MXGP

MONACO (Principality of Monaco), 1 July 2016 – The 2017 FIM Junior Motocross World Championship will officially take place in Tartu, a small province of Estonia. Tartu is best known for its tranquility, although many refer to it as Estonia’s premier university town which attracts a lot of youthful energy.  Recently, FIM Race Director Ingo Partsch and Youthstream Representative Patricia Maskarova joined General Secretary of EMF Mrs. Helen Urbanik, Clerk of the Course Mr. Marko Saareke and the event organizers Mr. Lauri Roosiorg and Mr. Janek Kaha for the first inspection of the track, paddock and location.

The track itself is a natural terrain circuit to the length of 1720 meters. It is wide and flowing. It also has a permanent watering system in place and has access to bulldozers and other types of machinery for track maintenance. A few small alterations have been requested but otherwise Tartu has been deemed a high standard track well worth the FIM Junior Motocross World Championship. It also will have no problem in accommodating the thousands of fans expected to come out and support and encourage the world’s fastest junior motocross riders, who are also expected to come in big numbers.

As a result of the inspection, all of the authorities that attended the inspection are very satisfied.

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Team Suzuki World MXGP’s Ben Townley will be out of action for the last six rounds of the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship after suffering a crash while testing earlier this week that required a hospital visit for internal injuries.

The luckless New Zealander went down during further testing work at Mantova in Italy on Tuesday and was hospitalised on his return to Hasselt, Belgium with damage to his intestines that required scans, checks and close observation. Such is the nature of the injury that the projected recovery time means that it is extremely unlikely that the former World Champion will race his RM-Z450 in anger in Grand Prix again this season.

With Kevin Strijbos convalescing from a wrist injury the team is currently searching for a replacement for Townley that can join then Belgian in the gate for the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic towards the end of July and then also for rounds in Belgium, Switzerland, Holland and the USA.

“We feel terrible for Ben who has worked hard and done everything we could have asked to be competitive at this level. He has experienced some incredibly bad luck this year,” said Team Principal Stefan Everts. “We felt we were getting to a point where we could have a strong end to the season but now the most important thing is that Ben can make a full recovery and he has all our support and best wishes in this respect.”

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings continues to show he is the man in the MX2 class and while it seems it will be his last season in the 250cc class, he isn’t thinking too much into the future and MXGP.

With six rounds to go and a lead of 169 points over second placed man Jeremy Seewer, the Flying Dutchman is confident of taking his third MX2 championship and leaving the class with a lot of confidence.

“It is definitely on my mind moving up to the MXGP class,” Herlings said. “But the most important is to win the MX2 championship this year, win it as soon as possible and stay out of trouble and then start focusing on the big boy class. I mean I will be racing guys I have raced the last few years and for sure the competition is really strong in the MXGP class.”

Last weekend in Mantova, Italy the KTM rider put together yet another 1-1 result, and clearly showed he is remaining in the same frame of mind as he was at the very first round in Qatar. While Mantova is known as a sand circuit, it isn’t as familiar as some of his favorite locals like Lommel and Assen.

“Mantova isn’t really like a sand track, it’s not like Lommel or Assen. In the qualification race my gate didn’t fall and we had to restart and I wasn’t focused and was like 15^th or 20^th, then I caught Dylan and was closing. He went down and made life easy. I was still struggling with my injury but we have three weeks off after this round, so I have time for it to repair.

Sunday though roughed up a little more and become a little more like his home circuits. It is in these conditions that Herlings comes into his own.

“Sunday, I enjoyed being there. The track is a little like Holland; I mean we had a Dutch guy on the podium with me. I still had some pain on my heal from the fracture, I need to take some time off, at least that is what the doctor has told me. The first moto I was around 10^th and got the lead quickly and won easily. The second moto I took the lead on the second lap and rode training speed and the track suited me. I will let the body heal up and focus on Loket and Lommel and we have around 170-point lead, so we are happy.”

And with one eye on the MXGP class, his second moto lap times showed that he will be more than capable of running up front in 2017.

