MX2

LEON (Mexico), 17 April 2016 – The dust has settled on the cactus and shrub that surrounds the impressive motocross track of Leon where the fifth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship took place earlier today. The thin air manifested from the high-altitude created an extra challenge for the racers and their machines, as did the blue groove sun baked clay, but it was Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings who excelled in the unique environment and topped the box in their respective classes.

The young guns, Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre, are really setting the tone in the championship this year. Febvre was last year’s rookie and is now the defending champion while Gajser, who is the 2015 MX2 World Champion, is the new rookie on the block. What these two are doing in the premier class and the way they have adjusted from the 250cc machines to the 450’s is incredible. Both riders are products of talent, dedication and drive, married with great teams and even better machinery. Gajser in particular, this weekend, was outstanding, he is so calm and focused out on track it’s incredible. Meanwhile Febvre chomped down a decent gap in the first race to pass Gajser for the win with a handful of laps to go, but in race two it was a different story with Gajser proving to be too strong, “I struggled a little bit with the settings on the bike”, Febvre said, “so I worked with the team late last night and today it was much better but I was missing something to have enough for the win and that is just how it is.”

Febvre and Gajser tied on points, 47 each, with Gajser being awarded the grand prix victory because he had the better result in the final moto, first. Gajser has now won three rounds of MXGP to Febvre’s two, but Febvre still leads the championship by three points.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl is holding the torch for the seasoned riders in the premier class with his two third place finishes for third overall. The German is running a fierce pace at the moment, but isn’t quite in the same zone as the youngsters up front, Febvre & Gajser. Nevertheless, he landed on the box for third time on the bounce and has moved up to fifth in the world championship standings, five points shy of Evgeny Bobryshev in fourth and six shy of Antonio Cairoli in third.

Consistency is everything to Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev who knows how important it is to get points on the board at each and every round. Today Bobby did what he needed to do without taking any risks, two fourths for fourth overall.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle is making solid progress after he started the season with a broken radius in his arm, which was operated on only one week before Qatar. Because of the injury, the Belgian hasn’t been able to train too much and has said his race fitness is only about 85%. Two fifth place finishes for fifth overall here in Leon would have felt as almost as good as a win for Desalle.

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 35:08.054; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:04.315; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:08.295; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:13.662; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:31.207; 6. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:35.377; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:36.711; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:38.658; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:46.175; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:46.828

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 35:32.594; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:16.264; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:27.592; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:36.883; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:45.418; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:51.089; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:54.127; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:58.423; 9. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +1:13.686; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:16.958

MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 47 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 47 p.; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 40 p.; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 36 p.; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 32 p.; 6. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 27 p.; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 25 p.; 8. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 24 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 24 p.; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 24 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 219 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 216 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 171 p.; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 170 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 165 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 162 p.; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 127 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 122 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 104 p.; 10. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 98 p.

MXGP Manufacturer: 1. Yamaha, 220 points; 2. Honda, 218 p.; 3. KTM, 178 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 176 p.; 5. Suzuki, 139 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 119 p.

Believe the hype. Jeffrey Herlings is back and better than ever. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider is a cut above everyone at the moment and he hardly looks like he is breaking a sweat. While the old Jeffrey, the one we have seen in previous years, would ride the first laps like a bull at a gate, this year we are seeing a new and improved, mature and uber focused Bullet. “I pretty much lost the championship last season being too aggressive in the beginning” Herlings said after qualifying yesterday, “what I learned in the past is that you can win by five seconds or you can win by a minute, it doesn’t mean anything extra. So I just try to win and I try to do what people expect me to do.” Which is exactly what he is doing.

Team Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer is looking very comfortable this year and his results are reflecting it. The Swiss rider is always smooth and consistent which are skills that have landed him on the podium for the fourth time this year. “I will keep working to try to get close to Jeffrey and try make his life a little bit more difficult” the optimistic twenty-two year old said.

There was no smile bigger than that of Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Vsevelod Brylyakov who had hands down the best weekend of his career! The young Russian qualified fourth which was a result he was absolutely pumped with, but then to turn that into a second place in race one and a sixth in race two after a gnarly crash on the second lap, the young Russian was able to uncork his first bottle of bubbles on the third step of the podium.

