The third round of the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championships heads to Neuquen, Argentina in a couple of weeks’ time, and the circuit of Patagonia will be the facility riders like Antonio Cairoli, Ryan Villopoto, Clement Desalle and Gautier Paulin will battle on.
The circuit, built on a volcanic ash should produce some exciting races as the layout of the circuit has a lot of undulation and also due to the volcanic soil will be very tacky, giving a lot of grip for the riders.
After two exciting rounds in Qatar and Thailand the third round brings a lot of questions as the MXGP and MX2 riders prepare for yet another fly-away race in another exotic country.
Will Ryan Villopoto be able to continue his victory run, or can defending champion Antonio Cairoli claim his first GP victory of the season? Both are preparing in Europe at the moment, putting in the extra laps to make sure they are well prepared for Argentina.
While the South American country of Argentina doesn’t have the same type of history with the Grand Prix series as countries like Belgium, Italy, France and England in Europe, or more recently other South American countries like Brazil and Mexico, it has held a handful of GPs throughout the years, and it’s been a happy hunting ground for American riders.
Of the seven GP’s run in Argentina, three American riders have seen victory. Two become motocross world champions, those being Trampas Parker and Bobby Moore, the other American winner was Rodney Smith who finished third in the world the year he won in Argentina.
The first ever GP held in Argentina was a 125cc GP and was won by Finnish rider Pekka Vehkonen way back in 1985. Held for the first two years at the Salta circuit, Dutchman Dave Strijbos followed the victory by Vehkonen and when the 125cc GP arrived at the Cosquin circuit in 1989 it was American Trampas Parker.
The 125 GPs didn’t return to Argentina until 1994 and this time it was another American in Bobby Moore who on the way to his world 125cc title won in Argentina. The following year Alessio Chiodi scored victory at the Cosquin circuit.
The 250cc class has only visited Argentina on two occasions, in 1987 and 1988. It was the Salta circuit again that held these two GPs and the winners were American Rodney Smith in 1987 and Italian Giuseppe Andreani in 1988.
Now we move onto the 2015 Grand Prix of Argentina and a long list of riders have the chance to add their names to those of the previously mentioned GP heroes.
