7th September will live long in the memory of ADAC MX Masters rider Dennis Ullrich as the date on which his motocross career reached new heights. Ullrich, who was crowned champion in Europe´s most popular motocross racing series at the Schützenbühlring just outside Holzgerlingen (Baden-Württemberg) last year, has repeated the feat in 2014 to retain the coveted ADAC MX Masters title. And what´s more, he clinched it on the penultimate race weekend ahead of the grand finale at Teutschenthal on 20th/21st September. The 21-year-old, born in Ulm but now living in Saarlouis, joins the ranks of the most successful riders on the international German Motocross Championship and the European MX scene. The ADAC MX Masters class hall of fame previously had a fairly restricted membership of Ken Roczen, Max Nagl and Marcus Schiffer. "I am absolutely delighted to have been crowned champion again on my home track," said a jubilant Ullrich. "The support of the fans has been fantastic, and I had a good feeling for the whole of the weekend. Having won two ADAC MX Masters titles gives you a sense of confirmation."

Although 'Ulle' normally counts as a strong silent type in the MX world, he showed a more relaxed and boisterous side to his character in the subsequent celebrations with his team, KTM Sarholz Racing, and his fans. But the first person to congratulate him was his girlfriend Vanessa. The two have been together for almost two years and have an apartment in Saarlouis. Vanessa is the daughter of Ullrich´s coach, Thomas Kneip, so she grew up surrounded by motocross just like her talented partner and shares his passion for this extreme form of sport: "I´m very proud of Dennis. He´s worked so hard and fought so tenaciously that he truly deserves the title." Her father Thomas Kneip, who has been training Ullrich for the past four years, was competing with his protégé for the widest grin after a rain-affected race on a muddy track in which the defending champion prevailed over the last few metres to retain his title: "The fact that Dennis has tackled this campaign with such determination shows that our joint efforts have all been worthwhile. When I start to train someone, my main task is to build that person up in such a way that his performance steadily improves from season to season. Dennis is a prime example of that principle."

To show the defending champion how much the team supported him, Burkhard Sarholz had T shirts printed in advance for the whole crew bearing the message "Dennis Ullrich – ADAC MX Masters Champion 2014". When Ulle stepped up to receive his trophy at the awards ceremony, the whole team turned out wearing exactly the same outfit, a sight which left the MX star visibly moved: "I spend most of my life on the racetrack. My mechanic Robby is one of my closest friends – together with Thomas Kneip and Burkhard Sarholz, he played a key role in my convincing performance here at Holzgerlingen. The way the whole team have always stood by me and given me this great reception today makes me so happy."

Two people making a special trip to the event were Ulle´s mother Brigitte and his 15-year-old brother Sven. They still live in Ulm where the two-time ADAC MX Masters champion also grew up. They certainly weren´t going to miss out on seeing their successful son and brother winning the championship again, and they were not disappointed. "I see my family frequently, but now they will be spending a whole week with us in the Saarland. We plan to go for a few outings and explore the area together. So this whole week following the ADAC MX Masters in Holzgerlingen is going to be a very relaxed one for me."

With this second ADAC MX Masters title, Dennis Ullrich has taken a further decisive step in a motocross career that has seen a meteoric rise. He took his first ride on a motorbike at the age of five. In 2008, he won his first competitive title, the German Youth Championship in the 85cc class. This was followed in 2010 by the winner´s trophy in the ADAC MX Youngster Cup, and in 2012, he became German champion in the MX2 Championship. 2013 was the first of his back-to-back ADAC MX Masters titles, the second coming just a week ago on 7th September 2014. Parallel with this campaign, he has been competing in the World Championship. Ulle has been lining up on a regular basis in MXGP since last year and has made a name for himself with a seventh place finish at Loket (Czech Republic) and a P9 at Teutschenthal.

In addition, the MX talent will be a member of the trio representing Germany in the prestigious FIM Motocross of Nations team competition in Kegums (Latvia). Together with the two other former double ADAC MX Masters winners Max Nagl and Marcus Schiffer, Ullrich is targeting a Top Five result.