It was a bit of a rough day in the office for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass who got off to two mint starts only to crash in both races. In the first moto the Latvian had a front-end wash out, an error of his own, while in the second race he tangled with TM Racing Factory Team’s up-and-comer Samuele Bernardini. Despite the adversity, the 2015 MX2 vice world champion bounced back in both races for two fourths and fourth overall.

Last but not least, with the last pick of the gate, getting a good start was the first challenge for Wilvo Standing Construct Yamaha Official MX2 Team’s Aleksandr Tonkov after his bike stopped due to a problem with the electronics in the Qualifying Race yesterday. It ended up being mind over matter for the Russian who just hammered it once the gate fell and rode solid in both races for a pair of fifths and fifth overall.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:11.123; 2. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +0:33.978; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:38.195; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:40.758; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +0:53.207; 6. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +0:54.852; 7. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +0:56.232; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:56.696; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +1:17.721; 10. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, Honda), +1:23.832.

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:35.640; 2. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:44.423; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:47.549; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:57.008; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +0:59.649; 6. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +1:00.716; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:06.097; 8. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:31.849; 9. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +1:41.666; 10. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, Honda), +1:56.479.

MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 40 p.; 3. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 37 p.; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 32 p.; 6. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 28 p.; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 27 p.; 8. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 26 p.; 9. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 25 p.; 10. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, HON), 22 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 250 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 192 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 166 p.; 4. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 163 p.; 5. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 132 p.; 6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 126 p.; 7. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 121 p.; 8. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 117 p.; 9. Alvin Östlund (SWE, YAM), 89 p.; 10. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 82 p.

MX2 Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 250 points; 2. Suzuki, 192 p.; 3. Yamaha, 180 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 168 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 138 p.; 6. TM, 117 p.; 7. Honda, 100 p.

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos of the MXGP of Leon will be available HERE

MXGP OF LEON – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1575m

Type of ground: Intermediate to hard

Temperature: 29°C

Weather conditions: sunny

Crowd attendance: 33,000

MXGP 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.

NEXT ROUND

The next round of the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship will take place in two weeks time on May 1^st in Kegums, Latvia.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Leon

LEON (Mexico), 16 April 2016 – Round five of the FIM Motocross World Championship kicked off today on the man-made track, which was specifically designed and built to host the MXGP here in Leon, where Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser & Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings have the early advantage of pole position heading into race day tomorrow.

Frantic action opened the MXGP Qualifier, which is what we have come to expect from the premier class. Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser got off to a cracking start ahead of Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Tommy Searle, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli. Nagl bobbled a few turns in and dropped back to seventh, while Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev took advantage of a mistake by Cairoli to move into third on the opening lap.

The tricky dirt out here in Leon, a blend of hard soil and straw, which was imported and blended in order to soften and moisten the track compound, caught a lot of riders out. One of the riders struggling with the soil was the defending champ Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre, who kept missing his marks and was pushed back to seventh by Team Suzuki World MXGP’s Kevin Strijbos and a rebounding Max Nagl.

After running second most of the moto, Tommy Searle soon had his hands full as a massive party of talent in the form of Bobryshev, Cairoli, Nagl and Strijbos crept in. Bobryshev managed to drop Searle with a textbook move up the inside, which was replicated by Cairoli and Nagl a lap later.

It was smooth sailing for Gajser who checked out for his second consecutive qualifying heat win. Meanwhile, Bobryshev worked hard to take second with a couple of laps to go only to throw it away with a mistake on the final lap. Cairoli took over second with thanks, followed by Nagl. Bobby managed to recover for fourth while Febvre put in a last lap charge to pass Searle for fifth.

MXGP Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 24:11.002; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:06.195; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:07.714; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:11.931; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:13.024; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:15.544; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:16.678; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:30.277; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:36.778; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:38.393.

A blur of orange flew through turn one with all three Red Bull KTM riders Pauls Jonass, Davy Pootjes and Jeffrey Herlings leading the way. Pootjes ran in too hot and went wide which allowed his teammate through followed by TM Racing Factory Team’s Samuele Bernardini and Wilvo Standing Construct Yamaha’s Aleksandr Tonkov.

Less than a quarter of a lap in and Bernardini impressively split the KTM’s when he passed Herlings to take over second. As Herlings raised an eyebrow at the surprise performance of the TM rider, Tonkov withdrew with a bike problem, which allowed Team Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer and Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Vsevelod Brylyakov to slot into the top five.

