MXGP

Suzuki’s Factory Rockstar Energy World MXGP team has completed its extensive training programme in northern Spain with its official 2014 Photo-Shoot.

After unveiling the newly-liveried RM-Z450 at the 92nd Brussels Auto & Moto Show in Belgium last week, team rider Clement Desalle debuted the new Factory colours on track at Leida, as team-mate Kevin Strijbos sat-it-out as he recovers from a recent practice injury. 

Now in his fifth season with the Suzuki squad, World #2 Desalle is now virtually fully-recovered from his end-of-season Motocross of Nations injury and is training hard for the opening round of the MXGP season at Qatar on March 1st. 

Strijbos is still recuperating from a pelvis injury he picked-up after a training crash in Belgium, but recent medical examinations revealed that the injury is healing well and his doctor has now given the all-clear to start training. 

The first official event on the Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s schedule is the Le Touquet Beach Race in France on February 8-9th with former World Motocross Champion Steve Ramon. Desalle and Strijbos will participate at the Valence and Lacapelle-Marival Internationals the following weekends.

Copyright: Photo: Ray Archer

In his annual global motorsports address today, which outlined all of Honda’s factory motorsport programmes for 2014, Honda President Takanobu Ito announced that Honda is further increasing its support in the FIM Motocross World Championship.

The newly renamed Team HRC reflects the increased role of the factory in the championship’s premierMXGP category, and is the natural culmination of an increasing Honda presence in the sport over the last three years.

This is the latest chapter in a long and successful history in World Motocross, in which Honda have sealed a raft of 125, 250 and 500 MX world titles. It’s also a new chapter for HRC, which most recently sealed the FIM MotoGP World Championship title with the Repsol Honda Team last season.

The team retains last year’s rider line-up of Max Nagl and Evgeny Bobryshev, who will compete aboard works Honda CRF450RW machines.

Nagl and Bobryshev were present for the President’s address in Tokyo today, appearing alongside the likes of other works Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez (MotoGP), Joan Barreda (Dakar) and Honda’s drivers from the IndyCar Series and the World Touring Car Championship.

The team has been testing in Sardinia in January and competed in the opening round of the Italian MX Internazionali series to support their preparations for the start of the Grand Prix season, bringing home two podium finishes. The first Grand Prix is in Qatar at the Losail Motocross track on 28 February – 1 March.

Roger Harvey, HRC General Manager -MXGP
“The 2014 season is an important milestone for Honda in the Motocross World Championship with the support of Honda Racing Corporation. Honda has a long history in Motocross with the Honda CRF, including multiple world 125, 250 and 500 titles throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and after more and more support over the last three years, the next logical step was for a full factory presence again with Team HRC.”

Max Nagl
“My Dad always said in the past that the biggest step you can make, and the dream to have, is riding for the Honda factory team because it was always the best – a step ahead of everyone. Now I’m so happy to be in Team HRC. It’s really a dream come true.

“I can feel the difference to last year because we’re working very closely with the factory and the Japanese engineers, we have more parts to test each time, and we’ve improved the bike a lot already. The experience and success of HRC brings so much to the team. Standing on the stage for the President’s motorsport announcement alongside riders like Pedrosa and Marquez – it really shows the importance of MXGP to Honda this season.”

Evgeny Bobryshev
“Representing Team HRC is a big honour for me. There is so much history and many motocross victories in the past, and recent World Championships in MotoGP for example, and now after a break it’s a great feeling that HRC is back in MXGP and to be a part of it.

“The whole team approach is so focused on the results this year, and pre-season testing has been very positive. Working directly with Honda in Japan means that changes are happening faster and we have even more support that has helped us already in taking another step, so I’m feeling strong for this season. I hope we can repeat history.”

Watch the video of Team HRC launch by clicking here. 

Copyright: Photo: 2014 Team HRC

FUNCHAL (Portugal), 07 February 2014 - The second gameplay video of MXGP, The Official Motocross Videogame, which will be launched on 28th March 2014, has been released by Milestone.

