MXGP

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 19 November 2020 – DRT Kawasaki’s Courtney Duncan has repeated her success once again, as she claimed the WMX World title for a consecutive season in a row, after what can be described as a very demanding season of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship.

Introduced to motocross by her stepdad, Duncan started riding at the age of 7, enjoying bike time as much as she could after school and on the weekends at her own small track in her backyard. In 2016, Duncan made her first appearance in the WMX Championship in Qatar with two impressive race wins which saw her take to the top step of the podium on her first outing. She finished the season fifth in the standings, with five race wins and three GP victories under her belt.

In 2017, she returned to try again and following a season long battle with Kiara Fontanesi and Livia Lancelot, Duncan finished third in the standings despite missing two GPs and just two points shy of the title. She still had a really strong year, with four race wins and three GP victories. A year later, bad luck struck once again as an injury forced the New Zealander to miss the final two rounds of her 2018 campaign, which meant she would not become champion just yet.

Though in 2019, the Kiwi was finally able to get the job done as she secured the crown for the very first time. She entered the season strong and carried this moment to win 9 out of 10 races, only to miss out on the perfect score at the opening round in Valkenswaard as a massive crash over the finish jump cost her a podium finish. But she made up for it and claimed the next 4 overall podium victories, finally winning the WMX Championship with a 30-point lead over the Dutch rider, Nancy van de Ven.

The journey to the second world title wasn’t exactly an easy one for Duncan, who had to fight for the gold plate until the very last race of the season, during the MXGP of Pietramurata. She started the season strong, with a double race win at the opening round in Matterley Basin to enter the following round in Valkenswaard with the red plate. A fourth in race one and a second in heat two, put Duncan fourth to narrowly miss out on the podium, though most importantly she held on to the red plate.

Then things took an unexpected turn, as the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to racing for next five to six months. The ladies then returned to international racing at the Round of Lombardia in Italy, which was a turning point for Duncan in terms of the championship. She won the opening race, though the second one took a dramatic direction as the Kiwi was thrown into the air on one of the tabletops before the finish line. The Kawasaki rider was able to walk away from such a big crash, though the same could not be said for her bike, as snapped handlebars took away the chance for Duncan to fight back in the race.

Subsequently, she lost the red plate after the DNF in Lombardia, which gave the red plate to championship rival Larissa Papenmeier. Though with another GP on schedule in Mantova, this gave Kiwi the chance to fight back and she did just that. A 2-1 result for an overall victory was exactly what Duncan needed to get herself back into title contention.

The title chase went down to the wire, as the top three ladies, Nancy Van De Ven, Larissa Papenmeier, Courtney Duncan and Kiara Fontanesi entered the final round in Pietramurata with just 10 points separating the four front runners. Duncan didn’t get the best start in the opening race, though was able to fight her way through to second, before Papenmeier toppled over on the final lap, which allowed Duncan to get closer and pass the German to take the win. Then race two she finished third behind Van De Ven and Fontanesi.

Duncan finished the day tied on points with Van De Ven, so the championship was decided by race wins, and it was the Kiwi’s five heat victories over Van De Ven’s three that gave her the advantage to take her second world title in two years.

“I’m so grateful. I’ve had a lot of tough times to come through and to get this championship, it feels really good. A huge thanks to the team, everyone back home that’s supports me and all the girls for a really good challenging year. It’s good for the fans who are not here and watching on TV and when a championship is close, I think everyone enjoys it. We will enjoy this one!” shared Duncan.

Now with her second title ticked off the ‘bucket list’ we will see Duncan return to the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship in 2021 as she looks to defend her title for the second time.

Main Photo: Courtney Duncan in action, Mantova 2020

Bottom Photos: 1. from left to right: Kawasaki Europe Racing Manager Steve Guttridge, Courtney Duncan and Kawasaki DRT Team Manager Steve Dixon; 2. Duncan Celebration

Read more on Courtney Duncan on the MXGP Mag HERE

Watch the 2020 WMX Champion Courtney Duncan Clip by clicking HERE

2020 stats:

RACE WINS: 5

PODIUMS: 3

OVERALL VICTORIES: 3

POLE POSITIONS: 1

Quick Facts…

DOB: 26/01/1996

BEST RESULT: 2-time FIM WMX Champion (2019, 2020)

FIRST ROUND RACE: GP of Qatar 2016

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Courtney Duncan

The third CIIE (China International Import Expo) was held on the 5th of November, which also included the sports exhibition for the first time. Thousands of people from all over the world participate in CIIE, including H&H Sports, the official MXGP of China organizer, who were proud to showcase the FIM Motocross World Championship on the CIIE stage.

