Something that seems sure to happen in the 2021 MXGP Championship is that we will more than likely see some changes in the all-time list of World Champions. The greatest field of Grand Prix riders once again will go head-to-head for the title of FIM Motocross World Champion, the biggest prize in the sport.
When you consider the four riders with multiple world championships, Antonio Cairoli, Jeffrey Herlings, Tim Gajser and Jorge Prado are all on the cusp of moving up the all-time rankings list, a list full of the legends of our sport.
Of course, Cairoli, who has nine world championships could extend his career by a couple of seasons with another world title, but more importantly, he can also join Stefan Everts at the very top of the world motocross championship winner’s tree.
Everts, who retired back in 2006, some 14 years ago has been sitting and watching as Cairoli logged up championships throughout the early 2000’s, with titles in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. It seemed as if that 10th World title for the Italian would come quickly, but injuries slowed his progress, and it was only in 2017 that he scored his ninth world championship.
Cairoli can also join Everts at the top of the GP winners list, with 92 Grand Prix’s to his name already he would need a stellar season to join or pass Everts 101 Grand Prix victories, but anything is possible when you mention the name Cairoli.
Since that 2017 victory by Cairoli, Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings have dominated MXGP, Gajser winning in 2016, 2019 and 2020 and Herlings winning in 2018. Both these riders have the potential to become five-time World Motocross Champions in 2021 and if either does that, they will join a very impressive list of riders in Eric Geboers, Georges Jobe, Joel Smets and Roger De Coster with five titles. Pretty impressive, isn’t it?
As we mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Gajser could also become just the 10th rider in the sports history to win three World Motocross Championships in a row if he can add the 2021 championship to his 2019 and 2020 titles. He would join the likes of Joel Robert, Roger De Coster, Heikki Mikkola, Harry and Stefan Everts, Greg Albertyn, Gaston Rahier, Alessio Chiodi and Antonio Cairoli. Not a bad list, is it?
As for Herlings, a fifth world title is on the line and with 90 Grand Prix victories, he can not only join that impressive list of five-time World Champions but has a great shot at passing Stefan Everts 101 Grand Prix victories. It will take a 2018 effort from Herlings, but we all know, if he stays fit, he usually wins in bunches. A fifth world title and more than 101 GP wins would without question place the Dutchman right up there with the greatest of all-time.
Then we have Prado, the new kid on the block, who has two MX2 World Championships to his name, and if he scored a third championship in 2021, he’d join names like Gaston Rahier, Alessio Chiodi, Greg Albertyn, Paul Friedrichs, André Malherbe, David Thorpe, and Guennady Moisseev as three-time World Champions.
Of course, serious contenders like Jeremy Seewer, Glenn Coldenhoff, Romain Febvre, Pauls Jonass, Arminas Jasikonis, Thomas Olsen and Ben Watson will all be trying to stop the riders mentioned above from making their own history and that is why the MXGP championship continues to be the highest level of motocross, anywhere around the world.
MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 10 May 2021 – Infront Moto Racing is pleased to share that the May issue of MXGP Magazine is now online!
The 93rd edition of the monthly magazine features Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team on the cover as we see how the squad are preparing for the new season and how it is dealing with some of the changes within the team.
The May issue also looks at the women in the FIM Motocross World Championship with the ‘Leading ladies in MXGP’ special feature, along with a look at the ‘Road to Maggiora’ as the iconic Italian circuit prepares for its comeback in 2021!
In addition, the Vintage Bike section features Mickael Maschio’s 2002 Kawasaki KX125, while this month’s Hall of Fame features Australian Andrew McFarlane, as we dive deeper into his racing career!
Users who have already downloaded other issues on their iOS device can automatically download the new issue by opening the News Stand and clicking on the cover of the MXGP Mag. Whereas those readers using an Android device will be able to download the magazine for free thanks to this app: http://bit.ly/IssuuOnAndroid.
MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 6 May 2021 – Infront Moto Racing is excited to announce the newest MXGP partner, FC-Moto, who will join the FIM Motocross World Championship for the next three years.
FC-Moto is one of the world’s largest online stores (www.fc-moto.de) for motorcycle clothing and equipment, with over 150,000 items from more than 150 well-known brands in the industry, offering great prices with worldwide shipping.
The company started out in 1996 with a small retail store in Aachen, Germany, and three years later the FC-Moto online shop launched as one of the first online shops in the motorcycle sector. Since then, the one-man company has developed into a young and dynamic team of 120 employees and today delivers to customers all over the world.
Infront Moto Racing is thrilled to welcome FC-Moto and to begin this exciting brand-new partnership that will continue to take motocross to the highest level.