At the halfway mark, Herlings said “I’m boss” to Bernardini with a committed move up the inside and went after his teammate Jonass who he passed easily a couple of laps later.

Bernardini, who was impressive in the opening laps, began to fade as the freight train of MX2 stars started to pick him off. Seewer took over third followed by Brylyakov and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Anstie, who was all over Brylakov like a rash for fourth.

When the checkers came out, it was Herlings who won and remains unbeaten this year, winning thirteen races from thirteen starts, which is a combination of championship race wins and qualifying heats. His teammate, Jonass, who won the qualifying race here in Leon last year, came home in a sturdy second place twenty seconds clear of Seewer in third. Hats off to Brylakov who managed to hold off the wrath of Anstie and Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Petar Petrov for fourth. Anstie and Petrov crossed the line simultaneously but it was Anstie who was awarded fifth.

MX2 Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 24:50.878; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:10.962; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:32.100; 4. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +0:33.372; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:34.178; 6. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +0:34.728; 7. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +0:43.221; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:46.366; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +1:07.595; 10. Damon Graulus (BEL, Honda), +1:12.220.

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos of the MXGP of Leon will be available HERE

MXGP OF LEON – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1575m

Type of ground: Intermediate to hard

Temperature: 27°C

Weather conditions: cloudy

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.

TIMETABLE

Sunday: MX2 Warm up 10:20; MXGP Warm up 10:40; MX2 Race 1 12:15; MXGP Race 1 13:15; MX2 Race 2 15:10; MXGP Race 2 16:10.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Leon

Watch all the Qualifying Race Highlights from both MXGP and MX2 today in Leon, Mexico.

MXGP Qualifying Race

MX2 Qualifying Race 

The organizers behind the MXGP of Leon are renowned for their outstanding promotion skills. Just as they have done in the year’s prior, they arranged an awesome welcoming ceremony in the town of Leon at the Calzada Arch where the people responsible for making the MXGP of Leon possible, Youthstream Director Mr. David Luongo, FIM/CMS Director Mr. Tony Skillington, President of RallyMex Mr. Juan Suberville, Mayor of Leon City Center Mr. Héctor López Santillana and Guanajuato Commision Sport's Director Isaac Piña Valdivia all shared their thanks and excitement for the weekend ahead.

As everyone arrived, a traditional Mexican dance was being performed on stage. Most of the riders racing the grand prix this weekend were in attendance and shortly after the speeches where the Mayor explained how proud they are to have the MXGP in Leon and that the team involved with the organization and promotion of the event is the perfect team to grow MXGP every year here in Mexico, they all made their way to the Altacia Shopping center for a signing session which attracted hundreds of buzzing MXGP fans. Fan interaction is important in growing a loyal fan base and the turn out has shown good signs that we are in for yet another mega round of MXGP this weekend. 

Have you ever wondered “is there more to a Monster Girl than just a pretty face and a hot body?” If you have, problem solved! We, MXGP, have come up with an idea in collaboration with Monster Energy where we will select a Monster Girl from each round of MXGP and ask her a few random questions. The ‘interviewed’ Monster Girl and her answers will be featured on our website on every Wednesday following each MXGP round.

We spoke to Bernice at the MXGP of Patagonia Argentina, here is what we asked her:

Q: What is something you can’t do, that you wish you could?

Surf! I have always wanted to but never been able. Would love to get the opportunity to give it a try! 

Q: Name three important qualities a person must have?

Funny and honest! I love people who can have fun in any situation. I also hate liars, so if you can’t tell the truth then I am not for you! 

Q: What’s your favorite type of chocolate? 

Every type!!! 

Q: If you could date anyone in the world, who would it be?

A prince, be great to be a princess for a day!! 

Q: Describe your perfect outfit for a night out…

Monster girl outfit!! A nice dress with some heels, but something comfortable as I love to dance!! 

The timetable for Saturday 16th April here in Leon, Mexico, for the MXGP of Leon has been revised. 

Below is the updated timetable and click HERE to download it. 

Saturday: MX2 Free Practice 12:00; MX2 Time Practice 12:20; MXGP Free Practice 13:00; MXGP Time Practice 13:20; MX2 Qualifying Race 15:10; MXGP Qualifying Race 16:00.

Sunday: MX2 Warm up 10:20; MXGP Warm up 10:40; MX2 Race 1 12:15; MXGP Race 1 13:15; MX2 Race 2 15:10; MXGP Race 2 16:10.