Italian MXGP icon will be celebrated for his illustrious career as he prepares for Ducati's debut in Pro Motocross Championship.

MX Sports Pro Racing, Inc., in conjunction with event organizers Rick Johnson and Keith Johnson, has announced that Italian motocross icon Antonio Cairoli will serve as Grand Marshal of this Saturday’s Crestview Construction Southwick National, the fifth race of the 2025 Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing. As Grand Marshal, Cairoli’s decorated racing career as a nine-time FIM Motocross World Champion and 92-time MXGP winner, in addition to his global popularity, will be celebrated and he will participate in several engagements during the event on June 28.
 
“It’s very rare that you’re presented with an opportunity to honor one of the most successful and influential figures on the planet for the sport of motocross, so when we heard Tony was here in the states and planning to attend the race, we knew we had to make it happen,” said Rick Johnson, General Manager of The Wick 338. “Cairoli is a bona fide icon and his legacy here in the U.S. over the years has grown exponentially. His fondness for American motocross is something we wanted to take advantage of and his new ambassadorship with Ducati, combined with his legendary career, created the ideal scenario to appoint him as Grand Marshal for this year’s Southwick National.”

Three years ago, during the 2022 season, Cairoli cemented his global legacy by embarking on a Pro Motocross Championship endeavor that saw him contest five rounds during the series’ 50th anniversary campaign as a member of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. During that time, he went bar-to-bar against the most renowned names in American motocross, including Pro Motocross champions Ryan Dungey, Ken Roczen, and Eli Tomac.

While Cairoli’s full-time racing career has come to an end, the Italian legend’s presence has sustained and entered a new chapter with his ambassadorship with Ducati and the development of the new Desmo450 MX motorcycle that will see the storied Italian marque become the sport’s newest manufacturer. Cairoli has contested multiple European races aboard the bike as a member of the Aruba.it - Ducati Factory MX Team, including the most recent MXGP of Great Britain on June 22, where he finished seventh overall. The next events on Cairoli’s calendar are back-to-back Pro Motocross Championship races, which will serve as the official U.S. racing debut of the Desmo450 MX from Michigan’s RedBud MX on July 5 and Minnesota’s Spring Creek MX Park on July 12.

The Crestview Construction Southwick National will serve as Round 22 of the SMX World Championship this Saturday, June 28, from The Wick 338 in Southwick, Massachusetts.