MX2

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Suzuki Factory rider Jeremy Seewer is very much on a roll. Having won two GPs in a row, at Ottobiano in Italy and Agueda in Portugal, the rider from Switzerland heads to the hard pack of Loket this weekend with a lot of confidence.

In last year’s Grand Prix of Czech Republic Seewer finished a solid second place with 3-2 results, just behind the flying Frenchman Dylan Ferrandis who went 1-1. Red plate owner in the MX2 class, Pauls Jonass crashed out of the event, and failed to score a single point.

No doubt those wins in Italy and Portugal have put Seewer in a good place, and you can be sure he will be hunting down Jonass in Loket.

“Loket is a special track and you can very easily get things wrong and make a big mistake. I like Loket, I like Lommel as it’s where I mostly live now and of course it’s going to be awesome for the third GP when we head to my home country of Switzerland. I’m really excited to keep this momentum going as I fight for the MX2 championship.”

In Portugal, all went well for the Suzuki rider, and he knows that closing that points gap on Jonass is the most important aspect, the build his confidence, and take confidence from Jonass.

“It was an amazing weekend (in Portugal) I won two GPs in a row and this was definitely one of the best GP wins so far. It certainly wasn’t easy and took a lot of hard work, especially when I was battling with Jonass, my title rival.”

It was how he put his GP victory in Portugal together that most pleased the current runner-up in the MX2 points race.

“I was just really happy with how my second race went; I had a better start and I could follow the two in front and I could find some good lines and make the difference that I was looking for yesterday. The start in the first race wasn’t that great, not quite enough for me to be able to follow the top two as a gap started to appear. Luckily, I could make the pass on Thomas Covington on the last lap, which gave me the second place that allowed me to win the overall. I’m really happy with how the RM-Z250 performed today. We had to make some changes from yesterday because the track is quite special here and we had to adjust the bike to the track. Now I get to look forward to the next GP.”

And look forward to it he will. Just days away now and the MX2 rides will arrive at the Loket circuit, and we will possibly see another twist in the already exciting 250cc class.

Copyright: Photo: Ray Archer

After the summer break, MXGP is now ready to go back with the 13^th round of the FIM Motoross World Championship which is taking place in Loket this 22^nd and 23^rd July.

Timetable of the event as well as the official entry lists are online and available to be downloaded at the links below.

Together with the MXGP and MX2 classes also the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship and the finals from 19 races of the EMX85 and EMX65 classes are taking place.

TIMETABLE

MXGP Entry List

MX2 Entry List

WMX Entry List

EMX85 Entry List

EMX65 Entry List

Click HERE to watch the 'Next GP Promo' on MXGP-TV Youtube Channel

The Yamaha YZ125 bLU cRU cup offers kids under the age of 16years that race YZ125's in their national championships the opportunity to prove their potential and a chance at pursuing their dreams of becoming an Official Yamaha rider. Up to 44 of the best performing YZ125 riders - in their National Championships - will be selected to race the bLU cRU YZ125 Cup Superfinale which will take place at the biggest and most prestigious event of the year, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations at Matterley Basin in the United Kingdom.

With the season flying by at warp speed, some national championships have already held their main rounds, which means riders have already been selected to attend the bLU cRU YZ125 Cup Superfinale at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations - in Winchester, England, on the weekend of September 30th & October 1st.

There has been a strong showing of YZ125 riders in Italy. Talented youngsters Francesco Bassi, Kevin Cristino and Max Ratschiller have all put in some outstanding performances this season. They have been confirmed for the YZ125 Cup Superfinale where they will be joined by fellow Italians Mirko Dal Bosco, Pablo Caspani, Simone Ossola, Filippo Gervasio, Giulio Guarini, Pietro Salina, Thomas Arnoldo and Vincenzo Giarrizzo.

In Greece, there is still one round left of their seven round national series, yet one super talented young Greek rider has already been confirmed to race the Superfinale. His name is Andreas Andreou and he currently leads Greece's 125cc championship.

