The final details are in place. Following the announcement in late October of the venues for next year's ADAC MX Masters, the dates have now been fixed for the eight race weekends of Europe's most popular motocross series. MSC Fürstlich Drehna in Brandenburg once again has the honour of launching the new season. The famous 1.65km sandy track - known affectionately as Rund um den Mühlberg (All Around the Mühlberg) - will be pulling in the crowds on the weekend of 26th/27th April.

Five weeks later (7th/8th June), the ADAC MX Masters makes a cross-border excursion to Austria. The 2013 event at Ried im Innkreis proved so popular that a two-year contract has been signed with the local Heeressportverein club for races to be staged on the nearby Asenham military training ground. On the weekend of 28th/29th June, the competition will be held at Aichwald in Baden-Württemberg. The MSC Eiserne Hand club has received many accolades for its superb organisation and is justifiably proud of its 1.75km undulating clay circuit.

In July, the ADAC MX Masters makes its most northerly stopover, with races scheduled for 19th/20th July at Tensfeld in Schleswig-Holstein. The 1.7km track is a delight for the sand specialists. On 9th and 10th August, the motocross stars will be competing in Jauer (Saxony). The organisers of the Tensfeld and Jauer events have decided to miss out on the opportunity of staging the ADAC MX Junior Cup in favour of a competition for women riders.

The club officials at MSC Gaildorf are determined to lay on an exciting programme for the visit of the ADAC MX Masters in late summer. On 23rd and 24th August, riders in all three classes will return to Baden-Württemberg, this time to the 1.55km Auf der Wacht circuit at Gailsdorf, a clay surface which is always good for some thrilling wheel-to-wheel action and daredevil overtaking.

Nerves will be jangling on two occasions in September. Holzgerlingen (also in Baden-Württemberg) which staged the 2013 grand finale next year hosts the penultimate race weekend of the season. Competitors in the three classes will be seeking to build up an unassailable lead ahead of the final title sprint at Teutschenthal (Sachsen-Anhalt) on the weekend of 20th/21st September. In 2013, it was Dennis Ullrich (KTM Sarholz Racing Team) who picked up the prestigious ADAC MX Masters trophy. The new ADAC MX Youngster Cup champion was France's Boris Maillard (Monster Energy Kawasaki Elf Team Pfeil), while Danish rider Glen Meier (Kosak Racing Team, KTM) claimed the ADAC MX Junior Cup title.

Registration for all events commences on 1st December 2013 and can be completed online at www.adac.de/motorsport. As in previous years, the ADAC MX Junior Cup sets its own entry rules: in a variation from the European championship, the ADAC competition is open to younger riders up to the age of 15 (i.e. date of birth during 1999). This gives riders the opportunity to compete against an outstanding international field on a two-stroke 85cc machine before they make the step up to a 125cc or 250cc bike, which of course makes completely different demands in terms of physical build and strength.