Claudio Domenicali is the new President of Motor Valley

• Ducati CEO to lead the Association that brings together all the "Motor Valley" brands of Emilia-Romagna
• This unique motorcycle and car manufacturing area has over 16,500 businesses employing over 66,000 people
• The President of the Region of Emilia-Romagna, Stefano Bonaccini, and the President of MUNER, Andrea Pontremoli, spoke at the Press Conference, attended by representatives of the companies and international racetracks that make up the Association

Bologna, 5 December 2019 – A press conference has been held at the Ducati Auditorium in Borgo Panigale to officially announce Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali's new role as President of the Motor Valley Association. The event was attended by delegates from the district's companies and international race circuits, Regional Institutes and the media.

The Association unites all the car and motorcycle brands from Italy's "Motor Valley", in Emilia-Romagna. Motor Valley - a concentration of brands, private collections, international race circuits and specialised training centres like no other on the planet - works alongside the Region to make the very best of this heritage in terms of tourism.

"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."

Motor Valley encapsulates Made-in-Italy automotive and industrial excellence: it's a project that highlights the area's capacity to network and make the most of internationally unique qualities. It centres on the car and motorcycle industry, the beating heart of the Region's economy, on its excellent universities and its truly global appeal.

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. It's intertwined with the Region's higher education and university network, as highlighted by MUNER - the Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna that offers international automotive-dedicated degree courses, co-organised by the four universities of Emilia-Romagna and its deep-rooted car and motorcycle manufacturers - which is attracting many motivated, exceptional young people to our region from all over Europe and, indeed, the world. Today we welcome an enlightened, forward-thinking entrepreneur to the Presidency, a man whose experience and vision will do much to enhance this unique concentration of passion and expertise even further".

The Osservatorio Turistico of Motor Valley - a study run by Unioncamere Emilia Romagna, Trademark Italia and Mailander - shows how Motor Valley attracted, in 2018 alone, 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% were Italian and 56% 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% of the entire national supply chain. Yet Motor Valley also - and above all - plays a strategic role. A role that sees companies and universities committed at every level. A role that focuses on technological innovation, specialisation, research and development, with project members working closely alongside each other.

A tangible example is the MUNER (Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna No Profit per Education) project. 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 Università dell'Automotive. It holds two courses that aim to train the automotive engineers of the future.

"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".

Motor valley simply has to be experienced. And next year will offer a golden opportunity to do so in the form of the second Motor Valley Fest, to be held from 14 to 17 May in the heart of Modena.