MX2

GELSENKIRCHEN (Germany), 08 October 2016 – The first ever Monster Energy SMX Riders’ and Manufacturers’ Cup is in the books and while most would have predicted that KTM would win the Manufacturers’ Cup, which they did, the rest of the event was completely unpredictable in terms of drama, action, and individual race results.

Superpole

After two 15-minute practice sessions, riders were sent out in the order they finished in the second practice. Suzuki were first up with their fastest rider, Jake Weimer. Weimer laid down a relatively good lap although there were certain spots that had be groomed, which may have effected his overall time with no line carved, so the best he could do was a 51.573. Former MX2 World Champion Jordi Tixier followed on behalf of Team Kawasaki, and managed to beat Weimer’s time with a 50.833. Next up was Yamaha’s Romain Febvre, last year’s MXGP World Champion. Febvre was a little too eager on his lap and over cooked the first triple in, which screwed up his rhythm completely. The former champed bounced it out and still managed to top both Tixier and Weimer with a 50.766. Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne probably put in the tidiest and smoothest lap of all for third, 49.721, while the real eye-opener was the speed of Honda’s Tim Gajser and KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings. MXGP-TV presenters Paul Malin and Lisa Leyland asked Ryan Dungey on the LIVE Studio Show who was going to be riding the Superpole for KTM, in which Dungey replied, “we all decided that whoever was fastest in the practice sessions would ride, and that was Jeffrey.” Gajser was up first, and in typical ‘Tiga’ style, he was all whips and scrubs on his way to the top of the table, despite massively over cooking the ski jump into the sand waves. Gajser is such an animal though, he just soaked it all up, and kept the throttle wide open to go pole with a 49.390, which was a time Herlings fell slightly short of with his 49.418. Most people take longer to blink.

Monster Energy SMX Riders' Cup Race One

There was such an intense vibe at the start of race one as the best riders in the world, from both sides of the ditch, the USA and Europe, lined up next to each other. After winning the Superpole, Honda’s Tim Gajser went to the line first ahead of KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings, Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne, Yamaha’s Romain Febvre, Kawasaki’s Jordi Tixier and Suzuki’s Jake Weimer.

When the gate dropped it was Gajser who led the way into turn one, although KTM’s Ryan Dungey had a lightening quick getaway and out of nowhere almost railed around the outside of everyone for the Fox Holeshot. Herlings was on the inside of Gajser, but the Honda rider slammed that door before drifting wide to cut off Dungey as well.

Osborne was the filling in a world champion sandwich when he chose to start in between Gajser and Herlings. Both riders got out of the gate quicker and squeezed him out, but somehow he managed to keep a tight line and emerged in fifth.

KTM’s Marvin Musquin overshot the turn as the reigning MXGP world champion, Gajser, tried to gap the field. Dungey had company in the form of Febvre and Herlings, but those two made life a whole lot easier when they decided to haggle over the same piece of real estate, locked bars, lost balance and both toppled over.

Introducing the electric start! There aren’t many Yamaha YZ450F’s with electric starts, but one of the few that there are is plastered up ‘461’, and that worked in Febvre’s favor. He only lost one spot to Osborne while Herlings lost two spots, one to Osborne and one to Kawasaki’s Tommy Searle.

A little flustered, Herlings didn’t waste any time in hammering the throttle around the outside of Searle, who thought he’d throw a solid move back for old-times sake. That battle didn’t last very long though as Herlings made it clear he didn’t line up to play games when he got the job done and gapped it.

Gajser put in a classic ‘holeshot and win’ performance ahead of the two supercross stars Dungey and Osborne while Febvre and Herlings rounded out the top five.

Click HERE to download the complete results

Monster Energy SMX Riders' Cup Race Two

Race two was the craziest race of the night. It started with Gajser pulling his second Fox Holeshot ahead of Herlings who bobbled and went down, and almost collected his KTM teammate Ryan Dungey.

Gajser looked cool, calm and collective out front, on the gas early and braking late, until he left his braking a little too late and locked up the rear wheel into an edge which pitched him over the bars. Febvre took over the lead after he had found his way around Team Honda’s Evgeny Bobryshev, who was trying to ride through the pain of an injured wrist.

Osborne showed Gajser a wheel or two in the battle for fourth, before Gajser spammed himself again and hurt his shoulder. While it should have been smooth sailing from there for Osborne, he seemed to tire and Team Kawasaki’s Jordi Tixier passed him with ease to finish fourth behind fellow Frenchmen Febvre and Musquin, and American, Dungey, who all finished in that order.  

