MXGP Magazine: Simon Says

Following his incredible performance at the season opener in Matterley Basin, Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s newest addition Simon Längenfelder quickly declared himself as a potential title contender for the 2022 season of the FIM Motocross World Championship.

The 17-year-old German, who will turn 18 at the end of April, made his intentions and potential clear by winning the qualifying race, claiming both Fox Holeshots and winning MX2 races one and two, leaving Great Britain with the red plate.

Of course, the big question was whether he could back that up with another strong performance the following weekend and while the MXGP of Lombardia in Mantova saw Längenfelder deliver results good enough for fourth overall, only two points off the box, which also mean he lost the series lead – it was his overall performance, as he battled through the field to top point scoring positions, that was noteworthy and confirmed him as a very strong competitor.

Längenfelder is no stranger to winning races and standing on the podium, as he did so back in 2019 when he finished third in the EMX125 Championship. The young German podiumed four of the seven rounds, placing second overall in Lombardia, Germany and Sweden, while also winning the round in Lommel, Belgium.

He was then quickly picked up for a MX2 ride in 2020 with the DIGA Procross GasGas Factory Racing squad, now known as DIGA Procross KTM Racing Team, which saw him FastTrack from the EMX125 class straight to the MX2 World Championship, without taking the traditional route of the EMX250 class.

Längenfelder’s first season in MX2 was clouded by an injury sustained in Faenza but his first few races showed a glimpse of promise. Then in 2021 during his full season in MX2, he finished 10^th in the World Championship rankings which clearly caught the attention of Claudio and Davide De Carli.

“I always watch some young riders, usually in the European Championship, and I think the first time I saw Simon was 2019 and he was riding in the 125 class. If I remember well, he had a great race in Lommel, and he was very young’” shared Claudio De Carli.

“I remember I talked about him with Pit Beirer; Simon was in a GasGas team, we were still KTM but when our team passed to the GasGas brand, we wanted a young rider alongside Mattia (Guadagnini) and talking with Pit we decided that Simon could be a good choice” he added.

“I always liked his riding style, very clean and ‘light, but I was sure he could improve a lot, mentally, physically and everything. He joined us in the winter, and he worked so much and is always positive. Before the start of the season, I was sure he could fight with everyone in the MX2 category, but honestly, I could not imagine such a great result in the first GP in Matterley Basin, where he was perfect and unbeatable. I think he can go on like this because he has the mentality and the preparation” Claudio explained.

So, for this season, he remains with GasGas but joins the Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing team alongside Jorge Prado and Mattia Guadagnini, which is a very exciting move and a great set-up to be a part of when chasing top results and world titles, exactly what the De Carli Racing Team are known for.

“Simon showed in the first two GPs that he is riding to win. We are not putting pressure on him, and we’ll see what the season brings” confirmed Claudio “I think that Simon can do really good, he is only 17 years old, so he is improving a lot and we are really positive” added Davide De Carli.

But to get a better idea of who Simon Längenfelder is, MXGP sat down with the young German ahead of the MXGP of Lombardia to find out more about the opportunity to move to the De Carli GasGas team, the results in Great Britain and whether he feels any pressure going forward.

Read the full feature HERE!

You can find all this plus more in the 103^rd issue of MXGP Mag, which you can download for FREE on the Apple Store or Google Play. Read it HERE!

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