And just like that, Antonio Cairoli's 2026 stint in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship is over. The nine-time MXGP FIM Motocross World Champion came and competed in his three rounds here in the USA and now is heading back home to Europe.

In his six motos, Cairoli finished 12-13-15-35-6-39, unfortunately ending on a DNF after tucking the front end and having his leg ran over by another rider. He called it there to risk further damage, and he is happy to head back home (relatively) healthy. In his three rounds, he finished 12th, 18th, and 13th overall, respectively. 

Cairoli's sixth in the first moto at Spring Creek was easily his best ride and result, as well as Ducati's efforts in general, with Troy Lee Designs Red Bull Ducati Factory Racing teammates Justin Barcia and Dylan Ferrandis finishing fifth and seventh, respectively. The 40-year-old rode extremely well, especially when you consider Cairoli is currently a test rider and focuses his effort on improving the production Ducati Desmo450 MX.

To give you an idea of life as a test rider, Tony told our Steve Matthes that he couldn't sleep on Friday night before the race because he had a big bike change he wanted to try.

"I was not sleeping, I was thinking and thinking and thinking. So this morning when I arrived I told them we needed to change everything. Triple clamps, linkage, the suspension settings. Ziggy (of Factory Connection) was also thinking of these things. It paid off, the bike was really nice and rideable and comfortable in situations where I was not so comfortable before. I really enjoyed it. That first moto, start was good, fifth, then got pushed off the track a bit from Webb, so I had to sprint on the first lap, which I try not to do with my conditioning. At one point I saw Justin [Barcia] and he looked back, he probably said 'Oh Tony is back there, I better get on the gas!'"

He said the following in the team's post-race recap:

Cairoli posted the following on his Instagram: