1935 Ducati Nuvolari

Before Enzo Ferrari ever fielded a grand prix car, he ran a fierce little motorcycle team. It’s one of those footnotes in racing history that feels like a door left half open. The moment Alfa Romeo handed him their ex-works racecars, Enzo shut down the motorcycle division and never looked back. But I’ve always wondered: what if he had? What might the great Tazio Nuvolari — already a legend on two wheels before he became one on four — have raced if he’d been Enzo’s star rider?

That “what-if” has fueled a project of mine for nearly twenty years now: a “Ducati Nuvolari,” built as an homage to the era when Italy’s best were just as likely to be hunched over handlebars as strapped into monopostos. The attached bike is an example of that spirit — lean, purposeful, mechanical honesty on display.

My own build began almost two decades ago, with a full redesign in 2013, and it’s finally time to bring it home. I’m at a crossroads: finish it as originally planned with the single-cylinder bevel engine, or rework the chassis for the V-twin bevel I recently acquired. Either path tells a story. One is pure simplicity, the other a bit of beautiful excess — both very “Italian” in their own ways.

My only real goal now is simple: get it on the street and ride it while I still have miles left in my motorcycle days. After two decades, it’s time this dream stops living on the stand and starts living on the road.