MXGP

As we await round one of the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship, set down for the MXGP of Russia at the beautiful Orlyonok circuit, riders sit patiently preparing, not too hard just yet, but enough to make sure they are ready when called into action.

It is no surprised that Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings is ready to race, as the 2018 MXGP Champion wants to forget his injury riddled 2019 and 2020 seasons and add another title to his impressive list of four.

“I feel like I am ready to race,” Herlings said. “I did not see the point of racing in Italy in February when we might not have a GP until June or something like that. I hope the season starts as soon as possible”,

Australian racer Mitch Evans is another coming back from injury and while he cannot wait to start the season, the longer it takes the better it is for his preparation. The HRC factory rider is still recovering from his wrist injury and need a little more time to be ready.

“I had five months off the bike,” Evans said. “My wrist hasn’t had that sort of impact. The break was worse than we thought. The break broke from the bone and shattered into a heap of pieces. Basically, just crushed the end of my radius (the radius is one of two forearm bones and is located on the thumb side). It just has not had that impact in the joint for that long and it will just take time to get used to. No stress just let it heal at its own pace. I can only ride one day at the moment and not two in a row.”

Privateer Shaun Simpson, who runs the SS24 KTM team also went out injured in 2020 after an impressive top ten in the opening two rounds of the MXGP championship and like Herlings and Evans is hungry to get racing again. The veteran of a decade of GP battle knows that a MXGP calendar is something to look forward to as he works away in his homeland of Scotland.

“One point I wanted to make,” Simpson said. “I just really forgot how much I love racing. As you know, or anyone, it is really hard work to go and do race practice, because there are no good results to work off, or no bad results to say let us knuckle down and work harder. There are no gauge and racing gives you that.”

No doubt these three riders and all their competition cannot wait to line up in Russia and fight for major points. As for now, the training continued as the wait gets shorter and shorter. With all three now recovered from the injuries they picked up in 2020, they are ready to go and excited for what 2021 will bring them.

Photo Copyright: Bavo Swijgers

The eagerness of Kawasaki MXGP fans to see racing resume once more is matched only by that of the riders and teams who await their first chance to return to competition – none more so than the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team.

With over a decade as the official factory entry for Kawasaki in MXGP, the Thierry Chizat Suzzoni run team has just unveiled its new bike livery and rider clothing package on a formal basis with official images and a team launch video, shot at the team’s Netherlands headquarters in Schijndel and their local test track.

Optimistic thanks to pre-season success for Romain Febvre, who secured the three-event Italian International Championship, the team also welcomes a rider from that country, Ivo Monticelli, making his debut for KRT in 2021.

Highlighting the new team structure, KRT Technical Manager, Vincent Bereni said:

“It’s always exciting to start a new season and to see the new bike, team and riders design.

We have a new rider next to RF3 for 2021 in Ivo Monticelli. He is improving every time he rides the KX450-SR and we been applying changes and updates to his bike step by step. We are very happy with Ivo’s attitude and commitment; he is a perfect fit with the team and his hard work will be rewarded. Concerning RF3, we now have a full season together and we agree on areas that need it to be improved. In winter testing went very well and we introduced some new evolutions mainly on the chassis side.

Technically, it is very important every year to do pre-season races, so the team decided to line up for the Italian International championship to gauge our bikes and riders in real race conditions. Winning the series with RF and getting P:3 overall with IM128 was great for everyone’s spirit and very positive for all our partners, especially Monster Energy and our Italian team partners like Vertex, Braking, Blackbird, CRM and Alpinestars; who did an excellent job with their new 2021 design for us.

As a team we feel like caged lions ready for combat. Getting our feet wet doing those races was exciting for the all the staff. We had a positive winter, and we cannot wait to start our 2021 campaign.”

Team owner – and now also Team Manager – Thierry Chizat Suzzoni, concluded:

“We have enjoyed 12 years of partnership with Kawasaki and it’s always a pleasure to start a new season at the head of Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team. From a personal point of view, I am proud to have a great technical team with faithful and passionate people who have a great experience of competition.

Romain rode for us last year and already we have learned a lot together. With technical assistance from KHI in Japan we have very competitive factory bikes to rely on. To partner Romain, Ivo joined us this year. He has a good experience we are very confident he will make strong progress with our support. We look forward to arriving in the paddock for the first GP and I thank all our partners who have remained loyal over so many years”.

Watch the team in action HERE!

Photo Copyright: Kawasaki Racing

MXGP is back with a brand-new pre-season series ‘Road to 2021’, where we catch-up with some of the teams and riders of the FIM Motocross World Championship, as they gear up for the 2021 season!

Over the next couple of months, every week we will share a brand-new episode, featuring some of the top teams and riders in MXGP, as we dive deeper and learn more about what it takes to prepare for a season of racing at the highest level.

In Episode 1 of Road to 2021, we discover more about the newest addition to the list of MXGP manufacturers as Beta Motor are set to make their championship debut with Beta SDM Corse Racing Team!

