MXGP

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 28 January 2022 – Infront Moto Racing is excited to continue the successful partnership with one of the world’s leading helmet brands ‘Airoh’.

The partnership between both brands have been extremely successful over the years which has resulted in Infront Moto Racing and Airoh agreeing to another multi-year contract which will see worldwide coverage of the brand thanks to MXGP’s strong TV and Social Media coverage.

Mr. Antonio Locatelli, an Italian entrepreneur with a passion for motorcycles, launched the Airoh trademark in 1997. Since its inception, Airoh has revolutionized the helmet industry with its dedication to safety, development and design, and since then, has already accumulated more than 110 world titles in all motorsports and motorcycle disciplines.

Airoh will also have a ‘Racing Service’ truck in the paddock which will cater to their star-studded line up of riders, which includes the likes of World Champions Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle and Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado, as well as Mattia Guadagnini and Simon Langfelder of Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing, riders of DIGA PROCROSS KTM Racing, SM Action GASGAS Racing Team YUASA Battery, Beta SDM Corse MX Team’s Alessandro Lupino and Jeremy Van Horebeek and others. The racing service truck will also include an area for product display where the fans can take a closer and more in-depth look at their helmets.

Airoh not only provides the fastest riders in the worlds the top-level protection, but they are also the official MXGP helmet partner for the marshals and staff working on track during the races to ensure their safety at all times.

Infront Moto Racing is excited to continue this partnership with Airoh and continue their collective growth.

Copyright Photos: Airoh

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You have to go back nearly 65 years to when Britain held its first Grand Prix event. The Grand Prix of Great Britain is one of the longest running GPs on the calendar. Starting way back in 1957, the first official year of the motocross world championship, it was at Hawkstone Park that held that first GP and the event was won by British legend and two times world motocross champion Jeff Smith riding a BSA.

Hawkstone Park was the mainstay for the 500cc Grand Prix after that 1957 debut, and for eight years the best big bike riders competed around the tough sand track. Riders like Bill Nilsson and Rolf Tibblin scored victories at Hawkstone, but it is Smith who finished that early Hawkstone Park era with wins again in 1963 and 65 (no British GP was held for the 500s in 1964).

Hawkstone Park would drift in and out of the FIM Motocross World Championship series, and in-between the 500cc class would visit circuits like Farleigh Castle and Dodington Park. Many legends have won at these circuits, but none more popular than British legend and three times world 500cc champion, Dave Thorpe.

Thorpe would win GP’s at home in 1984, 1988 and 1989, although one of his greatest performances was in 1985 when he didn’t even win the GP. Crashing in the first corner with Merv Anstie (father of Max) Thorpe got up in last place and rode all the way to first. Completely worn out from the charge he was eventually repassed by Andre Malherbe who went on to steal the GP victory from Thorpe.

The 250cc class was also loaded with memorable moments, from the first victory at the Ipswich circuit by Dave Bickers in 1962, to Stefan Everts domination at the Foxhills circuits in 1995, 96 and 97.

The 250 class ran at several different circuits between 1962 and the late 1990’s, with Donington, Hawkstone Park and Foxhills being the three circuits that brought big crowds and an exciting atmosphere.

The 125cc class didn’t see a Grand Prix until 1975, and it was Belgian legend Gaston Rahier who won at the Pembrokeshire circuit. Several different riders won in the class between 1975 and 1999, but one of the biggest wins was that of local rider Paul Malin who took victory at the Foxhills circuit in 1995. A massive crowd arrived at the circuit and the win by Malin was the only time a British rider won a GP in that era.

The new millennium and British GP spent a few years trying to find a home. Foxhills had aged out and no longer a GP facility, and Hawkstone Park had also disappeared from the GP calendar. Sure some cool events at places like Isle of Wight, Matchams Park, Donnington Park, or Mallory Park were run, but it wasn’t until Steve Dixon build a circuit at the Matterley Basin facility in 2006 that the British GP came into its own again.

The magnificent circuit in the valley has been the home of the British Grand Prix since that 2006 event and while it did move to two or three other tracks, the current British GP circuit has become somewhat of a legend in our sport.

