Red Bull KTM’s Antonio Cairoli has claimed eight world championships his ninthth is reachable this weekend as MXGP rolls into the USA.

Cairoli has a 101 point advantage on MXGP rookie and teammate Jeffrey Herlings at Jacksonville and all that is needed this weekend is to place better than Herlings in the overall standings and he will secure his another title.

Herlings does however come off a triumphant first American motocross appearance in the MXGP off weekend and he won the MX2 at the 2016 Monster Energy MXGP of USA. The pair will be joined by not only their weekly advisories but also the newly crowned American Motocross Champion, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac, who is also the winner of the last Monster Energy MXGP of USA at Glen Helen in 2016 and the Monster Energy MXGP of Americas.

Tomac’s European counterpart Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle is 4rd in the MXGP championship. Statistically either Desalle or 3rd place holder Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin could still win the title but the odds are against then as they essentially would need Herlings and Cairoli to have multiple scoreless races. Nevertheless both are always hard charger and potential overall winners.

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser may be out the championship chase but the 2016 champ is looking to take the momentum of his last overall win in Sweden with him into the US. Now 178 points off the lead Gajser is simply searching for race wins and a strong finish to the season.

While the American rider Monster Energy Yamalube Chaparall Factory Yamaha’s Cooper Webb’s last world championship race was in MX2 at the Monster Energy MXGP of Americas where he took the overall, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Romain Febvre, the 2015 MXGP Champion, has had a challenging season but made a return to the podium at the MXGP of Sweden, his first in 2017. Febvre who won the MXGP of USA in 2015 is striving to stand on the box once again.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 631 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 530 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 526 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 519 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 453 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 441 p.; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 377 p.; 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 364 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 352 p.; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 344 p.