Pirelli celebrated a winning weekend as the International MX season kicked off with wins at the historic Le Touquet beach race and both classes of the Mantova Starcross.

It was a day at the beach for Mickael Pichon as he took his Pirelli Scorpion MX shod Honda to victory in the energy sapping Le Touquet French beach race. Meanwhile in Mantova, Italy the World’s best MX riders were lead home by Pirelli Scorpion MX pilots with MX1 World Champion Antonio Cairoli winning the big-bore class as he made his official KTM 350 debut and Red Bull KTM factory rider Shaun Simpson dominating proceedings in MX2.

The Mantova Pirelli riders felt a genuine advantage as they could rely on the fantastic grip and line-holding performances of the MidSoft 32 front and Soft 410 rear, developed specifically for these kind of conditions.

Pirelli didn’t just do the winning as the MX1 class saw utter domination by its riders with

Cairoli backed up by Steve Ramon, Clement Desalle, and David Philippaerts whilst in MX2 Marvin Musquin finished runner-up to Simpson. The Pirelli ‘winning weekend’ was topped off by German Stephanie Laier completing victory in the Women's class.

Shaun Simpson, Red Bull KTM, Pirelli rider, commented on the Pirelli Scorpion drive and grip,  “Despite the heavy rain on Friday, the track was in quite good shape for Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions. Right from the outset we had good grip and the bike felt really positive in the turns, this allowed me to find the speed to top both of the morning sessions and lead the qualifying race until I made a small mistake. Lining up against the more powerful MX1 bikes for Sunday’s three main races could have been daunting, but again I was able to get the drive out of the gate and to stay out of trouble in the first two races. A racing incident in the final moto spoilt what otherwise was a great day, which was made much easier thanks to Pirelli being able to give me the tyres that perfectly suited the tough conditions throughout the weekend. ”

Mantova Starcross Results

Final Race Standings - MX1:

1. Antonio Cairoli KTM Team Red Bull Factory- PIRELLI

2. Steve Ramon Suzuki Team Teka- PIRELLI

3. Clement Desalle Suzuki Team Teka- PIRELLI

Final Race Standings - MX2:

1. Shaun Simpson KTM Team Red Bull Factory- PIRELLI

2. Marvin Musquin KTM Team Red Bull Factory- PIRELLI

3. Arnaud Tonus Suzuki Team Teka-

Photo Credit: Ray Archer