MXGP – Battle Stations

While the 2023 MXGP championship is nearly two weeks away, the buzz around what will happen in Argentina is building. The unfortunate injury of 2022 MXGP champion Tim Gajser last week took a part of the puzzle out of the 2023 series, but don’t worry, the list of contenders is an extensive one, and getting longer.

With the pre-season nearly over, it is clear many of the title rivals are looking strong and I for one can’t wait to see the gate drop for round one in Argentina. Leading the way must be five time World Motocross Champion Jeffrey Herlings. Coming off 12 months without racing, the Dutchman is showing signs that his speed is returning and you just know that, come round one, “The Bullet” will be on fire.

“For me,” Herlings said. “The year 2022 was a year to forget in sporting terms. But I also learned a lot from this, so I am now fully focused towards 2023. I can't wait to get back to racing. It's been way too long. 2022 was a tough year for me, but once we made the decision to recover from the injuries and focus on 2023, I had a date and target ahead of me and it's getting close now. I realize that I will need some track time and my plan is to build up the season, also because it will be a 'normal' long championship for me again after three years. I want to try to get back to my best level. The team around me has changed quite a bit, but the goals in racing always remain the same.”

When you add 2015 World MXGP champion Romain Febvre to the starters, you just know he will want to repeat his championships success, from nearly a decade ago. His showing in the 2021 championship where he battled Herlings and Gajser proved he has the speed. Also returning after an injury riddled 2022, and on a brand-new Kawasaki 450, he will have the motivation to come back for an assault on the title. Febvre recently undertook an operation to repair problems with his arm pump and he is now 100% ready to fight for major points in Argentina.

“I was three weeks without riding the bike after my arm surgery,” Febvre said. His team manager Antti Pyrhonen is happy with his progress in the winter. “Romain has had arm pump at the start of the season in past years, so he decided to undergo precautionary surgery last month and only started riding again last weekend.”

I also think that for this season, most people are excited about the performance of the Yamaha boys. Every major Yamaha rider has won a race in the pre-season including Jeremy Seewer, Maxime Renaux, Glenn Coldenhoff and Calvin Vlaanderen and how fast their new Yamaha machine is. Like Kawasaki the blue boys come in with a new machine and listening to people inside the paddock, this bike is as good as anything they have made in the last decade and it shows on the track.

How about the two Spanish chargers, Jorge Prado and Ruben Fernandez. They have already battled in the pre-season and both show amazing speed and we already know that Fernandez wants to be the number one Spanish rider in MXGP. However, Prado, a two time MX2 World champion continues to improve and gain experience and I wouldn’t bet against him adding another World title in 2023.

There will of course be more riders chasing the big points in Argentina in the MXGP class, but the men above are all capable of pushing for the front and a victory in round one. Which one takes out the overall in a little less than two weeks’ time will have a slight advantage heading to round two in the deep sand in Sardinia for round two, a track that will suit many of these riders mentioned. Let the 2023 season begin.

Photo credit: Pascal Haudiquert/KTM