The Scandinavian countries are renowned for their strong line-up of youngsters. Thus far, there are four Finnish riders on the radar for a place in the Superfinale. Jasse Jukarainen is an obvious choice as the leader of the MX125 class, a category that is limited to 125cc 2-strokes. Santeri Keränen is third in the MX125 class only 27-points shy of Jukarainen, which makes him a candidate for a place on the Superfinale entry list too. Meanwhile Adam Holm has also proved his worth and is currently fifth place in the highly competitive MXJ class, which is a class that doesn't have a limit on bike capacity, while Jere Rönkkö is the fourth pick and is currently twenty-fourth in the MXJ Championship standings. 

Spain has a wealth of young talent coming through with YZ125 mounted riders, Oriol Segu, Alex Unzueta, Gerard Comellas, Iván Lacuesta, Toni Ruestes and Carles Rosell all proving they have the goods to compete for a place on the MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 team next year, which is the reward for the winner of the Superfinale.

Yamaha Germany is looking at results of the first three rounds of the Deutsche Jugend MotoCross Meisterschaft 125cc series. So far there has only been one round raced and the riders that have performed the best up until now are Roël van Ham, Theo Praun, Leon Bonn and Lukas Behrens.

Most of the contesting championships are still in full swing, including the four mentioned above. Countries such as Sweden - where two of last year's top six riders, Rasmus Holm and Arvid Luning, are competing for a second year - Belgium and The Netherlands are yet to place their bid of riders that will line up at the bLU cRU YZ125 cup Superfinale, where one promising young rider will come away with the reward of a lifetime - an Official contract that will provide him with a bike and full support, and a place on the MJC Official Yamaha EMX125 team where he will contest the 2018 European EMX125 Championship.

Copyright: Photo: Yamaha Racing

Back in 1962 when Czech rider Vlastimil Valek won the 250cc Grand Prix of Czech Republic, at the Holice circuit, it would start a relationship between Grand Prix motocross and the country known for tough hard riders, that would last right up until present day, as the Czech Republic Grand Prix will be played out at the Loket circuit next week.

That victory by Valek wasn’t his last as he won again in 1963 and 1965 at Holice. The 250cc class and the circuit of Holice would be GP partners until 1986, then the 250cc GP moved to the Povaska circuit.

Many great riders took victory in the 250cc class in the Czech Republic, but for Czech riders only Vladimir Kavinov, Miroslav Halm, and Antonin Baborovsky would be able to join Valek as a winner at home in the 250cc class

A Czech Republic rider who did often win in the 250cc class outside of his homeland, was Jaroslav Falta. The CZ factory rider would win a total of four Grand Prix’s in his career, but it wasn’t the GP success that made Falta famous, but an unfortunate situation back in 1974.

Falta almost won the 1974 250cc world championship, however Russian riders used questionable tactics during the final Grand Prix of the season to secure the title for Russian legend, Guennady Moisseev.

Going into the final round of the 1974 250cc championship only five points separated Falta and Moisseev going into the race in Switzerland.

Falta took the lead in the first race and appeared to be heading for victory while Moisseev was being slowed by a bike problem. When Falta came upon the slowing Russian rider, Moisseev made an attempt to obstruct him, allowing second and third place riders, Harry Everts and Håkan Andersson to catch up. When Falta attempted to pass Moisseev, the Russian rider collided with him causing him to fall off his bike. Falta was quickly able to remount but, finished the race in third place.

Falta needed to take victory the final moto to claim the 250cc world championship. After taking an early lead, Falta was again crashed into by Russian riders. Causing him to fall, but remount in third place. The Russian riders were black flagged, and Falta was able to win the moto, but two hours after the of the race had ended, jury officials penalized Falta one minute for jumping the start which dropped him to eighth place handing the world championship to Moisseev.

