MXGP

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 4 April 2023 – The third round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship is heading back to Switzerland after four years and will be held at Frauenfeld-Gachnang on the 8th and 10th April!

Checkout the Timetable and Entry Lists for the MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS below

TIMETABLE

MXGP ENTRY LIST

MX2 ENTRY LIST

WMX ENTRY LIST

EMX125 ENTRY LIST

Kevin Strijbos joined the Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP fifteen months ago to open a new chapter in his career, passing on his experience from two decades racing the FIM Motocross World Championship to Romain Febvre.

After twenty years of success at the highest level with numerous GP victories, the Motocross of Nations title with Belgium and two silver medals in the MXGP World Championship a career-switch is not always easy but for Kevin the next step,to share his wealth of experience with other riders, immediately presented itself. “For me it was an easy transition; a few days before I stopped racing during the final GP of 2021 at Mantova I had a meeting with Antti (KRT team manager Antti Pyrhönen) and he made me a proposal to join KRT. Two days before this meeting I was concerned to stop racing as I had no real plan, but suddenly I had suchg a great opportunity! In fact everything went so quickly as we faced a short off-season so I was immediately busy with no time to think about retiring and so on. I even had the opportunity to still ride a bike occasionally last year so the transition was easy,” explained Kevin.
 
Racing for several manufacturers and teams during his illustrious racing career gave Kevin the opportunity to develop his insider knowledge and improve his training over the years. He knew exactly what he needed to do to be a fierce competitor in his own right but sharing this experience with others was a different proposition. “For sure I now feel more comfortable in my job as it’s my second season as coach, but all riders are different and that’s what I still need to learn a little. Sometimes I would do something one way, but Romain says 'no, I want to do it this way' so I have to think about it and maybe find a compromise or follow his way. For me it’s not super-difficult; I wasn't really scared of that as I have much experience and did a lot of training for myself so it’s not completely new for me. I’m not the guy who needs to change his training and follow what you can see on the internet or elsewhere, and I feel that Romain is the same. We just stick to basics,” explained Kevin, who is now working exclusively with Romain. “Romain wanted to have me with him full-time. That’s easier for me too as I can focus entirely on him; last year I had to follow two guys and that was not always easy.”
 
Romain and Kevin immediately had a good feeling together last season. “To be honest I was initially a little apprehensive to work with Romain; I knew him as a rider but not as a person. But as soon as I had a meeting with him last year I saw that he was relaxed and approachable, and our working relationship immediately exceeded all expectations. The strongest point with Romain is that you don’t need to give him motivation; he is such a hard worker and always wants to push and push. Sometimes my job is actually to hold him back a little, to persuade him that he needs to take his time rather than to push him. It’s an important year for him; when he came back last year he showed what he is capable of and we have had a really good winter. We did all the training that was on our schedule, and he is feeling fit and ready!” added Kevin, who is now even busier than during his last seasons as a racer. “We spent one month on Sardinia, and then we travelled a lot as most of the time I’m with him. Sometimes I even feel like I’m still a racer; I go cycling with Romain, go to the gym with him, the only difference is that I don’t ride anymore. It’s a full-time job and I love it! When I stopped racing the plan was to spend more time with my family, but it's worked out a little different. Of course the family supports me; we discussed the future even before I stopped racing and they agree with everything that has happened. Now my son is racing himself and I try to spend some time with him too when he’s training and racing; my life still definitively revolves around motocross!”
 
Kevin has adapted well to a new chapter in his career and now feels completely au fait with his new role; a development which will be beneficial to himself, his rider Romain Febvre and the entire Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP.

Photo Credit: Kawasaki Racing Team

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 3 April 2023 – Infront Moto Racing is pleased to announce the renewal of the agreement with Dutch National TV channel NOS for the 2023 season of the MXGP - FIM Motocross World Championship.

This long-term partnership is a testimony of the good collaboration between both parties and this agreement will continue this relationship as the channel will keep broadcasting the MXGP races LIVE in 2023 along with their own content including news and exclusive interviews in Dutch. 
The novelty is that this season, NOS will also cover the FIM Women's Motocross World Championship with the current Dutch World Champion, Nancy Van De Ven.

Dutch fans will be able to watch all the action of the 2023 campaign to cheer and support their national hero, Jeffrey Herlings, who comes back to fight for an incredible 6th MXGP World title.

Infront Moto Racing is looking forward to extend its partnership with NOS and for a 2023 season that promised to be a memorable one. 

About NOS:

NOS, which stands for Nederlandse Omroep Stichting, was founded in May of 1969 and is one of the broadcasting networks making up the Dutch Broadcasting System. They produce news coverage, programmes of political nature as well as sports reporting and coverage of other national events. NOS have TV and radio correspondents worldwide, providing the best worldwide coverage.