H&H Sports are dedicated to promoting sports in China, as well as working hard to introduce the public to the incredible sport that is motocross, in order to continue with their mission of pushing the development of motorsports in China.

The director of sports bureau of Shanghai, Mr Bing Xu and the director of Haiwan district, Mrs Hong Yao visited the MXGP exhibits in CIIE, along with the China Education department. Additionally, the booth received plenty of attention online and was featured on social media channels, such as Great sports, for some interviews and more.

H&H Sports, along with Infront Moto Racing are now looking forward to the MXGP of China in 2021.

The Marchetti Racing Team KTM are pleased to announce the deal for the 2021 season with Alessandro Lupino, that will see the Italian compete in the FIM Motocross World Championship onboard the KTM 450 SX-F.

For Lupino this means to go back to his origins; as the Italian was born in Viterbo, the same city where the Marchetti team and the team owner Elio Marchetti are from. While the team only started in the Motocross World Championship back in 2012, Elio Marchetti supported Alessandro in the early stages of his professional motocross career.

Alessandro, who is part of the of the Gruppo Sportivo Fiamme Oro of Polizia di Stato, will take part to all the 2021 MXGP season, the Internazionali d’Italia and the Italian Motocross Championship in the premier class.

Alessandro Lupino: “I’m very pleased to sign with Elio and the Marchetti Racing Team, through the years they always show how professional they are and how much passion they put in the races. For me that means a lot because I’ll be back in Viterbo, the city where I was born, and also I’ll be back on the KTM the bike with that I won my World Championship in the 85 class in 2006”

Quick facts:

DOB: 14^th of January 1991

Birthplace: Viterbo

From 2008 to 2020: 13 seasons in the Motocross World Championship

Results:

7 Time Italian Motocross Champion

1 Time Internazionali d’Italia Champion

1 Time Motocross European Champion (85cc) 2006

1 Time Motocross World Champion (85cc) 2006

1 Time Champion non Olympic Sport with Italy Team

3^rd Motocross Of Nations with Team Italy, 2013

Photo Copyright: Marcehtti Racing Team KTM

While Antonio Cairoli didn’t get his 10^th World Motocross Championship in 2020, he still added to his legacy, running with riders more than a decade younger than him, and pushing to win that 10^th title right up until the final round at Trentino.

Tim Gajser who did get that 2020 MXGP Championship, knows that racing with Cairoli is something that will always be enjoyable, and he has had more than the odd occasions battling with the Italian legend.

“Tony is an amazing guy,” Gajser said. “Being 35 and still on top of the game and fighting for a title, even with nine world titles he is still so motivated. I always enjoy our battles, because it is nice racing, clean racing and it always reminds me of Arco last year or Mantova in 2016. We just go wide open the whole race and when we pass, we don’t touch. He is a big champion of course and it is a pleasure to battle with him. As a kid, you know he is so many years in the GP. When I was watching I was dreaming one day to be battle with these guys, with Tony and the others. Now I am here with them fighting for the championships”.

The greatest Grand Prix rider of all-time, Stefan Everts has a lot of time for his Italian friend and can even see things that Cairoli had better than his own legendary career.

“I have a lot of respect for Tony,” Everts said. “He is a completely different personality to me, how he takes care and handles things. For me, he has always been a fantastic ambassador for the motocross and for some riders or kids, they don’t want to spend the time with the press or media and that is sad. I think it is important and we need to promote our sport, and take the maximum out of it. What I noticed, when we brought him to KTM, his game, what he had sorted it out, how he worked and dealt with everything. It took me so many more years to get to that point, but I saw Tony had that organized much earlier and for me it took a long time. When I won my fourth championship, I still didn’t have my system figured out, but the last years I had figured out the system, how to prepare, how to ride and also mentally, but Tony had that very quickly organized. That is also one of the reasons he got so many championships.”

And three-time World 500cc champion, Dave Thorpe, clearly loves watching the Italian racing, and as a former champion, now retired, he can see things that many of us can’t see. Watching Cairoli struggle at times, the British motocross legend feels for the veteran.

