MX2

Motocross, especially at the highest level of Grand Prix racing, can be tough.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider Conrad Mewse has shown a lot of character in recent weeks. After missing the Grand Prix of Leon, due to lack of confidence and results, the young Brit kept working hard, and while he didn’t score many points in the last Grand Prix in Valkenswaard, he had shown signs of things to come a week earlier in Italy.

“Overall, I was satisfied with my speed over the weekend (in Valkenswaard),” Mewse said. “We started off with a strong ninth place during qualifying and a good overall feeling on the rough sandy track. Battling through a bad start in moto one I had to settle for 20th. My start was way better in race two and I was running in fourth place before crashing in one of the big downhills of the track. I picked myself up but couldn’t manage anything better than 22nd. My results might not have been great but I’m happy with my pace, especially towards the end of the first race.”

The rounds after missing Mexico was Trentino in Italy, and it was here where Mewse showed his character and potential. Putting together a top ten finish overall, and a little more confidence than his previous races this year.

“It was a good weekend for us. We had two solid moto’s battling with the top guys in MX2 and that’s been a great improvement compared to previous GPs this season. Taking some time off during these past few weeks has massively helped regain my confidence, so mentally I feel a lot stronger. There’s a few more things we need to improve, but we’ll keep working as hard as we do. Getting 10th overall in this one-lined track is very positive and I’m looking forward to the races to come.”

Kegums has some meaning for the Husqvarna factory rider this weekend. The young British rider made his MX2 debut at the circuit in 2016. He would eventually finish 19^th in the world last year, and while he is placed in 25^th at the moment, you can expect him to climb the rankings as the season moves into the second part of the season.

With great support from the Husqvarna factory, and his two team-mates (Thomas Kjer Olsen and Thomas Covington) both starting to really come to terms with the tough rigor of Grand Prix motocross, the teenager can settle down a little and just enjoy his racing. Something that will make his recovery from a lack of confidence a lot easier and hopefully propel him to more top 10 finishes in 2017.

Copyright: Photos: Husqvarna Racing

After missing the last four rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championship as he recovered from the injury, Jordi Tixier was back on his KX450F-SR Kawasaki on Wednesday last week, as soon as his doctor gave him the permission to ride. It was a first test for him, and after just a few hours on his bike the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team rider knew that he could be back racing on Monday. “I was only back on the bike one week ago but, as the feeling was good, we decided to race an International race in France. It was a good event. I got some good starts and battled with all day with eventual winner Shaun Simpson; after this race we decided with the team to come back to the GPs in Latvia. I know that I must not take too many risks as it is only five weeks since I underwent surgery but the plan is to regain my rhythm in Latvia. Then we have two weeks to improve everything before Germany, and to be totally fit for the French round of the world championship,” said Jordi Tixier yesterday after another good training session in the sand.

The Frenchman had a strong preparation last winter so he didn’t lose too much physical condition due to this injury. “Of course I lost a little as I was unable to do any physical activities with my leg for three weeks, but I’m sure that I will soon be back to my best; between my first practice session last Wednesday and the second one yesterday I felt so much better that I’m not worried about my physical shape. At the moment my right leg is a little bit stiff, but it’s just a question of time and training and I can say that my motivation has never been so strong. I didn’t really got the results I was expecting in Qatar and Indonesia after such a good winter, but in Argentina I was the second fastest in the practice session and was fifth before my injury so I was on the right direction,” he added.

Forced to stay at home while his colleagues were racing, Tixier was of course in front of his TV screen to watch the races and try to learn something. “It was tough to stay at home, and I spent time with the family, my girlfriend and friends to occupy myself mentally until I got the permission from my doctor to start some physical activities. I also watched the races as there’s always something to learn from your rivals! In Italy Cairoli was very impressive, and in Valkenswaard the pace during the second race was crazy; they were riding 100% for the entire thirty-five minutes. I know what I have to do to be riding with them as soon as possible; three years ago if you had a good start and pushed for ten minutes, then you could control your race, but today that’s not possible anymore. There’s been such a huge evolution from the bikes, the riders, the physical preparation that MXGP had never been so close to MotoGP,” he ended, happy to be back racing. 

Copyright: Photo: Kawasaki Racing

MONACO (Principality of Monaco), 04 May 2017 - Youthstream is proud to announce that the forty-fourth issue of the MXGP Mag is now online. This month it features Antonio Cairoli on the cover as the rider of the month after his amazing Trentino comeback and it includes the best of the MXGP of Trentino and Europe.

