MX2

After a year of study and analysis Airoh is proud to announce the launch of the new web-site www.airoh.com.

Why web 2.0? Internet today is integral part of people’s lives. It is a tool through which customers communicate, share ideas, search, buy and express themselves and it’s the reason why Airoh has decided to realize the new website in order to fully get this spirit. The innovations are many: quick and easy access, user-friendly browse, modern layout, social media predisposition with its new blog and responsive design suitable for all devices. The website is translated in 5 languages ( ITA, ENG, FR, DE, ESP ) in order to be usable from all our passionate. In this new version, it has been given huge space to pictures and videos that now more than ever represent the easier way to communicate and involve the public. Racing DPT section collects the best of our racing division, the beating heart of our company. Customers will be driven to research products through the dealer locator and the new technical sheets. For professionals, instead it has been created a private area, where they will have open access to all issues that revolve to Airoh world.

Are you ready to try this new experience? We’re waiting for you at airoh.com!

One hundred and fourteenth issue of this bi-weekly motorcycle sport magazine, tackling the latest races and issues in MotoGP, the FIM Motocross World Championship, AMA Motocross/Supercross and World Superbike as well as general motorcycling and accessories with the best blogs and photographs. In OTOR 114: Andale! MXGP survives Mexico rain; reaction from chaotic scenes and drama in Leon as MXGP hurries to a conclusion. Jonass’ crash, Febvre brilliance and Covington takes his first. More inside. MotoGP Misano motorcycle mania; bike swapping galore in Italy as Marquez judges the rolling clouds at Misano and Lorenzo’s title ambitions take a hit. Fresh Blogging from Gavin Emmett. Robert Jonas: Building the White; In-depth interview with the man co-credited for KTM racing resurrection and now looking to put Husqvarna firmly at the top of classifications around the world. Glorious food: Nutrition in MXGP; OTOR asks about the myths, weaknesses and discipline that Pro athletes need to deal with in order to survive and proper in MXGP (more cautionary tales than you’d think)/

Check it out by clicking here

The gates dropped at round eleven of the FIM Motocross World Championship at MXGP of Leon in Leon, Mexico. Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Romain Febvre set the fastest lap time for the weekend in MXGP while Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube’s Valentin Guillod set the fastest time over the weekend in MX2.

Both riders have added one point to their TAG Heuer fastest lap score sheets. Right now there is a three-way tie for the TAG Heuer fastest lap in MXGP class with Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Romain Febvre tied with Team HRC’s duo of Gautier Paulin and Evgeny Bobryshev on three points. If either of these riders set the fastest time at the Monster Energy MXGP of The USA this weekend, they will win the luxury TAG HEUER watch.

If you don’t know about this competition, the way it works is; he who sets the fastest lap time in each MXGP or MX2 over the weekend at each round of MXGP this year will be awarded 1 point towards the TAG Heuer sponsored ‘fastest lap’ competition. At the end of the season, the rider who has the most points will be awarded an elegant gift of prestige, a TAG Heuer watch.

If you scroll down on the main page at MXGP.com you will see the TAG HEUER Fastest Lap results grid which is situated directly underneath the FOX Holeshot results grid.

Thomas Covington interview

After a standout career as an amateur in the U.S., Thomas Covington decided to take the road less traveled and go directly to the FIM Motocross World Championship series after graduating from Loretta Lynn’s in 2013. In 2013, Thomas finished up his amateur career with solid top five performances in Open Pro Sport (5th) and 250A (4th), but rather than chase the American dream of racing Supercross under the lights in big stadiums, Thomas chased a different dream: becoming an American World Champion.

Out of the gate the Monster Energy/Kawasaki rider looked poised to make an impression immediately when he finished 3rd in his second-ever MX2 World Championship moto in Qatar, but that success would take nearly two full years to repeat. For the rest of 2014, the rookie would finish every moto outside of the top ten and he would finish his rookie World Championship campaign in 17th.

Instead of throwing in the towel on his World Championship dreams, Thomas returned with the same team in 2015. While the American was still not lighting the world on fire, Thomas has been a consistent top ten guy all year long. For whatever reason, though, Thomas’ has struggled on the European tracks again in ’15, but the #64 has shown his potential with two 4th overalls in Thailand and Argentina and his first-ever overall win last weekend in Mexico. It was a huge win for Thomas, and with his home Grand Prix at Glen Helen just a week away, it could not have come at a better time.

After Thomas’ win, he sat down for a quick press. You can read what he said below.

Q: Thomas, congrats on your first-ever overall MX2 victory. You must be happy right now.

