MX2

American legend, Ricky Johnson has ridden his heart out for Team USA at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. Scoring race wins, individual wins and team wins he shared some thoughts after the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations at Redbud a few weeks ago.

Ricky Johnson: “They didn’t adapt to the track, or the riding styles, it’s a track, its dirt and it’s a competition and you have to adapt to what the conditions are, and the American riders didn’t at this edition of the Monster Energy FIM MXoN in RedBud. I felt there was too much pressure on the American team, to me they rode stressed out. Plessinger to me was screaming the bike, he should have shifted. I know he is a big guy for a 250, but still he was screaming it really hard. All three were really hard on the berms, they were just hitting them really hard. “

Johnson won’t hear all the excuses though, he knows that unless the Team USA rider look harder at their performances and try and change some things, then it is going to be difficult to be competitive in Assen in 2019, when the Monster Energy FIM MXoN is run in the deep white sand.

“The bottom line is, we got beat and for a lot of reasons, and not excuses, just it is what it is, we need to change some stuff, because the MXGP riders are unbelievably fast. I stood with Roger (De Coster) during some of the races, watching the rider’s styles of Herlings and Cairoli, and he was telling our guys (Team USA) the same thing he used to tell me (to change their styles to suit the circuit), and our guys back in the 80s.”

Johnson was impressed with the Saturday performances of Jeffrey Herlings, when he came from a long way back, and while he only went 3-1-2 for the weekend, he really showed how much better he is than everyone else in that Saturday charge.

“It was phenomenal, and I like Herlings, he reminds me and he wants to win all the time, and that can bite you. You have to be smart and right now, he has the World intimidated with his speed. I was also impressed with Antonio Cairoli. Had he not gone down in that first turn and he got hit hard, but he bounced back. It would have been great to see him and Herlings up front fighting, but it didn’t happen. Bottom line, very impressed with Jeffrey Herlings.”

Of course, 2019 is another year, and while Team France are the dominant team in the Monster Energy FIM MXoN, you can never count out the Dutch, Italian, and also Team USA among the others. 

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 25 October 2018 - Youthstream has had several successful days at the 29th edition of the prestigious Sportel convention on sports marketing and media leaders at the famous Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. The annual event, which this year welcomed more than 3,000 delegates from 968 companies representing 78 countries, has now wrapped up but gave Youthstream the opportunity of meeting with top media providers expanding MXGP and Motocross in general to new doors around the world.

Several productive meetings took place at this year’s event between Youthstream representatives and key media such as Italy’s Rai Sport who have agreed to broadcast the entire 2019 season LIVE or delayed with the goal of programming as many LIVE programs as possible. The agreement is aided by the massive Italian following of the 9-time Champion Antonio Cairoli who took second in the 2018 Championship.

In addition a renewed agreement with FOX Sports Latin America will guarantee 3 more years of MXGP coverage from 2019 to 2021 after having successful viewership of the previous seasons.

With the success of 2018 Champions of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings and Jorge Prado the Netherlands’ NOS will have identical LIVE coverage as in 2018 and Spain’s Movistar will broadcast the 26 Min Magazine following each event of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship season along with the 2019 Monster Energy Motocross of Nations.

Youthstream also had the chance to meet with traditional partners such as Eurosport, who will continue with the same coverage as 2018, TELENET and RTBF in Belgium, Sport TV Portugal, FOX Sports Asia, Sport TV Slovenia, Band Sports Brazil, La Chaine L’Equipe France, RTL Netherlands and MTV Finland, all of which were glad to share their positive feedback of the racing and its coverage.

Several meetings also laid the groundwork for future projects with media outlets such Motorsport.tv Russia, TV Play Sports in the Baltic countries, and China’s important digital platforms Sina and Weibo as MXGP prepares for the rounds of Shangai, China and Hong Kong in 2019.

In addition to working on increasing the coverage of MXGP, Youthstream also worked to add to the quality of existing coverage by meeting with some of Sportel’s numerous attendees and representatives researching the newest technologies in digital media and social platforms.

Main Photo: from left to right: Youthstream Director Didier Henriod & Rai Representative Rodolfo David Funaro

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Husqvarna Motorcycles are pleased to welcome Pauls Jonass to the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MXGP team, where the 21-year-old Latvian will compete on Husqvarna’s FC 450 machine throughout the 2019 and 2020 seasons. 