On the #44 Issue of the MXGP Mag there’s a throwback to the past with a feature on Trampas “Chad” Parker then Joel Robert and his 1964 CZ250. In addition we take you through what makes the MXGP Medical Clinic so special, the new MXGP Rookies program and a whole lot more.

Click here to read the forty-fourth issue of MXGP Mag or download it for FREE on Apple Store or Google Play.

Those users who have already downloaded the other issues on their iOs device can automatically download the forty-fourth issue by opening the News Stand and clicking on the cover of the MXGP Mag. Whereas those readers using an Android device will be able to download the magazine for free thanks to this app: http://bit.ly/IssuuOnAndroid

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MXGP MAG

KEGUMS (Latvia), 3 May 2017 - The 7th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship is here for the MXGP of Latvia. After a weekend off from racing we are ready to get back at it on the sandy surface of Kegums, Latvia where Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Pauls Jonass will go to Latvia with last GP victories in their names.

In addition to MXGP and MX2, Round 3 of the EMX250 championship and Round 2 of the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Championships will also run alongside. In EMX250 Miro Sihvonen had an impressive 1-1 in Valkenswaard and now leads the points. Meanwhile in EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing class Mikkel Haarup blew the competition away at the season opener and both will look to repeat.

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser maintains the points lead coming into Latvia, a track at which he won at last year. Gajser had a subpar weekend in Valkenswaard compared to the rest of the season and the continued pressure of the points lead shrinking will be one of many motivators pushing him to win here again this year.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli had an amazing race for the overall in Trentino but he wasn’t able to follow it up in Valkenswaard. Cairoli struggled in race 1 after a bad start and he was noticeably frustrated but he then dominated race 2. If Cairoli can get decent starts he’s definitely a favorite to win.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin is coming off a GP overall victory in Valkenswaard and looks to keep the momentum flowing for Latvia. Paulin has looked better week after week this season and now he will be gunning for two wins in a row.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle won the first MXGP of Latvia held in Kegums back in 2009. The Belgian has continually shown speed this year and perhaps he can return to the stop in Latvia again this weekend.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek reached the podium at the last race in Valkenswaard and now sits 4th in the points chase. Van Horebeek was very close to a race win in Valkenswaard and he will do his best to grab one in Latvia.

Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev has been very consistent this season and he was riding well in Valkenwaard holding down second place for most of race 2 before falling back off the pace. The MXGP of Latvia is one the closest to his Russian home and after his results thus far he will most likely be battling for the podium.

This weekend will be almost a home GP for Suzuki World MXGP’s Arminas Jasikonis, who had his career best finish in Valkenswaard. Jasikonis looked comfortable and smooth on the sand and will be pushing for a top five if not a podium result this weekend.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings just had his best 450 result this season in Valkenswaard with 2nd overall. The #84 is known for his sand riding skills and won here last year in MX2. The Bullet is back and may very well win his first MXGP race of his career this weekend in Latvia.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre has been in a slump so far this season but started to come out of it in Valkenswaard. Febvre finished third on the podium in 2016 and could really use the same this year to turn his season around.

2016 MXGP of Latvia MXGP Top 3

1. Tim Gajser

2. Antonio Cairoili

3. Romain Febvre

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 234 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 220 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 192 p.; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 182 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 176 p.; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 172 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 131 p.; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 124 p.; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 120 p.; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 116 p.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass is continuing to look impressive this season finishing on the top step of the podium once again in Valkenswaard. The Latvian is well versed on the soil of his home GP and looks forward to racing in front of the home crowd.

Team Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer is continuing to lose ground on Pauls Jonass in the championship in what has been a frustrating past two races. The #91 would like nothing more than to outshine the red plate holder and main competitor of Jonass on his home circuit.

LRT KTM’s Julien Lieber is an exceptional soil rider as he comes from Belgium. Lieber had a good first race in Valkenswaard but he had a bike issue in race 2 causing a DNF result. After a week to think of what could have been Lieber is more than motivated to get back to racing in Latvia.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen placed 4th overall in Valkenswaard and a couple of mistakes caused him to fall on more than one occasion. If Olsen can eliminate the mistakes he may see podium if not a win in Latvia.

