As Antonio Cairoli climbs closer to his ninth World Motocross Championship—in what many see as possibly the greatest season in his illustrious career—we take a look at the legends of the sport. Every single world champion deserves massive respect and for every title won, there is a story behind the victory.
Of course, Cairoli is the greatest Italian motocross rider of all time, and in many peoples eyes he is the greatest GP rider in the history of the sport.
I think stats always win, and for me, it’s still Stefan Everts. If the Sicilian ever does get past 10 world titles and 101 GP wins, then I would have to give him the title of the GOAT. He has not had the same tough competition that Everts had, with Everts battling the likes of world champions in Greg Albertyn, Trampas Parker, Bobby Moore, Sébastien Tortelli, Joël Smets, Mickaël Pichon and many more.
Cairoli has not had that type of competition, in fact not even close. You can’t rank riders like Clement Desalle, Gautier Paulin, or Jeremy Van Horebeek with the list above, but Cairoli has battled world champions in Christophe Pourcel, Tyla Rattray, Alessio Chiodi. And this year, he has gotten the better of three very good riders in Romain Febvre, Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings—all world champions. In my opinion, Gajser and Herlings are as good as some of the rivals Everts had.
No doubt, both are legends and both have been brilliant for the sport.
Motocross World Champions – Top 38
Stefan Everts – Belgium – 10 (3 x MX1, 1 x MXGP, 2 x 500cc, 3 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)
Antonio Cairoli – Italy – 8 (5 x MX1, 1 x MXGP, 2 x MX2)
Joël Robert – Belgium – 6 (6 x 250cc)
Roger De Coster Belgium – 5 (5 x 500cc)
Joël Smets – Belgium – 5 (4 x 500cc, 1 x 650cc)
Eric Geboers – Belgium – 5 (2 x 500cc, 1 x 250cc, 2 x 125cc)
Georges Jobé – Belgium – 5 (3 x 500cc, 2 x 250cc)
Heikki Mikkola – Finland – 4 (3 x 500cc, 1 x 250cc)
Torsten Hallman – Sweden – 4 (4 x 250cc)
Harry Everts – Belgium – 4 (1 x 250cc, 3 x 125cc)
André Malherbe – Belgium – 3 (3 x 500cc)
David Thorpe – United Kingdom – 3 (3 x 500cc)
Paul Friedrichs – East Germany – 3 (3 x 500cc)
Guennady Moisseev – Soviet Union – 3 (3 x 250cc)
Greg Albertyn – South Africa – 3 (2 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)
Gaston Rahier – Belgium – 3 (3 x 125cc)
Alessio Chiodi – Italy – 3 (3 x 125cc)
Yves Demaria – France – 3 (3 x MX3)
Jeffrey Herlings – Netherlands – 3 (3 x MX2)
Jean-Michel Bayle – France – 2 (1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)
John van den Berk – Netherlands – 2 (1 x 250 cc, 1 x 125 cc)
Frédéric Bolley – France – 2 (2 x 250cc)
Sven Breugelmans – Belgium – 2 (2 x MX3 )
Håkan Carlqvist – Sweden – 2 (1 x 500cc, 1 x 250cc)
Heinz Kinigadner – Austria – 2 (2 x 250cc)
Sten Lundin – Sweden – 2 (2 x 500cc)
Marvin Musquin France – 2 (2 x MX2)
Bill Nilsson – Sweden – 2 (2 x 500cc)
Trampas Parker – United States – 2 (1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)
Mickael Pichon – France – 2 (2 x 250cc)
Alessandro Puzar – Italy – 2 (1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)
Steve Ramon – Belgium – 2 (1 x MX1, 1 x 125cc)
Donny Schmit – United States – 2 (1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)
Jeff Smith – United Kingdom – 2 (2 x 500cc)
Rolf Tibblin – Sweden – 2 (2 x 500cc)
Sebastien Tortelli – France – 2 (1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc)
Bengt Aberg – Sweden – 2 ( 2 x 500cc)
Tim Gajser – Slovenia – 2 (1 x MX2, 1 x MXGP)
Geoff Meyer image