Crowned MX2 World Champion in 2017, Pauls Jonass has been one of the most successful 250cc class riders in recent history. With the 2017 season being the highlight of his career to date, that season Pauls reached the podium in 15 out of the 19 rounds. Involved in a thrilling battle to defend his title throughout 2018, Pauls ended his campaign as the 2018 FIM MX2 World Championship runner-up. 

Despite his young age, Pauls Jonass already has more than a decade of motocross racing experience under his belt. Gradually advancing through the ranks of the junior categories, Pauls was crowned the 2011 85cc Junior World Champion, winning the 125cc Junior Motocross World Championship two years later. 

At just 21 years of age, Jonass is one of the most promising young riders of his era. Known for his strong work ethic and determination to succeed, the rider from Aizpute, Latvia is a perfect fit for the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team. 

With Pauls Jonass joining the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MXGP squad with immediate effect, further details on the team’s complete line-up will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Pauls Jonass – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing: “I’m really excited to be part of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team. The switch to the MXGP category is a big move for me but I can’t wait to get started. Joining such an acclaimed team gives me a huge amount of motivation to continue working hard in order to achieve my goals. I’m looking ahead to a great future with the team. I’ve known Antti Pyrhönen and the rest of the team members for some years already and it feels good to start working with them. Following my knee surgery last month, my goal right now is to start riding my Husqvarna at the earliest possible time. I want to maximise my time on the bike, so I can be fully-fit and ready to enter this exciting new season in the MXGP category.” 

Diego Clement – Head of Motorsport at Husqvarna Motorcycles: “We are extremely happy to have former MX2 World Champion Pauls Jonass join our team. We truly believe Pauls has the potential to become a frontrunner in the extremely competitive MXGP category. Pauls is one of the most experienced motocross racers of his generation and already a three-time World Champion. His speed is never in doubt, and he has impressed us, as he has the wider motocross community, with his ability to perform on varying track conditions. It’s going to be an exciting new season and we are all looking forward to seeing Pauls do battle against the MXGP class elite aboard our FC 450 machine.” 

Kimi Räikkönen - Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing (IceOne) team owner: “With Pauls joining our team the goal is to continue our success. The Motocross World Championship is the most competitive global motocross series and we’re pleased to be strengthening our team with a former World Champion. I am confident all members of our team will give their best to help Pauls achieve his goals in the MXGP class.” 

Antti Pyrhönen - Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MXGP team manager: “We are all looking forward to working with Pauls Jonass as he starts an exciting new chapter in his professional motocross career. Everyone knows Pauls is an extremely hard working rider, which we know will help him fit in perfectly with our team. Already being a world champion speaks volumes about his capabilities. He is both physically and mentally strong and has demonstrated time and again that he is able to excel even under the toughest conditions. We all can’t wait to start working with this young and extremely talented rider.”

Copyright: Photo: Bavo Swijgers

The off season is underway and KTM Marchetti Racing Team has announced their line up for the upcoming 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship. The Team, managed by Elio Marchetti, has already started to work for the new season and with their 2019 KTM bikes.

Confirmed to take on 2019 with the Marchetti KTM’s is Iker Larranaga and Andrea Zanotti. The two riders have joined the Marchetti Team to compete in the MX2 Motocross World Championship for the new year.

Larranaga is a 22-year old from Spain, the Spanish MX2 National Champion, and he finished out the 2018 MX2 World Championship 18th overall, while Zanotti is an 18-year old rider from San Marino and a multi time Italian champion in various classes including 85 and 125cc.

The pair's experience and youth will be an interesting combination and strong addition to the 2019 MX2 Motocross World Championship.

Copyright: Photo: Marchetti Racing

From left to right: Team Manager Elio Marchetti, MX2 Rider Iker Larranaga

Youthstream representatives are currently present at the 29^th edition of Sportel Monaco. The event starts today the 22nd of October, at the famous Grimaldi Forum and continues until Wednesday the 24th.

Sportel is an important event to attend as it is the most prestigious convention in the world for sports marketing and media leaders, where key figures for sports-rights and other media outlets are discussed. More than 1,000 worldwide companies from many sectors attended the event in 2017 all working together to increase the level of worldwide sports coverage.

Youthstream is present, as every year, and available at booth E-07 to meet with both long-term and new partners as preparation for the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship Season.

The time spent at Sportel over the past years by Youthstream has brought MXGP coverage and the visibility of motocross to many new areas of the world. The same goal of bringing motocross to the world remains this week so stay tuned to MXGP Platforms for further updates.

The 2018 MXGP of Italy in Imola was home to many awards ceremonies for not only the worlds top MXGP and MX2 athletes but also top industry members. Together with the various other ceremonies was the presentation of the Spada Photo Contest winner inside of the Autodromo Enzo & Dino Ferrari media center.

The contest was founded in 2016 in honor and remembrance of the former MXGP photographer Stefano Spadavecchia who passed away 3 years ago due to a serious illness.

Winning this year’s contest was MXGP’s Official Photographer Roman Borak with one of his countless and amazing images from the FIM Motocross World Championship being chosen.

Presented by the daughter of Stefano, Federica Spadavecchia, along with Stefano’s wife, was a framed version of Mr. Borak’s winning photo. Roman Borak joins other top photographers and past winners of the Spadavecchia photo contest Ray Archer and Stefano Taglioni.

The SDM Corse Yamaha Official EMX250 Team - formerly titled 'ASTES4-TESAR Yamaha Official EMX250' - will enter the 2019 EMX250 Championship with a fresh and exciting new line-up. The team is thrilled to announce the signing of Gianluca Facchetti, Ruben Fernandez and Rick Elzinga, that will see the trio contest the 2019 European Championship onboard GYTR kitted YZ250F machinery.

Spearheading their effort will be the 2017 FIM Junior Motocross 125cc World Champion Gianluca Facchetti. At the tender age of 18-years-old, Facchetti has already experienced a multitude of success. The youngster finished inside the top-three in the 2017 EMX125 Championship with five consecutive podium finishes before making his EMX250 Championship debut this season, in 2018. After proving to be a solid top-five contender in the 2018 EMX250 Championship, the talented Italian led Team Italy to victory at the Motocross of European Nations in Poland with a dominating 1-1 performance.

After a challenging season in MX2, Fernandez has moved back to the EMX250 Championship to further refine his skills and experience on the Grand Prix circuits before returning to the pro league. As the 2017 EMX250 Championship bronze medalist, the 19-year-old already has a wealth of experience inside the EMX250 class and will enter the 2019 EMX250 Championship with high hopes. 

Despite an unlucky year in 2018 where he missed most of the EMX125 season due to injury, Elzinga was nothing short of impressive at the three rounds he did attend. Upon his return to racing, the 17-year-old sensation challenged for race wins in every race he lined up for and managed to finish on the podium on two of three occasions. For the 2019 season, he has swapped his GYTR kitted YZ125 for GYTR kitted YZ250F where he will be a rookie to watch inside the hotly contested EMX250 Championship.   

All three riders will be based in Italy where they will ride and train on a regular basis with the 2008 MX1 World Champion David Philippaerts.

Daniele Marchese, SDM Corse Yamaha Official EMX250 Team Manager

"We are really looking forward to next year and taking on a new challenge. We will enter the 2019 EMX250 Championship with three new riders. We are really excited to have Gianluca Facchetti onboard. He is the 2017 Junior World Champion and is easily one of the most talented riders' that is racing the European Championship right now. Rick Elzinga is a young guy that has an enormous amount of potential to grow and we feel that with the guidance of our team, that within the next two years he could take the title. The third of our riders, Ruben Fernandez is rider that has a lot of experience, not only in the EMX250 Championship but also inside the World Championship. He had some good races inside MX2 this year, and we believe that he will be a tough challenger in the EMX250 Championship next year."

Erik Eggens, Yamaha Motor Europe MX Racing Manager

"Yamaha has had the pleasure of working with the SDM Corse team for the last two-years and it is nice to extend our relationship with this team as we prepare for an exciting 2019 European Motocross Championship season.  The SDM Corse Yamaha Official EMX250 Team has a significant place inside the Yamaha Racing pyramid as it is 100% Yamaha's philosophy to develop the younger generation of motocross riders by giving them the tools, team and support required to achieve their goals. The EMX250 class prepares younger YZ250F riders for their professional careers, and helps to make the step-up into MX2 Grand Prix easier. SDM Corse's line-up for 2019 has an enormous amount of potential, and it's really nice to see a group of talented young riders that are excited to live in Italy and train with each other and of course the 2008 World Champion David Philippaerts."