Kemea Yamaha Official MX2 Team’s Benoit Paturel has struggled with starts all year and it is really hurting his results. Paturel has shown the speed by coming through the pack time after time but will be searching for the starts he needs again in Latvia. Even with the bad starts Benoit still sits 5th in the points prior to gate drop this weekend.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Jorge Prado Garcia had to fight back from some scary moments when he jumped off the track in Valkenswaard, only one week after winnng his first GP. The young Spaniard comes to Latvia focused on the Podium by putting in 2 consistent and mistake free races. 

2016 MXGP of Latvia MX2 Top 3

1. Jeffrey Herlings

2. Max Anstie

3. Jeremy Seewer

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 242 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 223 p.; 3. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 197 p.; 4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 188 p.; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 173 p.; 6. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 159 p.; 7. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 133 p.; 8. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 123 p.; 9. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 121 p.; 10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 109 p.

All the photos of the MXGP of Latvia will be available here

TIMETABLE

Saturday: EMX125 Group 1 Free/Timed Practice 08:00; EMX125 Group 2 Free/Timed Practice 08:45; EMX250 Group 1 Free/Timed Practice 09:30; EMX250 Group 2 Free/Timed Practice 10:15; MX2 Free Practice 11:45; MXGP Free Practice 12:15; EMX125 Last chance Qualifying Race 13:10; EMX250 Last chance Qualifying Race 13:55; MX2 Time Practice 14:30; MXGP Time Practice 15:00; EMX125 Race 1 15:30; MX2 Qualifying Race 16:25; MXGP Qualifying Race 17:10; EMX250 Race 1 17:55.

Sunday: EMX125 Race 2 09:45; MX2 Warm up 10:25; MXGP Warm up 10:45; EMX250 Race 2 11:30; MX2 Race 1 13:15; MXGP Race 1 14:15; MX2 Race 2 16:10; MXGP Race 2 17:10.

LINKS

Youthstream

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MXGP of Latvia

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Antonio Cairoli is without question the most successful rider when it comes to results at the Grand Prix of Latvia. The Italian legend has picked up victories in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 at Kegums, and also finished second to Clement Desalle in 2010.

Only injury the last two years have robbed him of even more success at the beautiful sand circuit, and this weekend you can be sure he will be looking to recover from a less than spectacular performance in Valkenswaard last month.

It wasn’t that Cairoli didn’t do something special, but mistakes cost him his chance of a third GP victory in 2017.

“It was a tougher weekend than expected,” Cairoli said. “Other than the first race everything went in the right direction, with victory in the qualifying race and a good feeling on the track. Unfortunately, at the first start I made a small mistake out of the gate and I slid the bike a bit too much, losing traction. From there it was an uphill struggle and I had to push really hard to claw back over twenty positions. Everything was going well, until I got into ninth position, behind my team mate. Just as I was going to pass him, I got a huge face full of sand that got inside my goggles and consequently into my eyes. From that moment, I lost most of my visibility and I had to settle for the ninth position…certainly not the one I was hoping for in this race.”

Despite the opening moto blues, Cairoli came back strong in the second race to dominate and show that he can go into Latvia with a lot of confidence.

“Between the two races I was very angry about what had happened and I was also worried because my right eye was giving me some issues, preventing me from seeing too well. Despite everything, however, I managed to start in front, which simplified my job, controlling my opponents until the finish line, even if I was not as fast as I could have been without the visibility problem. It's a shame that we missed the podium by just one point, but today we have gained precious points and we are getting closer to the red plate.”

Now with a race victory to his name, and his consistent results at Kegums, you can be sure the Italian will want to stand on top of the GP podium come Sunday evening and make a step closer to the red plate, currently owned by HRC Factory rider Tim Gajser, who just happened to win in Kegums in 2016.

Copyright: Photo: Ray Archer

At the MXGP of Trentino the Italian platform MXNews presented a charity project in order to build a children playground in Caldarola, a small town damaged by the big earthquakes of August 24th and October 30th 2016 which destroyed homes, shops, factories, religious buildings, hospitals, etc.

MXGP, Teams and Riders are proud to support this Charity project.

Support us by sharing or bidding on the auction of items MXGP Champions donated.

Click HERE for more details!

Auction ends on May 18th at 17:00

MX2 world champion Jeffrey Herlings finally showed signs of his old self last weekend at the Grand Prix of Europe. The Flying Dutchman produced a runner-up finish and nearly scored the overall. While his 3-3 results was a long way from his sizzling MX2 performances at Valkenswaard, where he had won seven GPs on the trot, his confidence is building and it shouldn’t be too much longer before we see him on the top step of a Grand Prix podium.