The circuit also held the 2006 and 2017 MXoN event, the first where Stefan Everts had his swansong from the sport with a victory over James Stewart and of course just eight months ago when Max Anstie shocked the world and went 1-1, putting Great Britain on the podium.

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 27 January 2022 – Infront Moto Racing is pleased to continue a long-standing partnership between MXGP and Progrip for the 2022 season of the FIM Motocross World Championship.

For several years now, Progrip has been part of MXGP, showcasing their products, that are much-loved by the riders, onto the world stage.

The Progrip product range is not limited to the production of the best grips in the industry, as their company name would suggest, but they also produce a wide variety of goods that includes their very own line of racewear, goggles, helmets, protection and other racing accessories.

With over forty years of experience, their extensive knowledge, attention to quality and detail and the use of the finest raw materials is the reason why today, the products are loved and used by many of the World Championship teams and riders.

In 2022, you can expect to see the likes of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Maxime Renaux and Jago Geerts using their products along with Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Mattia Guadagnini, Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre, as well as BETA-SDMCORSE MX TEAM’s Alessandro Lupino, Fantic Factory Maddii Racing’s Nicholas Lapucci, WMX riders Kiara Fontanesi and Shana Van Der Vlist among others, using their product range.

To find out more about PROGRIP, visit www.progrip.com

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PROGRIP

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 26 January 2022 – Infront Moto Racing is excited to share the updated calendar for the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship.

Several updates have been made to ensure the smooth running of the upcoming racing season that will see MXGP head back overseas, as well as to some favourite venues that were not on the calendar in the last two years.

The main changes include the MXGP of Lombardia taking place on the 5/6 March, followed by the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina which will return to the beloved Villa La Angostura venue on the 19/20 of March, as well as the MXGP of Portugal which will make an appearance on the racing calendar on the 2/3 April, after missing a GP in the last two years.

Furthermore, the venues for the upcoming MXGP of Indonesia and MXGP of Jakarta have also been confirmed and will head to Samota – Sumbawa and Jakarta during the last weekend of June and the beginning of July.

The rest of the calendar remains the same, with only one TBA event remaining on the 17/18 September before the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in Redbud.

In addition, Infront Moto Racing is excited to announce that the 2022 Junior Motocross World Championship will take place in Vantaa, Finland on the 27/28 of August.

Take a look at the updated calendar below:

Download the calendar in PDF format by clicking HERE

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The Kawasaki Racing Team will again enter the FIM Motocross World Championship with a strong line-up in the premier MXGP class; the 2022 series starts on February 19-20 at Matterley Basin (UK).

2021 was an epic end-of-season as three riders battled all the way down to the final moto for the title and with the silver medal, headed by the slenderest of margins, Romain Febvre gave Kawasaki its best-ever result in the premier MXGP class. The thirty-year-old Frenchman will again be the leader of KRT after signing a new two-year-deal directly with the Japanese factory which will now be even more deeply-involved in the new project as the reins of the Kawasaki Racing Team pass to Formula One legend Kimi Raikkonen and past motocross GP winner Antti Pyrhonen. Both have been involved in the sport for many years and celebrate their tenth anniversary in MXGP this year. In fact, their first season together was on private Kawasaki machinery, and they are now back in Green to run the Factory Kawasaki Racing Team assault with full support from KMC Japan and KME. England’s Ben Watson, a long-time training partner of Romain Febvre, will enter his second season in the MXGP class after a strong learning year in 2021; the young British talent is ready to enter the pre-season races this weekend on the island of Sardinia and one week later in France.