Copyright: Photo: Yamaha Racing

The 2018 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations might be a couple of weeks ago, but the memory of that brilliant Redbud event truly continued this event and its magnificent growth. Going to USA on a regular basis for this event is something that everyone is working for, and this year’s event proved to be a big success.

Giuseppe Luongo is more than proud of how the event went off, but also what the MXGP riders did in showing so much improvement every single time they race.

“For me the big emotion did not come by who won,” Luongo said. “Because for us what is important is to organize the greatest event.  As always, the 2018 Monster Energy FIM MXoN was full of emotion on the track, also the fans created an amazing atmosphere, and, as always, the racing was unpredictable right up until the last laps of the last heat. What Herlings, Coldenhoff, Cairoli, Prado, Lawrence, Paulin and Lupino did was really remarkable - and yes, I am extremely proud of them!”

Davey Coombs from MXsports, like Luongo is excited for the future of the relationship between the MXoN and America and saw a lot of improvements in the working relationship between the two at Redbud.

“With the very unfortunate and unexpected results from Team USA aside,” Coombs said. “It was a fantastic event. I think everyone at Redbud and at Youthstream should be really proud of how that came off, despite the weather. People might have left disappointed that homeboys didn’t win, but everyone had a smile on their face, because it was a wonderful shared experience. It was like going to Woodstock and tramping around in the mud with a bunch of friends and get to wave and get it up and wave flags and blow airhorns. Just celebrate motocross and that is what the MXoN always was in Europe and I am glad we were able to pull it off in America too.

And finally, FIM Motocross commission president, Tony Skillington was pleasantly surprised by the Redbud facility and the way the event went ahead, in very tough weather conditions.

“My first impression,” Skillington said. “When I drove in there, because I had never been there before, was, this is Woodstock for motocross, that is what ran into my head. The expansive area for parking and for camping, it was a special place. Then dealing with the people there at the ground, not that I had a lot to do with them, but the initial reactions were very positive and the race was run in a very professional way, which was very different to the way it was before when we went to America. We were all together in this, and everyone was pushing in the same direction, and that was fantastic.”

And now we move into Assen in Holland, for the 2019 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. Again a massive crowd is expected and again the best motocross riders in the World will turn up and put on one of the most exciting races of the season.

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 18 October 2018 - With the conclusion of the 2018 season, Youthstream is pleased to announce the calendar for the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship including the additional World and European Support Classes.

The season opening venue has yet to be announced but will take place in the second week of March and be joined by the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship. Remaining as previously announced will be MXGP’s return to Great Britain at the Matterley Basin circuit, Valkenswaard for the MXGP of the Netherlands, and the MXGP of Trentino at Pietramurata before heading to the MXGP of Hong Kong and the MXGP of China in Shanghai.

The series will then return from Asia for the MXGP of Lombardia in Italy as the MXGP of Russia will be held in June. Between the rounds of Italy and Russia MXGP will return to Agueda, Portugal for a third year in a row along with a second consecutive year at the MXGP of France in Saint Jean d’Angély!

The MXGP of Latvia and the MXGP of Germany will follow Russia before MXGP heads to a brand-new Palembang venue for the MXGP of Indonesia and then the impressive Semarang circuit for the MXGP of Asia.

The familiar track of Loket in the Czech Republic will host the Championship’s return to Europe before the testing sands of Lommel, Belgium. The 17th and 18th stops of the 20-round season will be with the MXGP of Switzerland in Frauenfeld-Gachnang and then MXGP of Sweden in Uddevalla after being missed in 2018.

Returning for the penultimate round will be the MXGP of Turkey in Afyonkarahisar while the finale will again take to the famous Imola Autodromo for the MXGP of Italy. The season finale will also lead straight into the single biggest race of the year, the 2019 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, only one week later at another famous venue, the Assen TT Circuit in the Netherlands.

The provisional MXGP and MX2 calendar including the racing scheduled for WMX and EMX can be viewed below.

Click HERE to download the 2019 Calendar graphic. 

Click HERE to download the 2019 Calendar in PDF Format.

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