MXGP

The 2021 season of the FIM Motocross World Championship was one for the books, as we all bared witness to one of the most disputed title fights in the history of the World Championship that went down to the very last race at the MXGP of Città di Mantova.

One of the main protagonists for this championship battle and Vice World Champion of last year was none other than Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre.

Last season, Febvre was by far in the best shape of his career and quickly became a title threat as he fought closely with Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser. At the MXGP of Garda we saw Febvre take the championship lead and he held onto the red plate until the very last race of the year, as he and Herlings lined-up for MXGP race two levelled on points. Ultimately a small mistake cost the Frenchman the title, no doubt a tough pill to swallow in the moment, but what would come later was nothing in comparison.

While it was no doubt tough mentally, for Febvre, the team, his close friends and family to accept defeat but dwelling on that fact would not have been productive either and instead shifting the focus onto winning the title in 2023 became the goal.

As the off-season kicked-off, a number of Grand Prix riders, which also included MX2 World Champion Maxime Renaux, and the 9-time World Champion Antonio Cairoli entered the iconic Paris Supercross event. For Febvre it was an opportunity to enjoy the event and race in front of the French crowd, but a big crash ended his 2023 season, before it even had the chance to start.

Numerous problematic surgeries came next followed by more complications that took Febvre out for more than six months which was not only difficult physically but even more mentally.

With just two weeks on the bike, Febvre made his much-anticipated return in Germany and the results were very positive, considering the circumstances. In time practice, the Frenchman posted the seventh fastest time and followed it up with a strong qualifying heat where he placed sixth, which gave him a fairly good gate pick for the races. Starts were key in Germany and in the opening race, Febvre was able to start in front. He battled with Jeremy Seewer before being passed by the Swiss to finish in fourth. Then in the second race, he managed to bring it home in seventh to place fifth overall – which was impressive since he had very limited bike time coming into the race.

MXGP Mag sat down with Romain at the German Grand Prix in Teutschenthal to speak about the intensity of the 2021 season, his tough come back from injury and the motivation that kept him going in the darkest moments of his rehab.

Read the full article HERE!

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Dear MXGP Friends,

Half of the season is now behind us. After Spain, France and Germany, three events with the biggest crowd attendance of the season, we saw three different overall winners in the MXGP category with Maxime Renaux in Spain, Jeremy Seewer in France and Tim Gajser in Germany. TG243 is increasing his gap with Seewer as we are heading to Indonesia-Sumbawa, for the comeback of the MXGP in this beautiful country after two years of COVID-19 restrictions. In MX2, we are going to have a strong battle between Jago Geerts and Tom Vialle, who seem to be on another level this year.

A lot of things have been said the last couple of weeks after what happened during the French Grand Prix. Communication is always very important, so during the following days in Germany, we met with the manufacturers, the teams and the riders, and we were able to tackle many subjects and we had the opportunity to talk with open mind about MXGP. We agreed that at each Grand Prix, starting from Germany, there would be one rider from each class acting as the representative of MXGP and MX2 in order to exchange their feedback with IMR and FIM officials during the Grand Prix weekend.

It is important to mention again that Infront Moto Racing is the promotor of the MXGP World Championship and that during the last 2 years of pandemic, our only effort, despite the fact to be in a very difficult financial situation, was to organize a decent and complete championship. We managed to deliver 18 races in 2020 and 19 in 2021 to allow riders first, but also mechanics, media and partners to be able to maintain their work and continue to follow this sport. The last two years have been terrible, but the sport continued to go on and in 2021 we witnessed one of the most exciting seasons ever.

Now that the world is opening again and that we are able to host public again, we also have to think about the organizers. Without them, it would not be a championship, without the fans coming to events, motocross would still be an amateur sport, and without the Overseas Grand Prix, it would be a European Championship. It is true that we are living a very difficult moment. The cost of transportation, flights and fuel are hitting the sky, but we need to find solutions to continue to go on and improve, as we did in the past during the Covid-19, one of the worst times for our sport.

Now we are finalizing the preparations in Sumbawa to offer the best Grand Prix ever performed in Indonesia. MXGP is growing very fast in Indonesia and the passion and investments of the local authorities to build the track and the facilities is already showing the event will have a great success. The track turned to be one of the best of the season, with a lot of elevation.

I would like to thank FIM, FIM Europe, all our organizers, the MXGP partners, the teams and the riders for their collaboration.

David Luongo

CEO of Infront Moto Racing

Team HRC rider Tim Gajser burst back into his best form last weekend on the magnificent Island of Sumbawa. Scoring a 1-1 demolition job on his competition the Slovenian charger cruised to a victory and opened up his championship points lead to 125 points.

With momentum back on his side, it is going to take a miracle for his rivals to catch that points lead. Coming away from the MXGP of Indonesia Gajser was excited and positive about the Indonesian experience and can’t wait to return in 2023.

“Coming into Indonesia I felt good again and it showed in my results,” Gajser said. “I think, we can only be happy coming here. Such a nice track, they really put a lot of work to make this track and event something really special. The facility is great, the people are so warm, and they welcomed us so much and I am really looking forward to coming back next year, I can’t wait.”

