The world 500 motocross championship was full of surprises in 1999. Joining the class was Yves Demaria, Alex Puzar, Francisco Garcia and Max Bartolini. And returning from serious injury was Andrea Bartolini. With Hi-Tec four stroke machinery from Yamaha, KTM, and Husqvarna factory involvement reached new levels. The opening rounds saw seven different winners in eight heats. Italian Andrea Bartolini maintaining a slender lead through those early races and he eventually won the championship. Reigning champion Joel Smets suffered some incredible bad luck but was quick to praise Andrea Bartolini.