Italy MXoN team & Martin signs new deal

Italy put their best three forward

So along with the late entry from Team Great Britan Italy have also been dragging their heels with submitting the finalized team for the upcoming Motocross of Nations at Redbud USA. There was however a very good reason for this and one that any team with a legendry rider in can understand. Antonio Cairoli picked up a knee injury during the FIM Motocross World Championship series and Michele Cervellin has withdrawn from the series completely for this season. That would've left a massive hole in the team that would be impossible to fix if they decided to leave Cairoli out.

Luckily the Italian Motocross federation (FMI) have announced that Cairoli is ok to ride and the team has been confirmed as the following riders, Antonio Cairoli (MXGP), Michele Cervellin (MX2) and Alessandro Lupino (Open). This is a very strong team from the Italians and arguably one of the strongest they have ever had. Both Cervellin and Lupino have found their groove this season, Cervellin with a season best of third at the MXGP of Russia and Lupino has picked up two eighth places in the 450 MXGP class in Asia.

So with Italy now confirmed there is only one major team left to submit their riders and that is Team Spain. There is no doubt Jorge Prado has booked his ticket but the other two are up for grabs with a large amount of contenders sidelined with injuries. I will update as always when i get the news.

Alex Martin departs KTM

So this is hot off the press and kinda strange in my eyes. Alex Martin, after securing second place in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series has parted ways with Troy Lee Designs Red Bull KTM and signed a new two year deal with JGR Autotrader Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing. The deal will extend to both the Monster Energy Supercross and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross series and will see him jump aboard the brand new for 2019 RM-Z250.

Alex Martin

"I am very happy to be joining the team and excited for the next two years. The resources that the Autotrader Yoshimura Suzuki Factory Racing Team has to offer, along with the facility at JGRMX in North Carolina, will be a huge benefit. Suzuki is coming out with a brand-new RM-Z250 for 2019 and I'm excited to get great results on the bike. I am looking forward to the next few years!"

Jeremy Albrecht

"I'm pumped that a rider of Alex's caliber will be on the all-new Suzuki RM-Z250. Our goal is to win races, both in supercross and the nationals. Alex is extremely disciplined, a proven winner, and has that hunger to succeed. I feel really good about our chances in 2019 and beyond."

Don't get me wrong, JGR are a great team with tons of support and an amazing set of guys running it but one could argue that he was at a bigger team with a better bike. Other things always come into play i know like money for example and I'm sure he has secured a considerable pay rise with the move. Also there is the issue that is there enough room for expansion above him in the 450 class at KTM. I'm super happy for Martin though and i can't wait to see what he can do next year :)