MX2

While the 2020 MX2 Championship won’t be starting for another three months, the expectations for who will become the new MX2 World champion is already into overdrive. Two riders who should be fighting for the MX2 championship among others might be Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider Thomas Olsen and Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha’s Ben Watson. We decided to ask these two riders what they expect from the new season.

Olsen has had a quiet off-season so far. A trip to Thailand for a holiday, and now finally back on the bike in preparation for round one of the championship at Matterley Basin in England at the beginning of March.

“At the moment it is just full focus on what we are doing,” Olsen said. “The winter period is super important, and it lays down the foundation for the season. It is important to get the riding in and get the good preparation. Mentally it is a big deal, but I haven’t felt it yet and maybe I will, but last year I was in that position (leading the championship) and I think I took it pretty well. I didn’t crumble under pressure or anything like that. I have won championships before like the Europeans and it isn’t like I haven’t been in a winning position before; I will take that with me in my backpack in 2020. It is great confidence to bring in, but it is a new season, and everyone has improved, and they all want those Grand Prix wins. Sure, experience is important, and leading laps, that is something I would have liked to have done more. It can be different to lead a race, something you need to maybe get used to, but I think everyone is really hungry for a GP win.”

As for Watson, he knows as well as anyone that the MX2 class will be loaded with talent, from the regular guys, to the new younger riders coming up from the EMX class. What he also knows is that Olsen might be the man to beat.

“There will be guys coming up from the EMX,” Watson said. “Look at Vialle this year, nobody expected him to do what he did in his first year, so there will be younger guys who might be in the mix. From the last few years, you see the steps in everyone. I see with Olsen, he hasn’t made big steps, but he has been twice third and one time second in the World, so you can’t knock that. He has very consistent stats so far and I’m sure he will be strong all season. You need to concentrate on yourself and show some good speed. Some of us will have to move up to 450 in 2021 also.”

So now, as both Olsen and Watson work through their off-season preparation, you can be sure that other MX2 contenders like Tom Vialle, Jago Geerts and Jed Beaton will also be doing their home-work and training as hard as possible to arrive in England in early March with their confidence high and their hopes even higher.

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 3 December 2019 – Over the weekend, the annual MXGP Organisers Meeting took place at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel in Monte Carlo, where organisers of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship events gathered from all over the world in order to prepared for a wonderful season of racing next year.

Youthstream’s Director of Communications and Marketing Services Marionna Leiva, opened the annual event by introducing the officials which included Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo, Youthstream CEO David Luongo, Youthstream COO Daniele Rizzi, Youthstream Directors Nikos Gounaris and Didier Henriod, as well as the representatives from the FIM, FIM/CMS Director Antonio Alia Portela, Race Director Ingo Partsch, FIM MX Technical Director Andy Summers and FIM Medical Director David McManus.

Organisers of the 2020 MXGP rounds of Indonesia, China, Great Britain, Maggiora, Trentino, Portugal, Finland, Belgium, Imola, Sweden, Russia and Turkey were present along with the organiser of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations which will take place in Ernée, France, to learn about the novelties and the guidelines given by Youthstream for the preparation of the 2020 season. 

Youthstream President, Giuseppe Luongo welcomed everyone to the meeting, expressing his gratitude for the great parternship with the organisers saying: “It feels like yesterday that we were all in Andorra for this meeting. And it feels like this year has flown by, the 2019 season was a great one, and I would like to thank all of you because, as I always say, the cooperation with local organiser is one of the main keys to the success of the event and what they give to this fantastic sport is the reason why we have reached the level that we are at today. We know the very hard work that Organizers do to ensure the high standards and deliver excellent results. Thank you very much, we are very happy that you are all here and I am sure that the we will all have a great season together as the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship is bound to be one of the best ever with the best riders in the world competing for the world titles”.  

FIM/CMS Director Antonio Alia Portela also thanked everyone for a fantastic season by saying: “I wish to welcome everybody on behalf of the FIM to this important annual meeting. As Giuseppe Luongo said, the cooperation among Youthstream, the FIM and the local organizers is the base to ensure that the level of the sport and MXGP is rising and it is up to all of us together to make sure that what we showcase to the world is at the highest standard. I hope that you are up to the challenge for next season because from the FIM side and Youthstream we are ready to go for it”.

