FIM Gala Ceremony 2013 - Motocross -

Motocross David Rinaldo / Libor Podmol FIM FreeStyle World Champion

Adam Renheim

FIM Snowcross World Champion

Mauno Hermunen

FIM SuperMoto S1 World Champion

Aiden Tijero

FIM 65cc Junior Motocross World Champion

Conrad Mewse

FIM 85cc Junior Motocross World Champion

Pauls Jonass

FIM 125cc Junior Motocross World Champion

Ben Adriaenssen & Ben van den Bogaart

FIM Sidecar Motocross World Champions

Chiara Fontanesi

FIM Women’s Motocross World Champion

Ryan Villopoto

AMA Supercross, an FIM World Champion

Klemen Gerčar

FIM MX3 Motocross World Champion

Jeffrey Herlings

FIM MX2 Motocross World Champion

Antonio Cairoli

FIM MX1 Motocross World Champion

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Who will be the 2013 FIM FreeStyle

© Oliver Franke

Over the last two seasons, David Rinaldo has come on “by leaps and bounds” to establish himself as one of the top riders in the NIGHT of the JUMPs series. Not least because of the incredible style he displays in upside-down tricks and the way he has perfected the Doublegrab Backflip, the young Frenchman is now poised to take the 2013 FIM Freestyle MX World Championship title.

David Rinaldo Born on 18 December 1989 in Forbach, France

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At the season opener in Kaunas (Lithuania), Rinaldo progressed to the final and finished in sixth place but then went on to win two World Championship events – Berlin Day 2 and Danzig – outright. He also claimed the runner-up trophy at NIGHT of the JUMPs in Beijing, Liberec, Basel (Day 2) and Berlin (Day 1). On Day 1 of the Swiss round, he finished in fifth position. He has had only one failure all year; that was in Riga (Latvia) when he crashed into the barrier and followed up with a “dead sailor”. Although Rinaldo continued to top the standings, it allowed his closest pursuer, Libor Podmol, to narrow the gap. This is one of the closest Championships in FIM history. Rinaldo stands a good chance to secure his first ever FIM Freestyle MX World Championship crown in Sofia on 14 December.

Motocross World Champion ?

© Oliver Franke

Libor Podmol has already won the FIM Freestyle MX World Championship once before; that was back in 2010. He has also been runner-up in four other seasons and currently heads the NIGHT of the JUMPs World Rankings. As the main challenger to David Rinaldo, he therefore brings plenty of experience and a significant repertoire of tricks to the contest, including his “360” variation and massive “Underflip Indy”.

Libor Podmol Born on 1 June 1984 in Ostrava, Czech Republic

The Czech rider got his world championship campaign off to a flying start with a third-place podium in the season opener in Kaunas. Although he has so far won only one round of the 2013 series outright (Berlin Day 1), he has a string of P3 finishes to his credit: Gdansk, Beijing, Riga and Berlin Day 2. This makes a grand total of six podium appearances so far this year. In three further rounds – Basel (Day 1 and 2) and Liberec – he took fourth place. He goes into the final event of the 2013 season in Sofia (Bulgaria) one point adrift of Championship leader Rinaldo. He did it in 2010; can he add second World title to his tally ?

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Š Roman Borak/YouthStream

Adam Renheim

FIM Snowcross World Champion Born on 7 September 1989 in Lima, Sweden

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ADAM RENHEIM TAKES A MAIDEN FIM SNOWCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP The 2013 FIM Snowcross World Championship was to be a series of three races; one in Finland and two in Russia.

Unfortunately, the Russian events were cancelled and the Championship was back to the single event formula it had been using in the previous two years.

In Race 2, both Narsa and Logan were in front of Renheim who started in 7th position. Logan took the lead in the 4th lap and quickly stretched a gap between himself and the competition. Narsa was in second but had to give up one place to Renheim who put in a respectable ride.

Swedes Petter Narsa and and Adam Renheim set the tone in the Free Practices, each rider dominating his group.

With the three of them tied within 5 points, it was clear that Race 3 was “do or die”! And Race 3 was for Narsa, in the lead from start to finish. Logan was in 2nd position and this put both riders on equal points. And Renheim?

