Pirelli Confirms 68th Motocross World Title at the Grand Prix of USA in Jacksonville

Pirelli Confirms 68th Motocross World Title at the Grand Prix of USA in Jacksonville

Jeffrey Herlings Wins the Latest Round of MXGP While Antonio Cairoli Continues to Lead the Championship. Hunter Lawrence and Thomas Covington Finish Second and Third in MX2 While Pauls Jonass Keeps the Red Plate.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (September 5, 2017) – The WW Motocross Park in Jacksonville, Florida was a brand new location for the U.S. Grand Prix and round seventeen of the FIM Motocross World Championship. The North American track featured sandy soil that became slippery through rainfall on Friday evening. The terrain once again saw the SCORPION™ MX32™ Mid Soft front and SCORPION™ MX Soft rear prove to be the best performing tires, allowing Pirelli to achieve excellent results in both classes.    With two rounds still to run in the 2017 season, Pirelli has mathematically won the MXGP World Title, which marks the 68th World Title won by the brand in this discipline since 1980. Jeffrey Herlings claimed the overall the victory in the USA. The Dutch rider confirmed his great skills on the sandy soil by finishing as runner-up in race one and winning the second moto. A strong second place went to Antonio Cairoli who defended his lead in the standings on a technical and challenging track. With a 96-point advantage over Herlings and just two rounds remaining, Cairoli could grab his ninth title next weekend at Assen. Pirelli also had impressive performances with Tim Gajser in fourth, Max Anstie in fifth, and Max Nagl with sixth.

Hunter Lawrence was second in the MX2 class. The young Australian was fast in both races for 3-2 moto scores. Third place overall belonged to Saturday's Pole Position holder Thomas Covington who outdueled Jeremy Seewer. The Swiss rider cut away five more points from Pauls Jonass who finished seventh in Jacksonville. The two riders are separated by only 40-points in the standings and they will battle for the title in the final two races.

The next Grand Prix will be hosted at the Assen circuit in Holland on September 10th.   

Race results (Pirelli riders in bold):     

MXGP Race 1  

1. TOMAC Eli (USA) 2. HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)  3. CAIROLI Antonio (ITA)  4. GAJSER Tim (SLO)  5. NAGL Maximilian (GER)     

MXGP Race 2  1. HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)  2. CAIROLI Antonio (ITA)  3.TOMAC Eli (USA) 4. PAULIN Gautier (FRA)  5. STRIJBOS Kevin (BEL)     

MX2 Race 1  1. HAMPSHIRE RJ (USA) 2. COVINGTON Thomas (USA)  3. LAWRENCE Hunter (AUS)  4. HARRISON Mitchell (USA) 5. KJER OLSEN Thomas (DEN)     

MX2 Race 2  1.HAMPSHIRE RJ (USA) 2. LAWRENCE Hunter (AUS)  3. SEEWER Jeremy (SUI)  4. COVINGTON Thomas (USA)  5. JONASS Pauls (LAT)        

GP Overall:     

MXGP  1. HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)  2. TOMAC Eli (USA) 3. CAIROLI Antonio (ITA)  4. GAJSER Tim (SLO)  5. ANSTIE Max (GER)     

MX2  1.HAMPSHIRE RJ (USA) 2. LAWRENCE Hunter (AUS)  3. COVINGTON Thomas (USA)  4. SEEWER Jeremy (SUI)  5. HARRISON Mitchell (USA)     

Championship overall:     

MXGP  1. CAIROLI Antonio (ITA) p.673  2. HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED) p.577  3. PAULIN Gautier (FRA) p.545  4.DESALLE Clement (BEL) p.544 5. GAJSER Tim (SLO) p.485  6. FEBVRE Romain (FRA) p.441     

MX2  1. JONASS Pauls (LAT) p.696  2. SEEWER Jeremy (SUI) p.656  3. KJER OLSEN Thomas (DEN) p.523  4.PATUREL Benoit (FRA) p.504 5. COVINGTON Thomas (USA) p.457  6. LIEBER Julien (BEL) p.450

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ABOUT PIRELLI

Founded in 1872, Pirelli is among the largest global tire makers, and focuses its business on the high end, premium product segment where it is a world leader. Present in over 160 countries, Pirelli has 22 manufacturing sites and employs approximately 38,000 people around the world. Successfully competing in motorsports since 1907, Pirelli is currently the exclusive supplier of the Formula 1 championship, the Superbike world championship, and many other championships around the world.

Pirelli Tire North America (PTNA) services NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) member countries through its Modular Integrated Robotized System (MIRS) facility and research and development center at its Rome, Georgia headquarters, its state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Silao, Mexico and its New York City, Montreal and Mexico City sales and marketing offices. The company manufactures, distributes and markets original equipment and replacement tires for export and domestic car/motorcycle applications (US, CA, MX) and Agro/Heavy Truck platforms (MX).

For Additional Information Please Contact:

Scott Roegner

Pirelli Moto Communications and Media Relations

NAFTA Region

Tel: 949-365-5750

Mail: motopress.nafta@pirelli.com  

Emily Grannis

Marketing Director, Moto BU

NAFTA Region

Tel: 706-331-1585

Mail: emily.grannis@pirelli.com