Motocross

Antonio Cairoli Wraps Up 8th World Motocross Title In Brazil

Posted:

Monday, September 8th, 2014

10:06 AM

Antonio Cairoli Wraps Up 8th World Motocross Title In Brazil

With an enormous roar from the insanely passionate and fiery crowd here in Trindade, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing‰Ûªs Antonio Cairoli added another FIM Motocross World Championship title to his legend at the MXGP of Goias in Brazil.

Although it came easier than he had first anticipated with his only remaining title challenger, Yamaha Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jeremy Van Horebeek crawling to the finish in race one after injuring his ankle in qualifying yesterday, it has still been a hard earned season for the twenty-eight-year-old Italian.

Out of the thirty-one gate drops used to crown Cairoli the 2014 FIM MXGP World Champion, the happy-go-lucky guy from Patti, Italy, had a near fifty percent win rate, winning fifteen of the thirty-one races.

Out of the first fifteen rounds of MXGP, Cairoli landed on the podium a whopping twelve times. The three times he was not on the podium he still finished inside the top five. He also wrapped up nine MXGP round victories this season, extending his career total of Grand Prix wins to seventy-two.

It has been ten years since Cairoli‰Ûªs first Grand Prix win, which he obtained on his rookie season riding for De Carli Yamaha back in 2004, a season in which he finished an impressive third overall.

Antonio Cairoli on his way to his 3rd overall and his 8th world title in Brazil - Credit: Ray Archer

The following year, in 2005, he claimed his first world title in MX2, and now, nine years on, he has racked up a stifling eight FIM Motocross World Championship titles and is the second most successful rider in history, behind Belgian Stefan Everts who has ten titles to his name.

‰ÛÏWhen you are a kid you wish for such a thing but you never think you can do it,‰Û

Max Nagl was the fastest rider all weekend, winning Saturday's qualifying race before going on to win both motos on Sunday for the overall round win - Credit: Honda Racing

The first ever MXGP of Goias wraped up the penultimate round of the season in incredible style. It was vibrant, it was crazy, it was wild and compelling, as the boisterous Brazilian fans packed into the all-new MXGP venue to witness and celebrate round sixteen of the FIM Motocross World Championship.

While most of the attion was focused on Cairoli picking up his 8th world title, Team HRC‰Ûªs Max Nagl was nothing short of a blur out on the vibrant red clay as he flat out dominated every race this weekend, including the qualifying heat on Saturday, to pick up his first MXGP overall since way back in 2010.

‰ÛÏI just had a perfect day." Nagl admitted. "I didn‰Ûªt make any mistakes, had perfect starts and could control the races. Even with the heat I could make it through.

"After Lommel [the last GP] we did a great job because we went testing and improved the bike a lot and that was shown by the good starts and the overall performance. I also benefitted from the long break from racing. Physically I am much better again.

"From the beginning of the weekend here we had a great set-up and feeling and everything was going in a good direction right from Saturday morning. I think the track was better than in Europe where we have so many classes and there are strange lines and bumps.‰Û

Gautier Paulin rounded out the podium in Brazil - Credit: Kawasaki Racing

The jump-riddled circuit here in Trindade is the ultimate playground for a rider like Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team‰Ûªs Gautier Paulin, who enjoyed every moment of air-time as he made his way to second overall and his third podium finish of the season, finishing ahead of Cairoli who rounded out the podium.

Meanwhile Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team‰Ûªs Steven Frossard let a little beam of podium potential shine through with his impressive performance in race one which saw him come home for second. Because luck, or having two good races, is hard to come by for the Frenchman, any shot of the podium was thrown away when he lost the front end on a slick spot early on in race two. Nevertheless, he managed to bank fourth.

As for CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy‰Ûªs Tommy Searle, two solid performances allowed him to take home his third top five finish of the season in fifth.

In other news, Yamaha Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jeremy Van Horebeek showed his true grit when toughed out race one with his swollen ankle to tie up second overall in the MXGP championship. With his position of vice world champion secure, the Belgian didn‰Ûªt line up for the second race in order to let his injury heal.

As earlier reported Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing‰Ûªs Dean Ferris startled everyone with his speed in Brazil. Unfortunately, while on his way to what could have been his first ever MXGP podium finish, he had an ugly with Australian taken to hospital with a broken femur.

Antonio Cairoli celebrates his 2014 MXGP championship win with his Red Bull KTM Team - Credit: Ray Archer

MXGP Brazil Overall Top Ten: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 50 points
2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 40 points
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 36 points
4. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 36 points
5. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 32 points
6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 32 points
7. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 25 points
8. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 24 points
9. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 24 points
10. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), 20 points

MXGP World Championship After Round 16 of 17: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 705 points
2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 596 points
3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 530 points
4. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 484 points
5. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 392 points
6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 382 points
7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 357 points
8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 315 points
9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 270 points
10. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 258 points

Top Image: Antonio Cairoli celebrates his 8th World Motocross Championship Win

Credit: Ray Archer