“I mean,” Thorpe said. “I probably think whilst you see him off form, you generally feel, they are professionals out there and they don’t talk about problems, and I imagine he is carrying injuries. As a racer, you do pick up things in the season and you hope it isn’t at the end, because the end is the critical point. I feel sad for him he has probably picked something up that can’t make him push.”

So now, with a season to rest, recover from this minor injuries he picked up throughout the season, you can be sure Antonio Cairoli will be working harder than ever, to try and give it another shot at that 10^th World title, and maybe a handful of GP victories. In what will be nearly two decades of racing the Sicilian is long from finished in this sport.

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 11 November 2020 – With the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship done and dusted for another year, there was more than the championships to celebrate, as this year’s MXGP and MX2 title winners, Tim Gajser and Tom Vialle were also presented with another special prize, the Tag Heuer Best Lap Award.

Being partner of the FIM Motocross World Championship, MXGP and Tag Heuer continued to run the Best Lap competition during the 2020 season, which saw riders awarded for the fastest lap time of the day during the MXGP and MX2 races. One rider, per category, who sets the best lap time during each race weekend, received 1 point in the TAG Heuer competition.

The rider that has set the fastest lap at the most rounds throughout the season in MXGP and MX2 classes and has the most points were awarded with this year’s prize. And this time around, the award went to this year’s World Champions, Tim Gajser and Tom Vialle, who took home the luxurious Swiss Tag Heuer watches. 

Gajser finished the season with 7 points, ahead of Jeffrey Herlings who had 3 and Romain Febvre with 2. Meanwhile in MX2, Vialle led with 6 points over Jago Geerts who had 5 and Jed Beaton who finished the season with 2 points.

During the final Gran Prix of the 2020 motocross world championship campaign, it was Gajser and Vialle who set the Tag Heuer Best Laps during the MXGP and MX2 races. Gajser clocked a lap time of 1.44:098 on the 13^th lap of the opening race. While in MX2, Vialle set the fastest lap of the races in the opening heat, where he set a 1.44:447 on the fifth lap of the race.

Find the full Tag Heuer Best Lap standings below:

MOANCO (Principality of Monaco) 11 November 2020 – MXGP are excited to have continued the FOX Holeshot competition than ran throughout the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship, together with MXGP partner Fox.

The way the competition works is; during both MXGP and MX2 races, the rider who crosses the white line painted on the ground at the exit of the first corner will be awarded 1 point. At the end of the season, the 2 riders, one per category, with the most FOX Holeshot points wins the mega prize!

This season starts were more crucial than ever before, as the level of competition in both categories was at its highest. For the riders, starts are key, as they search for that extra edge over the rest of the field, with the starts being the best way to get ahead early.

During the MXGP of Garda Trentino, final Grand Prix of the 2020 season, it was Ivo Monticelli of Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing Team who claimed his fourth Fox Holeshot of the season in the opening MXGP race, while in the second heat it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin who got the advantage into the first corner, on his last MXGP race of his career.

While in MX2, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle continue to prove himself as the king of starts, as he secured his 21^st Fox Holeshot on his way to his 14^th race win of the 2020 campaign. In race two though, it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jago Geerts who crossed the white chalk line first, to very briefly lead the race.

With the 2020 season concluded, this also saw the finale of the Fox Holeshot Awards, with this year’s prize going to Jorge Prado of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, who despite missing the last few GP’s still ended the season with 16 points, 10 ahead of Team HRC’s Tim Gajser and Ivo Monticelli who finished the year on 4 points. For Prado this was the third consecutive year that he has won the award, having previously been victorious in 2018 and 2019 while racing in the MX2 category.

This year’s Fox Holeshot Award in the MX2 class went to Tom Vialle, who was unmatched when it came to getting out of the gate, as he racked up 21 Fox Holeshots, while his closest rival in the standings, Jago Geerts finished with 8 and his teammate Ben Watson with 3 points.

Both Vialle and a representative from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, on behalf of Prado, received their FOX Holeshot cheques during the annual MXGP Awards which was streamed LIVE to audiences worldwide on MXGP’s Facebook page and MXGP-TV.com

Watch the FOX Holeshot Films from the MXGP of Garda Trentino below. 

MXGP FOX Holeshot Film

MX2 FOX Holeshot Film

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 11 November 2020 – Infront Moto Racing is delighted to share the provisional calendar for the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship season.