The new gameplay video features Evgeny Bobryshev at Valkenswaard (the Netherlands). This video aims to show two main key points of MXGP’s development: Track Soil Deformation and First-Person View. Firstly, the video highlights how the surface in MXGP’s game changes. This feature allows ‘track soil deformation’ to be selected, resulting in track condition changes race by race. This will ideally make the game more challenging, competitive and realistic. The second feature shown in this gameplay video is the first person view that drives the player deep into the games’ dynamics, increasing the visual perception of the track’s ruts and jumps. These two main features, including the already announced separate analog sticks and loyal artistic direction, turn MXGP into the only game capable of delivering the authentic Motocross experience.

The second gameplay video of MXGP, The Official Motocross Videogame is now available on MXGP-TV Youtube Channel, by clicking here. 

This new exciting videogame is based on the official FIM World Motocross Championship and it will be available on 28thMarch 2014 for PlayStation®3, PlayStation®Vita, Xbox 360® and Windows PC®.

Developed by Milestone Studio, one of the most recognized racing videogame developers and publishers for consoles and Windows® PC, MXGP, The Official Motocross Videogame features all riders, teams, bikes and rules from the official MXGP 2013 calendar including a redesigned career mode for living the feelings of Motocross.

Follow MXGP, The Official Motocross Videogame on Facebook and Youtube Channel or check the #mxgpvideogame hashtag.

LINKS
Youthstream
FIM
Milestone

FUNCHAL (Portugal), 7 February 2014 – Youthstream is pleased to announce that FOX Head, the iconic global leader in motocross and a leading action sports apparel brand, has entered into a three-year partnership agreement with the MXGP (FIM Motocross World Championship), the MXoN (Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations) and the Monster Energy FIM Junior Motocross World Championship that will see FOX Head becoming the Holeshot Title Partner.

Founded in 1974, FOX Head has been elevating motocross and action sports gear and apparel for almost 40 years. Through its heritage of championship winning athletes and groundbreaking performance and lifestyle products, FOX Head has become one of the most recognized actions sports brands in the world. FOX Head is based in California, with additional offices in Canada, Asia, and Europe.

Matthieu Bazil, General Manager FOX Head Europe, said: “We are pleased to pursue our long term partnership with Youthstream and continue to support promoting MX around the world. Innovation is a fundamental part of our business; we are continuously moving forward to create new ideas and to push the possibilities of MX further.

By creating with Youthstream a true Holeshot competition, we wanted to celebrate one of the most critical and existing part of the race and award the riders that are the best performers throughout the entire championship."

MXGP and FOX Head Holeshot Title Partnership will start with the first race, the MXGP of Qatar, on March the 1st, at Losail. 

LINKS
Youthstream
FIM
FOX Head

FUNCHAL (Portugal), 29 January 2014 – Youthstream and Motors TV, the pan-European motor sport television channel, have the pleasure to announce an extended three-year agreement to broadcast the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship, MXGP, and 2014 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, MXoN, LIVE and delayed.

Motors TV will broadcast all MXGP and MX2 events, as well as the MXoN, which will be held in Kegums, Latvia, over the weekend of September 28th. All events will be LIVE and multi-delayed on Motors TV’s European, French and UK platforms, thus reaching a total of over 25 million homes.

Last but not least, Motors TV will also show 26-minute highlights of the FIM Snowcross World Championship, which takes place on March 8th and 15th in Sweden and Finland, respectively.

LINKS
Youthstream
FIM
Motors TV

Successful partnerships are important to KTM so it is with pleasure that the company announces a further extension to its well-established worldwide partnership with Athena. 



As a leading manufacturer of motorcycle cylinders, gaskets, pistons and makers of GET ECUs, data acquisition systems and video devices for motorsports Athena is a natural fit to the needs and wishes of KTM. 



