The upcoming ADAC MX Masters on the weekend of June 28th and 29th in Aichwald already promises to be a superb event. Three more world championship riders, the German Max Nagl (KMP Honda Racing) from Weilheim, Belgian Clement Desalle (Rockstar Energy Suzuki Factory Racing) and Italian rider David Philippaerts (Yamaha Motor Germany, AC Motecby STC) will guest in the line-up and join what is already a top-class field of riders. Consequently, the standard in Europe´s most popular motocross series will ratchet up a fair few notches and the fight for vital title points prove even more exciting.

Max Nagl is considered to be a real ‘grafter´ in German motocross. The German was one of the top favourites in last year´s ADAC MX Masters; the 26-year-old finished on the podium in third place overall at the end of the season. In 2012 as a member of Team Germany, he was crowned Team World Champion along with Marcus Schiffer (Team Suzuki Waldmann) and Ken Roczen (Red Bull KTM rider) at the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) in the Belgian town of Lommel. Nagl has been a world championship rider since 2003. The Bavarian secured the title of runner-up in 2009, achieving his best world championship result to date. After a long break enforced by injury, the motocrosser is currently placed ninth in the standings and intends to improve his showing before the end of the championship.

Italian rider David Philippaerts is also a regular competitor in grand prix events. The 30-year-old from Pietra Santa secured the MX1 World Championship in 2008, achieving the greatest success of his career so far with that victory. At the last round of the world championship in Maggiora in Italy (June 14th/15th), the rider with Flemish roots worked his way up the field to fifth place. Philippaerts is currently ranked eleventh overall. Similar to Max Nagl, the Italian MX star is not a motocrosser who owes his excellent performance solely to talent. His recipe for success – ambition, the will to win, coupled with an aggressive streak. In 2014, the 30-year-old switched to Yamaha, setting up DP 19, as his team are called, and is now his own team boss.

Belgian Clement Desalle is the most successful of the three guest riders. The 25-year-old Suzuki ace has competed regularly in the ADAC MX Masters since its inception ten years ago and has basically finished either number two or three in the world championship overall standings since 2009; he secured the runner-up spot once again in 2013. In addition, Desalle clinched the world title last year with Team Belgium at the MXoN in Teutschenthal, taking the honours from title holders Team Germany. Currently, Panda, as he is known in the motocross scene, is in second place overall in the standings. The MX star from Louvière posted best lap time at the GP in Maggiora. The Belgian with the happy disposition gained his love of the sport at a tender age, as his father was a pro rider for many years and motorcycles were a permanent feature in the garage at home as Desalle was growing up. The Belgian contested his first real race aged ten. Since 2006, he has been a permanent fixture in the world championship line-up.

Generally speaking, there are six other Masters riders, who occasionally contest a grand prix – ADAC MX Masters champion Dennis Ullrich, his team-mate Sébastien Pourcel (both KTM Sarholz Racing Team), Marcus Schiffer, Grégory Aranda (Sturm Racing Team, Kawasaki), Dennis Baudrexl (Cofain Racing KTM), Christian Brockel (Team KTM GST Berlin) and Timur Muratov (KTM GST/GARIN MX Sport). With regard to the field of riders in the race series taken as a whole, the number of occasional world championship starters is around 15.