So it seems #222 is about to add another 2 to his number haha! Red Bull KTM Factory Racing have announced that the current reigning MXGP Champion and nine, yes nine, time FIM Motocross World Champion Antonio Cairoli will ride with the team for another two years! This will see him race through the current 2018 season and two more years after!

At the age of 32 that is some deal to be offered and Cairoli signed on the line in Rome on Thursday in the presence of both Team Manager Claudio De Carli and KTM Motorsports Director Pit Beirer. This new deal means Cairoli will have served eleven years with KTM at the end and what a career he has had so far!

He gave the team their first ever title in the MXGP class of the FIM Motocross series in 2010 aboard the brand new bike the 350 SXF. This was against a whole class of riders who were riding 450's! He then gave them the KTM 450 SX-F’s first title in MXGP in 2017 and that is pretty much a legendary track listing!

With the KTM team all heading to Neuquen for the Grand Prix of Patagonia Argentina next weekend this news could not come at a better time to pump up the team. This season will be Cairoli's fifteenth year as a full time GP rider and it will be his ninth as a member of the Red Bull KTM team.

He has chalked up the following stats in his unbelieveable career!

9 Titles - 7 in the MXGP 450 class
213 GP appearances
83 career wins
145 podiums
163 moto victories

These stats pretty much set him as the benchmark for ANY motocross rider who want's to be the best, end of!

Antonio Cairoli

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

"I’m really happy to announce this because we already made history in 2010 with the KTM 350 SX-F against the 450s and succeeded with that challenge. I feel a part of KTM because of that success and since then the company has grown a lot. I put in a lot of effort to bring titles and I feel very proud to be part of the company. They invest a lot and do a lot of work in development and you see the result because it is the top off-road manufacturer in the world. I’m happy to continue and to do another two years and to try for more titles. I’m fully motivated for the upcoming seasons."

Pit Beirer

KTM Motorsports Director

"Around two years ago people were already saying that Tony was getting too old to stay at the top and I took that moment to declare that we had full trust in his skills and capabilities. He had two tough seasons but it was amazing how he bounced back in 2017 and showed that we were absolutely right. It made me happy and very proud that he wanted to continue and he wants to keep pushing. I believe Tony has found the right balance in his life – personally and professionally – to keep racing and wanting to achieve. He is very passionate about it and this is why he continues to be so strong. I’m only too happy to make this strong commitment to Tony and very pleased that our MXGP story will go on. I also want to thank and pay credit to Claudio De Carli and his role. He has had a big say in the Cairoli-KTM success over the years and long may it last."