MXGP 2025 – Round 12, Matterley Basin, Great Britain
The Ducati Factory MX Team celebrated a strong showing at the 2025 MXGP of Great Britain, with both Desmo450 MX bikes finishing inside the top 10, while Antonio Cairoli’s highly anticipated return ignited excitement among the Matterley Basin crowd.
Set against the scenic Temple Valley backdrop near Winchester, Matterley Basin delivered dramatic conditions for the twelfth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship. Sunday’s racing was marked by cooler temperatures, a wet, technical track, and powerful gusts of wind that swept across the British circuit.
Antonio Cairoli made a stellar start in the opening moto, launching his Desmo450 MX into the top five at the holeshot line. Despite dropping two positions early on, the nine-time World Champion quickly regained pace, engaging in a fierce battle for sixth. However, contact with a rival damaged Cairoli’s front brake disc, forcing him to concede positions. The Italian fought back to claim seventh at the finish. Teammate Jeremy Seewer recovered from an early fall to finish 13th.
In race two, Cairoli once again featured at the front, running eighth after lap one with Seewer close behind in ninth. Both Ducati riders maintained solid pace, crossing the line in eighth and ninth respectively, resulting in a seventh overall finish for Cairoli and tenth for Seewer.
The MXGP series now pauses for a three-week summer break before resuming at Finland’s Kymi Ring for round 13.
Antonio Cairoli: “It was a very nice weekend here in Matterley Basin. We expected a better track yesterday, but it was in very bad condition. Plus, I had a little tip over in the pre-qualifying practice, and I banged up my knee a bit, which swelled up during the night. So today I wasn’t really pumped about my condition. But actually I was feeling better, and the track was more technical. And yeah, I got two okay starts. I expect to have better starts, but I was a bit too wide on the starting lane but I could still fight for a good position. In the first moto, I finished P7, and in the second moto, I was P8, which gave me seventh overall. So it’s good – it’s positive. We are really happy about the riding considering the knee problem.”
Jeremy Seewer: “Well, it wasn’t easy—without any starts today, overtaking was really difficult. I think even in the second moto, I’m not sure anyone actually made a pass. We worked our way in a better direction during the weekend, but like I said, the starts. I could have been 6-7 or maybe fifth in both motos if I started there, but if you are 10th at the start, maybe you finish ninth. But yeah, we are learning, we are trying, we are changing, we are improving and now a few weeks off, which will help us to regroup. We’ll keep grinding.”