Steve Guttridge (Race Planning Manager – Kawasaki Motors Europe - KME): "In October of 2021 a new company and legal entity known as Kawasaki Motors Ltd - KMC was established in Japan to focus more directly on the Kawasaki motorcycle business which includes our factory racing team projects. The new company and management will be strategically involved in utilising the Kawasaki Racing Team’s MXGP racing activity, along with their own Research and Development. inside the MXGP arena more directly than in the past to integrate innovations into future KX production models for our worldwide customer base to use in their own racing endeavours. The Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP has a massive and complex role to fulfil; we believe that the team will continue to help us make big strides towards our ultimate goal of becoming MXGP World Champion. “

Kimi Räikkönen (Team principal – KRT MXGP): “It’s no secret that, for me, one of my great passions in life for many years has been motocross but this team is not what you might call a hobby; it’s very serious, very focused and we aspire to be the best we possibly can. Now I have retired from racing I will be able to spend more time on this project; not on the daily issues but more from a strategic point of view using my experience of how teams work and what creates success on the world stage. Everyone including myself is delighted that Kawasaki has chosen us to be the Factory team. I know that the chance of success is always greater with direct factory support, so this translates into a great opportunity for us as the new Kawasaki Racing Team in MXGP.”

Antti Pyrhonen (Team manager – KRT MXGP): “Since I joined Kimi’s team ten years ago, we have never stop working hard to get the best results in the MXGP class and, after we achieved some good results with numerous wins and podiums, we now have the opportunity to work closely with a prestigious factory. We have been working on this new project for several months already and we are of course delighted to have this opportunity to join Kawasaki and to run the Kawasaki Racing Team. The MXGP class is the pinnacle of our sport, and we know how competitive the series is, but we are looking to this new challenge with optimism as we have two strong and fast riders to enter this new chapter with a factory behind us.”

Romain Febvre: “For sure it has not been my best winter since I started racing. It’s always frustrating to be recovering from an injury while your rivals are working on the tracks but that’s how it is; injuries are part of our sport. My recovery is going well, and I can’t wait to get back on my Kawasaki. The championship will again be long, and I will do my best to start racing as soon as possible. 2021 was definitely a great season for me; I felt so comfortable on the KX450-SR and I was fighting for the title until the very last moto. Signing a two-year factory deal with Japan was good for my confidence, and it is another boost to be involved in the new project from day one.”

Ben Watson: “There aren’t so many factory rides in the MXGP class so I’m very proud to be selected by the Kawasaki Racing Team for my second year in this championship. It’s a new chapter of my career and it’s great to work closely with Romain; we know and appreciate each other as we have trained together in the past. I learnt a lot during my rookie season, and I am confident for the season ahead as I have seen how strong the team is after sharing time together for a couple of months already. It’s really exciting to be part of this new challenge.”

Photo Copyright: Kawasaki Racing Team

Tim Gajser and Mitch Evans will be under the Team HRC awning in 2022 as they both look to rebound from differing 2021 campaigns, and put their Honda CRF450R’s at the front of this highly competitive MXGP class.

Last year’s championship was filled with a lot of good moments for Team HRC, with four-time world-champion Gajser winning four rounds after some really impressive riding, including an incredible one-one performance at the opening round in Russia. However, ultimately, he came up just short in his quest to become a five-time champion, and it is that outcome that he is looking to set right when he lines up at Matterley Basin and beyond, for what should be another intense title-battle.

For teammate Evans, 2021 was the most difficult of his young career as he was forced to watch from the sidelines whilst recovering from the wrist injury he sustained at the MXGP of Spain in 2020. Missing an entire season is never positive, but the Australian has kept a strong focused mindset and is hoping to bounce-back this year and remind everyone of the rider who scored a third-place finish in his first ever MXGP moto. He knows it won’t be easy and isn’t putting pressure on himself to get those sorts of results straight-away but his belief in his ability has never wavered and it should only be a matter of time before the #43 is challenging at the very front of the field.

First up for both riders are the preseason Italian International races, before they head to Great Britain and the amazing Matterley Basin track on the weekend of February 20th. From then on, it’s a steady stream of racing, on some of the best tracks around the world, with hopeful returns to some of the overseas destinations that have been unavailable these past two seasons. Whatever happens this year with the calendar, both Honda riders are ready to bounce back and give their best in the 2022 World Motocross Championship.