“It is strange that my speed is so good, but we have been riding so much, and I got bored of riding during the weeks, but now we are racing a lot, GP after GP. I did better lap times than the MXGP guys and that is something to show for the future.”

Now a rest for his weary body and prepare for the hard-pack of Loket in Czech Republic. Will it be another 1-1, or can some of the competition rise to the occasion and shock the world?

The gates dropped for round twelve of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the FULLBACK MXGP of Lombardia-Italy at Mantova, Italy. Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser set the fastest lap time in MXGP while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Jeffrey Herlings impressively set the fastest time, even faster than the MXGP class, in MX2.

Both riders have added one point to their TAG Heuer fastest lap score sheets.

If you don’t know about this competition, the way it works is; he who sets the fastest lap time in each MXGP or MX2 over the weekend at each round of MXGP this year will be awarded 1 point towards the TAG Heuer sponsored ‘fastest lap’ competition. At the end of the season, the rider who has the most points will be awarded an elegant gift of prestige, a TAG Heuer watch.

If you scroll down on the main page at MXGP.com you will see the TAG HEUER Fastest Lap results grid which is situated directly underneath the FOX Holeshot results grid

MONACO (Principality of Monaco), 28 June 2016 – The 70th edition of the Monster Energy FIM MXoN which will take place in Maggiora the next 24th and 25th September was presented to national media at the majestic Unicredit Tower in Milan.

Institutional representatives such as Renato Vichi, Head of Media relations at Unicredit in Italy, Pier Francesco Caliari, General Director of Confindustria, Luca Ferrazzi, Chairman of the Sport and Culture commission of Lombardia joined Giuseppe Luongo, Youthstream President, Stefano Avandero and Paolo Schneider, organiser of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations for this important launch.

Renato Vichi, Head of Media relations at Unicredit in Italy welcomed the public, `We are very glad to host the presentation of this international event here in Milan. I wish the best to everyone involved in the event: organisers, promoter and riders. ‘

Pier Francesco Caliari, General Director of Confindustria, ANCMA, continues, “ It is a great pleasure for me to be here and take part of the presentation of the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations. I personally think ‘off-road’ is a synonym of freedom and creativity and I think it can help to attract young people to the two-wheels world. The owners of Maggiora Park, Paolo Schneider and Stefano Avandero embody this value as well as the promoter of the event, Giuseppe Luongo, that I wish to thank.”

Luca Ferrazzi, Chairman of the Sport and Culture commission of Lombardia took the microphone to express the support from the institutions to this event.

The presentation was hosted by the popular Italian journalist, Pierluigi Pardo, who welcomed to stage Mr. Giuseppe Luongo, Youthstream President, and Stefano Avandero and Paolo Schneider, Organisers of the MXoN at Maggiora Park.

Giuseppe Luongo stated, “I’m delighted to eventually be in Italy, my country, to announce the return of the Motocross of Nations in Maggiora after 30 years since the historical edition of 1986. That edition marked the debut of my own company and brought the Motocross to a worldwide level. Since that 21st September this sport has grown considerably and now the Monster Energy FIM MXoN is the most important event of the year without anything similar in other Motorsports, it attracts a huge crowd onsite every year and is broadcasted in more than 170 countries. I wish the best to Stefano Avandero and Paolo Schneider who are investing in that dream”.

Stefano Avandero and Paolo Schneider went on to express their gratitude to all the people involved in the organisation of this event and manifested their enthusiasm in being part of that project.  They also mentioned the track will have some changes comparing to the previous years.

Pierluigi Pardo launched a video showing the Maggiora while the 8-Time World Champion, Antonio Cairoli, and the Belgian MXGP star, Clement Desalle, took the stage.

Antonio Cairoli stated, “The circuit is spectacular, I see there are some changes and I can’t wait to ride there, on Tuesday we will go there to train with other Italian riders. After eight world titles a victory at the Motocross of Nations is a great goal I'd like to achieve this year together with my team.”

