MX2

MATTERLEY BASIN (Great Britain) 30 May 2018 - The FIM Motocross World Championship jumps across the pond this weekend for the 2018 MXGP of Great Britain at the famous Matterley Basin circuit for the 9th round of the year. It has been nearly two weeks since the last race in Germany where Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings dominated and his teammate and main title rival Antonio Cairoli had his worst finish of the year with a 6th overall.

While the battle has recently been between Herlings and Cairoli many others are stepping up their game such as Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin, Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing’s Clement Desalle and Team HRC’s Tim Gajser. The Matterley Basin track has long been famous in the world of motocross for not only hosting some of the biggest races in the world such as the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations Presented by Fiat Professional as recent as least year where Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Anstie led team GB to the podium but also for its rolling hills and grassy natural terrain.

In the MX2 category Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado and Pauls Jonass continue to battle in ultra competitive but clean racing. The teammates speed is however starting to be matched by some of the other youngsters in the class like Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen and Kemea Yamaha Official MX2’s Ben Watson who will have the extra motivation of racing in front of his home fans!

Joining the MXGP and MX2 riders this weekend will be the EMX250 Championship, the EMX300 presented by FMF Racing Championship, and the FIM Veteran Motocross World Cup. In EMX250 REVO Husqvarna UK’s Martin Barr holds the points advantage but by only 2 points over his teammate Mel Pocock. Meanwhile in EMX300 Presented by FMF Racing GL12 Racing’s Mike Kras leads the way with 3 rounds complete of the 7 this season. The one off event, the Veteran’s Motocross World Cup, will host interesting racing with past winners such as Martin Zerava battling against Bogomir Gajser and Mervyn Anstie among others.

Looking to continue his strong start to the MXGP is Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings. Herlings now leads the championship by 48 points over Antonio Cairoli. Both Herlings and Cairoli race the MXoN at Matterley Basin last year where Herlings had a 1st and a 2nd while Cairoli scored an 11th and a 7th. Historically Herlings has raced MX2 here on 5 occasions and never missed the top five including 2 wins in 2014 and 2016. Cairoli on the other hand has raced this GP 7 times scoring 4 overall victories.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle has been consistently strong this season and is the only rider to win outside of Herlings and Cairoli. Desalle has raced here 6 times since 2006 and won the GP in 2013 then followed it up with second overall in 2014 and 2015.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin has recently been focused on improving his starts and it clearly worked in Germany when he took both Fox Holeshots, for the first time this season. Paulin has been on the GP podium at Matterly Basin 3 times but has never won here with the monumental exception of leading team France to MXoN victory here last October 2017.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Romain Febvre has stepped up his game lately even leading and challenging for a race win in Latvia’s race 1. The Frenchman who damaged tendons in his arm during Latvia’s race 2 will have taken full advantage of the weekend off to get back to 100%. Febvre’s best result at Matterley Basin came in 2015 with 3rd overall. Also not to forget is that he has more good memories from the circuit last year when he was part of the French MXoN winning team with Paulin.

TM Factory Racing’s Max Nagl has been working to improve on his results so far this year and Matterley Basin may be one track that could host a strong performance from the German, he took second overall here in 2016.

Also to mention is Team HRC’s Tim Gajser as he not only is gaining ground on the speed of the championship leaders but he won the overall here at the last World Championship event in 2016 and he had his first ever FIM MX2 World Championship podium finish in 2014.

Last but not least is the home GP heroes, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Anstie and Bike IT DRT Kawasaki’s Tommy Searle. Both have had a difficult season so far but Anstie and Searle teamed up here at the 2017 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations Presented by Fiat Professional to score team GB their first MXoN podium in several years.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 386 points;2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 338 p.;3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 278 p.;4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 258 p.;5. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 255 p.;6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 221 p.;7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 207 p.;8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 193 p.;9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 176 p.;10. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 149 p.

2016 MXGP of Great Britain MXGP Top 3:

            1. Tim Gajser

            2. Maximilian Nagl

            3. Gautier Paulin

Just as in MXGP the MX2 class is led by 2 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders, Pauls Jonass leads the points and was dominant early in the season while Jorge Prado has continued to improve and has the momentum in his favor.

Jonass has raced the circuit twice in his career opting out of racing the MXoN event last year but scoring a 4th in 2015 and a 3rd in 2016. Prado on the other hand has only raced here during the 2017 MXoN event where he finished a disappointing 28th and 40th in the two races.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen is the only rider to have won this season apart from Jonass or Prado. Olsen’s win came only 2 GPs ago in Latvia. Olsen, similar to Prado, only raced here last year with race results of 9th and 10th.