Hats off to Jeffrey Herlings who diced his way through the pack from dead last for fifth.

Click HERE to download the complete results

Monster Energy SMX Riders' Cup Race Three

Razor sharp bumps and limited traction made from a very technically challenging final race of the evening. Ryan Dungey got off to a ripper of a start and with clear track ahead it seemed like the supercross champ was set for 16 laps.

Gajser, who would have been feeling secondhand after body slamming the ground a couple of times in the race prior, seemed content in second ahead of two Frenchmen, Marvin Musquin and Jordi Tixier, but eventually faded back to fifth.

Meanwhile, Herlings was on the move after starting at the blunt end of the top ten. The Bullet was passing everyone like they were standing still and eventually found himself in second, taking chunks out of Dungey’s lead. With six laps to go, Dungey swapped out in the sand section, and Herlings took full advantage. Simultaneously, the third of KTM’s hotshots, Musquin, squared up on Gajser and passed the Honda ace for third.

While the Monster Energy SMX Cup is a team event as well, it became a battle of pride between Herlings and Dungey. Dungey tried to up his game, but a mistake riddled lap after seeing the two lap board saw the American back off and let Herlings have it. Dungey came home in second ahead of Musquin, Tixier and Gajser.

Click HERE to download the complete results

Monster Energy SMX Riders' Cup Overall

KTM were the clear-cut winners of the first ever Monster Energy SMX Manufacturers’ trophy with all three of their riders finishing on the box in the ‘Riders’ classification too. Ryan Dungey, who is so often referred to as ‘The Diesel’, remained true to that name with three consistent results, 2 – 3 – 2 for the win ahead of ‘The Bullet’, Jeffrey Herlings, who binned it in the first two races, but bounced back with a win in the third moto to tie on points with Marvin Musquin. Herlings went 5 – 5 – 1 for second overall, while Musquin went 6 – 2 – 3 for third.

Click HERE to download the Manufacturers’ results

Click HERE to download the Riders’ results

SMX125 European Cup

After setting the fastest time in Timed Practice Sander Agard-Michelsen fluffed his lines when the gate dropped for Race 1, instead leaving Luca Milec to pull the holeshot on his APJ Yamaha with IceOne Husqvarna's Mikkel Haarup giving chase. Agard-Michelsen held third on his TM for a lap but regained his place in the top three a lap later when he breezed back past the German Jeremy Sydow but by then, the top two had packed up and done one into the distance. That all changed with two to go when a mistake from Milec inadvertently took out Haarup and as quick as that, the two leaders were down. Haarup was quickest to recover and managed to hold on for the win ahead of Sydow and Michelsen. Milec was fourth and Szymon Staszkiewicz was fifth.

In Race two, Sander Agard-Michelsen rode a faultless race and disappeared into the German night sky leaving the rest of the field to fight it out amongst themselves after he pulled a massive holeshot. Szymon Staszkiewicz looked more relaxed in second position but could not afford to switch off as Jeremy Sydow was once again on the prowl. Race 1 winner Haarup fell on lap two and had his work cut out and for a much of the race was sitting just off the final podium. The Dane battled on and managed to pull back to eighth and it looked like fourth overall was as good as it was gonna get, until Sydow passed Staszkiewicz for second in the dying moments of the race. Agard-Michelsen's win earned him the overall while a brace of second palce finishes helped Sydow on to the box in front of his home fans. Staszkiewicz placed third but lost third overall to Haarup who took the third step with a win and an eighth.

SMX125 European Cup Race 1 Top 10: 1. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), 11:21.827; 2. Jeremy Sydow (GER, KTM), +0:01.935; 3. Sander Agard-Michelsen (NOR, TM), +0:06.286; 4. Luca Milec (SLO, Yamaha), +0:14.423; 5. Szymon Staszkiewicz (POL, KTM), +0:16.195; 6. Jarni Kooij (BEL, Yamaha), +0:22.745; 7. Joel Anton Costas (ESP, Yamaha), +0:23.362; 8. Harry Kimber (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:25.123; 9. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:26.111; 10. Luka Crnkovic (CRO, Yamaha), +0:31.977;

SMX125 European Cup Race 2 Top 10: 1. Sander Agard-Michelsen (NOR, TM), 11:22.760; 2. Jeremy Sydow (GER, KTM), +0:08.265; 3. Szymon Staszkiewicz (POL, KTM), +0:09.115; 4. Joel Anton Costas (ESP, Yamaha), +0:16.844; 5. Luca Milec (SLO, Yamaha), +0:19.861; 6. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:20.055; 7. Colton Eigenmann (USA, Yamaha), +0:35.130; 8. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:35.351; 9. Harry Kimber (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:41.451; 10. Martin Winter (GER, KTM), +0:42.970