Clement Desalle went on to say, “The Motocross of Nations is a special event, different from all the others. The crowd is huge and the competition is different. We are working to be there in our top shape”.

A final greeting from Federmoto’s Presidents, Ivan Bidorini  from the Lombardia region and Vittorio Angela from the Piemonte region, concluded today’s Press Conference.

The appointment is for 24th and 25th September in Maggiora for the 2016 edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations.

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The Fox Holeshot award runs across the entire MXGP season. The way it works is 1 point is awarded for each race holeshot. He who has the most points in MXGP at the end of the season will win the grand prize of €10,000 while he with the most points in MX2 will win the grand prize of €5,000.

At the FULLBACK MXGP of Lombardia - Italy which was held in Mantova on June the 26^th, Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli took the FOX holeshots in Race 1 and Race 2 respectively.

Meanwhile in MX2 Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Covington took the FOX holeshot in race 1 while Wilvo Standing Construct Yamaha Official MX2 Team’s Aleksandr Tonkov took the FOX holeshot in race 2.

Watch the FULLBACK MXGP of Lombardia - Italy ‘Fox Holeshot’ films here below.

FULLBACK MXGP of of Lombardia - Italy FOX Holeshot MXGP Film

FULLBACK MXGP of of Lombardia - Italy FOX Holeshot MX2 Film

MANTOVA (Lombardia - Italy), 26 June 2016 – Mantova rumbled loud all weekend long as the FULLBACK MXGP of Lombardia-Italy delivered more heat and intensity than what was perhaps expected. Temperatures soared well above 30 degrees Celsius as thousands of passion-filled fans packed into the venue to watch the best riders in the world go head to head for glory here at the twelfth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship.

Mantova was a brutal beast to tame as the riders battled both the extreme warmth and the savage condition of the unpredictable sand surface, which was taken in the strides of the current red plate holders, Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings, who both wooed the doting fans with their exceptional performances.

Even though Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser had a 74-point lead heading into this weekend, he’s not the sort of guy that will go out and just race for points. He wants to be the fastest rider on the track each and every time he swings his leg over the machine. “It was one of the toughest races of my career” Gajser said at the end of the day, “Tony rode really good in the second race, it was good to see him ride so fast, but I was happy to pass him at the end of the race a make a slight gap for the finish.” Tim now leads the championship by 92 points

Seasons come and go, both in sport and in weather, which was something we thought of today with the hot weather indicating summer is well and truly here, while the likes of Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle, two riders who haven’t had the most ideal seasons, also made their presence known. After a rough day in the office yesterday, Paulin put in two fierce rides for second overall which is his best overall finish of the season, while Desalle also had his best result of the year with a second place finish in race one and fourth in race two to land on the box, in third, for the first time this season.

There’s a name for days like these with the blistering hot summer sun shining down on a rougher than rough track, they’re called the dog days which was fitting name as the gloves came off between Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli and Tim Gajser with their dog fight brawl for the win in the final race. Cairoli was faster in places while Gajser would inch back the gap in others, there was literally nothing in it from start to finish, giving the thousands of Italian and Slovenian fans that swarmed the venue, exactly what they came for.

TC222 was all heart today as he battled through the soreness of an injured wrist to put on an excellent show for the fans, and finish fourth overall. He has also moved up into second place in the championship standings with a 32 point lead over the defending champion Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre, who has now missed the last two rounds due to a concussion but should return to action at the next round which will take place at the end of July in the Czech Republic. Speaking of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing, Febvre’s teammate Jeremy Van Horebeek rounded out the top five in MXGP this weekend ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff and the poleman, Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev.

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 35:01.739; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:04.460; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:07.423; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:11.147; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:16.639; 6. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:25.874; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:33.524; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:38.665; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:44.531; 10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:48.997.

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 35:17.922; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:09.544; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:17.480; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:25.145; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:33.911; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:37.557; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:38.142; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:54.421; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:59.148; 10. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:02.868.

MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 42 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 40 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 30 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 29 p.; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 23 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 532 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 440 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 408 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 401 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 396 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 351 p.; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 267 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 230 p.; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 212 p.; 10. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 210 p.