Tim Gajser:  I feel really good coming into this 2022 season. Obviously last year didn’t end the way I wanted, as I finished third in the championship, which is still good, but it isn’t what I aim for. I did have a lot of good moments and those are the things I am focusing on and building upon in this off-season. We haven’t had a lot of time to switch-off and relax so that has been difficult but I am feeling fit and healthy and ready to fight for the championship. I will race the Italian races to give me some warm-up gate drops but I know the real racing starts at Matterley Basin in under one month’s time. There are a lot of familiar tracks on the calendar and I am confident that I can maintain a high level of performance and put the Honda CRF450R on the podium throughout the season. Hopefully we can get into a regular routine and the schedule stays the same, and that the fans can come out and support us at all the rounds as that makes such a big difference.

Mitch Evans: It’s been a really tough 15 months for me, not being able to race and not being able to ride for such a long time. It’s been hard, both physically and mentally to try and stay positive and to keep the motivation high to come back to what is an extremely high level of motocross in the MXGP class now. However, I am feeling better and better every day now and my fitness and strength is ahead of the schedule I’d set out for myself. I know that it won’t be easy to race these guys right away because they are going so fast, but I’m not putting pressure on myself and I truly believe I can get back to that level. You never lose your ability to ride, so it’s just a case of getting my left-side strong enough and that is happening day by day. I’m really thankful to have had the support of Team HRC throughout this period and I’m really looking forward to paying that back by putting in the results on the track.

Marcus Pereira de Freitas: It is great to have both Tim and Mitch under the awning this year, and they are both working really hard to be ready again for the new season. The break was very short from the end of the 2021 campaign so it has been a very busy period and I must thank everyone in Team HRC for continuing to work hard to make sure we are all set for the first gate drop. Tim always does the work necessary, both with bike testing and his own physical training so I always trust him to do exactly what he needs to do. Mitch has been back in Europe for a little bit now and all the reports have been positive and now we get to test with him before the first MXGP and that will give us an idea of where he is. We know it won’t be easy as the level has risen since he last raced but he is very determined and we will make sure he has everything he needs to get back to top of the class. It sounds like we are going back to a two-day format, which I think is good for the sport so we need to be ready for that, but overall, I think Team HRC is in a strong position for 2022.

Photo Copyright: Bavo Swijgers

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 25 January 2022 – Infront Moto Racing is delighted to confirm that the FIM Motocross World Championship will return to the beloved Villa La Angostura on the 19^th and 20^th of March for the MXGP of Patagonia – Argentina.

MXGP is excited to return to the picturesque circuit in the province of Neuquén for the first time since 2019, when it last visited Argentina. The Grand Prix in Patagonia-Argentina has always been among the favourites for the fans, teams, riders and staff – for its wonderful scenery and supportive fans!

List of winners of the Argentinian Grand Prix  since the first event held in 2015 include the likes of Max Nagl, Jeffrey Herlings, Tim Gajser, Pauls Jonass, Jorge Prado and Antonio Cairoli – and it will be interesting to see who will be victorious in 2022.

Infront Moto Racing is excited to head back overseas and celebrate the return of the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina.

Tickets sales for the 2022 MXGP of Patagonia -Argentina will be online on February the 1^st while tickets purchased for the 2020 MXGP of Patagonia – Argentina will be valid to be used this year.

An updated version of the 2022 MXGP calendar will be released in the next 24 hours.

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MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 25 January 2022 – MXGP is pleased to share the official entry lists for the MXGP of Great Britain, the opening round of the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship which is set to take place in just a few weeks’ time at the Matterley Basin circuit on the 19/20 of February!

The schedule of the weekend races will also return to a full two-day program, with MXGP and MX2 classes actions running also on Saturday with free and time practice plus qualification races while and the Warm up and the two main races will be running on Sunday. The support classes races will be split between Saturday and Sunday at every event.

You can find the official entry lists below:

MXGP Entry List

MX2 Entry List

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Entry List

EMXOpen Entry List

There’s still time to get your hands on tickets for the event as we gear-up for another epic season to welcome back the FIM Motocross World Championship! Get your tickets HERE!

Go VIP at the Opening event of the 2022 MXGP Season by clicking HERE

Dear MXGP Friends,

First of all I would like to wish to all of you all the best for 2022 and a Happy new year!

