MXA... TONY CAIROLI LOOKS BACK AT THE SWITCH TO DUCATI

MXA

BY JIM KIMBALL

TONY, CAN WE BEGIN WITH YOU LEAVING KTM AND JOINING DUCATI? Yes. It was a very special opportunity to come to Ducati, but it was a very difficult one because KTM was like part of my family for so many years. In one way, I was very proud that the Italian brand Ducati was coming out with a motocross machine. Ducati is such an iconic brand.

I took the challenge, which was also a very difficult one because I know what I left with KTM, but I did not know what to expect from Ducati since they have no experience in motocross. So, it was quite a tough deal to leave KTM and sign with them, but I was very proud of it. It was a good decision.

MOVING TO DUCATI WAS A BIG CHANGE, AS YOU NO LONGER WORKED WITH THE DE CARLI TEAM. Yes, I was with the De Carli family from the beginning. We switched from Yamaha to KTM while there, and we accomplished so much together after winning that first 250 World Championship in 2005. Claudio De Carli and his family treated me like one of their own, and this helped me a lot after both my parents passed away. I was with the De Carlis for 18 years and 92 Grand Prix wins.

HOW HAS THE DUCATI CHANGED OR EVOLVED SINCE YOU JOINED THE BRAND? The first time I saw the bike was on a scratch pad! It was a very tough project working to making it arrive at what it is now. There was initially a lot of base riding, trying a lot of different things. It was tough but fun. Now we have a very good base. I think as a motocross bike, it is one of the best on the market.

HOW WAS IT RACING IN MXGP ON THE BIKE? Racing is tough always, especially when you have been retired for a few years and haven’t been training for racing. Initially, all I did at Ducati was to test; basically, you do one lap in and one lap out and change things—quite a lot of things. So, it is very different from when you are testing to develop your race bike. It is not easy getting back into racing shape, and with my age now 40, that is a big factor.

I had to play with many things, such as recuperation between motos. It is not the same as when I was younger. It is tough, but I still had a lot of fun, so I am really happy I have the potential to still do it.

 Tony’s Desmo450 needed a special waiver from the AMA to bypass the homologation rules that require 400 production bikes to be legal to race the Ducati in the USA. Photo by Kyle Berry.

NOW THAT DUCATI HAS AN MXGP TEAM, ARE YOU MAINLY INVOLVED WITH BIKE DEVELOPMENT OR DO YOU ALSO WORK WITH THE RIDERS? I only work with the motorcycle. There are so many aspects of the 450 that we are still working on. And of course we are also starting to develop the Ducati 250, so I am not working with the team riders. That is not my thing.

YOU RACED YAMAHAS FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE KTM. CAN YOU COMPARE HOW THE DUCATI FEELS? In all honesty, it rides a bit more like my Yamaha. Of course, the aluminum frame contributes to that. It is quite a different feeling than the chromoly steel frame on the KTM. It definitely feels more like a Japanese bike when you ride it.

TELL US ABOUT THE DECISION YOU MADE TO COME TO AMERICA TO DO A COUPLE AMA 450 NATIONALS. HOW DID THAT EVOLVE? It evolved because we know that the American market is very important for dirt bikes—maybe the most important market in the world for sure. So, I expressed my interest in coming to America to test with Factory Connection because I knew they had good knowledge in many areas. I think it was a good mix. We improved a lot in those AMA Nationals and got a lot of testing done.

Racing is important to see exactly where those changes are going to bring you. Of course, it was not easy because, to be honest, the racing level here is very high. For me, it is just a matter of showing the bike to the American fans and seeing if we can put some good laps in with it. The focus was to get in some gate drops and enjoy good racing—that is it.

“I TOOK THE CHALLENGE, WHICH WAS ALSO A VERY DIFFICULT ONE BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT I LEFT WITH KTM, BUT I DID NOT KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM DUCATI SINCE THEY HAVE NO EXPERIENCE IN MOTOCROSS.”

YOU HAVE BEEN A WINNER FOR SO MANY YEARS. I IMAGINE YOUR MAIN PURPOSE IS TO TEST, BUT I’M SURE THAT AS A RACER YOU WANT TO WIN. For sure, it is not easy to accept when you are in the back, but I am a racer. I know that at my age, being 40 years old and battling against guys 20 years younger than me, it is very difficult, especially because I don’t train for racing. I train for testing mostly. However, I think that if I wanted to do a proper season, like going for a championship, I think I could probably still do it, fighting for the top five in the MXGP series, but it is not the case now. I am here to test all the things on the bike. I have not been training to win races for two, three or four years, since the end of 2021. When I stopped racing, I stopped all my training programs and just rode for testing or fun. But it is difficult to accept. Your mind wants you to be at the front, but your body has to accept that your physical condition is not good.