Holding down 4th in the MX2 championship is Great Britain’s own Kemea Yamaha Official MX2 rider, Ben Watson. Watson has had his strongest season on record yet including his career first podium and he still continues to impress. Watson’s only MX2 result at Matterly Basin comes from 2015 when he finished 18th. Going off of his season thus far and the added benefit of the home fans it is likely to see Watson battling for the top five if not the podium or even a win this weekend.

F&H Racing Team’s Jed Beaton currently is 5th in the points but has Team HRC’s Calvin Vlaanderen just 7 points further back. Both Beaton and Vlaanderen have had stand out rides this year but Vlaanderen seems to have the momentum after scoring his first podium of the season at the last GP in Germany.

Also to keep in mind is the return of Bike IT DRT Kawasaki’s Darien Sanayei this weekend who is no stranger to the Matterley Basin circuit. Sanayei showed serious speed early in the year before injuring his knee and may be a wild card for the podium.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 351 points;2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 329 p.;3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 288 p.;4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 246 p.;5. Jed Beaton (AUS, KAW), 203 p.;6. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, HON), 196 p.;7. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 160 p.;8. Henry Jacobi (GER, HUS), 157 p.;9. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 140 p.;10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 139 p.

2016 MXGP of Great Britain MX2 top 3:

            1. Jeffrey Herlings

            2. Dylan Ferrandis

            3. Pauls Jonass

All the photos of the MXGP of Great Britain will be available HERE

TIMETABLE in Local Time (GMT+1)

Saturday: 08h15 EMX300 Free/Time Practice, 09h00 VMX Free/Time Practice, 09h45 EMX250 Group 1 Free/Time Practice, 10h30 EMX250 Group 2 Free/Time Practice, 11h30 MX2 Free Practice, 12h00 MXGP Free Practice, 13h00 EMX250 Last Chance Race, 14h00 MX2 Time Practice, 14h40 MXGP Time Practice, 15h25 EMX300 Race 1, 16h25 MX2 Qualifying Race, 17h10 MXGP Qualifying Race, 17h55 VMX Race 1, 18h40 EMX250 Race 1.

Sunday: 08h45 EMX300 Race 2, 09h45 VMX Race 2, 10h25 MX2 Warm-up, 10h45 MXGP Warm-up, 11h30 EMX250 Race 2, 13h15 MX2 Race 1, 14h15 MXGP Race 1, 16h10 MX2 Race 2, 17h10 MXGP Race 2.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

FIM Europe

MXGP of Great Britain

Great Britain have a handful of Motocross World Champions on their books. Five British riders have been awarded a motocross world championship, Dave Thorpe with three, Jeff Smith with two, and Neil Hudson, Graham Noyce and James Dobb with one apiece.

Despite the somewhat short list, British riders have always been a major part of the FIM Motocross World Championships and they will continue to fight for that ninth world championship for their country.

The first British motocross world champion was Jeff Smith, who won the 500cc class in 1964 and 1965, and was a regular on the world championship top three, finishing third in 1963, third in 1966 and second in 1967. He also finished second in the world 250cc championship in 1962, and second and third in 1960 and in 1961, just prior to it being classed a world championship. Smith didn’t miss a top three spot in eight years, from 1960 until 1967, rather amazing really.

Another British rider Dave Bickers was a little unlucky, having won the 250cc championship before it became a world championship in 1960 and 1961 and then finishing third in the 1965 250 world championship and third in the 1967 500cc world championship. Bickers is still considered one of the best British riders ever despite his lack of a world championship.

Graham Noyce would be Great Britain’s next world champion when he won the 1979 500cc world championship and two years later Neil Hudson joined him with the 1981 250cc world championship.

The rider many believe to be the best British motocross rider of all time, Dave Thorpe joined the British world champions with 500cc world championships in 1985, 1986 and 1989.

British riders struggled somewhat on the world scene for a number of years, with the odd second place of third place, Kurt Nicoll the most obvious, with second in the world in 1987, 1988, 1990, and 1992. Jeremy Whatley scored third in the 250cc world championship in 1984, and Paul Malin second in the 1996 125cc world championship, but it wasn’t until 2001 that James Dobb joined his other world championship winning countrymen.

Since Dobber, no other British rider has won a motocross world championship in the premier classes, and at present it doesn’t look like they have one around the corner. Tommy Searle came close and won a bunch of Grand Prix’s, but that future world champion from Great Britain isn’t in sight just yet.