Pit Beirer, Head of KTM Motorsport: “We were happy to form a partnership with Athena when Claudio de Carli joined the KTM MX1 factory team management structure and Tony Cairoli first signed with us in 2010. This has subsequently resulted into both a productive and rewarding global partnership from which both partners have much to gain. We look forward to working with Athena for another year.” 



Beirer confirmed that the use of Athena’s high tech devices continue to play an important role in helping to maintain and monitor the on-track activities of the KTM factory teams both in Europe and in the USA. He said KTM also recommends these products to the KTM Dealer network and to the sport’s enthusiasts. 



Erardo Ratzenbeck, VP of Athena, underlined that for Athena, the partnership with KTM on motorsport activities is of strategic importance while activities in the area of OE supplies also paved the way for the design of state-of-the art products and modern solutions.

About KTM


KTM, trading as KTM Power Sports AG is a leading international manufacturer of motorsports vehicles. KTM has already achieved 241 world championship titles and has won the Dakar Rally 12 consecutive times. The operational core business develops and produces race-ready offroad and street motorcycles. The KTM-Sportcar GmbH is the company for the super lightweight sports car, the X-BOW, with which KTM has taken the first step into the automobile area. 



About Athena 

Athena Spa works out of 10 manufacturing plants worldwide with a total of over 700 employees. The headquarters, based out in Alonte, Italy, occupies a total area of 40,000 square meters and is where Athena manufactures gaskets, stamped and pressed metal components, aluminum cylinders for internal combustion engines and other engine hard-parts. The dedicated R&D plant is home of the finest developments and the GET technology products. Athena also has manufacturing and/or sales and distribution facilities in Spain, Brazil, India and the USA.

Copyright: Photo: KTM Racing

FUNCHAL (Portugal), January, 30 2014 - Youthstream announced today a multi year agreement for the airing of the FIM Motocross World Championships (MXGP) and the FIM Snowcross World Championship (SNX) on CBS Sports Network throughout the United States and Canada.

CBS Sports Network will showcase the FIM MXGP and the FIM SNX as part of its CBS Sports Spectacular programming.

The FIM MXGP, the pinnacle of professional world motocross racing, and the MX2, the steppingstone series for new world motocross talents, will both air on a same-day delay basis at sport primetime television slots, providing to the FIM Motocross World Championship a consistent and stunning position on the CBS Sports Network’s programming schedule throughout the season. 

Starting with the opener round in Qatar on March 1st, the 18-stop series will travel across the globe to reach five continents and to complete its 2014 tour in North America, with the MXGP of Mexico, on September 14th.

The Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations also has been confirmed to return on CBS Sports Network. The most important motocross race of the year will be held for the first time in Latvia at the Kegums circuit on September 28th, 2014

The nations-against-nation event, where the best riders from every country compete for the supremacy of their respective flag colors, will count on complete television coverage of the three main events.
 
The agreement also provide television exposure to the FIM Junior World championship, a one-event championship where young motocross prospects from every continent, and particularly of North America, meet for their first ever world-class contest. 

The 2014 FIM Junior World Championship will be held at Bastogne, Belgium on August 10.

CBS Sports Network will air also the FIM Snowcross World Championship that this year includes two rounds, in Sweden on March 8 and Finland on March 15.

“The partnership with CBS Sports Network represents a new milestone in the prestigious history of the FIM MXGP championship”, said Mario Marini, Youthstream’s Director of Corporate Relations. “With the recent upgrade across the entire branding and image of the MXGP series, with unparalleled coverage around the world, we add now this massive exposure in North America to fully serve the US and Canadian audience and industry.”

About CBS Sports Network:
CBS Sports Network is available across the United States and Canada through local cable, video and telco providers and via satellite on DirecTV Channel 221 and Dish Network Channel 158. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com

LINKS
Youthstream
FIM 
CBS SN

The winter draught is finally over, at least for those that lined up today in Riola Sardo, Sardinia, Italy, for the first round of the Italian International motocross series ‘Internazionale d’Italia’. Taking the first victory of the pre-season was none other than the seven-time world champ Antonio Cairoli, who won both MX1 and Elite class races for a perfect start to the new year, while CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Arnaud Tonus made his return from injury extra special, winning MX2 and finishing sixth in the Elite (MX1 and MX2 combined) as the best placed MX2 rider.