MXGP Manufacturers: 1. Honda, 540 points; 2. Yamaha, 482 p.; 3. KTM, 450 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 416 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 310 p.; 6. Suzuki, 242 p.

The speed and finesse Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings has in the sand is almost indescribable. It’s more of a seeing is believing type of thing, but in effort to try and put his incredible speed into perspective, Jeff’s laptime in Race 1 was 1:53.029 while Tim Gajser’s, in MXGP Race 1, was 1:54.866 and while you could argue that the track is rougher for the MXGP guys, The Bullet went out in Race 2 and nailed a lap of 1:54.455 which is still faster than the best time in MXGP Race 1. Take nothing away from Gajser; Herlings is just from another planet in the sand. The second best time in MX2 Race 2 was 1:58.461, which means The Bullet was a whopping 4 seconds a lap faster than the second fastest MX2 rider, Brian Bogers. “I did what I had to do when I had to do it, 23 out of 24 race wins is pretty good so now I am just looking forward to the Czech Republic.” Jeff said.

Everybody knows that the Belgian and Dutch riders are strong in the sand since they are all basically born in the stuff. HSF Logistics Motorsport’s Brian Bogers proved that it’s not just a stereotype with his impressive performance this weekend. Bogers hit a bunch of milestones with a career best race finish of second place in the opening race, and a third place in race two, which landed him on the second step of the podium. Up until today, Bogers hadn’t even cracked the top five, so it was a mega achievement for the Dutchman who was incredibly emotional at the end of the day when he dedicated his performance to his grandma who recently passed away.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Dylan Ferrandis will be full to the brim after the amount of sand he ate this weekend. In race one, he binned it three times in the first eight laps but managed to regroup for third, which was a pretty amazing accomplishment and was proof that his speed was there. Race two wasn’t much cleaner either, but his hard charging never give up attitude saw him finish sixth which landed him on the third step of the podium.

Another rider tapping into the top five for the first time this year was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Covington who looked the best we’ve seen all season. There’s nothing more powerful than a positive attitude and Covington seemed to be on it today with his fourth and fifth place finishes leaving him in fourth overall.

It was more of a day at a theme park for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass who was on a rollercoaster. The Latvian was on Struggle Street in the first race and only finished tenth but bounced back massively in the second race for an emphatic second place which saw him leapfrog his way into fifth overall.

Last but not least, a shout out has to be given to the young Italian rookie Michele Cervellin who finished ninth overall, while Italy’s early season breakout star TM Racing Factory Team’s Samuele Bernardini only managed to finish seventeenth.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:51.899; 2. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:29.676; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:35.149; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:37.324; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:48.411; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:48.831; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:55.552; 8. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), +1:01.851; 9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), +1:05.124; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +1:07.501.

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:08.731; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +1:13.556; 3. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:17.594; 4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:20.819; 5. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +1:27.830; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:29.220; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:29.805; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +1:35.366; 9. Conrad Mewse (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:46.304; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:52.560.

MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 35 p.; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 34 p.; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 33 p.; 6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 32 p.; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 29 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 22 p.; 9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 19 p.; 10. Conrad Mewse (GBR, HUS), 17 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 597 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 428 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 403 p.; 4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 325 p.; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 320 p.; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 308 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 274 p.; 8. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 253 p.; 9. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 253 p.; 10. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 219 p.

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 597 points; 2. Kawasaki, 435 p.; 3. Suzuki, 428 p.; 4. Yamaha, 416 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 364 p.; 6. TM, 253 p.; 7. Honda, 227 p.

Click here to obtain the complete result

All the photos of the FULLBACK MXGP of Lombardia - Italy will be available HERE

FULLBACK MXGP OF LOMBARDIA, ITALY – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1545m

Type of ground: Hard sand

Temperature: 32°C

Weather conditions: sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 27,000

MXGP was available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

NEXT ROUND

The next round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will take place in Loket, Czech Republic, on July, the 24^th.

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FULLBACK MXGP of Lombardia, Italy