David Luongo, CEO of Infront Moto Racing: “We are very proud to announce our new partnership with FC-Moto. After one of the most challenging years of the history of the sport industry, MXGP continues to show its fantastic development. We cannot wait to start this exciting season and welcome the fans on-site!”
Farshid Chalatbari, CEO of FC-Moto: “We are proud to announce our partnership with MXGP for the next 3 years and would like to support the Motocross World Championship MXGP and promote motorsport in general!”
MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 5 May 2021 – Infront Moto Racing is excited to announce the extension of agreement with Automoto La Chaine, that will see the FIM Motocross World Championship, including the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations broadcasted in France in 2021 and 2022!
For the next two seasons, the French TV channel will broadcast the MXGP & MX2 races LIVE on Sunday, providing the French motocross fans with even more coverage of the FIM Motocross World Championship.
Infront Moto Racing is delighted to continue working with Automoto La Chaine in order to bring more exposure to motocross worldwide.
About Automoto La Chaine:
AUTOMOTO, LA CHAÎNE, part of Mediawan, is the leading channel dedicated to motoring in France. Bringing together experts and automotive superfans, AUTOMOTO, LA CHAÎNE offers the best competitions, original lifestyle TV shows and premium documentary series.
Created in late 2015 by Pierre-Antoine Capton, Xavier Niel and Matthieu Pigasse, Mediawan soon became one of the main independent European studios producing premium content. Mediawan brings together best-in-class talents in audiovisual creation by operating on the entire value chain: production of drama, cinema, documentary, animation and unscripted shows (Mediawan Studios) thanks to over 50 production labels in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Finland and Senegal, but also distribution of audiovisual content (Mediawan Rights, LS Distribution and Telmondis Distribution) and publishing of channels and digital services (Mediawan Thematics).
The JM Racing Honda MXGP team is in full preparation for the start of the coming FIM Motocross World Championship season. The team enjoyed a positive winter preparation period and the Honda CRF450 provides a solid base with which to go on the hunt for MXGP success.
During the long period, the team focused primarily on training to maintain rider fitness. They also utilised the time to fine tune the Honda CRF450 bikes according to the wishes of the riders. Now that the date of the first GP has been announced as 13 June in Russia, the team will increase the intensity of their preparation work, aiming for a good kick off to their GP campaign.
"We have a great winter preparation period behind us. The Honda CRF450 is simply amazing, and the riders are in rapture over the bike. In Henry Jacobi and Michele Cervellin, we have two good riders, and I expect that we will be able to make strides forward with them. It will be a long season, seeing as there will be races all the way into December, but we are ready and anxious for the first drop of the start gates, "Team owner Jacky Martens said.
"The atmosphere within the team is great and everything blends well. Last year, I was too overawed by the big names in the MXGP class, and I want to establish myself as a contender this year. I want to take the battle to them and see how we progress. It is great to have an experienced person like Jacky by your side. He has helped me so much already with bike settings, and that boosts my confidence greatly, "Henry Jacobi said.
"The season is coming soon and I am so anxious for the start gates to fall. I feel great in the team environment and I am confident that we can jointly make great progress. I started bike training a bit later than ideal due to a slight wrist injury, but we still have time until the first GP kicks off. We will do a lot of bike training in the coming weeks so that we are fully prepared, "Michele Cervellin remarked
England’s Roger Harvey (HRC Advisor for MXGP) isn’t just one of the most experienced people inside the MXGP paddock, but he is also one of the most popular. Starting as a racer in the 1960’s, winning a British Motocross Championship and representing his country at the Motocross of Nations, Harvey then moved into team management both in road racing and motocross. A life of being involved in the sport.
It is looking very likely that the always smiling and friendly Harvey will hang up his boots in 2021 and leave a sport that has given him so much. A good friend, and somebody who always seems to be in a good mood, we caught up with his and asked him a few questions about his final year in the sport.
“I am going to miss it that is for sure,” Harvey said. “I won’t miss the travelling; I have been doing it for a lot of years. I still enjoy the racing side and being involved, and I have always enjoyed it. I loved being a racer and nothing replaces that, but to work with some of the best in the sport, that is interesting and fun. The excitement the buzz and when you are the rider, that is where you get the buzz and that goes to some extent when you stop racing.”
Despite racing for three decades, the time to quit came rather quickly as a massive accident in France saw Harvey forced out of racing.
“I never thought I would stop racing, but in 1985 I had a big crash and broke both my hips and laying in the hospital, I thought maybe I needed to get a real job. I asked the doctor when I can race again, and he wasn’t very positive about that, so that was it really.”