Now this coming weekend at the Matterley Basin circuit in England, Tommy Searle, Shaun Simpson, Max Anstie, Ben Watson, Conrad Mewse, and a long list of other British riders will be working hard to make the next step. Who knows, maybe within that group is that next motocross world champion.

Copyright: Photo: Honda

Just1 Racing has teamed up with MXGP’s Instagram page to give a lucky fan their very own Just1 helmet! All you have to do to enter and win is:

- LIKE Just1 Instagram page

- Tag a friend in the comments of this post!

Those who LIKE & COMMENT will automatically be in the draw to win a Just1 Helmet J32 Pro Kick, a 2018 MXGP-TV season package, and a copy of MXGP3 the Videogame!

Click HERE and enter the contest. Contest ends Tuesday, June 5th!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjUVCR_gRAO/

Matterley Basin is known as a circuit that not only produces great racing, but also has amazing atmosphere. Built by Johnny Douglas Hamilton and promoted by Steve Dixon this facility is everything motocross should be and more. Despite it being a little more than a decade old Matterley Basin has seen some great battles and has quite a story-line of its own.

It was back in 2006 that Matterley Basin came alive as Stefan Everts and David Philippaerts won their respective classes at the first ever British Grand Prix held at the circuit.

In the MX2 class on that day two other Matterley favorites Antonio Cairoli and Tommy Searle finished second and third overall. Cairoli scored 40pts and won his first ever race at the circuit.

A few months later the best riders in the world returned to Matterley Basin as the Motocross of Nations was held. This time it was Team USA (James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto and Ivan Tedesco) who went home with the victory, but nobody will ever forget the battles between Stefan Everts and James Stewart in the MX1 class and Ryan Villopoto and Antonio Cairoli in the MX2 class.

Everts went 1-1 in front of one of the biggest motocross crowds ever seen for the MXoN, and RV scored 2-3 results for the MX2 overall, but it was Cairoli who scored his second moto victory at Matterley Basin for his second overall in the class.

After a handful of other circuits held the British Grand Prix from 2007 until 2010, Matterley Basin returned to the GP scene in 2011, and again Cairoli took a moto win as he scored victory in the MX1 class. Young German rider Ken Roczen won the MX2 class with 1-1 scores.

A year later in 2012 that man Cairoli goes 1-1 in the MX1 class, taking his fourth and fifth race wins at the circuit on his way to a dominant performance. In the MX2 class Tommy Searle and Jeffrey Herlings went to war as they battled for the small bike honors. Searle scored 1-1 results as Herlings crashed out of one race while on the back wheel of the Brit. The huge crowd went wild as the home boy handed the world champion defeat.

2013 and while Cairoli was able to pick up another moto win, it was Clement Desalle who won the MX1 overall with 2-1 results. In the MX2 class a classic GP was held as a handful of riders fought for the GP victory. With world MX2 champion Jeffrey Herlings out of the GP due to injury it was his countryman Glenn Coldenhoff who took the win.

In 2014 Cairoli went 1-2 for the MXGP overall victory and in doing so scored his seventh moto win from 12 starts. No doubt the last 10 years had seen Cairoli as the most decorated rider at the beautiful circuit build in a valley. In the MX2 class in 2014 the Dutchman Jeffrey Herlings finally scored his first GP victory at the circuit.

2015 and a surprise in the MX2 class as Valentin Guillod wins with 2-1 and beats Herlings for the overall. Herlings also went 1-2, but the wrong way around for victory.  Cairoli gets another win in England with 1-3 scores.

A year later, and the last time we visited Matterley Basin for a GP (2017 the Monster Energy FIM MXoN Presented by Fiat professional was held so no GP), and Herlings goes 1-1 for a win, and in MXGP it was Tim Gajser winning with 1-1 results and Cairoli could only muster 2-10 for sixth overall.

Now, we await possibly the best GP of the season, as Herlings looks to dominate Cairoli on a circuit both have massive success. Cairoli with GP wins in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015, and Herlings winning in 2014 and 2016.

HRC Factory rider Tim Gajser is making good progress as he recovers from a pre-season injury, where he broke his jaw. Last weekend at the Grand Prix of Germany, he finished on the podium and with 2-2 performances had his best GP of the season.

Now in sixth place in the MXGP points standings, the two-time motocross world champion is starting to feel as though he might just be able to make ground on series leader Jeffrey Herlings when it comes to racing side by side.

A massive 165 points back from Herlings, his chance of picking up his third world title are gone, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t trying as hard as possible to get a GP victory and close the gap to the Dutchman.