To find out what the team’s riders Jeremy Van Horebeek and Jimmy Clochet have to say, tune in at 5:30PM (CEST) on MXGP-TV’s YouTube channel to watch the full interview!

The third 2021 issue of monthly motorcycle sport magazine with some of the best interviews, features and Blogs from the heart of MXGP, MotoGP, AMA Motocross/Supercross and WorldSBK as well as tests and reviews of bikes and products from the motorcycling industry. Here are some of the highlights of OTOR #209: 

• Testing times: MXGP - We speak to four factory riders about the work, the schedule and the difficulties of unseen and usually mysterious testing processes for Grand Prix
• Storm in the desert: MotoGP Launcher! Photo spreads, Blogs & reactions from the first of nineteen rounds in 2021 MotoGP at Qatar & a story on the history of the Honda NSR500
• Lovely Nakedness: MT-09 - Yamaha have swung a chisel at their leading naked bike in an effort to keep near the top of a crowded and competitive market. We bare all to see what the 2021 version brings
• Cool kids & SX: We ride one of the most distinctive learner/city bikes in the Husqvarna Svartpilen 125 and also highlight the last gallery of Supercross images and insight as the series rushes to an end

Read the full issue HERE!  

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 31 March 2021 - Infront Moto Racing would like to inform on the updates to the 2021 calendar of the FIM Motocross World Championship.

Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the decision has been made to delay the start of the upcoming season, as the FIM Motocross World Championship will kick off in Orlyonok with the MXGP of Russia on the 12^th – 13^th of June.

The updated calendar will also welcome back the MXGP of Great Britain in Matterley Basin on the 26^th – 27^th of June, followed by the MXGP of Italy at the legendary circuit of Maggiora on the 3^rd – 4^th of July. MXGP of Latvia, MXGP of the Netherlands and Czech Republic will come next in July, before heading to the deep sand of Lommel for the MXGP of Flanders in August.

MXGP will then move to Sweden on the 14^th and 15^th of August, followed by the MXGP of Finland and MXGP of Turkey.

The newest addition to the 2021 racing calendar is the MXGP of Sardegna, with the popular winter training facility of Riola Sardo hosting the round 11 of the campaign, with the EMX65 and EMX85 Championship races held on the same weekend.

The championship will then continue with the MXGP of Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and Trentino in October, with a venue for the French Grand Prix to be confirmed soon.

The season will then conclude with three fly-away races, in Argentina on the 13^th – 14^th of November, followed by the MXGP of Asia and Indonesia on the 27^th - 28^th of November and 4^th - 5^th of December.

Meanwhile the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations will go ahead on the 26^th of September, as originally planned, with the Italian circuit in Mantova confirmed as the newest host of the prestigious event.

Additionally, the FIM-E Motocross of European Nations scheduled on the 18^th and 19^th of September, will now be as TBA, with more details to be announced at a later date.

The same race format as last year will be used during the upcoming season meaning that MXGP and MX2 will all run on Sunday and EMX and WMX run all on Saturday. The decision to run a one day format was made due to the tight racing schedule in order to allow more recovery time for the riders and the team staff.

Infront Moto Racing is hopeful that with the recent development of the vaccine, there will be a possibility to finally welcome back spectators in the summer months, which is very important to our beloved sport.

We would like to thank the FIM, FIM-Europe, all the organisers and federations along with the teams, riders, partners and fans for their continued support and understanding, as MXGP remain committed to bringing another epic season of racing!

Click HERE to download the updated 2021 MXGP calendar

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM

FIM Europe

Today, two and a half years after the first edition, after five reprints and 12,500 copies sold, the new updated version of Velocità, Fango, Gloria, la mia vita per il Motocross, the Antonio Cairoli's biography, will be released.

New anecdotes, new insights and almost three years of life, races and emotions that are added to the previous ones, completing the portrait of the rider, the Champion and the man. The new paperback version, with a flexible cover, expanded and completed by other unpublished photos, is available from today in all Italian bookstores and in the main online stores at the price of € 12.00.

Antonio Cairoli: "I am really pleased to announce the new version of my biography, I thank Rizzoli for giving me the honor of a second and larger version of the book, in which new episodes of my career and, thanks to Jill, the extraordinary joy of becoming a father of Chase Ben."

While we will all again concentrate on the guys in the MXGP class with many GP wins and championships, those being Antonio Cairoli, Tim Gajser, Jeffrey Herlings and Jorge Prado, there is a man waiting in the wings to make life tough for the big four and that man is Monster Energy Yamaha factory rider Jeremy Seewer.

Seewer, who at one point in 2020 was the fastest rider in the class, even winning a Grand Prix at the MXGP of Lombardia. The rider from Switzerland also finished with 15 top five finishes and of those 15, six were on the podium.

