Pirelli Crowned World Champion in MXGP and MX2 Classes of the FIM Motocross World Championship at the Grand Prix of Americas

Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings Are the New World Champions in MXGP and MX2 Classes, Bringing Pirelli to an Astonishing 66 Motocross Titles

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (September 4 2016) –Charlotte Motor Speedway hosted the seventeenth and penultimate round of the2016 FIM Motocross World Championship. The downpours brought by Hurricane Hermine forced the organizers to cancel the Friday program and condense theGrand Prix of the Americas on Saturday. The first race was held in afternoon sun and the second with artificial lighting in the evening. The track, built inside the dirt track oval in North Carolina's premier motorsport facility, provided a hard and slippery surface that the majority ofPirelli riders faced with SCORPION™ MX32™ Mid Soft, both front and rear.

Tim Gajser is the new World Champion in MXGP class. The Slovenian was second overall in Charlotte and won the premier class crown in his debut season, repeating the distinction he achieved last year inMX2. Seven overall victories, fifteen moto wins and fifteen podium finishes are the impressive numbers that allowedGajser to deliverHonda a title that the Japanese company had been missing since 2000 and whenFrédéric Bolleylast won. It was a good race for Jeremy Van Horebeek who finished in third place.MXGP was a good outing for thenew SCORPION™ MX32™ Mid Hard front and for thenewSCORPION™ PROrear; tires that permittedJustin Barcia to score the holeshot and finish second in the first heat.

After two seasons lost to injury,Jeffrey Herlings has regained theMX2 class crown; a title that he won in 2012 and again in 2013. The Dutchman, very fast on hard surfaces and almost unbeatable on the sand, literally dominated the championship and - if he had not missed three rounds due to a broken collarbone - could have closed the series even earlier. Charlotte saw an excellent race for Thomas Covington who finished fourth overall at his home Grand Prix.

TheU.S. Grand Prix, scheduled for next weekend on the Californian track ofGlen Helen, will bring the curtain down on the 2016 World Championship;a triumphant season for Pirelli that, thanks to Gajser and Herlings victories and to SCORPION™ MX32™ performance, means 66 titles won since 1980 in motocross.

Race results:

MXGP race 1

1. TOMAC Eli (USA)
   
   
2. 
   BARCIA Justin (USA)
   
   
3. 
   VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy (BEL)
   
   
4. 
   GAJSER Tim (SLO)
   
   
5. DESALLE Clement (BEL)
   
   

MXGP race 2

1. TOMAC Eli (USA)
   
   
2. 
   GAJSER Tim (SLO)
   
   
3. 
   COLDENHOFF Glenn (NED)
   
   
4. BOBRYSHEV Evgeny (RUS)
   
   
5. 
   VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy (BEL)
   
   

MX2 race 1

1. 
   HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)
   
   
2. WEBB Cooper (USA)
   
   
3. FORKNER Austin (USA)
   
   
4. 
   COVINGTON Thomas (USA)
   
   
5. VLAANDEREN Calvin (NED)
   
   

MX2 race 2

1. WEBB Cooper (USA)
   
   
2. FORKNER Austin (USA)
   
   
3. 
   HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)
   
   
4. 
   COVINGTON Thomas (USA)
   
   
5. 
   SEEWER Jeremy (SUI)
   
   

GP Overall:

MXGP

1. TOMAC Eli (USA)
   
   
2. 
   GAJSER Tim (SLO)
   
   
3. 
   VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy (BEL)
   
   
4. 
   COLDENHOFF Glenn (NED)
   
   
5. DESALLE Clement (BEL)
   
   

MX2

1. WEBB Cooper (USA)
   
   
2. 
   HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)
   
   
3. FORKNER Austin (USA)
   
   
4. 
   COVINGTON Thomas (USA)
   
   
5. VLAANDEREN Calvin (NED)
   
   

Championship overall:

MXGP

1. 
   GAJSER Tim (SLO)p.693
   
   
2. 
   CAIROLI Antonio (ITA) p.603
   
   
3. 
   NAGL Maximilian (GER) p.565
   
   
4. 
   FEBVRE Romain (FRA) p.549
   
   
5. BOBRYSHEV Evgeny (RUS) p.522
   
   
6. 
   VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy (BEL) p.513
   
   

MX2

1. 
   HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED) p.689
   
   
2. 
   SEEWER Jeremy (SUI) p.595
   
   
3. PATUREL Benoit (FRA) p.485
   
   
4. 
   ANSTIE Max (GBR) p.473
   
   
5. 
   JONASS Pauls (LAT) p.403
   
   
6. 
   FERRANDIS Dylan (FRA) p.378