The 2021 season will begin later than usual; the plan is now to kick things off at the beginning of April, in order to give time for the pandemic to ease and for the teams and riders to carry out the testing and preparations that are needed for another intense season of racing. The aim is to keep the calendar with the usual format, though this will be adapted, if needed, to the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2021 racing calendar will feature 20 GP races and will introduce four brand-new venues, for the MXGP of Oman at the Muscat circuit, along with the MXGP of the Netherlands in Oss, the MXGP of Finland in Itti-KymiRing, already presented to feature in the 2020 calendar but then postponed to 2021, and the MXGP of Igora Drive in Russia.

Additionally, the FIM Motocross World Championship will also be returning to some of the favourite venues, including Agueda, Teutschenthal, Orlyonok, Kegums, Jakarta, Semarang, Loket, Lommel, Uddevalla, Afyonkarahisar, St Jean d’Angely, into Xanadu-Arroyomolinos and Neuquen in Patagonia-Argentina.

The season will begin on the 3^rd of April 2021 with the MXGP of Oman, before heading back to Europe for the MXGP of Italy, then followed by the MXGP of Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Russia and Latvia. Then the series will head to Asia for two rounds in Indonesia, before returning to Czech Republic, Belgium, Sweden and Finland. Then towards the end of August, MXGP will return to Russia for the MXGP of Igora Drive, followed by Turkey, China, France, Spain and ending at the beautiful Patagonia Argentina.

And of course, after a year break, 2021 will also see the awaited return of the worldwide best off road event, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, which will head to Imola, Italy on the 26^th of September.

Take a look at the full provisional 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship calendar including the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship as well as the European Motocross Championships stops below:

Click HERE to download the 2021 MXGP Calendar in PDF Format.

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM

FIM Europe

Yamaha Motor Europe is pleased to announce that Glenn Coldenhoff will complete the three-rider line-up at the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team, where he will campaign a YZ450FM alongside Jeremy Seewer and Ben Watson in the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship.  

Hailing from the Oss in the North Brabant Province of The Netherlands, Coldenhoff is a regular frontrunner in the MXGP series. Throughout his illustrious career, the 29-year-old has finished on the podium 19 times, including five Grand Prix wins.

In addition to his Grand Prix success, Coldenhoff has played a key role in the achievements of The Netherlands at the prestigious Monster Energy Motocross of Nations. Coldenhoff has gone unbeaten at ‘the nations’ for the past two years with memorable 1-1 victories in the USA in 2018 and at the TT Circuit Assen in 2019. Thanks to Coldenhoff’s scintillating performances, together with strong rides from his two teammates, the Dutch team celebrated its first-ever Motocross of Nations victory in in front of their home crowd. 

Photo Copyright: Yamaha Racing   

Coldenhoff is currently recovering from a neck injury that was sustained in a crash at the MXGP of Flanders in Lommel, Belgium. The Dutch sensation has already started his rehabilitation and is confident that he will be back to full-fitness and ready to fight for Grand Prix wins in 2021. 

Glenn Coldenhoff Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP: “I feel very welcomed by the whole Yamaha family. From the first moments we met, I felt there was a very motivated and ambitious team awaiting me. I am really thankful for the opportunity. I strongly believe that I can still make progress, win races and can fight for the championship. I know Yamaha will give me everything to achieve these goals. My recovery is going well, and I cannot wait to jump on the blue bike soon.”

Louis Vosters Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Owner: “It’s great to have Glenn Coldenhoff on board for the next years. He is a great rider who is still making steps forward year after year. I really believe that in the Yamaha structure with YZ450FM he will be able to achieve the best possible results.”

Alexandre Kowalski Yamaha Motor Europe Off-Road Racing Manger:
“We are really happy to welcome Glenn to the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team. He is a very professional, focused and dedicated rider that is committed to his sport and being the best. He has a lot of experience and he has proven on countless occasions over the past two years that he is capable of winning GP’s, so we are excited to welcome him to the Yamaha Family. He will join the Dutch based Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team alongside Jeremy Seewer and Ben Watson. I know that Glenn and Jeremy have a good relationship already, which will be nice to see them ride together and push each other to be strong inside the competitive MXGP class. Together with Jeremy, we have a strong team with a lot of experience, and this will be nice for Ben to learn and grow from. It is exciting for Yamaha and our Factory MXGP team to enter the 2021 MXGP World Championship with this incredible line-up.”