SMX125 European Cup Final Top 10: 1. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, HUS), 25 points; 2. Jeremy Sydow (GER, KTM), 22 p.; 3. Sander Agard-Michelsen (NOR, TM), 20 p.; 4. Luca Milec (SLO, YAM), 18 p.; 5. Szymon Staszkiewicz (POL, KTM), 16 p.; 6. Jarni Kooij (BEL, YAM), 15 p.; 7. Joel Anton Costas (ESP, YAM), 14 p.; 8. Harry Kimber (GBR, HUS), 13 p.; 9. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 12 p.; 10. Luka Crnkovic (CRO, YAM), 11 p.;

QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 710

Type of ground: Hard pack

Saturday Crowd Attendance: 10,000

The 2016 Monster Energy SMX Riders’ Cup was available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe

Monster Energy SMX Riders' Cup

Watch all the highlights from the Monster Energy SMX Riders' & Manufacturers' Cup at the VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

A press conference that featured all the people that are making the first ever Monster Energy SMX Riders’ and Manufacturers’ Cup possible, Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo and FIM Europe President Dr. Wolfgang Srb, and of course, the six manufacturers’ KTM, Husqvarna, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki, and their riders, has set the wheels in motion for what is bound to be a great night of racing here at the VELTINS-Arena, in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Mr. Giuseppe Luongo got the ball rolling with some insight to his vision, “First of all thanks to the manufacturers’ for believing in this project, and thanks to FIM Europe for believing in this project too.” He said, “Before we got here to the VELTINS-Arena I’ve heard the word supercross a lot. I need to be clear, we don’t want to make a supercross. It’s different. It’s super motocross. What does that mean? We want to create an event where a supercross rider and a MXGP rider have an equal chance. We know that a top supercross rider will probably struggle to compete at the top level in MXGP, and the same for the MXGP riders when they go to supercross, so we wanted to create a race where the two worlds meet.”

“The same manufacturers compete in both motocross and supercross, so the event is for them too. It’s also for the riders, to create something new and fun, and also for the fans where they can see the top supercross riders and the top MXGP rider’s meet with an equal chance, because if we created a supercross track, of course the supercross rider will most likely win, and the same when we create a classic MXGP track, then the MXGP rider will most likely win, so we wanted to make something in the middle. I think it will be great race with many top riders, many world champions and a nice format similar to the Motocross of Nations.”

Dr. Wolfgang Srb said, “We’ve had a really good partnership with Youthstream and we wanted to be a part of this great event inside this fantastic stadium for this unique event.” While Mr. Luongo wrapped up the message from his side saying, “This race will be broadcasted world-wide, millions of people will watch it all over the world on different channels. This alone adds to the success of the event which starts with the quality of riders we have, and then with coverage we are receiving world wide, just like the Motocross of Nations, is unbelievable.”

Following the word from the officials, the teams were bought to the stage one by one where a few questions were asked to some of the start. KTM were the first up with Team Manager Mr. Roger De Coster and riders Ryan Dungey, Marvin Musquin, Jeffrey Herlings and Jorge Prado.

 “From my side I always love the competition between the top European riders and the top American riders, it’s kind of like The Nations and The Nations has always been my favorite event of the year, so this is kind of a mix between motocross and supercross.” De Coster said. “It’s special” Dungey said, “this is my first race back, and it’s in Europe. It’s great to ride with some riders we don’t really communicate with like Prado and Herlings. It’s a unique event and it should be fun.”

“I think we have the strongest team,” said Herlings, “I have two of the strongest riders next to me and with Jorge Prado as the joker, I think we will all go out there and do our best. It’s a team event and we will try to win this as a team.”

Marvin Musquin added, “It’s always good to come back to Europe and see my MXGP family. Today is a special day, for the first time we will race a track that is motocross and supercross combined together. I’m excited to race as a team, like Roger said, it’s like The Nations, which unfortunately I missed this year, but I watched it anyway.”

As for their young fifteen-year-old prodigy Jorge Prado, he said, “I didn’t expect to be the joker for KTM, I’m really happy to be in the same team as these guys and I think I am going to have a lot of fun.”

Honda were up next with their line up of Tim Gajser, Gautier Paulin and Evgeny Bobryshev, and the Team Manager Mr. Roger Harvey.

