MX2

LOSAIL (QATAR), 28 February 2014 - The riders of the FIM Motocross World Championship had their first opportunity to get the monkey off their backs today with the qualifying heats taking place at the spectacular circuit of Losail, Qatar. So far, the surprise of the season goes to Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos who rode incredibly smooth to control the MXGP class from start to finish, meanwhile in MX2 the result was more or less predicted with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings taking the win.

The MXGP class kicked off with Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos getting off to a stellar start and going on to lead the race completely unchallenged. “All I did was get a good start and just tried to focus on riding my own lines and my own race,” Strijbos explained. Meanwhile Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev put in an amazing ride, holding onto second place for the majority of the race. Coming into the closing laps, the Russian Bobryshev came under pressure from Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s dynamic duo Gautier Paulin and Steven Frossard. With one lap to go both Paulin and Frossard went to work on Bobryshev. Although it was Paulin who managed to put his exceptional BMX skills to good use and manual through the waves to pass Bobryshev for second place. Bobryshev held on tight to finish third by a fraction ahead of Frossard.

Meanwhile the current FIM Motocross MXGP World Champion Antonio Cairoli went down on lap one when he made a mistake in a corner and collided with 24MX Honda Racing’s Xavier Boog. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider was dropped out of the top twenty but managed to recover and fight back to a remarkable seventh place.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings got off to a great start to the season. The Flying Dutchman, nicknamed ‘the bullet’, and for good reason, shot to the front of the pack and led every lap to take the first qualifying race win of 2014. Meanwhile, keeping Herlings honest the entire race was CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Dylan Ferrandis. Ferrandis did a great job holding on for second despite the pressure from his CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy teammate Arnaud Tonus. A noticeably calmer Herlings said during the press conference: “my fitness is pretty good, all I needed at this track was a good start and the rest would come by itself, so I just got a good start and took the holeshot and just tried to stay calm and ride smarter than I did in previous years”.

With the qualifying races of the opening round of the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship all done and dusted, it has just confirmed how amazing MXGP 2014 is going to be. Both Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings will have first pick of the gate tomorrow for the first two races of the season.

MXGP Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 23:49.172; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:04.343; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:06.157; 4. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:06.257; 5. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +0:08.044; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:08.748; 7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:09.270; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:17.343; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:23.960; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:30.413

MX2 Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 23:42.613; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:07.366; 3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:10.931; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:17.068; 5. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:22.899; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, Yamaha), +0:26.135; 7. Julien Lieber (BEL, Suzuki), +0:28.698; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:36.957; 9. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:37.854; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +0:39.861

Click here to obtain the complete results.

All the photos of the MXGP of Qatar will be available here

MXGP QATAR – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1595m

Type of ground: hard pack

Temperature: 19°C

Weather conditions: hazy

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

Saturday: WMX Warm up 16:30; MX2 Warm up 16:50; MXGP Warm up 17:10; WMX Race 1 18:10; MX2 Race 1 19:10; MXGP Race 1 20:10; WMX Race 2 21:10; MX2 Race 2 22:10; MXGP Race 2 23:10.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Qatar

French rider Jordi Tixier of the Red Bull KTM Factory team is the second man behind defending MX2 Champion Jeffrey Herlings. A young Frenchman with a lot of potential and he has learnt a lot from the Red Bull KTM Factory team-manager Stefan Everts.

We caught up to Tixier and asked him what his chances are in 2014 and how can he beat his team-mate Jeffrey Herlings.

Q: You are the second guy behind Jeffrey (Herlings), can you be the number one guy in 2014?

Tixier: I don’t know, it is my goal. I had a good winter and good training and we improved the bike and I am faster. It is only the first Grand Prix’s, but I will do everything I can to do it.

Q: Everyone says that it’s hard to beat Jeffrey, because he is such a big talent. What do you need to do to beat him? Is it possible?

Tixier: Yes, for sure. Jeffrey is a big talent, he went to the GP really young, and it is not easy to beat him, but I think it is possible. My goal this year is to race him and beat him a couple of times.

Q: Did you do something nice in the winter? A nice holiday or something?

Tixier: In winter I went to Spain for holiday for 10 days, unfortunately I was sick for a week, so I lost some time just laying in bed. Then we had the pre-season races in Italy and also an International in France, and I am happy about my speed and I won in France so that was good.

Q: Do you like these big races in Qatar and Thailand?

Tixier: I like Qatar and Thailand, it’s a long way from home. It is very warm, and that is a big thing for me as I am not that good in the warmer weather. Last year I put too much pressure on myself in these two races and I didn’t do so well. I want to just enjoy racing this year and see how it goes and where I am with my speed.

LOSAIL (Qatar), 27 February 2014 – After the success of last year, the television coverage of the FIM Motocross World Championship has increased and existing relationships have been extended.

The first round of the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship in Losail, Qatar, will be broadcasted on new TV channels such as Mediaset Italia 2 in Italy, Eurosport all over Europe, and CBS Sports Network will cover the United States and Canada.

BEIN Sports MENA will be attending round one of MXGP in Qatar this weekend and will be airing a 6 hours LIVE program with races and studio show starting on Saturday evening at 18:00 local time.

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.