He started in 11th position and for some laps looked a little bit lost. But then, the Swede charged through the pack to take 2nd spot from Logan, who finally finished 3rd. This impressive ride earned Renheim a maiden FIM World Championship title, leaving Narsa as runner-up and Logan in third.

Narsa won his Qualifying Race with Christian Logan in second place. Renheim crashed in the first turn in his Qualifying Race and had to go through Last Chance Qualifying to make it to the group of 20 riders who would fight it out for World honours. These three riders would dominate the Races.

As of the start of Race 1, a fierce Renheim took the lead and never looked back. Narsa managed second but could never threaten his fellow countryman. Logan scored third place after working his way up from 9th position.

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Š YouthStream Events

Mauno Hermunen

FIM SuperMoto S1 World Champion Born on 26 March 1988 in Vantaa, Finland

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HERMUNEN ENDS THE CHAREYRES’ REIGN A Chareyre – whether it be Adrien or Thomas – had been taking a FIM SuperMoto World Championship home every year since 2008. An incredible takeover that was finally brought to a halt by Finn Mauno Hermunen.

Mauno Hermunen started off the 2013 Championship in dominant style taking some eight victories in the first four events. Capua, Vairano, Sosnova and Kuressaare all went to the flying Finn.

Defending FIM SuperMoto Champion Thomas Chareyre resisted well but was no match for Hermunen. It seemed the two-time World Champion was doomed to place nothing but second for at least the first three events. The Estonian round even saw him relegated to third positions but “seconds” stayed in the family with brother Adrien the top Chareyre in that event.

Thomas Chareyre won the next event in Latina taking home 47 points whereas Hermunen encountered mechanical problems in the second race and could “only” score 41 points. Was the Finn’s armour cracking?

Sicily saw the “other” Chareyre take overall victory, repeating – exactly – his younger brother’s race results in Latina. But Hermunen’s victory in the first race and third place in the second kept him firmly in the lead by a

large margin. But the last event was in France, Chareyre country…

When the starting lights went out for the first race, Hermunen went for the lead and collided with Thomas Chareyre. The tone was set ; the outgoing Champion would not give his crown away just like that. He would fight until the end, winning the race. Hermunen had to make his way through the pack and came in fifth. He had lost valuable points.

This may have cooled down Hermunen, who decided to ride with the head rather than the heart in the second race.

After one lap, it was Thomas Chareyre taking the lead from his brother Adrien. But a crash ruined the younger Chareyre’s last hopes. In seventh place, he charged down on Hermunen who took no risks, seeking Championship gold rather than engaging in a battle where he might lose more than he gained… The Finn let go and smoothly finished eighth, winning the 2013 FIM World Title. Adrien Chareyre took the overall victory and gave the French crowd something to cheer about.

Behind these three riders, the field included the likes of Ivan Lazzarini and Sylvain Bidart; all SuperMoto GP regulars and good riders but no title contenders this year…

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Š Nuno Laranjeira

Aiden Tijero

FIM 65cc Junior Motocross World Champion Born on 3 November 2001 in Walnut Creek, USA

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TIJERO, A HARD NUT TO CRACK !

Aiden Tijero may not have won both heats but with two solid and consistent rides, he proved too strong for the competition.

In the first race, he did not get a good start and he had to fight his way through the ranks. In the meantime, Anton Nagy, who started seventh, quickly took first with local boy Petr Polak within striking distance. With two laps to go, Tijero passed Polak for second and then engaged in a dogfight with Nagy for the lead. Both riders exchanged positions several times until the Swedish rider made a mistake and went down. This opened the road to victory for Tijero. In the incident, Nagy even lost second place to Polak and had to settle for third.

but in the end had to settle for fourth when Nagy overtook him. By doing so, Nagy secured runner-up position in the Championship ahead of Polak. Dankers’ excellent second race result put him fourth overall.

With Japanese rider Jo Shimoda (5th overall) and Chilean Hardy Munoz (7th overall), there were riders from four different continents in the top 10 of the Championship, proving again that there is young motocross talent all over the world.

Dutch rider Raivo Dankers, who was fastest in qualifying, took the holeshot in the second race and never looked back. After a bad start and a crash in the first race which saw him finish a distant seventh, he was a boy with a mission. Tijero had a better start this time and quickly took second. Polak was running third most of the race Š Nuno Laranjeira 97

Š Nuno Laranjeira

Conrad Mewse

FIM 85cc Junior Motocross World Champion Born on 21 April 1999 in Bath, Great Britain

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BRITANNIA RULES !