The highlight of his post-racing career actually came when he moved to Honda Europe and eventually HRC. Championships and GP victories came thick and fast for the red machines and Harvey was a major part of making sure Tim Gajser got what he needed from Japan.
“I think working with HRC, that has been a highlight. When we moved from Honda Europe to HRC, and we had the three-year plan to win and beat KTM for GPs and championships. That has been successful, and it has been the hardest and best times of my non-racing career.”
And the relationship between the old veteran and the young lion in Tim Gajser has been something that Harvey has enjoyed more than any part of his non-racing career. The man with so much experience watching this young Slovenian challenge the world and come up a winner has been very enjoyable for Harvey.
“The biggest satisfaction I have gotten out of it in recent years are the World championships with Tim and HRC. Honda hadn’t won many from 2000 until recently and he has four, and that has been pretty amazing to be a part of. Tim is such a good kid, a lovely kid and I think that is what I will go away thinking, that that was good.”
So, if you get the chance to see the white-haired man with a big smile and a cheeky laugh, then get on over to the HRC tent and say goodbye, to somebody who gave his whole adult life to the sport so many of us love.
MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 30 April 2021 – Infront Moto Racing is proud to announce that JUST1 and MXGP have extended their partnership for the upcoming 2021 season of the FIM Motocross World Championship.
JUST1 Racing, a top helmet, goggle and racing apparel manufacturer based in Italy, was founded back in 2011 and has been part of MXGP since the beginning. Following another successful season of the FIM Motocross World Championship, this partnership has been extended for another year.
The brand is also part of the H&H Group, who organised the very successful 2019 MXGP of China in Shanghai, which saw Jeffrey Herlings and Jorge Prado victorious in the MXGP and MX2 categories.
JUST1 Racing have had real success in the FIM Motocross World Championship, securing five world titles – 2013 with Klemen Gercar (MX3) and 2015 and 2016 with Tim Gajser (MX2 and MXGP), along with two Women’s World Championship titles with Courtney Duncan in 2019 and 2020.
During the upcoming season, many of the top FIM Motocross World Championship teams will be using JUST1 products, including Beta SDM Corse, with Jeremy Van Horebeek and Jimmy Clochet, along with SM Action Racing Team’s Alberto Forato, Andrea Adamo and Kevin Horgmo, as well as the entire JK Yamaha Racing, DRT Kawasaki Racing’s Courtney Duncan and Wilson Todd, and MRT Racing Team KTM, to name a few.
Additionally, the JUST1 Racing NERVE MX goggle will offer clear vision throughout the year to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MXGP riders Arminas Jasikonis and Thomas Kjer Olsen.
Infront Moto Racing are very pleased to continue the partnership with JUST1 Racing and look forward to a successful 2021 season.
Back with an extraordinary line-up in 2021, the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP & MX2 teams are looking fast and motivated as they set their sights on the first FIM Motocross World Championship gate-drop of the new season.
Boasting some incredible stats and a wealth of experience, the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team will line up with three popular names inside the premier class, MXGP. Jeremy Seewer will remain on the team for a third consecutive season (fourth with Yamaha) and will be joined under the awning by hot new recruits, Glenn Coldenhoff and Ben Watson.
Spearheading the outfit in 2021, five times silver medallist Seewer hopes to steer his YZ450FM to the top step of the podium. "I've finished second in the world five times, two times in MX2, two times in MXGP and one time at the Junior World Championships" the 26-year-old Swiss rider said, "and these are not bad stats, you know, but of course I want to win, and yes, I think I can!"
"Usually, we race in 19 different countries and on different tracks, sand, hardpack, hot, cold, winter, summer, you know, so it's such an open book," Seewer continued, "it just takes a lot, a lot, a lot and at the base, I think it's hard work from everybody."
Seewer's search for World Championship glory will not come without a challenge from his new teammate Coldenhoff. "Yeah, I think there's a lot of hard work," the 30-year-old Dutchman agreed, "not only for myself, but I also think from the whole team. I think I was ready for a big change this year, which I actually did, and I really feel good already within the team. I feel like I have really good people around me, and the goal will always be to get the world title."
While his teammates strive for more race and Grand Prix wins, 23-year-old rookie Ben Watson hopes to soak up their knowledge and experience as he gets set to get his feet wet. "For me it's a really big opportunity, to join the Yamaha Factory MXGP team" he said "and something I'm really grateful for because obviously the beginning of the season in MX2 last year, it wasn't going really the way I wanted and the opportunities to show myself were coming less and less. Fortunately, at the end of the season I found myself and started to ride how I know I can, so it was definitely my time to take this step to the 450."