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM

NOS

Marcus Pereira de Freitas the Team HRC General Manager for the MXGP class has seen a very up and down start to the 2023 season. Having been to the highs of an MXGP championship with Tim Gajser in 2022, the Team HRC suffered the lowest of lows as the Slovenian, five-time World Champion suffered injury in a pre-season race and will miss the opening six or seven rounds of this year’s championship.

The team then saw Ruben Fernandez made his first appearance for the team at the opening round of the Argentina Grand Prix and take a very surprising victory. 

Question: Obviously you had the start of the season with that stunning win by Ruben in Argentina. Can you explain how that felt?

Pereira de Freitas: Argentina was just an amazing event for us at Team HRC. Ruben went there and just rode superbly, and to win the second moto was a big achievement, but to then take the overall was just a massive boost of confidence to him and everyone in the team. What a start to Ruben’s time with Team HRC! He has worked so hard over the winter to be in this position so he deserves a lot of credit, and then to put it together here is amazing. He certainly didn’t make it easy after race one, but he came out and rode flawlessly in race two, taking the victory and the overall. It was just such an impressive performance, and a great way to start his year and a great moment for the whole team who all work so hard to make moments like this possible.

Question: Even on the Saturday in Argentina he looked very strong?

Pereira de Freitas: We are all very happy with Ruben’s performance. It is never easy to start on a new team, and especially with a big crowd supporting him, he could easily have been nervous, but he was calm and relaxed and just went out and rode really well. The fourth place not only gives him the seven points for the championship, but also fourth gate pick for the two races, so we are going to work hard to make sure he can go out there and repeat the result from today.

Question: Saturday in Riola Sardo was good, better than expected I would think after Rubens past races in sand?

Pereira de Freitas: Overall, it was a very good day for Ruben and the team. He showed his sand skills today and we are very happy with his riding in all three sessions. Each time he went out on the track he got better and better, from 11th in free practice to fifth in timed practice and then he was in the top five for the majority of the qualification race, only dropping to sixth when he tried to make a pass for second place a couple of laps from the end. 

Question: Sunday though, it didn’t go well and it was really difficult for the team and Ruben?

Pereira de Freitas: Unfortunately, it was a tough day once again in Sardinia. Riola Sardo certainly hasn’t been kind to Team HRC but we won’t dwell on that and instead focus on getting things right in Switzerland at the next round. Ruben knows what he is capable of, and he showed some really good signs throughout the weekend, so the talent is there, he just made mistakes at the wrong time and on this track that is really costly.

Photo Credit: Bavo Swijgers

The Second Episode of the 2023 Season is out! 

THE BRAND-NEW BEHIND-THE-GATE CONTINUES TO IMMERSE YOU INTO THE RIDERS’ WORLD!

The Second Episode features Jeffrey Herlings, Jorge Prado, Jeremy Seewer, Maxime Renaux, Romain Febvre, Ruben Fernandez, Jago Geerts, Andrea Adamo, Mikkel Haarup, Cornelius Tøndel, Alberto Forato and more as they explain the mental and physical strength needed to get to the top of the game! 

Included too in BTG is the complete Story of the First MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina commentated by Paul Malin as well as the Team Report on SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery and more thrilling footage! 
Ps: In Bonus, listen Forato & Tøndel singing together in a Patagonian Lake, MEMORABLE! 

Behind The Gate - Episode 2 shows you another side of the fastest motocross riders in the world! 

Are you Ready to Watch the Best of MXGP? JUST CLICK HERE!

The third stop of the FIM Motocross World Championship season will be held in Frauenfeld which will host the MXGP of Switzerland Presented by iXS after 4-year break. 

Together with the MXGP and MX2 categories also the second round of the WMX and first round of the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing will be held

The provisional Entry Lists for the event can be found here below: 

It's Time! The MXGP of Sardegna in Riola Sardo marked the second round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship and it was once again Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado who set the fastest lap time over the weekend in MXGP while in MX2, it was the winner of the Grand Prix Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts who set the fastest lap! 

Only Jorge Prado marked points so far in MXGP with 2 points while Jago Geerts and Thibault Benistant are level with 1 point each.

Here below you have the details:

MXGP: Jorge Prado at Race 1 Lap 3 with 01.52:210

MX2: Jago Geerts at Race 2 Lap 2 with 01.50:374

In order to remind fans of what the competition consists of; at the end of each event, the fastest rider in MXGP and MX2 will obtain a point. The rider with the most points in each class at the conclusion of the Championship will receive a prize from ACERBIS, which will be awarded at the MXGP Awards.

