Silvio Sabba and Valerio Boni have set a new Guinness World Record for the greatest distance covered on a motocross motorcycle in 24 hours. The attempt took place on October 1 at a dirt track just outside Milan, where the pair completed 1,588 laps of a half-mile loop and travelled more than 900 miles.

Their motorcycle was a stock Ducati Desmo450 EDS, powered by a 449.6cc engine producing 21.5bhp. Apart from fuel stops, the bike was taken out of action once for an oil and filter change, reportedly completed in under 17 minutes. Night running depended entirely on the Ducati’s LED headlight, with ruts and potholes adding another challenge to the track.

A motocross bike in an endurance test

The result stands out because it was achieved with a competition motocross motorcycle rather than a road machine adapted for distance. The engine is described as needing an overhaul every 180 to 240 hours, which puts the scale of a continuous 24-hour effort into perspective despite the limited service interruptions.

The riders had already completed a comparable challenge the year before. On that occasion, Sabba and Boni covered more than 908 miles in 24 hours aboard a Ducati Scrambler Full Throttle, setting a team record for the greatest off-road distance by a petrol-powered modified road-legal scrambler. Guinness World Records is said to credit Sabba with more than 200 records. Boni, meanwhile, has 24-hour distance records on a pocketbike and an electric scooter as an individual.