Antonio Cairoli - Defence

It hasn’t been a great start to the 2015 MXGP season for defending world champion Antonio Cairoli. The Red Bull KTM Factory rider continues to struggle a little with form and is yet to win a grand prix. Still though despite no GP victories to his name he was just one point off of the leading rider (Clement Desalle) going into the fifth round of the series at one of his favorite circuits, Valkenswaard in Holland.

Having won at the sand circuit at every grand prix over the last five years many expected the Sicilian rider to leave Holland with the red plate and his confidence rising. Unfortunately motocross isn’t always kind to its heroes, and the outcome of Valkenswaard 2015 was very different from the last half decade for Cairoli.

A crash in the opening moto saw his bike destroyed and he wasn’t able to continue on, meaning zero points and big pressure for the second moto, but it got worse. Seventh place in the second moto riding with a broken hand meant that he would finish 11^th overall, and goes into the next round in Spain with a huge question mark on his fitness.

“I came off on one jump in the first moto and I hit my head a bit, and my wrist, but luckily nothing bad. In the second moto I started well, but after a few laps I got a strange feeling in my hand and for most of the 25 minutes I could only ride with one hand. It was very risky in some places and very difficult. I don’t think it’s anything serious but we are going to check and we have a couple of weeks to rest.”

Just 14 points from the GP and now 30 points off Max Nagl (who now holds the red plate) we might just see the best of Cairoli. No rider in the last 10 years of the FIM Motocross World Championships has been as smart as the Italian, and when it is time to produce the goods for victory, he usually does it.

With 13 rounds still remaining and a handful of those circuit that Cairoli is nearly unbeatable anything is possible for the Red Bull KTM Factory rider. Champions never give up and that is very much the mind-set Cairoli needs now.