Scroll Down the main page at MXGP.com to see Acerbis Best Lap leaderboard situated directly underneath the FOX Holeshot results grid

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 28 March 2023 – The Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena continued with the second round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship in Sardinia 

Votes are counted at the end of every Grand Prix, with the ‘Best Rider of the GP’ being chosen during each event of 2023. The rider who is voted the most times by our MXGP fans as the best rider, will ultimately receive the final prize and become the ‘Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena’ at the end of the year!

This weekend for the MXGP of Sardegna, it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Helings who won Best Rider of the Grand Prix after an outstanding performance in race 2 as he received 79% of the votes ahead of Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado with 8% of the votes and Standing Construct Honda MXGP’s Pauls Jonass with 7% of the votes. 

How to vote:

Every Grand Prix Sunday a dedicated post is shared on MXGP’s official Instagram page under which fans can comment who their favourite rider of the weekend is. This competition is only for MXGP riders and the voting closes at 8pm on Sunday.

The comments are then counted and the rider with the most votes is chosen as the best rider of that GP. 

The Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena competition will conclude at the MXGP of Great Britain where we will officially crown the champions of 2023!

MXGP is glad to continue the running of the FOX Holeshot competition trough the second round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship season together with MXGP Partner FOX.

The MXGP of Sardegna,was held in Riola Sardo this weekend and it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing MXGP Teams’s Jeremy Seewer and Kawasaki Racing Team's Romain Febvre who took the FOX Holeshot in MXGP Race 1 and Race 2 respectively. In MX2, it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing MXGP Teams’s Jago Geerts and WZ Racing’s Oliver Oriol who too took the FOX Holeshot in Race 1 and 2 respectively.

The way it works is that 1 point is awareded per MXGP and MX2 Championship race. The first rider who crosses the white line painted on the ground at the exit of the first corner will be given a point. At the end of the season the 2 riders - one per category - with the most FOX Holeshot points will win a mega prize. 

Scroll Down the main page at MXGP.com to Check the FOX Holeshot results grid.

RIOLA SARDO (Sardinia) 27 March 2023 – The first round of the EMX250 Championship of the season took place in Sardegna and has concluded with Andrea Bonacorsi winning for the second year in a row with some strong racing throughout the weekend. 

The first race of the EMX250 class saw a great start with three riders detaching themselves with Ivano Van Erp and Andrea Bonacorsi from Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team and Fantic Factory Team Maddii’s Cas Valk taking the lead with Van Erp taking the better of the others over few turns until Valk made a move on the inside to be 1st on lap 1. 

It was the turn of Bonacorsi on lap 2 to make a charge on Van Erp who could not resist the attack. Bonacorsi would go on to put pressure on Valk who made a mistake on a turn leaving the path open for Bonacorsi to take the lead on lap 4 and never give it up, increasing even the gap along the way. Bonacorsi won the race while Valk would settle for 2nd in the end.

Another heroic riding was the one from Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Quentin Prugnieres who started in the mid-pack being 9th after lap 1 but methodically showing his speed as he started his charge to the top on lap 3. He would find himself 6th on lap 5 behind BT Racing Team’s Kay Karssemakers. It was a great battle between the two riders during over a lap until Prugnieres finally found the solution and passed Karssemakers for 4th. Prugnieres kept going and passed Van Erp too to get close to Valk in 2nd at the end but settled for 3rd. Van Erp was able to keep his 4th position until the finish line. 

Karssemakers who was 5th on lap 1 finished at the same position in the end. Valerio Lata also showed good control during the race as he began 8th on lap 1 to move his way up to 6th in the end. 

VRT KTM Factory Juniors’ Ferruccio Zanchi and Fantic Factory Team Maddii’s Alexis Fueri had their paths crossed in different direction. While Fueri made a good start making 6th on lap 1, Zanchi found himself 13th after lap 1. But the riders did cross pass on lap 5 in 9th and 10th position. Zanchi took 2 laps to finally overtake Fueri as the riders follow each other to keep that order until the end, in 7th and 8th. 

Then completing the top 10 were SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery’s Federico Tuani along with Andrea Rossi in 9th and 10th respectively. Both of them moved up the rank after throughout the race. There was a deception for Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing Team’s Karlis Reisulis in race 1 as he found himself 4th after lap 1 to go down the order as he could not maintain his speed ending just outside the top 10 in 11th place.

On Race 2, Prugnieres led the way on lap 1 in front of Van Erp and Bonacorsi. But Van Erp made a move on the Frenchman to take his turn at the top. A battle between the three riders would go on until lap 4 when Bonacorsi took the reins of the race to never give it up as he increased its lead throughout to win comfortably. 

