Italian tyre manufacturer Pirelli have finally got their hands on the 2016 MXGP and MX2 titles courtesy of Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings at the Grand Prix of Americas.
The penultimate round of this year’s series took place at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, where torrential downpours on the Friday saw the action condensed to just a single day on Saturday.
The hard yet slippery surface saw the majority of Pirelli backed riders running with the Scorpion Mid Soft MX32 front and rear, as the afternoon sun dried the top layer of dirt at the North Carolina circuit.
Gajser finished 2nd overall in America, to take the premier class title in his debut season with 15 moto wins, 15 podiums and 7 overall victories. It also gave Honda their first premier class title since 2000. Pirelli rider Justin Barcia was the exception to the rule, as he ran the new Scorpion Mid Hard MX32 front and for the new Scorpion Pro rear to take 2nd in the opening race.
Herlings has been unstoppable this season, and won the opening MX2 moto in his usual dominant style. He wouold have claimed the title much earlier this year had he not missed three rounds with a broken collarbone. However in the second race an uncharacteristic mistake saw him drop to 3rd, which meant Cody Webb took the overall win.
The final round at Glen Helen takes place later this month, and although the titles are sealed, it will still be business as usual for Pirelli and their riders.
View the full Pirelli motocross range here.
