        It&rsquo;s the kind of news that has us trembling as we write it - nine-time MX World Champion Antonio Cairoli, a living legend on two knobby tyres, will take to the track for the first two rounds of the American National MX championship! Pala and Sacramento for Cairoli, in attesa di Herlings  This will be the second debut in the space of a few weeks for the Sicilian, following on from his recently announced enduro commitment. Tony will line up for the first two rounds at Fox Raceway National in Pala and at the Hangtown Motocross Classic in Sacramento, on 28 May and 4 June respectively. He will be riding the KTM 450 SX-F that he himself has developed. In addition to the obvious marketing-related goals, the aim is to continue to develop the bike and fill the void left by Marvin Musquin and Cooper Webb, who have decided not to take part after completing a tough Supercross season, in which they ran 17 rounds in the space of just 18 weeks. Herlings&rsquo; participation is still to be confirmed as he continues to recover, but if the Dutchman is unable to travel to America and Cairoli gets on well, the Italian may extend his stay until the end of the season, when the Grand Prix of Nations will run at Red Bud. Cairoli: "I&rsquo;m taking it seriously and will be looking for good results"  Tony Cairoli: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s exciting to finally confirm that I will be racing in the U.S. To ride and race in America is something I always wanted to try. I like the look of the tracks. For me there is no pressure to perform and I&rsquo;m not going there with the same preparation as I would have had for a world championship but I&rsquo;m taking it seriously and would be looking for good results. I know this will generate some interest and it will be great to travel, see some friends and enjoy my time.&rdquo; Beirer: " Tony is an icon and still an important part of our racing program"  Pit Beirer, KTM Motorsport Director: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a big pleasure for us to finally reach the stage where Tony is able to race again and to attempt one of his ambitions. Our Red Bull KTM structure means we can be fully ready for him in the U.S. and can give him all our support. Tony is an icon and still an important part of our racing program and it feels like this is the least we can do to pay back all the wins, the titles and the stories he has made with us for over ten years. I think it will also be cool for the American motocross fans to see some of the special talent that made Tony one of the best riders in world championship history.&rdquo; Harrison: "It will be exciting for the US fans to see him in action"  Ian Harrison, North America Red Bull KTM Team Manager: &ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t be prouder of having a rider and a person like Tony in our awning. He&rsquo;s a true legend of the sport and one of the best riders of the modern era. His achievements are matched only by the impact he has had around the world. We know he&rsquo;s been preparing to race out here, and we&rsquo;ve also been readying everything to give him the best amount of support. As we saw right up until the end of 2021 MXGP he is still extremely competitive, so I think that will be exciting for the fans in the U.S. to watch him in action.&rdquo; Translated by Heather Watson Troy Bayliss at Spa for the first time, for the 2022 Bikers' Classics       

The nine-time world champion will line up for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in the 450 MX gate for the opening rounds of the 2022 AMA Pro Nationals in California. Herlings&rsquo; participation still in doubt

Tony Cairoli: “Ready for America”

As a legendary MXGP star, the nine-time world champion received a special prize during the 2020/21 FIM Awards to celebrate his incredible success over an 18-year career that saw him win at least one GP every season.  A special, &ldquo;royal&rdquo; prize   Cairoli, who attended the gala prize-giving at the Sporting Monte-Carlo along with his wife Jill, enjoyed a standing ovation as he received his prize, which was presented by FIM President Jorge Viegas and His Royal Highness Alberto II, Prince of Monaco. TC222 was invited onto the stage to watch a specially prepared tribute video that took in the most important moments of his career, including the celebrations for his nine world titles, won in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2017.  Viegas: &quot;As well as being world champion, he&rsquo;s an extraordinary person&rdquo;   &ldquo;We have a special champion &ndash; he&rsquo;s a nine-time world champion but as well as being a world champion, he&rsquo;s an extraordinary person&rdquo;, commented FIM President Viegas, while Cairoli added: &ldquo;Thank-you for the invite. Unfortunately I&rsquo;m not world champion this year, I normally come here for a different reason, but I&rsquo;m really happy to be here with all these champions and would also like to congratulate Giuseppe Luongo for his fantastic journey, I&rsquo;m pleased to be part of the MXGP and FIM family.&rdquo;  Translated by Heather Watson  FIM Awards 2021, Jeffrey Herlings: &ldquo;What Cairoli has done for MXGP it&#39;s really amazing&rdquo; 

During the 2020-2021 FIM Awards held in Monaco, Antonio Cairoli received a special prize in recognition of his 18-year career

FIM Awards: career prize for Antonio Cairoli

        At the end of the season, Tony Cairoli will retire from MXGP having been the face of world motocross for more than a decade. The Italian champ&rsquo;s announcement follows that of Valentino Rossi and marks the end of a golden age for Italian motorcycling, one that would be hard to repeat. The two legends have set record after record, collected fans around the world and elevated the media coverage and technical levels of their respective disciplines. It&rsquo;s symbolic that they will retire in the same year, almost destiny really. The elusive tenth title, but it&rsquo;s not yet over  The careers of the two Italian champion share many similarities, starting with the stats. Nine world titles apiece, with 115 race wins for Valentino Rossi and 93 for Cairoli. Both lie in second place on the all-time list of titles and wins, behind Giacomo Agostini and Stefan Everts respectively. The pursuit of a tenth title has been a common denominator in the latter stages of the two Italians&rsquo; careers, both having tried their best to reach double figures. The MX rider&rsquo;s fight is not yet over, as he currently lies third in the championship standings and is still very much in the mix. Cairoli has overcome adversity, criticism, injury and rivals. Something that would become more difficult as the years went on, and now, with the announcement of his retirement, he has one last opportunity to secure the win, otherwise a tenth title will remain a pipedream, as it has for the MotoGP champion. And yet, the pursuit of this goal has never become an obsession, rather it has always been driven by passion, the true weapon for both riders, who were able to construct a career, and their respective success, on what Michael Jordan called &ldquo;love of the game&rdquo;. For Cairoli, a tenth title would see him equal Stefan Everts&rsquo; record and be hailed the greatest MX rider of all time. The same goes for Valentino Rossi, for whom a tenth title would have moved him closer to Agostini. But, with champions of this calibre, at a certain point the numbers do nothing more than detract from a much more important value. With Rossi and Cairoli, it isn&rsquo;t about how much they&rsquo;ve won but how they&rsquo;ve done it, the emotions they&rsquo;ve transmitted, and what they&rsquo;ve given their fans and colleagues - and this is worth so much more than another title. Translated by Heather Watson Tony Cairoli, the man who put MX centre stage       

Tony Cairoli&rsquo;s retirement follows that of the &ldquo;Doctor&rdquo; and marks the end of a golden era for Italian motorcycling, with both men on nine world titles, although it&rsquo;s not yet over for Cairoli

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Tony Cairoli: “Ready for America”

FIM Awards: career prize for Antonio Cairoli

Rossi and Cairoli, two champs retire with dreams of a tenth title