Covington: Yeah, beyond stoked! I didn’t know I had the overall win until I was walking up to the podium and I was asking, “Where should I stand?” I didn’t even know I won the overall. It’s an amazing feeling. It’s something I haven’t had in a long time, so it’s awesome.

Q: There were two very different conditions for the races today. Very muddy in race one where you finished 4th. A lot dryer in race two. In the second race, you got into the lead quite early on, but what were your thoughts initially when you started leading? Did those thoughts change as you neared the checkered flag?

Covington: Yeah, at the beginning when I passed the number 10 [Calvin Vlaanderen] I was feeling good and just wanted to put down some good laps and get a gap. Then towards the end, my mechanic started putting on the board “Gajser 13 seconds,” “Gajser 10 seconds,” and then the next time I came around “7 seconds.” I thought “Oh, man, he’s coming,” but I knew I had a big enough gap and the race was coming to an end there. I was able to come in comfortably.

Q: It’s been a tough two years for you, hasn’t it? This is your second full year in MX2, and obviously today was a high point. Can you kind of fill us in on things that have affected your last two years. Were there injuries, bad luck?

Covington: No, I just think it’s tough for someone like me that came straight out of the amateurs in the US and go straight to racing GPs. It’s a whole different world, and it’s taken me a while to get used to the European tracks and the whole lifestyle. I think this year has gone significantly better than last year, a lot more top ten’s this year and consistently having good finishes. Yeah, to win here this weekend is just incredible.

Q: This week we head to the final round in the USA at Glen Helen. You now go into it a race winner and an overall Grand Prix winner as well. You’re not just an American on the starting line in a Grand Prix. Are you looking more forward to that now that you won here?

Covington: I don’t think it changes that much going into this week. For the past three months, I’ve been looking forward to this race. I’ll go in with the same mind-set I had before. I will try and get on the podium again for the home crowd—that’s the goal.

The Fox Holeshot award runs across the entire MXGP season. The way it works is 1 point is awarded for each race holeshot. He who has the most points in MXGP at the end of the season will win the grand prize of €10,000 while he with the most points in MX2 will win the grand prize of €5,000.

At the MXGP of Leon in Mexico, Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Dean Ferris and Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl took the FOX Holeshots in the MXGP Class. 

Meanwhile in MX2 Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Thomas Covington took the Fox Holeshot in Race 1 and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Paul Jonass claimed it in Race 2. 

Watch the MXGP of Leon FOX Holeshot films here below:

MXGP Fox Holeshots

MX2 Fox Holeshots

LEON (Mexico), 13 September 2015 – Overnight storms made the conditions extremely tough and technical here at the circuit of Leon for the penultimate round of the FIM Motocross World Championship. The saturated dirt, which is a mix of clay and soil, became very thick and sticky, which kept the riders on their toes as they were faced with the challenge of riding fast but smart.

Consistency wasn’t a problem for Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Romain Febvre who waxed everyone today for a perfect fifty point score, his fourth this season. Meanwhile Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Thomas Covington was the break out star in MX2 after hitting two milestones with his first ever race win and MX2 grand prix overall.

It was business as usual for Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Romain Febvre who upped his stats to fourteen race wins, twelve consecutive podiums, of which seven have been grand prix overalls. The 2015 FIM Motocross World Champion made it look far too easy today when he won the first race with an even bigger gap than the one Ryan Villopoto pulled in the Qualifying Race in Thailand, 45 seconds to RV’s 33.“It’s never easy but this one was really good, I enjoyed the track. This morning it was really muddy but the second race the track was perfect and I had a lot of fun.”

For Hitachi Construction Machinery Revo KTM’s Shaun Simpson it’s simple. The gnarlier, the better. The overnight rain fell completely in favor of Simpson who is having his best ever season in the premier class. SS24 reveled in the rutted up circuit in race 1 for a convincing second place finish but what was really impressive was they way he diced his way through the pack in race two and passed factory rider after factory rider to take another second for second overall. “The track in the second race was how every grand prix should be. There were a lot of lines to pass and I didn’t feel stressed, I felt smooth and confortable. Overall it’s just nice to show I can run up front and I can be on the podium and show good speed, not only in the sand.”

There are only fifty points left to race for this season which means that Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev has already concreted a top three result as he is 58 points clear of Simpson in fourth. This weekend the Russian made ten points on his Team HRC teammate Gautier Paulin and now trails by 27 points which means he is still in the running for second place in the championship.

When Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Jeremy Van Horebeek gets the start he can run the pace which was evident in race two as he went bar-to-bar with Paulin, Simpson, Bobryshev and Coldenhoff in a massive battle for second. Simpson and Bobryshev both ended up nudging him back fourth which is the result he took away this weekend.  Meanwhile Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Glenn Coldenhoff rounded out the top five after a mistake-riddled. Nevertheless the Dutch rookie recovered well in both races for two top five finishes.

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 36:35.450; 2. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:45.231; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:14.599; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +1:22.649; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +1:26.466; 6. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +2:06.200; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +2:08.975; 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +2:20.819; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), -1 lap(s); 10. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s)

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 35:32.826; 2. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:02.302; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:04.883; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:06.685; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:08.990; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:11.136; 7. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +0:12.221; 8. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:13.728; 9. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:37.447; 10. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:39.006;

MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 50 points; 2. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 40 p.; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 32 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 32 p.; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 30 p.; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 28 p.; 8. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 26 p.; 9. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KAW), 25 p.; 10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 25 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 688 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 566 p.; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 539 p.; 4. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 481 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 442 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 426 p.; 7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 416 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 393 p.; 9. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 344 p.; 10. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 331 p.

MXGP Manufacturer: 1. Yamaha, 696 points; 2. KTM, 672 p.; 3. Honda, 649 p.; 4. Suzuki, 648 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 604 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 394 p.; 7. TM, 126 p.

What better way to head into your home grand prix than as the most recent round winner? Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Thomas Covington hit a couple of milestones today and proved just how versatile he is with a solid ride in race one for fourth, which he followed up with his first ever race win in race two and overall victory. “I am beyond stoked. I didn’t even know I had the overall win until I walked up to the podium and I had to ask where I should stand. It is an amazing feeling.”

Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser didn’t have the best start to the day. The red plate holder binned it big time in race one but only lost one position. A couple of laps later a message was put out on his pit-board “save bike!” which for Gajser, a rider who is a complete animal and uses every ounce of power, made it a nail biting end to the race. Nevertheless he nursed it home for fifth and then rode smart in race two for second place and second overall. He now leads the championship by 18 points over Pauls Jonass.

Kemea Yamaha Yamalube’s Benoit Paturel was visibly pumped to uncork his first ever bottle of bubbles. “It is incredible for me. This year I have progressed step by step and to take my first podium, the sensation is incredible, I think for every rider it’s the same.”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass, mentored by the greatest of all time Stefan Everts, had the craziest weekend. Just when it looked as though the title challenger had hooked a gear, with his race 1 win and 9 point gain on the red plate holder Gajser, it all turned sour when he crashed crossing the Fox Holeshot line (but still took it) and then again a lap later in spectacular style when he was catapulted off his bike. Even though the Latvian lessened his chances of claiming the 2015 FIM Motocross MX2 World Championship title, he can count himself lucky that he walked away from such an enormous crash unscathed.

The biggest key to muddy conditions is to keep the momentum up, which coincidently is the same tact necessary to ride sand. Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie was fast in race one where he was second behind Jonass. In race two he crashed out of fourth and only managed to salvage tenth but still rounded out the top five.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 35:48.318; 2. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:04.477; 3. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:26.170; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:32.672; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:34.821; 6. Harri Kullas (FIN, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), -1 lap(s); 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), -1 lap(s); 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), -2 lap(s).

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), 34:34.352; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:06.836; 3. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:22.502; 4. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:24.846; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:25.601; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +0:45.919; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:03.913; 8. Harri Kullas (FIN, Husqvarna), +1:14.447; 9. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:46.917; 10. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +2:00.450.

MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 43 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 38 p.; 3. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 36 p.; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 33 p.; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 32 p.; 6. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 29 p.; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 8. Harri Kullas (FIN, HUS), 28 p.; 9. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 27 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 27 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 556 points; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 538 p.; 3. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 506 p.; 4. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 475 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 467 p.; 6. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 423 p.; 7. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 418 p.; 8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 393 p.; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 356 p.; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 304 p.

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 729 points; 2. Kawasaki, 720 p.; 3. Yamaha, 609 p.; 4. Honda, 597 p.; 5. Suzuki, 468 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 416 p.; 7. TM, 104 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: 1575 m

Type of ground: Intermediate Soil

Temperature: 26°C

Weather conditions: Changeable

Crowd Attendance: 32,000

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Leon

Watch the highlights from the MXGP of Leon:

GoPro Lap of Leon with Monster Energy Kawasaki's Tyla Rattray & Thomas Covington

MXGP of Leon MXGP Qualifying Race Highlights

MXGP of Leon MX2 Qualifying Race Highlights