 “We don’t know what’s going to come out of it so there is a lot of excitement.” Harvey said, “We’ve got a very strong team, although the guys before us, KTM, are also a very strong team so we are out there to try and see what we can do.” Bobryshev agreed, “For everyone this is exciting, I’m sure it will be a great event, it’s inside a stadium and we have a great team.”

Paulin commented, “It’s going to be different riding on an indoor motocross track, and it’s great to end the season on an awesome track, the dirt is perfect.” While Gajser, who missed The Nations due to injury said, “I’m feeling good, yesterday I was able to try the track already and it’s nice, and I like the motocross indoors so I’m excited to race.”

Husqvarna’s Team Manager Mr. Robert Jonass was joined by Thomas Covington, Zach Osborne and Christophe Charlier with the joker Thomas Kjer Olsen, “We came under a little bit of pressure with Max Nagl and Jason Anderson getting hurt at the Motocross of Nations, but we still have a good team with a supercross rider and a MXGP rider. I’m not sure it’s realistic to say we can win this event, but I think we can podium and that is a realistic goal. I personally like these team events, so I’m excited and the track looks good so I think it will be a good night.”

Zach Osborne followed saying, “It’s good to back in Europe, it was a big part of my young adult life. The track looks nice and it’s always cool to do a team event because it’s something that we don’t really have much of in motocross, so I look forward to having some fun tonight.”

Yamaha’s Romain Febvre, Brent Van Doninck and Yannis Irsuti joined Mr. Alberto Barozzi on stage.  “We are excited to be here at this amazing place and it’s impressive to see a motocross track built in this arena. Sure, we have a really young line-up but the motivation is high.” Barozzi said.

Febvre had a chance to spin a couple of laps yesterday evening, “I had the chance to try the track yesterday with Ryan and Tim.” He said, “I was surprised because the track looks small on the photos but actually it’s ok. I’m excited to go racing and we will do our best to be on the box.”

Suzuki followed with the Team Manager Mr. Stefan Everts, and the three riders, Jeremy Seewer, Jake Weimer and Arminas Jasikonis, “After seeing the preparation here, it looks very promising for tonight’s racing so I am really looking forward to seeing the racing, especially with this rider line-up. Our team is probably not the favorite, although that is probably a good position to be in. I think it will be an interesting night.” Everts said.

Meanwhile, Jake Weimer, who is a relatively fresh face said, “I’ve been over to Europe a few times for a few different events, like The Nations in ’09 and Paris Bercy a couple of times and Genoa, but I’ve never been to Germany, so when I got in touch with Stefan and I got the opportunity, I jumped at it, so I’m looking forward to the night and trying to get Suzuki up as high as we can.”

Last but not least, Kawasaki Team Manager Mr. Steve Gutridge wrapped things up with the green team, Tommy Seale, Vsevolod Brylyakov and Jordi Tixier, “Maybe they would say we are the underdogs,” Gutridge said, “but I have a British Champion, Tommy Searle, and the German Champion Vsevolod Brylyakov and the former MX2 world champion Jordi Tixier, so I think we have a team that can win”

Tommy Searle said, “I didn’t expect the track to be as much motocross as it is, so it’s quite nice actually because I didn’t want to come and endo over a set of whoops right at the end of the season, so that’s nice, track looks nice and I’m looking forward to getting out there tonight.”

Jordi Tixier is also excited, “I’m really excited, and no one knows what to expect. It looks more like a motocross tracks, the dirt looks awesome, a little bit sandy and I’m looking forward to racing here tonight.”

Go onboard with Honda's Tim Gajser & Yamaha's Romain Febvre at the VELTINS-Arena for the first ever Monster Energy SMX Riders' Cup. 

GELSENKIRCHEN (Germany), 07 October 2016 - Youthstream is pleased to announce that Alpinestars, a long-time partner of MXGP, has agreed to a multi-year deal as the official protective footwear and apparel partner of the Monster Energy SMX Riders’ and Manufacturers’ Cup.

Alpinestars is the globally recognized trendsetter for high performance and protective footwear and apparel for all forms of motorcycle racing and motorsport. Since it was founded in 1963 the distinctive Italian brand has always brought innovative products to the market and motocross has always been at the very heart of the company.

Today, a large chunk of the MXGP paddock relies on Alpinestars products for their safety needs, whether it’s the fully supported works teams such as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing with their riders Jeffrey Herlings, Romain Febvre, Jeremy Van Horebeek, Valentin Guillod, Pauls Jonass and Davy Pootjes, who are completely decked out in Alpinestars, or riders such as Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Max Nagl, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s duo of Clement Desalle and Jordi Tixier, and Wilvo Virus Performance KTM’s Shaun Simpson, who all opt to wear the iconc Tech 10 boot.