Van Erp would get back to 2^nd between lap 5 and 7 but could not hold Karssemakers attacks on lap 8. Karssemakers coming from 4^th on lap 1 showed great speed as he overtook Van Erp. Karssemakers would keep the 2^nd place until the end. 

The 3^rd place was disputed between Van Erp and Prugnieres from lap 8 until the end. Van Erp 3^rd at the time was not able to keep up with Prugnieres’s pace and had to give up his advantage on lap 12. Prugnieres would end up 3^rd while Van Erp 4^th. 

Valk is one rider that made his way up from 7^th on lap 1 to move to 5^th on lap 4 and keep this place until the end. Rossi experienced the same kind of race as he found himself 8^th on lap 1 to make a move during lap 4 on Reisulis and Team VHR’s Saad Soulimani 14^th and 19^th in the end respectively. Rossi got to 6^th when he overtook Fueri on lap 5 to get keep this position until the end. 

Yamah De Baets’s Bradley Mesters showed a great determination as after an average start, finding himself 14^th on lap 1, he made a charge to the top 10 and gradually went up the rank to get to a good 7^th place. Similarly, Beddini Racing KTM’s Valerio Lata reversed a poor start when he got to 22^nd on lap 1 to deliver a very strong performance to 8^th making a lot of overtakes along the way. 

Fueri on his part went down the order from 5^th during the third three laps to go down to 9^th in the end as he could not find his rhythm on this second race to push back up. Finally, behind him Meico Vettik made it up to the top 10 after he made some great moves mid-race on lap 7 and 8 as he was 13^th to overtake Tuani, Soulimani and Reisulis to move up to 10^th until the end. 

In the end, Bonacorsi went 1-1 to get a precious win to kick-start his season while Prugnieres clinched the second place on the podium and Karssemakers third overall. 

Andrea Bonacorsi: “Saturday and race 1 went very well and today too. It is always good to start the season like this. I felt good during the two races. Of course, it’s just the first round so let’s see how the other ones go. I’m in good shape and I feel great so this is positive”

Main Photo: Andrea Bonacorsi

Bottom photos: 1.EMX250 Start; 2. EMX250 Podium

EMX250 - Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), 29:17.070; 2. Cas Valk (NED, Fantic), +0:40.735; 3. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:45.257; 4. Ivano Van Erp (NED, Yamaha), +0:48.791; 5. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Husqvarna), +1:01.516; 6. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), +1:09.439; 7. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, KTM), +1:14.942; 8. Alexis Fueri (FRA, Fantic), +1:24.740; 9. Federico Tuani (ITA, KTM), +1:26.746; 10. Andrea Rossi (ITA, KTM),

EMX250 - Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, Yamaha), 29:59.792; 2. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Husqvarna), +0:35.828; 3. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:43.986; 4. Ivano Van Erp (NED, Yamaha), +0:45.637; 5. Cas Valk (NED, Fantic), +0:51.251; 6. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, KTM), +1:01.191; 7. Bradley Mesters (NED, Yamaha), +1:12.960; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), +1:25.461; 9. Alexis Fueri (FRA, Fantic), +1:26.372; 10. Meico Vettik (EST, TM), +1:27.024; 

EMX250 - Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 50 points; 2. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 40 p.; 3. Kay Karssemakers (NED, HUS), 38 p.; 4. Cas Valk (NED, FAN), 38 p.; 5. Ivano Van Erp (NED, YAM), 36 p.; 6. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), 28 p.; 7. Alexis Fueri (FRA, FAN), 25 p.; 8. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Federico Tuani (ITA, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Xavier Cazal (FRA, GAS), 17 p.;

EMX250 - Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Andrea Bonacorsi (ITA, YAM), 50 points; 2. Quentin Marc Prugnieres (FRA, KAW), 40 p.; 3. Kay Karssemakers (NED, HUS), 38 p.; 4. Cas Valk (NED, FAN), 38 p.; 5. Ivano Van Erp (NED, YAM), 36 p.; 6. Valerio Lata (ITA, KTM), 28 p.; 7. Alexis Fueri (FRA, FAN), 25 p.; 8. Marc-Antoine Rossi (FRA, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Federico Tuani (ITA, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Xavier Cazal (FRA, GAS), 17 p.;

EMX250 - Manufacturers Classification 1. Yamaha, 50 points; 2. Kawasaki, 40 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 38 p.; 4. Fantic, 38 p.; 5. KTM, 30 p.; 6. GASGAS, 17 p.; 7. TM, 11 p.;

All the photos from the MXGP of Sardegna will be available HERE.

You can find the complete results HERE.

MXGP OF SARDEGNA QUICK FACTS:

Circuit length: 1750m

Type of ground: Sand

Temperature: 19°

Weather conditions: sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 14500

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM Europe

Riola Sardo