Mediaset - Italia 2

Race 2 MX2 LIVE                20:00

Race 2 MXGP LIVE             21:00

CBS Sports Network

Premiere on Saturday March 1^st:  

Race 2 MXGP                     9:30pm PST (0.30am EST)             

Race 2 MX2                      10:30pm PST (1.30am EST)         

Re-air on Sunday March 2^nd:

Race 2 MXGP                    6:00pm PST (3.00pm EST)

Race 2 MX2                       7:00pm PST (4.00pm EST)            

Eurosport2

Race 1 MX2 (Delayed)       18:30 – 19:15

Race 1 MXGP (Delayed)    19:15 – 20:00

Race 2 MX2 (LIVE)              20:00 – 21:00

Race 2 MXGP (LIVE)           21:00 – 22:00

MXGP QATAR – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1595m

Type of ground: hard pack

TIMETABLE

Friday: WMX Free Practice 16:45; MX2 Free Practice 17:15; MXGP Free Practice 17:45; WMX Time Practice 18:15; MX2 Time Practice 19:15; MXGP Time Practice 20:00; MX2 Qualifying Race 22:00; MXGP Qualifying Race 22:50.

Saturday: WMX Warm up 16:30; MX2 Warm up 16:50; MXGP Warm up 17:10; WMX Race 1 18:10; MX2 Race 1 19:10; MXGP Race 1 20:10; WMX Race 2 21:10; MX2 Race 2 22:10; MXGP Race 2 23:10.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Qatar

LOSAIL (Qatar), 27 February 2014 - The atmosphere is warming up here in Qatar with the welcoming press conference of the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championships, the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship presentation and a specially organized media opportunity out on the breath-taking Doha Corniche all taking place.

Around noon today, some of the top MXGP, MX2 and WMX riders took the opportunity to get out and explore Doha on a traditional Dhow Charter. The Dhow charter is a sixty-year-old wooden boat traditionally used for fishing, but today it has been renovated and is now used to carry people out onto the beautiful Doha Corniche where the exquisite skyline view of the city of Doha can be admired.

Later in the afternoon, QMMF President and Losail International Circuit General Manager Mr Nasser Khalifa Al Attya, Youthstream President Mr Giuseppe Luongo, FIM Deputy President Jorge Viegas and FIM/CMS Director Dr Wolfgang Srb hosted a press conference to welcome all international and national media, as well as riders and teams to the second ever MXGP of Qatar. During the press conference QMMF President and Losail International Circuit General Manager Mr Nasser Khalifa Al Attya shared his feelings of pride and thanks for the opportunity the country of Qatar and the QMMF have received to host the opening round of the FIM Motocross World Championship for the second year in a row. This year a significant amount of work has gone into improving the facilities in order to cater specifically to the FIM Motocross World Championship. For this, both Youthstream and the FIM are very thankful, not only for the efforts of the QMMF but also for the professionalism and enthusiasm they have shown. The new and improved lighting systems that have been put in place, improves the quality of the FIM Motocross World Championship for all that are involved. Better lighting means a better view, not only for the riders and spectators, but also for TV coverage which will in turn reward MXGP with even more global coverage. This year many major television broadcasters have jumped onboard with MXGP and will be viewing the last race of each MXGP in each countries prime viewing time on a Sunday afternoon. “This is massive,” Mr Giuseppe Luongo concluded, “having the major broadcasters such as Eurosport, Mediaset and CBS Sports Network for example, only improves the quality of our sport”.

Coming into the closing stages of the press conference Miss Nita Korhonen, Director of the CFM, was welcomed to the podium to introduce the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship. This is the first ‘fly-away’ race in history for the women and is hoped to be the first of many. Miss Nita Korhonen expressed her thanks to the FIM, Youthstream and QMMF for their belief and investment in women’s motocross.

Mr Giuseppe Luongo added, “There is no doubt motocross is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world, but that does not mean women can not part take. In fact, I have seen some very impressive racing out of some women in the sport such as Livia Lancelot and Kiara Fontanesi, and I am sure that this WMX season will be very competitive”.

With the official introductions and ‘meet and greets’ complete, the MXGP community will unwind tonight and enjoy the calm before the storm, for tomorrow it all will unfold.

All the photos of the MXGP of Qatar will be available here

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Qatar

Have a sneak peak at the surroundings here at the Grand Prix of Losail, Qatar, as the opening round of the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship gets set to get underway. View here below. 

FUNCHAL (Portugal), 26 February 2014 - A new gameplay video for the PlayStation®Vita version of MXGP - The Official Motocross Videogame have been released by Miletsone.

“The PS Vita version of the game has been developed simultaneously with the PS3 one, although it isn’t a porting of the home console. This approach allowed us to include all the contents such as lighting effects, physics and the styling of MXGP as well as the ability to play with a dual stick controller, which allows the rider and the bike to be managed separately. Thanks to this feature you’ll be able to execute tricks such as Scrubs and Whips”, affirms Alessandro Castrucci, Milestone’s Game Director.

Click here to watch the gameplay video.

This new exciting videogame is based on the official FIM World Motocross Championship and it will be available from 28^th March 2014 on PlayStation®3, PlayStation®Vita, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft and Windows PC®. 

MXGP – The Official Motocross Videogame will feature all the riders, teams, bikes and rules from the official MXGP 2013 calendar including a redesigned career mode for living the feelings of Motocross.

Developed by Milestone Studio, one of the most recognized racing videogame developers and publishers for consoles and Windows® PC, MXGP, The Official Motocross Videogame will be available from 28^th March 2014 for PlayStation®3, PlayStation®Vita, Xbox 360® and Windows PC®.

Follow us on Facebook, on the official Youtube Channel or check the  #mxgpvideogame hashtag.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

Milestone

Copyright: Photo: Milestone

The season kicks off and MXGP Facebook page launches a new fun game. Guess top 3 winners of the MXGP and MX2 classes to win various MXGP prizes through the whole season.

Every MXGP event, our Facebook page will award the lucky ones with different surprises. Eventually at the end of the season the person with most correct guesses will win the Grand MXGP Prize.

Click here to submit your guess for the first races in Losail and win the MXGP-TV access to watch MXGP of Qatar and MXGP of your choice for FREE.

Stay tuned with the MXGP Facebook page for more information.