes. The Motor Valley Association unites all the car and motorcycle brands from Italy's "Motor Valley," in Emilia-Romagna. Motor Valley is a concentration of brands, international race circuits, private collections and specialised training centres in northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna region.

"Motor Valley brings together a series of brands that are unique, renowned and appreciated around the world for their design, technology and performance, all of them located within a radius of just 150 km. As Ducati, we take pride in being part of this association, just as I am personally proud to take on the Presidency. For me, accepting this role is an act of responsibility and recognition towards an extraordinary part of Italy that has given me so much", stated Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati and President of Motor Valley. "This Region enjoys an unparalleled academic culture and unmatched motoring and technological skills. It's also a magnet for enthusiasts, new talent and businesses and as such deserves our wholehearted support."

Dallara, Ducati, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Pagani are just a few of these Motor Valley brands, loved by fans all over the world. Motor Valley also includes 15 specialised museums (such as the Enzo Ferrari Museum in Modena, the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, the Automobili Lamborghini Museum, the Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum, the Ducati Museum in Borgo Panigale and the Horacio Pagani Museum in Modena), 16 private collections and 4 racetracks (the "Riccardo Paletti" circuit in Varano de Melegari, the Modena racetrack in Marzaglia, the "Enzo e Dino Ferrari" circuit in Imola and the Marco Simoncelli Misano World Circuit at Misano Adriatico).

"Emilia-Romagna's Motor Valley is a concentrate of talent, know-how, flair, design, industrial prowess, craftsmanship, innovation and research, making it unlike anywhere else in the world", points out the Region's President, Stefano Bonaccini. "It's dream brands fly our Region's flag internationally, attracting visitors from all over the globe. It does so thanks to the effective teamwork between local institutions and private companies that has allowed us to build a fascinating association of 4 international racetracks, 6 specialised training centres, 6 world-leading car and motorcycle makers, 11 museums, 16 collections, 7 key industry players and 188 sports teams that combines culture, entrepreneurship and speed. It's a district that - together with Food Valley, UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the beauty of the Apennine Mountains and the Po Delta - is a global magnet for tourists. It's also a district that provides work for thousands.

The region also has the MUNER project - the Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna No Profit Per Education.

"Global competition is no longer between individual businesses but regional systems" underlined Andrea Pontremoli, CEO of Dallara and President of MUNER, "and regional systems consist of businesses, training facilities and institutions".

Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali with MUNER President Andrea Pontremoli and the Region's President Stefano Bonaccini

The Osservatorio Turistico of Motor Valley - a study run by Unioncamere Emilia Romagna, Trademark Italia and Mailander - shows that in 2018 alone, Motor Valley attracted 1.2 million overnight visitors, injecting over 300 million euros into the local economy (through revenues generated by events at the Imola and Misano race circuits and visits to company museums). Total visitor numbers to the district were about 1.8 million, of whom 44 per cent were Italian and 56 per cent foreign, with 1,190,000 overnight stays by visitors to museums and collections and spectators at racetrack events.

In Emilia-Romagna - Italy's third most important region in the national car and motorcycle industry, preceded only by Lombardy and Piedmont - the automotive supply chain involves 16,500 businesses and over 66,000 employees, or 10 per cent of the entire national supply chain. In 2017, the four regional universities (Bologna, Parma, Ferrara and Modena-Reggio Emilia) and the industry's eight top companies, including Ducati, Ferrari and Lamborghini, created the Universita dell' Automotive. It holds two courses that aim to train the automotive engineers of the future.