In less than a month the season will start.

All the signs are showing that we may return to a normal life in the upcoming months.

The last decisions regarding the restrictions in place in UK, Spain, France and many other countries are going into the direction of a re-opening of the activities. The last two years have been really difficult for all of us, but the hope is around the corner that we will finally be able to offer a complete package to the fans and total access to the Grand Prix.

The preparation for the 2022 season and the first Grand Prix in Matterley Basin on the 19/20^th of February are going very well. All the paddock will appreciate to start in one of the most appreciated tracks of the MXGP World Championship. Steve Dixon and his team are putting a lot of energy and passion to deliver the best event possible.

This season will again be very exciting, with the comeback of the Grand Prix in Argentina, Ernée, Saint Jean d’Angely, Sweden, Finland, Indonesia and the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations in the USA. Most of the ticketing are now open and can be accessed through our website www.mxgp.com.

The schedule for the weekend will also return to a full two-day program, and it will be full of actions and races. The MXGP and MX2 will start as before the Covid-19 era on Saturday with the Free practice, Time practice and qualification race, keeping the Warm up and the two heats for Sunday. The support classes will be split between Saturday and Sunday as it was the case in the past.

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

We cannot wait to be in the UK to start the engines!

David Luongo, CEO of Infront Moto Racing

With just a month before the 2022 MXGP season kicks off at the Matterley Basin circuit in England, many of the leading Grand Prix riders are working hard on getting their bikes and bodies set-up for what will surely be a very tough season.

Four-time Motocross World Champion Tim Gajser knows that winning a title is a lot more fun than losing one and the fact he had to hand his MXGP number one plate to Jeffrey Herlings is still burning the HRC rider inside.

“We are in off season so in the preparation,” Gajser said. “I am super motivated, because I lost the title, and I will give my best to get it back. Everything is going well, and we need to work on the starts, because it is so crucial now. It has always been important, but now we have so many fast guys and you don’t need to pass these guys. That is what we are working on, but also a lot of other things. Everything can be better, with fitness, on the bike, getting smoother. I have been known as an aggressive rider, and I am working on being smoother.”

As for the defending MXGP champion Jeffrey Herlings, he like Gajser is motivated, but for different reasons. Herlings is known as a workhorse, who probably puts in more hours on the bike than anyone else in the sport and he also knows that his new machine will help him regain his championship and make it six world titles to his name.

“I put in a lot of hours to try and get the bike better,” Herlings said. “We are doing a lot of laps. It is a new bike and needs time to have it fully how we want it. We will only know the improvements when we are actually racing, because when you are riding alone and just clicking off laps, nobody is matching your speed or battling. The new bike seems to have better handling, I think it will give more traction on tracks like Turkey, or Arco, I believe it will be better there. It is something we have to see next year, but the feeling is that is the area where it has improved. Until now it is good on every single track we have ridden, and the older bike was from 2018, so we have four years of feedback on that bike. We made minor changes throughout the years on that older bike, but now we need to figure it all out again on the new one.”

A rider who hasn’t had the luxury of strong performances in 2020 and 2021 is young Australian Mitch Evans, who has suffered a couple of big injuries and comes back in 2022 with a lot to prove. The Aussie isn’t about to expect brilliance but wants to enjoy his comeback and find some consistency in his performances.

“I kind of went on this big personal development journey,” Evans said. “I am really grateful for everything that has happened, even though I missed a whole year of racing. I believe it will make me a better rider and a better person. I am fresh and ready to go. I am really looking forward to racing and I have been riding now for a couple of months. I still have a little bit of pain when riding, but it isn’t going to hold me back. It is just about getting my strength and fitness back and I am in a much better situation than I expected. We go to Sardinia this week and start doing some training there and our pre-season races. I am just really thankful to be back on the bike and enjoying the process.”

So now, Gajser, Herlings, Evans and a bunch of other riders are looking at making this 2022 season special, and whatever happens at Matterley Basin on February 20 will just be the start of those expectations and goals.

Photo Copyright: Bavo Swijgers