In the first MX1 race of the pre-season, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli rode off into the sunset winning a massive thirty-seven seconds over HRC Teams’ Evgeny Bobryshev who finished five seconds ahead of Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek in third. Meanwhile DP19 Racing’s David Philippaerts and Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Tyla Rattray rounded out the top five.

MX2 saw CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Arnaud Tonus and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Christophe Charlier go head-to-head from start to finish, with Tonus taking the win by a fraction of a second over Charlier. A further fourteen seconds back, MX2 rookie Marchetti Racing KTM’s Pauls Jonass gapped Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier for third with Marchetti Racing KTM’s Ivo Monticelli rounding out the top five.

In the Elite (MX1 and MX2 combined ‘super-final’) it was again ‘the champ’ Antonio Cairoli to take the win ahead of Jeremy Van Horebeek (who has to be happy with his Yamaha Factory Racing debut) in second. Taking third was HRC Team’s Evgeny ‘Bobby’ Bobryshev ahead of Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Tyla Rattray and HRC Team’s Max Nagl.

Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing Team features team riders #28 Tyla Rattray and #47 Todd Waters in the IceOne 2014 team video with music by Tanya Morgan "For Real" & Trip Deuce "Best Is Yet To Come".

Click here to watch the video.

Copyright: Photo: IceOne Racing

The MXGP class of 2014 has three riders with very impressive records. Defending World Champion Antonio Cairoli, 2008 MX1 World Champion David Philippaerts and 2008 MX2 World Champion Tyla Rattray are the three riders with World Championships to their name.

Ten years ago when Youthstream took over the FIM Motocross World Championships these three riders were very much the future of the sport. Rattray and Cairoli finishing second and third in the MX2 Championship behind New Zealand’s Ben Townley, and Philippaerts back in 19th position, although was quickly signed by KTM to race in their MX2 team - he finished fourth in the MX2 Championship in 2005.

Only a handful of riders still remain on the World scene from that 2004 MX2 title race, as most have retired or just race National championship level now.

Cairoli is of course the man of the moment. He has left names like Townley, Rattray, Pourcel, Searle and other former championship rivals in his wake as he dominates year after year. A legend of the sport and his status just continues to improve with every moto, Grand Prix or Championship victory.

His perfect off-season will see him come into the opening round of the Championship in Doha, Qatar, in a month’s time with a lot of confidence. The question is: will he play it safe like he did in 2013 and cruise to enough points to make him happy? Or will he want to drive the nail in his competitors’ coffins, showing them that he has once again improved?

The return of Rattray to the FIM Motocross World Championships is a bonus for the sport as he is one of the truly tough competitors in the sport. The South African battled hard with Cairoli for his MX2 Championship and for sure Rattray will want to once again show he is capable of fighting hard with the Italian legend.

Having raced in America the last few years, picked up several injures and lost track of his career a little, the signing with the Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing team for 2014 give him the chance to once again produce his best. No doubt Husqvarna will also want to beat their big brother KTM for that MXGP championship.

David Philippaerts has had a tough time of late. Major injures and the loss of his ride in the Rinaldi Yamaha team cost him a lot of 
confidence. Now riding for his own team the former World Champion will be wanting to return to the very top of the sport.

Philippaerts isn’t racing for minor points and you can count on him showing a little better form in 2014 than he did in 2013 when he finished 11th in the World and his best result was 28 points at the Grand Prix of Germany, when he scored 6-10 results.

Philippaerts knows that time is running out on his career and the injuries from the last few years have caught up on him. However, he also knows that with a little luck, he can again be a top five guy and fight for podium finishes.