Gajser is very much a positive person and is always open to travelling the world in what is the strongest and most expansive motocross championship in the world.

“We are lucky we can travel to these places, all over the world, not everyone is able to do that, so we have to be thankful. We get to see all these cultures and the people here are amazing. You know, they are nice people in Sumbawa, but all around here, all the islands they are like that. On Friday with the parade, when we went with the horse and carts, there were like 50,000 people on the streets. We went like two kilometres and there were people screaming all along the route. It was such a nice experience for us, and we have never had a welcome like that and I really mean never. Not since I race have, we had that in any location. They are super nice; it was a good decision we came here.”

And finally, the circuit that was created by Greg Atkins got the thumbs up from Gajser, in fact nearly every single rider enjoyed the experience. The Team HRC champion has always liked a fast circuit with a lot of undulation and the Sumbawa track didn’t let him down.

“I would say close to one of the best tracks I have seen, because it has everything from big jumps, high-speed, wide-open corners, you have some off-chambers, which is important, rhythm sections into corners. The elevation was really good, down and uphill and good dirt. A little sandy on the top, but we were all impressed. I saw some pictures and videos before I got here, but you couldn’t really see just how steep the hills were from those. It was good.”

Now Gajser will set his sights on the hard pack of Loket in the Czech Republic. Another country another culture and the march towards his fifth World motocross championship continues. Always positive and confident, it is hard to see his being stopped in 2022.

Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha welcome Harri Kullas to the team. Since the Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha team and Arminas Jasikonis decided it would better for his career to take a break from MXGP racing, the team have been on the lookout for a replacement rider.

The team are pleased to confirm they have secured Harri Kullas as a fill in rider with the Estonian set to contest selected MXGP World Championship events with the team during the rest of the season. Kullas will make his Gebben van Venrooy Yamaha debut at Loket in Czech Republic on the 16thand 17th of July.

Kullas is very familiar with Yamaha machinery, as he has been racing the British Championships and the MX National UK series for the Cab Screens Crescent Yamaha team battling for domestic race wins.

Despite focusing on British racing the past few years, Kullas has a wealth of experience in the Grand Prix paddock in both the MX2 and MXGP World Championships. After a few years not being part of the paddock, Kullas is motivated for strong results upon his return to racing at the highest level.

Harri Kullas: I am very thankful for this opportunity from Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha team. I have followed the team few years and it looks great so I am happy to join them. I feel my riding is in a good place right now and I will grab this opportunity with both hands. For sure, the MXGP World Championship is very intense racing and it won’t be easy but I will give my 100% and will enjoy every round. Thank you to my current British Championship Cab Screens Crescent Yamaha team for being so positive about giving their support for me to add World Championship races to my calendar.

Klaas Hattem (Team Manager): Gebben Van Venrooy are happy to have Harri Kullas. If there is an opportunity to include a rider with the attitude and abilities that Harri possesses in your team, then you do not have to think twice about it. The team will try to do everything they can in a short time so that Harri will feel at home in the team and on the bike. We are looking forward to Loket.

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 27 June 2022 – For the 2022 season of the FIM Motocross World Championship, we see the return of a very exciting competition, that is the Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena.

Throughout the season fans have the opportunity to cast their votes race-by-race and decide who becomes the ‘Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena’ in MXGP at the end of this year’s championship.

Votes are tallied at every Grand Prix, with the ‘Best Rider of the GP’ being chosen during each event of 2022. The rider who is voted the most times as the best rider, will walk away with the ultimate prize and be presented with the special award for ‘Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena’!

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. 

At the MXGP of Indonesia, the overall Grand Prix winner, Tim Gajser of Team HRC was voted the Best Rider at the MXGP of Indonesia after receiving 68.8% of the votes! Second was Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre with 16%, ahead of Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado who recived 4.7%.

After 12 rounds, Tim Gajser now holds a comfortable lead with nine points. The Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena will continue in a couple of weeks’ time at the MXGP of Czech Republic.

2022 Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena Standings

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 27 June 2022 – MXGP is excited to continue the Fox Holeshot competition for the 2022 season of the FIM Motocross World Championship, together with MXGP partner Fox.

How does the competition work?

Every Grand Prix race, during both MXGP and MX2 races, the rider who crosses the white line painted on the ground at the exit of the first corner secures the Fox Holeshot and receives one point. At the end of the season, the two riders, one per category, with the most Fox Holeshot points will win the mega prize!

At the MXGP of Indonesia, there were four Fox Holeshot winners across the MXGP and MX2 categories which included the overall winners Tim Gajser of Team HRC as well as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle, as the pair got flying starts in the opening races. While in the second heats, the Fox Holeshot awards went to second overall podium finishers Jorge Prado and Simon Längenfelder of Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing.

After 12 rounds, Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado and Tom Vialle continue to lead the Fox Holeshot Classifications with 12 and 9 points each. The Fox Holeshot competition will continue in a couple of weeks’ time at the MXGP of Czech Republic.

MXGP Fox Holeshot Classifications

MX2 Fox Holeshot Classifications

Watch the Fox Holeshot Films from the MXGP of Indonesia below.