The presentation stage of the meeting was hosted by Youthstream’s Director of Communications and Marketing Services, Marionna Leiva who introduced the key departments of MXGP. Each department highlighted the novelties and important points which included, paddock requirements, circuit preparation, infrastructure for medical centre, TV and media numbers, marketing and more, followed by a presentation of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship venues which introduced some new circuits on the calendar including the MXGP of Finland in KymRing, as well as the great comeback of Maggiora Park and the return of the spectacular Ernèe circuit to host the 74^th edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations.

Then the FIM Race Director Ingo Partsch and FIM MX Technical Director Andy Summers as well as, FIM Medical Director David McManus took to the microphone to speak on behalf of the FIM to overview some important points on the work carried out by the FIM onsite at each event. They stressed the fact that standards are now really high and the preparation of the event from a sport perspective is very important.

The meeting was concluded with an official presentation from our ticket partner Platinum Group, followed by the launch of the first Official 2020 MXGP teaser video, which marked the start of the countdown to the new season.

Overall, the meeting was a great success with fantastic feedback from the organisers which allowed Youthstream to go through numerous details together in order to prepare the upcoming season at best.

The weekend was then finished off with the 2019 FIM Awards as our 2019 Champions received their FIM Medals. This year the FIM Awards took place at the outstanding Salle des Etoile in Monaco, a magnificent location to host the best 2-wheel riders in the world. The event started off with the red carpet parade, followed by a gourmet dinner and the annual prize giving ceremony where FIM President Jorge Viegas welcomed the hundreds of people invited to this fantastic event. Those in attendance included the MXGP World Champion Tim Gajser, MX2 World Champion Jorge Prado, 125cc Junior World Champion Mattia Guadagnini as well as the 85cc Junior World Champion Valerio Lata. Also being celebrated was the Women’s Motocross World Champion Courtney Duncan among other champions in motorcycle sport.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 3 December 2019 – Youthstream is very pleased to announce that the agreement for the MXGP of Turkey has been extended for a further three years.

TMF President Bekir Yunus Ucar, the Organizer of the MXGP of Turkey Mahmnut Nedim Akulke and MXGP of Turkey Representative Hakan Ertan Pehlivan visited Monaco to meet Youthstream CEO David Luongo and Youthstream COO Daniele Rizzi to reaffirm commitment to have the MXGP of Turkey as part of the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar for three years with the goal of further developing of MXGP in Turkey.

Since the Afyon circuit made its first appearance in 2018, it has proven to be a great success and in 2020 it will be the third year in a row that Afyon will host the MXGP of Turkey and it will be the second year that the event will be under the support of the President of the Republic of Turkey.

After being awarded as “The Best Infrastructure” at the 2018 MXGP Awards and “The Best Paddock” in 2019, the MXGP of Turkey continues to provide outstanding and highly professional facilities, that includes a well-arranged media centre, outstanding paddock with offices and meeting rooms as well as a high standard preparation of the track. In addition, the organisers have also worked hard to put on numerous events and activities throughout the weekend and all of this is all part of the bigger project to develop Afyon and to continue the growing interest of motocross in the country further highlighting the importance of this cooperation with Youthstream and the organisers.

Youthstream CEO David Luongo: "It is with a great pleasure that we announce the renewal of our contract for the organization of the MXGP of Turkey for the next three years. The last two editions in Afyon city have been fantastic and the fact that last year, the MXGP Grand Prix of Turkey was under the Presidency of Republic of Turkey’s support helped a lot the event to increase its popularity. Next year, the Grand Prix will be again under this support which shows the strong will from Turkey to develop the Motorsport and Motocross in particular in the country. I would like to thank the TMF President Bekir Yunus Ucar and all the parties involved into this great event."

Turkish Motorcycling Federation President Bekir Yunus Uçar: "We are pleased to host the FIM Motocross World Championship for further 3 years. We try to do our best to enrich with many different activities every year as the MXGP of Turkey will continue to show hospitality to thousands of race lovers. Passion for motorcycling, in particular for motocross has increased with MXGP of Turkey that we will organize under the aegis of Presidency of Republic of Turkey. Turkey is a country which has more than 20 million of young population, so we believe that the FIM Motocross World Championship will carry on adding value to Turkish Sport and Youth to a large extent."

