With the opening round of the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship set to take place at the end of the month, the pre-season performances of some of its competitors is making the expectations go to another level.
Of course the two favorites for the MXGP championship are defending champion Romain Febvre of the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory team, and multiple world champion Antonio Cairoli of the Red Bull KTM Factory team.
Both riders have suffered minor injuries in the last two weeks, leaving their preparation for the opener in Qatar a little underdone. Both will be fit for Qatar, there is no doubt about that at this point.
With a series as long as the MXGP series is nobody is too worried that these two champions won’t be at their best at the pointy end of the championship in September.
Febvre might have picked up a slight arm injury last weekend, but his performance a week earlier showed that the speed of 2015 is still there and his race craft is looking Cairoli like. The Frenchman must go into Qatar as the favorite, as the title belongs to him until somebody else edges him away from the biggest prize in the sport.
What has also been shown in the two weekends of pre-season, is that a handful of riders are looking sharp going into Qatar.
Clement Desalle who moved to the Monster Energy Kawasaki factory team in the winter looked brilliant last weekend at an International event in England. The Belgian won the opening moto, and finished a consistent 1-3-4 from his three races, and from all accounts looked comfortable in his new green colors.
It’s been many years that Desalle has been a serious contender for the MXGP championship, but has always come up short, sometimes due to injury, sometimes just bad luck. Is the 2016 version of the tough Belgian strong enough to end the year on top of the point’s race?
Another shining light from the pre-season races is New Zealand’s Ben Townley. Under the watchful eye of his team manager Stefan Everts, the former MX2 world champion scored a strong second place finish in a moto last weekend, and looked really well rounded. Much like Ryan Villopoto in 2015 the world will be watching on February 27 when Townley lines up for the opening GP of the season.
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory rider Jeremy Van Horebeek, who had a shocker of a season in 2015, is also looking likely to return to his runner-up form of 2014. The Belgian has already scored a moto win this year and his consistency has been impressive, going 2-3-2-1 for the four moto’s he has competed in.
Of course in the MX2 ranks, Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings stands head and shoulders above his rivals. With a good winter preparation, and complete fitness, he has finished with 1-4-1-1-1, two of those results (4-1) coming in super finals against the 450 machines.
These are just a handful of riders who are showing good form, but there are a long list of others, Shaun Simpson, Evgeny Bobryshev, Max Nagl, Kevin Strijbos and Gautier Paulin have also looked fast so far this year.
Bring on the Grand Prix of Qatar, it looks like it’s going to be another classic.
Photo: Yamaha Racing