“You know I am really happy,” Gajser said. “We will work harder and try and improve on the bike and myself, and hopefully we will do more results like that. Sure, I miss the confidence and I am building confidence and riding well, you can make scrubs and ride better. The weekend in Germany I was enjoying it more and having more fun and we are going into the right direction. Being on the podium is always a great feeling; we have twelve more rounds so now the goal is to continue building momentum and try to keep it as high as possible.

Bike improvements are also giving Gajser more confidence and in Germany he was enjoying riding a lot more than in the previous six rounds (he missed Argentina with his jaw injury). His condition is better and also his concentration.

“I enjoyed riding my Honda throughout the whole weekend and I managed to maintain a consistently-fast pace up to the chequered flag, which is a very good sign. I was much more relaxed, confident and comfortable on track than in Latvia: this is why we were fifth there, and second here.”

A race Gajser has looked forward to all year is the next round in England. Having scored a GP victory at Matterley Basin a couple of years ago, he is going there with the podium again in his sights.

“Now we go home, train hard and get ready for Matterley Basin, which is a track I really love. I really like Matterley Basin. It has big jumps; good speed and the layout is really good. In 2016, I won both races, and also the qualification, and that was one of my best races at that circuit. Races give you confidence, when you know you are there. In past races I started good but lost the concentration and made mistakes and lost places. In Germany I was really focused and do every lap well.”

So bring on England, and a chance to improve on what has been a relative slow start to the 2018 MXGP championship for the Slovenian.

Iker Larranaga & Brent van Doninck will start in the MX2 World Championship for DIGA-Procross Husqvarna and continue for the rest of 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship season

Husqvarna Motorcycles and DIGA-Procross manage to bring up a competitive setup for both riders to complete the Season.

The close cooperation between Husqvarna Motorcycles and DIGA-Procross put the cologne based team on the next level and one more step closer to the target: to become an established team in the MXGP. 

Justin Amian: “We are very grateful for the confidence placed in us by Husqvarna Motorcycles, especially by Robert Jonas and Diego Clement. The whole team is highly motivated to complete the MXGP season as good as possible with Iker Larranaga and Brent van Doninck.”

Today, the 24th May 2018, the Fiat Professional MXGP of Lombardia which is taking place in Ottobiano on June 16^th and 17^th was presented in Milan, Italy in front of National media.

Ottobiano hosted a fantastic event in 2017 and after the success of its first MXGP event the circuit was rewarded as Best Paddock of the Year at Youthstream’s MXGP Awards held in Matterley Basin, Great Britain last October 2017.

Hosting the Press Conference was Italian Journalist Marco Gualdani who introduced the special guests on stage: Local Organizer and A Sport Group Owner Stefano Avandero, President of Ottobiano Motorsport Luca Gualini, 5-time Women’s Motocross World Championship Kiara Fontanesi, Vigevano Tourism Deputy Riccardo Ghia and President of FMI Lombardia region Committee Ivan Bidorini.

Stefano Avandero stated: The Organization of the Fiat Professional MXGP of Lombardia is going very well and the cooperation with Luca Gualini and his staff is great. I wish to thank the Lombardia region, all sponsors, all media partners who support us this year. The event will be unpredictable with insane battles between the top riders and with our Italian pride present MXGP’ Antonio Cairoli and WMX’ Kiara Fontanesi.

Luca Gualini continued: We are very glad to host this important international event in Ottobiano and I trust to continue this cooperation for the years to come. Last year the event was really successful and gave to us the possibility to grow and improve for 2018 too. Besides the Fiat Professional MXGP of Lombardia gives a positive effect to the local area.

Kiara Fontanesi ended: Racing in Italy is fantastic for me. I feel the full support from my fans and it motivates me a lot. This track is very technical and I love it, I also have the chance to train there often and I’m looking forward to being there.

During the Press Conference it was also announced that on June 5th the track of Ottobiano will host a special test day with Kiara Fontanesi and Australian Rider Chad Reed. 

Buy your ticket for the Fiat Professional MXGP of Lombardia HERE and don’t forget to follow this link for more information on how to be a VIP Gold Skybox Guest in Ottobiano: https://italy.motocross-viptickets.com/en/2366-italy-motocross-vip/

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 22 May 2018 – Youthstream and Milestone are pleased to announce the return of the Compound, one of MXGP fans’ best-loved features, designed as an even-larger training area, where players can further improve their riding skills, taking part in adrenaline-filled training sessions and getting involved in thrilling races on different tracks with varying weather conditions.