Photos: from left to right: Organizer of the MXGP of Turkey Mahmnut Nedim Akulke, Youthstream COO Daniele Rizzi, Turkish Motorcycling Federation President Bekir Yunus Uçar, Youthstream CEO David Luongo and MXGP of Turkey Representative  Hakan Ertan Pehlivan

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

FIM Europe

MXGP of Turkey

The twelfth 2019 issue of a monthly motorcycle sport magazine with some of the best interviews, features and Blogs from the heart of MXGP, MotoGP, AMA Motocross/Supercross and WorldSBK as well as tests and reviews of bikes and products from the motorcycling industry. Here are some of the highlights of OTOR #193:  We chat to former champion and team owner Michele Rinaldi on the end of an era and some of his best MXGP memories. Making MXGP: what does it take to make a Grand Prix happen? We examine track, paddock & TV set-up to see how complicated the ‘jigsaw’ really is. The big step: Joan Mir the Suzuki star talks about the three ways in which he had to make a major change to tackle MotoGP as a rookie in 2019. A folding MX pillar? Keanu’s Arch: Roland Brown takes the red pill and goes for a spin on Keanu Reeves’ Arch KRGT-1 to give us a review of the custom special. 

Read it HERE

MXGP is very proud to present the 2019 MXGP Advent Calendar.

Christmas is coming! And to help you countdown MXGP will share 24 of the best and most epic races from the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship Calendar. We are starting with the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina race 1. Click HERE to watch the full race.

Julien Lieber started off the season with the first FOX Holeshot closely followed by Antonio Cairoli and Romain Febvre. While Tim Gajser chased down the leaders, he and Clement Desalle had an intense battle, which saw the Slovenian come out on top. In the end, Gajser also made a move on Febvre which secured a second-place finish for the first race of the season as Antonio Cairoli won the opening race of the year.

Over the next 23 days MXGP-TV will post a FULL race video on Youtube.

The 18-year-old Jorge Prado is probably one of the most talented riders in the world. His World Championship career started back in 2011 when the Spanish kid won the 65cc Junior Motocross World Championship in Cingoli, Italy, the same year he won the EMX65 title, too.

KTM noticed something special on the Spaniard sensation and Prado’s family moved to Belgium in order to support him to start a professional career as a motocross rider. They moved from Lugo to Lommel and in 2015 his efforts were paid off as Prado won the EMX125 Championship. In 2016 he entered the EMX250 class, one of the most competitive ones, but without shining as he used to do in the previous years, so once the Championship was over, he made his debut in the FIM MX2 World Championship as a wild card. The first GP he lined up was at the deep sandy track of Assen, where he found himself battling with the experienced Championship leader Jeffrey Herlings. A confident Jorge Prado started first in race 2 and he managed to lead for 15 minutes putting his name among the few riders who have been able to lead on Jeffrey Herlings.

In 2017 Jorge Prado lined up in MX2 finishing 7^th in the Championship standings with three GP wins, being the first one in Pietramurata, Trentino, and repeating his success in the sandy tracks of Lommel and Assen.

In 2018 Jorge Prado moved to the Italian side of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Claudio and Davide De Carli took the challenge to guide the young Spanish rider to the top of the MX2 class. However, the Spanish rider got injured before the start of season and could not perform at his best during the first rounds of the 2018, but he managed to regroup and won the fourth Grand Prix in Trentino, Italy. After that race Prado was unbeatable winning in Portugal, Germany, France, Ottobiano and the two Indonesian rounds, showing an experienced and matured rider to the world. Prado, who was known as a sand specialist, proved his outstanding skills also on hard track, and left the Czech Grand Prix with the red plate on his KTM and kept it until the last round of the championship in Imola, Italy, where he arrived knowing he was already the 2018 FIM MX2 World Champion as his rival Jonass was not going to take part in the event. The Spanish rider ended the season in style by winning the Italian GP with 1-1.

Jorge Prado’s 2018 season was nothing short of impressive, the 17-year old became the first Spanish MX2 World Champion via 10 pole positions, 331 laps in the lead, 26 holeshots out of 40, 17 individual race wins, 12 overall victories and 17 podiums. Prado scored 873 points in 20 rounds of racing averaging 43.6 points per race of the maximum of 50.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado saw his main rival Pauls Jonass moving into the main class, but he was fully motivated to defend the MX2 title against all his other opponents. The 2019 season started with a perfect 1-1 in Argentina, but then he was forced to miss the British GP in Matterley Basin due to an injury sustained during training. After his comeback at the 3^rd stop of the season in Valkenswaard, the Netherlands, the young Spanish rider won every single GP except in Sweden, where he was crowned MX2 World Champion for the second time, with still two Grand Prix left.