It would be the one of the very few chances a Czech Republic rider would have of winning a world motocross championship, and once the 1970’s was over the tough riders from the Czech Republic disappeared forever.

Falta would win the first ever indoor race in America, the Superbowl of motocross in 1974. Other successes for Czech Republic riders came in 1963 when Vlastimil Valek finished second in the 250cc motocross world championship, and Petr Dobry finished third in the 250cc motocross world championship. Also in 1975 Antonin Baborawsky finished second in the 125cc world motocross championship, and in 1976 Jiri Churaby and Zdeneck Velky finished second and third in the 125cc world championship behind legendary Belgian Gaston Rahier. Those two being the last Czech Republic riders to ever stand on the podium at season end.

Of course, the Czech Republic brand CZ was famous in the 1960s and 70s, winning world championships with Joel Robert (1964, 1968 and 1969), Victor Arbekov (1965), Paul Friedrichs (1966, 1967 and 1968).

Once the Japanese brand of Suzuki and the Swedish brand of Husqvarna arrived, the honey pot dried up for CZ and like the Czech Republic riders, no more championships were won on the magnificent CZ machine.

The latest issue of Motocross Illustrated is online with interviews with Antonio Cairoli, Jeffrey Herlings and Arminas Jasikonis. Plus brilliant GP images from Ray Archer.

Read it HERE

In the lead up to the MXGP of Czech Republic, held at Loket on 22-23 July, MXGP and Honda fans will be able to bag themselves some Honda Fox merchandise simply by demonstrating their gaming skills on the new MXGP3 - The Official Motocross Videogame.

On top of that, if the selected winner gets themselves to Loket, they and a guest will also be treated to a VIP weekend thanks to Honda including paddock passes, behind-the-scenes tours, hospitality and meet and greets with Tim Gajser and Evgeny Bobryshev in the ultimate virtual-to-reality experience.

To take part, game players must race as either Tim Gajser, Evgeny Bobryshev or another Honda rider and finish in second place or higher at the Loket track, replicating Gajser’s result there last year in his World Championship-winning season. The player must then take an in-game screengrab and share it on social with @HondaProRacing on Facebook and @HondaRacingCRF on Twitter, and @MXGP using the hashtag #MXGP3.

The challenge closes on Monday 17 July and the winner will be chosen at random and announced on Tuesday 18 July, but with unlimited entries, players can enter as many times as they desire.

MXGP3 - The Official Motocross Videogame is available from 30^th of May in digital and physical stores on PlayStation®4 and Xbox One®, the all-in-one games and entertainment system, and on Windows PC®/STEAM™. The game offers a dynamic, enjoyable gaming experience thanks to a series of innovative graphics, physics and audio introduced by the new Unreal® Engine 4 which takes game experience to a new level.

MXGP is the FIM Motocross World Championship; the leading global motocross race series taking in grands prix across Europe, America and Asia. Honda are the reigning Manufacturer and Rider World Champions with the works Team HRC and Tim Gajser, riding the Honda CRF450RW.

Terms and Conditions of Entry:

1) Players must tag in @Hondaproracing on Facebook and @HondaRacingCRF, @MXGP and #MXGP3 for their entry to be eligible

2) Players can enter as many times as they like but no entries will be considered after 17^th July 2017 at 23h00 (CET)

3) Players will only be considered when playing as Tim Gajser, Evgeny Bobryshev or another Honda rider aboard the Honda CRF machine

4) One (1) winner will be chosen at random after the closing entry date and announced on Monday 18^th July at 18h00 CET on HondaProRacing and @HondaRacingCRF

5) Winner will be mailed their clothing prize within one month of competition close.

5) Winner will be responsible for their own transport/accommodation if they wish to attend the MXGP race weekend

6) Per above, Winner will be given two entry and paddock passes for the selected MXGP weekend only for them and one (1) guest

7) Prize has no cash value and is not replaceable or changeable

(MONACO) Principality of Monaco, 12 July 2017 - Youthstream is proud to announce that the italian partner, FIAT Professional, will be the title sponsor of the MXGP of Belgium. The now named FIAT Professional MXGP of Belgium is set to take place the 5th and 6th of August at the famous and sandy circuit of Lommel.

With the success of the FIAT Professional MXGP of France and the FIAT Professional Fullback MXGP of Lombardia so far this season, the Italian brand is benefiting from the value of MXGP as a gateway to promote their company worldwide.

The continued success of Youthstream and FIAT Professional sponsorship is proving to be beneficial for both the sport and championship together. Fiat Professional’s brand ambassador, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli, leads the championship and will head to the FIAT Professional MXGP of Belgium, a track which he has already claimed 3 overall wins, holding the red plate.

Fiat Professional will receive branding around the track and paddock including the Fiat Pro House, the host of various weekends’ events such as the always popular Antonio Cairoli autograph session.

As the title chase intensifies so too does the racing and the Fiat Professional MXGP of Belgium will undoubtably be epic, so don’t miss it!

Tickets for the 2017 FIAT Professional MXGP of Belgium can be purchased here.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

Fiat Professional MXGP of Belgium

A little over a week ago the 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship provisional calendar was presented, and for most of the people inside the paddock, it’s a good looking 2018.

Of course, Starting in Argentina is a massive plus for the sport. The positive comments about this event from around the world make it pretty much the perfect beginning to a new season.

With the inclusion of the Indonesian Grand Prix, at a different location, and in a dryer period of the year, plus US and Mexican Grand Prix running in the same week, making a much more enjoyable experience for everyone involved.

Many of the regular locations are still on the calendar, places like Trentino, Valkenswaard, Teutschenthal, Lommel and so many more of the main-stays of the series. Matterley Basin is back after having a rest in 2017 so they could run the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. So much to look forward to.

We sat down with HRC General Manager, Roger Harvey, and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team manager Antti Pyrhonen to ask what they think of the calendar.

Harvey, who is a veteran of the sport really liked what he saw when the calendar arrived in his e-mail post.

“To be honest it’s a good calendar,” Harvey said. “We only just got it out last week and I like it a lot. The fly-aways have time on each side of them, so that is good. US followed by Mexico, which is good. The route in Europe looks like it’s been though out well, which is good. It isn’t easy making a calendar, because some events have traditional dates. We always ask for a good travel pattern and hopefully that will be better for everyone.”

Pyrhonen, who has like Harvey been a racer, and also has a long service to the sport is excited for what 2018 brings.

“First of all, I hope it could be the final calendar,” Pyrhonen said. “Because it looks really good. I know the calendar it is a demanding job, so I know some years it isn’t easy to make, and some years it’s easier. In 2018, we start in a great location in Argentina, that is very good. I actually liked Qatar, a nice facility and also Argentina is great. It is good as an opening Grand Prix, because first it is a good track and a great crowd, so it gives a positive feeling for the start of the season. I like starting outside of Europe, because it’s a little calmer, so when the first GP is in Europe, it is very hectic. Overall, it’s good. After Russia we go to Latvia, then Germany, and also America and Mexico, back to back weekends. I really look forward to next season with this calendar.”

So now it’s time to wait, and look forward to the continued improvement of the biggest motocross series in the world, the FIM Motocross World Championship.

Youthstream is sad to learn of the passing of the two-time FIM Motocross World Champion Hakan Carlqvist.

Carlqvist won the 1979 250CC Championship for Factory Husqvarna and the 1983 500CC Class while aboard a Yamaha. The Swedish rider was 63, a true legend that will not soon be forgotten.

A couple of years ago we had the chance to write an article on him, whose title was 'Hakan Carlqvist the warrior'. That's how the MXGP family wish to remember him. Rest in Peace Hakan!

https://issuu.com/mxgpmag/docs/mxgpmag_18_march_2015/48

Copyright: Photos: Pascal Haudiquert