Cairoli defends Supercross crown.

The 22-year-old came into the fifth and final round having won three events and finished second in the other, but a crash in practice - when he fell on the landing of a double jump - caused some cuts and bruising to his left hip and chest, while the entry list contained AMA Supercross racers Rodrig Thain and Joaquim Rodrigues in addition to Cairoli's main title rival Fabian Izoid.

Nevertheless, the world champion was able to ride through the pain of his injuries to seize victory in the semi-final event, where his close tussle against Rodrigues kept the fans more than entertained.

But a bad start in the first of the twelve lap main events on Friday night (the second was on Saturday) saw Cairoli again facing adversity.

On a track that was difficult to pass he could only fight back from eleventh to seventh position. Crucially he was able to overtake Izoid in the closing stages and this achievement confirmed his third major championship of the year.

With his work done Cairoli opted not to contest the second night in Munich due to the discomfort from his earlier accident

"I had decided that I wanted to be cautious at this meeting and just do what was needed to take the championship but the fall in practice complicated things," he said. "To ride well in Supercross you need to be 100% and I could never get comfortable or find my rhythm after the crash; I wasn't agile enough to be quick and the track was also pretty dangerous in places. I won the semi-final but not really in the manner I would like. In the final I was practically last off the start and I had to battle to recover positions. I knew that if I passed Izoird that the title was mine, so that was my goal.

"I am really happy to be European Champion Supercross champion," he continued. "Last year the title came little bit as a surprise, but this year I really pushed and enjoyed the series because at every track there was a fantastic reception from the public. I believe this championship is growing in terms of interest.

"2007 has been really long and at this last race I did feel some fatigue and perhaps also a slight fall of concentration; I think this is understandable," he added. "However it has been a fantastic season; full of victories! I really want to thank the team, together we have worked and sweated a lot and now can take great satisfaction from what we have done. Now we have a short holiday before we can think about the adventure ahead in 2008!"

The Yamaha rider's successful defence of his indoor crown adds to his 2007 MX2 World Championship and Italian championship title.