Jorge Prado won the first race at the MXGP of Sweden ahead of Vialle and Jacobi and it was enough to ensure his back-to-back title in MX2. Jorge Prado had his greatest career results in 2019 with 12 pole positions, 470 laps led, 31 race wins and 16 GP wins out of 18 rounds at only 18 years old. Besides, thanks to Jorge Prado KTM have now claimed the eleventh MX2 World Title in sixteen seasons.

Prado is definitely the master of starts as he dominated the FOX Holeshot competition in 2018 with 26 black plates and in 2019 with 23.

Next up for the Spaniard was his 450cc debut in the MXGP class at the 2019 Monster Energy FIM MXoN taking place in Assen at the Netherlands. To say that Prado impressed quite a few would be an understatement. With the deep sand of the man-made circuit and the tough weather conditions, Prado rode incredibly well in the MXGP qualifying heat as he led some of the race before being passed by Jeremy Seewer and later Tim Gajser and Jeremy Van Horebeek, a group of highly experienced MXGP riders.

In the first MXGP & MX2 combined race, Prado finished the race in 3^rd and 7^th in the race 3 (MXGP combined OPEN). This gave many just an insight of what to expect from the young Spaniard, as he could be a real contender for the MXGP championship in 2020. And with the strong Red Bull KTM Factory squad behind him, we could see Prado make regular appearances on the podium next season.

Quick Facts

Birth information: 05/01/2001

First GP Raced: 2016, MXGP of the Netherlands, Assen

World Titles                3 (2 MX2 - 1 - 65cc)

First World Title         2011, 65 cc

GP wins                     31 MX2                                     

First GP win               2017, MXGP of Trentino, Pietramurata, MX2         

Last GP win              2019, JUST1 MXGP OF CHINA presented by Hehui Investment Group, Shanghai,

2019 position in the Championship      1, MX2, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

2019 MX2 FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPION

MX2 World Champion!

Other results

To know more about Jorge Prado, follow what people around him said in the 73^rd issue of the MXGP Mag by clicking HERE

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 26 November 2019 – Youthstream is delighted to announce that the ticket sales of the 2020 MXGP of Italy are now open!

The famous Maggiora circuit will host the MXGP of Italy on the 16^th and 17^th of May as it makes a return to the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar, since hosting a magnificent Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations back in 2016.

The 2016 Monster Energy FIM MXoN was nothing short of spectacular, attracting huge crowds from all over the world to celebrate the best riders from each country. That year it was Team France who took home the Chamberlain Trophy for the third time in a row, with Team Netherlands in second and USA third.

Maggiora Park has always been a fantastic facility that has a rich motocross history and is the perfect venue to host the Motocross World Championship in 2020.

Tickets are available now and if you buy before the 31^st December 2019 you can save big thanks to the early bird discount.

Make sure you make the most of this offer and give your friends and family the perfect gift this Christmas, of an incredible weekend of intense MXGP race action!

Tickets for the MXGP of Italy in Maggiora are available here.

And click HERE link to have more details on the VIP Gold Skybox packages and have the ultimate MXGP experience.

LINKS:

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Italy

MXGP has reached 900,000 followers on Instagram! 

Since the page started in 2013, it now features over 5,400 posts, with more than 900 posted in 2019 alone, that have received over 8,400,000 likes and 20,000 comments. Our popular #MXGP hashtag has also been used over 495,000 times by our loyal fans from all over the world. 

The page features all the best behind-the-scenes action from every MXGP event, as well as the coolest pictures and videos from each race and much more.

We are extremely proud to reach this incredible milestone and that is all thanks to all of our fans worldwide - so Thank YOU for the support!

Stay tuned for more to come in 2020! 

#MXGP

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 22 November 2019 – Youthstream is pleased to announce that the FIM Europe’s Motocross of European Nations will head to Italy in 2020.

The event is set to take place on the 11th of October in Sardinia at the popular Riola Sardo venue. The venue is situated in the large Italian island of Sardinia close to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It has become well known amongst the riders of MXGP as it is one of the favorite venues of many World Championship riders’ pre-season preparation. 

In 2019 it was Team Italy who were victorious once again as they went on to defend their title as they scored the least amount of points (44) closely followed by Team Spain in second (45 points) and Czech Republic in third (57 points). Meanwhile in the women’s category, Team Netherlands were crowned champions as Nancy Van de Ven took two race wins putting the Dutch team ahead of everyone else with 5 points, followed by Team Germany in second (11 points) and Denmark rounding out the podium on 14 points.

We are very pleased to be bringing this event to Sardinia as we get ready to crown the 2020 MXoEN and WMXoEN champions!

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe