MXGP

FUNCHAL (Portugal), 6 January 2014 – Youthstream has the pleasure to announce that on the 11th May weekend the FIM Motocross World Championship will travel to Talavera de la Reina, Spain, to celebrate the seventh Grand Prix of the 2014 season.

The updated calendar is the following:
 

LINKS
Youthstream
FIM

Photo: 2013 start in Lierop, the Netherlands

FUNCHAL (Portugal), 2 January 2014 - The seven-times FIM Motocross World Champion Antonio Cairoli was selected as one of the best sportsmen in Italy by the well-known broadcaster Sky Sport to be part of the #SkySportivo13 competition. After a series of duels against the most popular sport heroes in Italy and thanks to the unconditional support of his fans, Antonio Cairoli has become the 2013 Sportsman of the Year in Italy.

The survey was organized in Italy by Sky Sport and it started in the beginning of December with 16 candidates. Four of them, including Antonio Cairoli, were chosen by the fans on Twitter and Facebook. The competition was followed by thousands of followers with the hashtag #SkySportivo13 and Antonio Cairoli got through the final leaving behind big names such as Valentino Rossi, Francesco Totti, Mario Balotelli, Luigi Datome, Vincenzo Nibali, Patrizia Pellegrini or Andrea Pirlo. 

Cairoli has won the final against Ivan Zaytsev with 8.238 votes and he almost doubled the 4.804 votes collected by the volleyball player.

Antonio Cairoli, who is still in Dubai celebrating the new year, explained how happy he feels after receiving the news: “I entered the competition as a wildcard, let’s say, and every round I was receiving more and more support. Then I got through the semifinal and then the final. Winning such competition has been a big surprise and I’m very happy about it because it shows how much motocross is growing. It is the first time that a motocross rider wins and this victory is thanks to the support of the fans that are always next to me, not only at the races. This is also an important success for Motocross and I hope we can place the sport in a higher position in 2014!" 

LINKS
Youthstream
FIM
Sky Sport

TM Racing has recently announced an agreement with Circuit Equipment. The well-known Brazilian brand will provide the racing gear to the TM Factory Motocross and Enduro riders and the P4 hand guards for the bikes of the Supermotard Factory Team.

Circuit Equipment will also provide the VECTOR and P4 hand guards for all the bikes of the TM RACING MY’14.

Marco Ricciardi, TM Racing Sales & Marketing Manager, said: “We are very happy with this agreement, the philosophy of CIRCUIT matches with TM RACING’s, we share the passion for racing and consequently for the products we manufacture, developed and test in the Off Road World Championships. We both seek for the maximum performance of our products, so as to give our customers the maximum possible.”

Renato Breda, Circuit Equipment Owner, added: “With this agreement Circuit Equipment strengthens their presence in the Italian market, where it has a strong base already in Osio Sopra, Bergamo, since 2006 from where they follow the European Market and develop new products made in Italy”.

Copyright: Photo: TM Racing

With the 2013 season now long gone and riders preparing for the 2014 season we thought it might be a good idea to talk to three former World Motocross Champions, Stefan Everts, James Dobb and Harry Everts, and ask their opinion on how the MXGP series has been looked in 2013 and in the future.

Stefan Everts 10 times World Motocross Champion: There were many good races in the 2013 season, new circuits and some 
old ones. I think it was clear Antonio (Cairoli) and Jeffrey (Herlings) were the best of their classes and we were really excited to have them in our team. As for 2014, it is a big calendar of course for 2014. I think the first two are not the toughest ones. Coming back and then going to Brazil is intense. You have to think about many things to make a calendar that is as big as the 2014 calendar 
is and I know Giuseppe mentioned in Geneva it is hard to bring the calendar together, and every GP organizer has their own weekend they would like to run their event. It isn’t easy making a GP calendar with so many countries.

James Dobb 2001 World 125cc champion: I think the 2013 season was good. I mean, I am all for going to different countries. It is a World Championship and we need to try and find new sponsors and as such and then we have to go to different countries this will take us to different areas and different continents and it will help the sport grow. I think those first two races (Qatar and Thailand) were great and going to those new countries was impressive. As much as I used to race, I am a huge fan of the sport. When I did Grand Prix’s it wasn’t any different, we went to more overseas races then, like Australia, America, Japan, South America twice a year, so there were more then. Of course it wasn’t as big an investment for the teams back then, we didn’t take as much stuff to those overseas races.

Harry Everts 4-times World Motocross Champion: I think it was a good season for the racing. In France (Ernée) and Italy (Maggiora), those GPs were so nice and I was so happy to see Motocross. Maggiora was a great Grand Prix, really big crowd and good racing. I think there was some good racing this year in many races, we saw a lot of good performances from riders, also in MX2. Jeffrey Herlings and Antonio Cairoli are so strong, too strong for the others, but behind them it is always good racing like the MX2 in England with Coldenhoff I was very happy for him when I saw him winning, he is a good young rider. Next year we have to see, it is always exciting to have a new season, with new circuits and I look forward to going to the races again in 2014.

