Pirelli All-Stars from 14 nations race on tyres’ home soil at italian edition of Motocross of Nations

Pirelli announces its support of more than twenty all-star riders who will compete in this weekend's 63rd Red Bull Motocross of Nations, an event representing the grand finale of the FIM Motocross World Championship as well as various other national motocross competitions.  For fans, it is the one chance to see every major talent from around the world race together, each nation being represented by one rider per class - MX1, MX2 and Open Class for the prestigious crown of best Nation.  For Pirelli, it's a chance to support new riders and develop new relationships within such a mixed crowd.  This year's Motocross of Nations will be the first time held on Italian soil since 1986 when the race was run in Maggiora. Pirelli's all-star cast consists of FIM Motocross World Championship riders from Europe continent such as MX2 champion Marvin Musquin, representing his home country France along with MX1 second-place winner Max Nagl, who will race for Germany.  Just behind Musquin in the MX2 World Championship was rider Rui Goncalves, a national hero who holds the flag for Portugal.  These three class hopefuls will all ride their KTM machines on which they found successes in their respective classes in the world championship.  For Belgium in the MX1 class will be Clément Desalle, whose third place in the world championship gave Honda its best standings for the year. Fans from Italy will be cheering for local heroes David Philippaerts (MX1) and his Yamaha teammate Davide Guarneri (MX2), who both finished fourth in their respective classes in the world championship, riders which should add the depth needed by team Italy to contend with the always strong squad coming from the United States. From South American comes again the experienced group of Brazilian riders led by Wellington Garcia, who took the MX1 and MX2 titles in this year's Brazilian Motocross Championship. Hailing from New Zealand in the Oceania continent is Joshua Coppins, whose sixth place finish was just two positions behind his Yamaha teammate Philippaerts. Other international riders with Pirelli for this race from Spain are José Antonio Butrón, currently seated in fifth place in the MX Elite class of Campeonato de España de Motocross, which ends in October; and Jonathan Baragan, a KTM rider who could have been a contender in the MX1 world championship until a training accident put him out of several races. Last year's Motocross of Nations, held at Donington Park in the UK, saw a strong performance from the American riders who won best nation overall, but Pirelli riders Steve Ramon, David Philippaerts, and Max Nagl captured one second and two third-place finishes, giving their teams enough points to finish in the top ten. The international off-road event will be held at the newly constructed track on the grounds of the Autodromo Daniel Bonara, located in Franciacorta just one hour from Pirelli's worldwide headquarters in Milan, Italy. Pirelli's partnership agreement with the event promoter, DBO in July of this year was made in order to support this international racing event and its promotional activities. More information and race tickets can be found on the site: www.mxnations2009.com. For more information on Pirelli's motorcycle tyre range, our site is always open at www.pirellimoto.com. Race Manager's CommentsGiovanni Gatti, who handles Pirelli's Off-Road Motorcycle Racing, commented: "It's a real pleasure to see our best riders from around the world compete on Italian soil.  Riders like MX2 World Champion Marvin Musquin typically prefer competing on the Scorpion MX MidSoft front and MX Soft rear for soft terrain, but since Franciacorta facility is brand new, it's hard to predict the soil conditions and thus the ideal combination. After reaching our 52nd world championship title in the FIM World Motocross, Pirelli is braced to offer strong support to the field of riders with our diverse line of Scorpion MX tyres. Even more so, we keep in close contact with our off-road support staff in other nations, which gives us a strategic advantage to keep these riders' needs met."   2009 Motocross of Nations  - Entry List of PIRELLI Riders