Just as impressive is the fact Seewer has gone 2-2-8-2-2 in the last five championship battles and is without question one of the most consistent riders in the sport, keeping away from injuries and scoring major points throughout his career. One thing is for sure, Seewer is going into this season with confidence he can get even closer to that group and improve on his multiple runner-up finishes in the World motocross championships.

“I have improved,” Seewer said recently. “Those guys have a lot of championships and GP wins and I also finished second in the championships, so that is also something. I have improved with the bike and also myself. I want to be up front, and as you said, four guys have a lot of titles, but I also have four vice World championships.”

Good friend to Seewer and also a Grand Prix winner and MXGP heavy hitter, Shaun Simpson knows that those top four guys have many championship and GP wins, but he has a sneaking feeling his good mate will shine through and possibly shock the World.

“Tough,” Simpson said. “I do probably say Jeffrey needs to win one again and he hasn’t won one for a while now and he is probably sitting at home kicking himself, because he has the tools to do it. Tim is very consistent, Cairoli is such a smart rider, always there or there abouts. I mean I would slot Jeremy Seewer in there, because if you look at his results at the start of last year, he had a horrible time in Valkenswaard, but by the middle of the year, he had pulled it back.”

So, as we wait for the opening Grand Prix, you can be sure the big four will have one eye on the former or present World champions, but they will also have an eye on the guy dressed in blue and carrying the number 91. If Seewer can start strong and fight with the likes of Herlings and Gajser, then his confidence will grow, and he might be able to get over the line for his first ever World motocross championship.

Photo Copyright: Bavo Swjigers

As we enter the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship season, all eyes will be on one of the greatest Grand Prix racers the sport has seen, Antonio Cairoli. With nine World Championships to his name, 92 Grand Prix victories, 270 race wins, and 172 podiums, his statistics are more than just a little impressive. And while he is now 35 years old, that motivation to win is still clearly his main goal.

“To be in a team that is mostly winning is nice,” Cairoli said recently. “Because my mentality is a winning mentality. My motivation is the same every year, to win the championship every time. That is the goal and that is why we are here in 2021.”

Pit Beirer a former GP winner is the main man in the Red Bull KTM off-road strategy and knows that 2021 is going to be important for KTM and also for Cairoli, and it might be a time to celebrate one of the best careers the sport has seen.

“We are planning a pretty fantastic farewell tour for Tony,” Beirer said. “It could be his last season this year. I think this coming season will be a mix of giving him the chance to finish his career a proper way, his last GP must be a GP with a lot of fans and not alone (like in 2020 and Covid 19). He will definitely put his signature on a brand-new motocross generation that we will bring the year after so also there he will be heavily involved. He will be more than busy in 2021.”

As for being the greatest Grand Prix rider of all time, we left that up to four-time World Motocross Champion Jeffrey Herlings to give his opinion on Cairoli and the man with the most titles and Grand Prix victories, Stefan Everts.

“I mean if you look at where Tony came from,” Herlings said. “To where he is right now, that is just amazing. As for Stefan, his father was a World Champion, he grew up in the sport and always had good connections because of his father, because his father is also one of the best in the history. Talent wise, it is hard to say, if you look at both their good years, they dominated in those years, I think at the time Tony was racing the competition was stronger, the racing got more professional, although Youthstream (Infront) made it more professional, the riders were making more money and the teams were stepping it up, so a lot of things happening. Coming back to your question and it is hard to judge, but if you look at the record books, Stefan is the leading guy, but if you look at Tony, he also deserves a lot of respect.”

So, with a couple of months before the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship commences, it is time to reflect for all of us, and the Sicilian youngster who burst onto the GP scene in 2004 is celebrated for what he has given us, both in memories and excitement.

Photo Copyright: Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 

In 2004 the FIM Motocross World Championship had a ‘facelift’ and the traditional race categories that we had come to see as the norm were re-named, so instead of 125cc and 250cc classes, we now had MX2 and MX1 respectively.

Of course, all of this coincided with the popularity of the 4-stroke which had been on the rise since 1998, at least that was the case in the premier class.

When New Zealand’s Ben Townley won his world title in 2004, he would go down in history as the first ever MX2 World Champion, and it’s his KTM250 SX-F that we will feature in this month’s issue of MXGP Magazine!

Read it HERE!

The 2021 Grand Prix season sits on the horizon but inches closer every day. The start date of May 23rd in Oss and the Dutch round opening the new racing campaign will see Jeffrey Herlings as one of the main contenders for the MXGP crown with fellow Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 450 SX-F riders Tony Cairoli and Jorge Prado.

The 26-year old four-times # 1 has been testing and training in Spain with current FIM MX2 World Champion Tom Vialle for company. The 20-year old Frenchman is bidding to become the fourth back-to-back title winner with the KTM 250 SX-F in the last eleven years. 19-year old Rene Hofer is also in southern Europe and the Austrian will tackle his second term in MX2 and will be flanked by MX2 rookie Mattia Guadagnini for 2021.

Photo Copyright: Juan Pablo Acevedo