Photo: MXoN - Ray Archer image

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX1 rider Ken De Dycker was injured in an accident on Saturday, December 21 at the Lommel circuit. The 29-year old Belgian rider sustained multiple fractures to his left wrist during what was essentially a recreational ride after hard training with the factory team in Italy.

Ken, who last week had been training with the team in Rome, returned to Belgium and was relaxing at the circuit to put in a few fun laps on his KTM 250 Enduro bike. Unfortunately, Ken was unable to avoid a stationary rider after clearing a jump and quickly realized that he had injured his wrist in the impact.

Ken, who joined KTM’s MX1 factory team led by Claudio De Carli two years ago, scored impressive results in the 2013 season. In addition to finishing third overall in the MX1 World Championship, he was also part of the winning Belgium team at the Motocross of Nations and also a national champion. 

Ken has already undergone surgery in the Belgian town of Herentals conducted by the renowned specialist, Dr. Tom Claes. The surgery, which saw the fractures secured with plates and screws, was completely successful and went off without any complications.

At the moment it is difficult to predict how long Ken’s recovery process, including the rehabilitation phase, might take. There is a possibility he may miss the first race of the season but he has said he was confident and ready to do everything necessary to try to get back on the bike as soon as possible.

The 2013 MX2 bronze medalist José Butron has recently been out blasting berms on a KTM 250cc 2-stroke. We know he will be riding a 250cc 4-stroke next year, but never the less he is looking super fast and super confident. Here’s hoping the Silver Action KTM rider can keep it up and be ready to challenge for the red-plate come March 1st!

Click here to watch a sneak peak.

Portugal’s most successful ever motocrosser, Rui Gonçalves, has signed with Bike it Yamaha Cosworth to contest the FIM Motocross World Championship in the MXGP class and also take on his national series with the new 2014 YZ450F thanks to the support of Yamaha Motor Portugal.

The former MX2 vice world champion has stepped into the shoes vacated by Dean Ferris with the British team last month. Gonçalves, a precise, technical and intelligent rider with experience of working with two other factory teams, is now back to full fitness and preparing with gusto for 2014 after an unlucky term this year where a few small injuries blighted his efforts in the final season for the MX1 category.

“I’m really happy to have sorted this out with Bike it Yamaha Cosworth,” said the 28 year old. “Steve has a reputation for building fast bikes and the Yamaha YZ450F is something new for me to work with. Honestly, I am excited and motivated to get to work. I want to turnaround the bad luck of 2013 and I’m extremely motivated to build myself up through the season and show again my potential. I always felt I have more to show in Grand Prix and now I’ve been given a great chance to make that happen. I cannot give enough thanks to Steve, Laurens at Yamaha Motor Europe and also Filipe at Yamaha Motor Portugal for putting this together. It will also be cool to be back in the Portuguese Championship and getting even closer to the fans there.”

“I am looking forward to see Rui in MXGP on our bike,” commented Bike it Yamaha Cosworth Team owner and manager Steve Dixon. “I think Rui has something to prove and will fit well amongst our team. I am sure with our mechanic Victor - who had victories with Dean this year - they will do a good job together as they are both Portuguese! It will also be nice to be part of the MXGP class and it's more practical with the YZ450F as it shares so many parts with the 250 now.”

Rui Gonçalves is one of the top motorsport athletes from Portugal and among a strong off-road racing community where Enduro and Rally have a notable pedigree. The veteran of 125/MX2 and MX1 (now MXGP) racing achieved distinction with an emotional home Grand Prix victory at Agueda in 2009, the same year that he rode to second place in the MX2 FIM Motocross World Championship; the first Portuguese to do so in the long history of the sport. With four triumphs to his name at the highest level, Gonçalves is renowned as a fast starter, a precise and fluid rider with a delicate feel for bike set-up and is a competent sand racer. 2014 will be Rui’s fifth season in the premier class and his first with Yamaha where his expertise in development (a benefit that at least two other factories have counted on) will come to the fore as he helps sharpen the YZ450F for the racetrack.

Gonçalves will link-up with young British star Max Anstie who will spearhead the team’s focus in the MX2 division with the brand new YZ250F. The FIM Motocross World Championship that is set to start on March 1st at Losail in Qatar.

Copyright: Photo: Rogerio Sarzedo

FUNCHAL (Portugal), 20 December 2013 - Youthstream has the pleasure to announce the venues, which will host the FIM Motocross of Nations in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Youthstream has finalized an agreement with the French Motorcycle Federation (FFM) and the Moto Club ofErnée to bring the FIM Motocross of Nations back to Ernée after 10 years on the weekend of the 26th and 27th September 2015. 

After a very long break, on the 24th and 25th of September 2016 the FIM Motocross of Nations will be returning to Italy at the famous location of Maggiora, which celebrated one of the best Motocross events in 1986.

And last but not the least, the weekend of the 23rd and 24th September 2017 will see the historical event back to USA in the great facilities of Glen Helen, California.

LINKS
Youthstream
FIM

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