Two MX2-GP World Championships in the space of only three years makes Antonio Cairoli one of the best and fastest riders currently operating on the FIM Grand Prix scene. His 2007 title was taken in such dominant fashion with 10 wins from 14 events and 21 motos from 28 that his combination with the YZ250F has become genuinely feared by other competitors in the class.

Cairoli came a very long way in a short space of time, achieving his first crown in 2005; which was only his second full season of GP racing.

With most Italian riders coming from the north of the country, the 22-year-old from Messina on the island of Sicily has always been different from the others. Making the best of his early racing background across the beaches of his Island, Cairoli never had problems riding on soft soil, unlike so many of his countrymen.

Cairoli began racing at the age of four when his father bought him a mini bike. He started competing at regional level two years later and it was soon clear that he had the talent to win. In 1997 he raced outside of his native Sicily for the first time and by 1998 he became Italian minicross champion. Italian 125 'Cadet' and 'Junior' titles followed in 2001 and 2002, but the transition to the adult classes and World Championship racing did not go as planned. Prior to his breakthrough season in 2004, the youngster had only qualified for a GP twice making his emergence all the more surprising.

His switch to the Yamaha De Carli team for 2004 proved to be a masterstroke. A bagful of holeshots, big whips and a spectacular riding style were enough to get him noticed in what was only his first full year of GP racing. Training with the experienced Claudio Federici and the excellent support of Claudio De Carli and his team also paid off in terms of results. Tony collected his first heat-win in the Czech Republic and then maiden overall triumph at Namur to finally finish 3rd in the overall championship standings in his debut year with Yamaha. Less than twelve months later he would be enjoying the status of world number one.

2005 was a term of supremacy for the YZ250F with no less than three new riders sampling Grand Prix moto success but it was Cairoli with thirteen moto wins, six GP victories and six lap records from seventeen rounds that lifted Italy’s first World Championship of the millennium and Yamaha’s first for the 250F. He became the youngest ever Italian world champ, and only the fifth ever in the history of the passionate motorcycle racing country.

2006 witnessed an MX2 contest laced with fierce and competitive racers. A wrist injury caused the De Carli rider to lose precious points at the beginning of the series but he managed to push eventual champion Christophe Pourcel right to the final round by celebrating another twelve motos, three Grand Prix and nine podiums. He then amazed an 85,000 crowd at the Motocross of Nations by winning the MX2+MX Open heat ahead of the Americans and a host of MX1 riders.

2007 was a memorable season for Cairoli, his team and Yamaha. His statistics (thirteen podiums from fourteen races with ten wins) tell the complete story of a dominant streak unmatched in the short history of MX2-GP. Cairoli’s more mature approach to results and aim of accumulating points for a second championship hardly seemed necessary as he managed to win at will. He only finished out of the top two twice from 28 MX2-GP motos; a phenomenal record, and sealed his prize with two rounds remaining. He then shocked the world with a dazzling MX1-GP debut at the British Grand Prix, triumphing with a production YZ450F at the first time of asking. Add another Italian national title and a European Supercross Championship and 2007 will be hard to match.

Tony signed a three year contract with Yamaha in 2007 and was in solid contention for a third MX2-GP World Championship in 2008 with the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli team to equal the efforts of former Italian great Alessio Chiodi. Sadly his last season in the category was cut short after seven moto wins and four Grand Prix victories when an unfortunate incident at the South African Grand Prix led to a knee injury and a subsequent operation. Tony opted to begin his recovery period as soon as possible and will lead his team into the 2009 MX1-GP World Championship with the YZ450F.