Yamaha has a strong strategy to develop the next generation of MXGP champions from within its own ranks, and as Watson progresses up the Yamaha Racing pyramid, so too will young Yamaha stars Maxime Renaux and Thibault Benistant as they join title favourite Jago Geerts inside the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team for 2021.
"It means a lot to me to become a Yamaha Factory Rider for the MX2 team. For sure, it was a goal. It's the highest team in the MX2 class that we can have in Yamaha" Renaux said.
It's no secret that Yamaha is on the hunt for FIM Motocross World Championship glory as the riders aim to secure the MX2 Championship gold plate while defending Yamaha's title as the MX2 Manufacturer of the Year.
"I will try to fight again for the world title," Geerts stated. "The benefits of staying in the same team for a couple years is you get to know the people very good and we made really some improvements with the bike this year, for sure suspension wise and setup of the bike."
As 21-year-old Geerts gets set to focus on consistency, his 20-year-old teammate Renaux is not holding back… "this year I really want to get back on the top step of the podium" the Frenchman said, "I want more moto wins, more GP wins, and to do better let's say."
Meanwhile, Benistant is enjoying the move from the GYTR kitted YZ250F to the fully-fledged Factory YZ250FM. The 18-year-old sets his sights on a promising rookie season. "Of course everything is a little bit different," he said, "the engine, suspension, everything is a little bit more strong and to be a rookie, I think I have a little bit less experience than the more older, but it's similar because we have almost the same hours on the bike, just not in the same championship, in MX2 I won't have pressure. I know what I need to do and I'm working for."
The 2021 FIM Motocross MXGP and MX2 World Championships are expected to kick-off on the 13th of June in Orlyonok, Russia.
While Paul Malin has never claimed an individual Motocross World Championship title, he does however remain as one of the men who put an end to the American domination of the Motocross of Nations! Winner of the 1994 MXoN alongside Kurt Nicoll and Rob Herring, Paul Malin has also won plenty of British titles, GP’s and claimed a silver medal in the 125cc class before later becoming the voice of MXGP on television!
This month’s Hall of Fame in the April edition of the MXGP Magazine takes a deeper look at Paul Malin’s racing career and all of his achievements. Read the full feature HERE!
Amazingly, since the Motocross World Championship was first decided in 1947, nearly 75 years ago, only nine riders have been able to win more than two world titles in a row and in 2021, Tim Gajser has a shot at making it 10 riders to achieve what seems the nearly impossible.
Gajser knows defending his MXGP championship for a third time won’t be easy and he also knows that very few riders win three world titles in a row. Some riders who failed to do it in their careers were Eric Geboers, Georges Jobe, Joel Smets, and Jeffrey Herlings. If they couldn’t do it, then it has to be a tough task.
“Just incredible really,” Gajser said. “Of course, every championship has its own meaning. It means a lot to me, but man, like four, especially winning back-to-back, like last year and this year, it is just unbelievable. When I crossed the finish line and I saw all the people, and some of them couldn’t be here because of the protocols and stuff, but you know the ones that were here made such a nice atmosphere and I am so happy to be part of an amazing team. We all work for this; we all work so hard to be successful and achieve these types of championship. I would love to win three championships in a row, that would be really amazing.”
The first man to ever win three or more in a row was Belgian legend Joel Robert, who actually won five 250cc championships in a row from 1969 until 1972. Fellow Belgian Roger De Coster won three 500cc titles in a row in 1971, 1972 and 1973 and another Belgian legend Gaston Rahier also did it in the 125cc class in 1975, 1976 and 1977 and Finnish legend Heikki Mikkola won three titles in a row in 1976, 1977 and 1978, although those came first in the 250 class and then two in the 500cc class.
Harry Everts won three 125cc championships in a row in 1979, 1980 and 1981 and Greg Albertyn won a 125cc title in 1992 then two 250 titles in 1993 and 1994. Stefan Everts joined his dad Harry as a triple winner in a row when he won the World 250cc championship in 1995, 1996 and 1997 and Alessio Chiodi won three 125cc championships in a row in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
Stefan Everts proved unbeatable when he won six titles in a row winning in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, before he retired and Antonio Cairoli quickly came into his own by winning six titles in a row in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014.
So, while Everts and Cairoli have their six in a row and Joel Robert his five in a row, we can only wonder if HRC hero Gajser can capture the 2021 championship, becoming not only a five-time FIM Motocross World Champion, but also joining the very select list of triple crown winners back-to-back, to back.