WHAT WILL YOU DO AFTER YOUR TRIP TO AMERICA? After this trip, we will need to settle down and evaluate what we learned here and what this brought to us here. Remember, we also have the MXGP team, and we can give them some better settings and parts to race with and to perform better. I will keep riding, of course. I would like to keep doing some MXGP rounds at the end of the series. Maybe the Motocross des Nations can be an option if I am riding well. It is an option since the MXDN is in the USA at Ironman in October. We have the bikes and everything else here already. It depends on the Italian Federation and what their thoughts are on this, but I would be open to it because I would love to race for Team Italy at the Motocross des Nations.  

 Even though he retired from racing in 2021, Tony racked up top-10 finishes at 40 years old in both the MXGP and AMA 450 Nationals this year.

YOU FINISHED SEVENTH AT AN MXGP EARLIER THIS YEAR. WERE YOU HAPPY WITH THAT? Yes, I was super happy. The only moto I did before that race was one moto to test some temperature stuff for the bike. But, I had not been doing motos for the last three years, so it was nice to see if my body could be pushed without training. Of course, I know that I cannot win because I would need refined technique, fitness and speed to win, but even if I don’t train, I can use my technique and experience to finish in the top seven.

Here in America, I was proud to be in the top 10. It is a different style of racing—different race tracks, a completely different race schedule from MXGP and on a production bike that we are testing a lot of different things on. I knew from being here a couple years ago on a KTM that the AMA riders are very fast in the beginning of the race, and I am not used to that since it has been so many years now. It has been a very good challenge.

“YES, I WAS SUPER HAPPY. THE ONLY MOTO I DID BEFORE THAT RACE WAS ONE MOTO TO TEST SOME TEMPERATURE STUFF FOR THE BIKE. BUT, I HAD NOT BEEN DOING MOTOS FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, SO IT WAS NICE TO SEE IF MY BODY COULD BE PUSHED WITHOUT TRAINING.

WILL YOU COME BACK FOR PRE-SUPERCROSS TESTING? Yes, for sure. I will be involved more and more to check what the rider situation is. I’ll be very happy if I can help with testing. Of course, Supercross is not my thing, but I can still give a little advice. Hopefully the team will be announced soon so we can start working on the riders to see who to pick and who not so we can see what the situation is.

I KNOW STEFAN EVERTS WON TEN WORLD TITLES, BUT YOUR NINE WORLD MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS WERE AGAINST TOUGHER COMPETITION. It is tough to win that many titles. Of course, Stefan Everts did an amazing job, but it was at a different time. There were times when he only raced one moto in a day. And one year, I think he won two championships because he was racing all the classes, so it was very different times of course. What I am mostly proud of is myself and my career. I was racing against Stefan in his time, and I am now racing with riders like Jett Lawrence and Lucas Coenen. It has been quite difficult during the years, but I am most proud of having the speed through those different generations.

 It takes a village.

“YES, WINNING ON THE 350 WAS VERY SPECIAL, AS WE WON FIVE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN A ROW.”

AND MANY OF YOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS WERE ON THE KTM 350! Yes, winning on the 350 was very special, as we won five championships in a row. That was also when KTM hired me to run the team in America. This was a big time in America for KTM. Roger DeCoster and Ryan Dungey helped make the brand what it is now.

WHO WAS YOUR GREATEST COMPETITOR THROUGHOUT YOUR RACING CAREER? I have raced against many generations of riders, even Stefan Everts as you mentioned, but it is probably Christophe Pourcel I think of the most when it comes to a career competitor. He was a very good rival. Of course, Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser were two other great competitors.

YOU MENTIONED JETT LAWRENCE A MINUTE AGO. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HIM? I believe that Jett Lawrence is something special in motocross. What he is doing is amazing. I think he is the best motocross rider in the world. There are some other young riders, including Lucas Coenen in MXGP and Haiden Deegan in America, who are fast as well. But now, Jett is on another level.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT SO MANY GP RIDERS WANTING TO COME TO AMERICA? Almost every rider had the big dream to come to America and race. Of course, Supercross was the big draw, but even the outdoor motocross tracks are so much nicer here in America than in the MXGP series. In the USA, they prepare the tracks between the motos, which makes them much safer in the States. At the GP races, the tracks are old school and not the best for high-level motocross. Also, on the GP weekend, they have too many different classes racing, so there is no time to fix the tracks. This makes the riders look slow. The GP tracks are too sketchy.

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN YOUR FUTURE? I would say that for probably the next couple of years, I will keep riding and helping with the bikes until my body cannot keep going. I am still fast, and I think you must be fast to make bikes better. I feel I can do this, and I would love to be involved with R&D in the future. After that, we will see. Most of all, I will enjoy life with my wife Jill and our children.