After his performances last weekend, he talked about Valkenswaard, and he gave his opinion of his season so far.

Q: How do you feel after finally making the podium after such a tough first five rounds?

Herlings: We did finish second, but the disappointing thing was we had the speed to win. I think I was the fastest guy. We are working so hard with the team, putting the bike upside down to try whatever I ask for. I really want to thank the team, they did a great job and they delivered me one of the best bikes, or maybe the best bike out there. The only thing we need to improve is the starts. We have the confidence, but we need to get starts. We need good starts every time.

Q: It’s a big struggle to get through after a bad start, isn’t it?

Herlings: I wanted to be in Gautier’s spot, but I felt close today to the win and that is good, but for the Dutch fans I felt for them. We got second, and that is like a win for me at the moment. I think I came from outside the top ten in the first moto and 15th in the second moto, and all these guys are fast. It’s been a good day and I just want to work from here.

Q: But it’s a big improvement on some of the other Grand Prix?

Herlings: We came to Qatar with a broken hand, and we were riding, but we couldn’t ride how I liked to, with so much pain. In the second round as well, then I couldn’t ride for five weeks almost. We went from GP to GP and I felt terrible, I even felt embarrassed. Now I have been back on the bike for a couple of weeks, and I am pain free, so that is positive. Now we can work on getting better and better.

Q: What have you learnt about the MXGP class?

Herlings: These guys are super-fast and during the winter, I didn’t expect them to be so fast. MXGP is like all-out war, from the start of the race until the end. That is something we are not used to, but I think we will get there. We are back on the speed, now we need to get the starts sorted. Gautier is on the same bike as is Tony and they pull one after the other holeshots.

Q: How can you get onto that top step of the podium?

Herlings: I just have to get it all together and once we have that I think we are on a good way. For sure the championship is over, but maybe we can get top five. I have been winning here seven years in a row and even though I have had a bad season, they expected me to be on the podium and that is what I did. 

Copyright: Photo: Ray Archer

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 28 April 2017 – Youthstream and 8M Sports Group are proud to announce the formerly MXGP of Italy is now renamed as MXGP of Lombardia. The event, the second stop of the Italian tour, has been renamed to better reflect the recently updated host.

The race is set to take place at the modern Ottobiano circuit organized by the new formed 8M Sports Group on the 24th and 25th of June, 2017. The facility is dedicated to the success of the MXGP of Lombardia with a planned 130,000 square meters of paddock parking and 1,600 trucks gathering 16,000 cubic meters of sand in order to expand and enhance the arena.

You can be sure that you will experience something unique and historic at the circuit of Ottobiano, the 24th and 25th of June for the MXGP of Lombardia.

Tickets for the MXGP of Lombardia can be purchased online here.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

FIM Europe

In the 80’s there was no age regulation in the 125cc class, and even though some very experienced riders raced their entire career in this category, some young kids shined and had strong performances. Winning his first Grand Prix when he was only sixteen years old, Dutchman Dave Strijbos was only eighteen when he became the youngest 125cc World Champion in 1986! Both records stayed on the FIM books for 25 years until Ken Roczen won his first GP at the age of 15 and then became World Champion when he was only 17 years old.

Read the full feature HERE

Join Team Suzuki World MXGP and MX2 for an insight of what it is like to prepare for a Motocross Grand Prix weekend in this new video just released by the team. 

Shot on location at the MXGP of Trentino in Italy, it shows the passion and enthusiasm of its team of professional riders and the hard-working people behind them, driving forward the Suzuki Factory effort from Japan; now in the hands of 10-time World Motocross Champion Stefan Everts – the most-successful MX rider of all-time. 

Get a ‘sneak peek’ into what it’s like behind the scenes during a busy race weekend and follow the riders’ preparation before and during a World MXGP and MX2 event; this one filmed at the spectacular Pietramurata venue. 

General Manager Stefan Everts introduces his young team of RM-Z250-mounted MX2 riders Jeremy Seewer, Hunter Lawrence and Zach Pichon – son of former Suzuki World Champion Mickaël Pichon, who won two world titles for Suzuki and was a strong adversary for Everts - plus MXGP riders; the experienced Kevin Strijbos and his team-mate Arminas Jasikonis, debuting the new 2017 Suzuki RM-Z450WS Factory machine, also talk about preparation, life and their love of the sport and the strong bond with the Suzuki Family. 

Watch the video here below