Italy will hold the next two rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championship, set at the Sardinia this coming weekend and then a week later at the Trentino circuit in the north of Italy. A proud motocross country and a long list of great world champions.

A handful of countries have a long-standing relationship with the FIM Motocross World Championship, and Italy is one of those, holding their first ever Grand Prix in 1957, when Swedish rider Bill Nilsson won at the Imola circuit.

Antonio Cairoli is passionate about his sport and even more so about his country. Often sportsman of the year in Italy, and a household name, Cairoli has done more for Italian motocross than any Italian motocrosser before him, and believe me, there have been some very special Italian riders to have graced our sport.

Italie’s first world champion, Michele Rinaldi was the pioneer of Italian world champions, winning the FIM World 125cc Motocross Championship in 1984 and scoring 13 GP wins.

Rinaldi was a lucky man, like anyone else who raced for the Suzuki factory back then he knew he had the bikes to win. The yellow Suzuki machines won 10 125cc titles in a row, Rinaldi’s crowning glory being the last of the 10.

Alessandro Puzar kept the fire burning in Italian motocross with a 250cc title in 1990 and a 125cc title in 1995. Puzar also picked up 22 GP victories in his very exciting career, and he remains one of the most interesting characters in the sport.

Following Alex Puzar success came Alessio Chiodi. Chiodi won three 125cc titles in 1997, 1998 and 1999 and scored 26 GP wins, at the time placing him just outside the top ten for all time GP winners. At the time Chiodi was considered the best Italian rider of all time, and his battles against the likes of Grant Langston, James Dobb and David Vuillemin were epic.

Another Italian Andrea Bartolini won a world 500cc championship in 1999, racing for the Rinaldi Yamaha team Bartolini was up against the mighty Joel Smets, but made the most of the Belgians misfortunes to clinch Italy their seventh motocross world championship.

Since Bartolini times got a little quiet for Italian riders, although in 2008 David Philippaerts added title number 8th world title, and of course in 2005 Cairoli began his collection of world titles and finished with nine titles, with his last being in 2017. Andrea Adamo joined the world champion list from Italy in 2023. Adamo, who races now in MXGP, in the MX2 class.

Now, as we head to Sardinia, for round four of the MXGP and MX2 championship, it will be Adamo who leads the Italian charge, but with good support from riders like Alberto Forato, Mattia Guadagnini Mattia, Andrea Bonacorsi, Valerio Lata and Ferruccio Zanchi. No doubt, the country will rise if one of these men can get an overall victory or onto the podium.