This year, the training compound is designed as a large one square kilometer area of forest inspired by a real-world location, the amazing Esino del Lario, surrounded by the Grigna Mountains and by Lake Como to the South, where players will have the chance to train and explore the area on their own. The Compound includes two tracks, one for Supercross and one for Motocross, where players can push their limits in time attack mode or against official riders and, for all off-road competition lovers, a more challenging trail has been created, where they can really go full gas and put their riding skills to the test.

The Compound is the designated area for training and improving riding performance to become a motocross champion. It will be possible to test skills in many motocross disciplines: air control, scrubs, cornering, wet, standing starting and braking, each one associated to 5 test sessions, so that players can improve their custom rider’s skills by training with official MXGP riders.

Moreover, as previously anticipated, this year Milestone's designers worked with exceptional partners: official MXGP riders Tim Gajser, Tony Cairoli, and Gautier Paulin, who together provided extensive and precious feedback during the development of each skill. The result is a real racing feel and impressive realism!

That said, Tim Gajser was our reference for reproducing bike movements in air control and scrubs; then we asked multi-champion Tony Cairoli how to recreate the bike's response times in the starting and when managing braking power. Lastly, Gautier Paulin shared his experience and know-how on how to win on different tracks: wet, sand, etc., and minimize cornering times while maintaining full control of the bike.

Tim Gajser explained to our designers how to properly master a scrub: “The scrub is a really special technique, I explained how the body moves and how the bike reacts accordingly; to perform a perfect scrub during a race, you need to keep leaning as much as possible, almost cutting through the air, maintaining a low trajectory. This is the only way you can land earlier and gain some time” then he added” I tried the scrub feature in the game and I was impressed with the high quality and realism of the reproduction, it was really fun!

Gautier Paulin added: “The designers did an incredible job, I was surprised to see how the ground was totally identical to the real thing, as well as the bike’s reactions on different tracks, wet or dry; like when the bike loses speed when going up a hill and it goes faster when you come down. I tried different tracks and I gave my feedback” as for cornering, he added “I asked the developers to work on the bike’s reaction when entering a corner with banking, the grip that you get with the bike is amazing. The result achieved in MXGP PRO really is unbelievable.”

Last but not least, Tony Cairoli concluded “This year the designers have done a great job, especially in terms of the riders and bike physics; for example speaking of the braking, it changes greatly based on the type of terrain; I think it was when I tested the wet tracks that I realized that the brakes felt too soft on some sections so the bike wouldn’t brake properly, so I told them about it. I saw the final result after my feedback and I must say that I was really impressed with the realism of the riding feel.”

This year the Compound really is a complete training area; ready not only to meet expectations of fans of the discipline, but also of the general public, bringing the thrills that only motocross bikes offer. A place where riders can continuously improve their skills by challenging themselves or their opponents, and above all, by having even more fun than ever!

MXGP PRO will be available from the 29th of June 2018 on PlayStation®4 and Xbox One for €69.99 and on Windows PC®/STEAM for €49.99.

Watch the trailer on the official YouTube channel by clicking HERE

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP PRO

MXGP keeps running the FOX Holeshot competition trough the rounds of the 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship season together with MXGP Partner FOX.

The way it works is that 1 point is awarded per MXGP or MX2 championship race. The first rider who cross the white line painted on the ground at the exit of the first corner will be given a point. At the end of the season, the 2 riders – one per category - with the most FOX Holeshot points will win a mega prize.

At the MXGP of Germany that took place on May the 20^th in Teutschenthal Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin took the FOX Holeshot in MXGP in both races while in MX2 it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado who did in Race 2.

Watch the FOX Holeshot Films

MXGP FOX Holeshot Film

MX2 FOX Holeshot Film

TAG Heuer has been the official timekeeper of the FIM Motocross World Championship since 2014 and together with MXGP are running the fastest lap competition across each season.

The way it works is: at each and every round of the MXGP season, the rider that sets the best lap time in each class, MXGP and MX2, will receive 1 point in the TAG Heuer competition. The rider that has set the fastest lap at the most rounds throughout the season in MXGP and MX2 classes, and has the most points, will be awarded.

At the MXGP of Germany held in Teutschenthal Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings set the Tag Heuer best lap in MXGP class while in MX2 it was the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Jorge Prado who was fastest for the weekend.

Here below you have the details:

MXGP: Jeffrey Herlings at Race 2 Lap 5 with 1.46:860

MX2: Jorge Prado at Race 2 Lap 4 with 1.49:949

Check out MXGP.com home page for the Top 3 TAG Heuer Best Lap competition’s ranking.