Tony Cairoli has taken the overall victory at the 16th round of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship in his home country of Italy.
Cairoli set the fourth fastest lap in morning timed practice and the used the power of his factory KTM 450 SX-F to make a strong start and weave through the tight left-right opening corners in 2nd position. The Sicilian could do little about the speed of leader Tim Gajser but made sure of 2nd for his third top-three result from the last five motos. In the second outing Tony blasted to his first holeshot of the year. He then pursued Clement Desalle as the gap fluctuated between the pair. Cairoli crossed the line to register a 2-2, which meant his 7th podium result of the year and the 172nd of his career. He now trails Gajser by 73 points but is 18 ahead of Jeremy Seewer who is 3rd in the standings.
Tony Cairoli: “I’m really happy to win the overall and to ride with Clement in the second moto; it was like a few years ago when we used to fight for the title! We were riding fast today. It’s always good to win in Italy but it’s not the same without any public so thanks to all those who were supporting from home. We’ll try to do our best for the rest of the championship. Tim is far ahead but we’ll try to enjoy the last two races and see what happens.”
Claudio De Carli, Red Bull KTM MXGP Team Manager: “Tony’s performance was really good today and even after all these years he still keeps delivering results and giving us great emotions. Unfortunately, in Belgium last week we didn’t get the points that we all wanted but Tony showed he was running well here from the morning sessions. I think we could have even won the second moto. It’s a shame that Jorge could not race today as he has always been strong at this track. Both riders have been competitive this season with many podiums and they were both 2nd and 3rd in the standings. We’re happy with the results we’ve had so far and it has a been a big team effort to get these sixteen races done. Credit also to the organizers for making the season happen in a complicated year. We’ll do our best in these last two GPs ahead.”