Alpinestars will take full advantage of its involvement with MXGP and the numerous and diverse markets it reaches by adding support to the all-new Monster Energy SMX Riders’ and Manufacturers’ Cup. As a partner, Alpinestars provide Youthstream with the official Photo vests that are given to media representatives and the footwear for all of the Youthstream crew members for use around the track and paddock.

Gabriele Mazzarolo, President and CEO expressed his support for the new event and Alpinestars continuing cooperation with Youthstream, saying: 'innovation in all aspects of our sport is essential and we are always ready to support Youthstream in their efforts to promote motocross. The Monster Energy SMX Riders' Cup shows a will to explore future opportunities and as a company dedicated to pushing the limits of performance and protection for motocross riders, with technical footwear, body protection and riding apparel, together with our on-going off-road airbag protection research, Alpinestars is keen to support and see such initiatives prosper.

LINKS

Youthstream

Alpinestars

Monster Energy SMX Riders' Cup

Watch the first GoPro lap at the VELTINS-Arena for the Monster Energy SMX Riders' and Manufacturers' Cup onboard with Yamaha's Romain Febvre

GELSENKIRCHEN (Germany), 07 October 2016 - For the first time in decades, the most talented and skilled Motocross and Supercross riders will go head-to-head on an all-new INDOOR motocross track, built inside the iconic VELTINS-Arena in Germany. The innovative Monster Energy SMX Riders’ and Manufacturers’ Cup features a stacked line-up with the likes of Ryan Dungey, Tim Gajser, Marvin Musquin, Jeffrey Herlings, Romain Febvre, Jake Weimer, Zach Osborne, Tommy Searle and more, all facing off against each other in a battle of individual and team glory. Never has an indoor race attracted a line-up of riders this talented, it is bound to be the race of the century and will be broadcasted live on multiple television networks across the globe.

So where can you watch it? If you’re looking to watch it on your television set, check the guides below, or if you are looking to watch it online, the entire event will be aired LIVE on www.mxgp-tv.com from 18:00 CET starting with the Studio Show hosted by Paul Malin and Lisa Leyland, with special guests Zach Osborne, Ryan Dungey and Sami Hyypiä.

Also, don’t miss our 26 minute film “Behind the Gate” which will be uploaded to MXGP-TV.com on Tuesday 11^th October. It will feature blow-by-blow coverage of the entire Monster Energy SMX Riders’ Cup, including adrenalin charged highlights of all three races and exclusive interviews with the stars.

EUROPE

MOTORS TV

Saturday 8 October  – SMX Riders Cup – 20:15 CET - LIVE

BELGIUM

PLAY SPORTS

Saturday 8 October  – SMX Riders Cup – 20:15  CET- LIVE

BULGARIA

BNT

Saturday 8 October  – SMX Riders Cup – 20:15 CET -  LIVE

FRANCE

L’EQUIPE21

Sunday 9 October  – SMX Riders Cup –   18:30 CET – Delayed

MOTORS TV

Saturday 8 October – SMX Riders Cup – 20:15 CET - LIVE

ITALY 

Premium Sport2

Saturday 8 October – SMX Riders Cup – 20:15 CET -  LIVE

Italia 2

Saturday 8 October  – SMX Riders Cup – 00:35 CET – Delayed

SLOVENIA 

Sport TV

Saturday 8 October – SMX Riders Cup – 20:15 CET-  LIVE

UK

MOTORS TV

Saturday 8 October – SMX Riders Cup – 20:15 CET - LIVE

BRAZIL 

BANDSPORTS

Saturday 8 October – SMX Riders Cup – 20:15 CET -  LIVE

USA- CANADA

CBS Sports Network

Saturday 9 October – SMX Riders Cup – 01:00 pm EST (10:00 am PST) -   Delayed

MIDDLE EAST - AFRICA 

BeIn Sports 

Saturday 8 October  – SMX Riders Cup – 20:15 CET -  LIVE

ASIA

FOX SPORTS 3  

Saturday 8 October  – SMX Riders Cup – 20:15 CET -  LIVE

CHINA

FOX China

Saturday 8 October  – SMX Riders Cup – 20:15 CET -  LIVE

THAILAND 

TRUE VISION

Saturday 8 October  – SMX Riders Cup – 19:00 CET -  LIVE

MXGP will be available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

Click HERE to download the Timetable of the Event

All the photos of the Monster Energy SMX Riders’ Cup will be available HERE

LINKS

Youthstream

Monster Energy SMX Riders' Cup