Despite recently turning 40 years old and representing Italy at the Motocross of Nations in Ironman, Antonio Cairoli says he still isn’t done with racing just yet. The nine-time World Champion remains passionate about the sport and has revealed that he hopes to line up for selected races over the next couple of years on-board his Ducati machine. It’s more likely he lines up in the AMA Pro Motocross series than MXGP but both can’t be ruled out.
“I hope I can do still do this for a couple of years. I really enjoy riding and mixing up with the guys at the front, it is fun. You know, when you start to be scared with racing it’s time to hang up the helmet but I still really enjoy it. I would like to do some more racing especially here in the US, I really enjoy the tracks and the prep of the tracks. It’s really fun to race so let’s see if we can make it happen again next year with some more racing”, Cairoli told GateDrop.com.
Cairoli showed he can still run a strong pace against the best in the world at the MXoN, going up against riders half his age. In fact, Lucas Coenen wasn’t even born when Cairoli won a moto at the Motocross of Nations back in 2006 on his 250cc machine – something that puts the Italian’s remarkable longevity into perspective.
“If I look to the stats, my mind blows up at a lot of things, but I try to not forget who I was in the past when I arrive and try to see what I can do. At this age it is amazing, and I still hope I can do still do it for a couple of years.”
During the qualifying race at Ironman, Cairoli even battled with Eli Tomac and managed to hold him off, showing he still has plenty of speed and fight left in him.
“No, I’m not surprised. I mean I know I can ride top 10 in the US and also top 5 for sure in MXGP if I keep training and I keep riding how I did in the past. I was not surprised but I was happy, I was really enjoying the racing and the riding. Today unfortunately I had to really, really dig deep to use all of my experience riding in this condition with my hand. I mean in the end it was okay but it’s not what we wanted.”
Cairoli’s passion and love for motocross clearly remain as strong as ever. Fans might just get the chance to see one of the sport’s greatest icons lining up behind the gate a few more times yet.