Conrad Mewse may not have been the fastest rider out there but sometimes you have to lose a battle in order to take the Championship. And that is exactly what he did !

The 2010 FIM 65cc Junior Motocross World Champion Jorge Prado (Spain), still recovering from a broken collarbone and on postion 10 in the Race 1, came in fifth.

American rider Sean Cantrell dominated the first race and took no prisoners. From the start, he was out in front and quickly opened a gap between himself and the competition. Mewse was in fourth hunting down Czech Jakub Teresak and Brazilian Enzo Lopes. He finished a close second to Cantrell ahead of Teresak, Australian Hunter Lawrence, who recovered from a mediocre start, and Lopes.

In the overall standings, Mewse narrowly beat Hunter for world honours. Teresak gave the home crowd another place on the podium. Sexton’s second race result put him fourth. Denmark’s Glen Meier’s consistent results (7-6) secured him a fifth place in the World Championship ahead of Prado.

In the second race, Mewse quickly took the lead and seemed to be on his way to a win. However, Lawrence had other ideas and claimed the race win in the final lap.

Cantrell DNF’ed race two because of a broken chain but fellow American Chase Sexton (position 8 in the Race 1) finished third well ahead of Teresak.

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Š Nuno Laranjeira

Pauls Jonass

FIM 125cc Junior Motocross World Champion Born on 13 January 1997 in Aizpute, Latvia

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JONASS CONQUERS HIS SECOND FIM JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP For the Latvian fans present, it was clear that Jonass would take the Championship… And by doing so he became the first rider ever to win two FIM Junior Motocross World Championships. He also won the 85cc class in 2011.

Jonass did not get it handed to him on a plate. He had to work for it. Although his starts were far from perfect, he combined excellent speed and good racing lines to claim victory in the first race, just narrowly beating France’s Nicolas Dercourt by a mere 00.239 seconds !

Under the eyes of SVEMO coach and 1994 FIM 500cc Motocross World Champion Marcus Hansson, Sweden’s Anton Lundgren was a surprising third, proving that his qualification result was no fluke.

Spanish rider Jorge Zaragoza and 2011 FIM 85cc Junior Motocross World Champion Brian Hsu from Germany chased through the pack to finish fourth and fifth respectively.

In the second race Dutch rider Calvin Vlaanderen (9th position in Race 1) grabbed the holeshot and sailed to victory. Jonass again had to fight hard as he was under permanent threat from Dercourt. Unfortunately, with two laps to go, the French rider damaged the ligaments in his left knee. He finished the race in pain but still managed to hold on to ninth position. Dutch rider Davy Pootjes (position 19 in Race 1) Czech Martin Krc (position 20 in Race 1) and Venezuelan Lorenco Locurcio (position 12 in Race 1) rounded off the top five.

For the overall, it was Jonass. Who else ? Vlaanderen’s victory in Race 2 earned him runner-up spot ahead of the unlucky Dercourt. A crash spoiled Zaragoza’s second race but his 4-7 results got him a fourth overall ahead of Italian Davide Bonini whose 10-6 results were good enough for fifth overall.

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Š Rik Claeys

Ben Adriaenssen & Ben van den Bogaart

FIM Sidecar Motocross World Champions Driver - Ben Adriaenssen (BEL) Born on 27 January 1989 in Turnhout, Belgium Passenger - Ben van den Bogaart (NED) Born on 24 September 1989 in Turnhout, Belgium

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CHANGING OF THE GUARD There was shocking news after the first event of the season in Switzerland ! Both reigning Champion Daniel Willemsen and runner-up Etienne Bax had suffered injuries and had no points on their account. Luckily, there was a six week gap before the next event.

It proved to be a difficult year for Willemsen. He never took the time to heal and suffered several mechanical breakdowns. It was too much, and the ten times FIM World Champion threw the towel in the ring after the fifth event. He came back for the final event of the season, reminding everybody that he was still there and scoring a fourth and a ninth place. Will he race next year ? We’ll have to wait and see.

Of course, the competition was not going to wait and it was last year’s number three who took command of the Championship. Adriaenssen won both races and never looked back. Together with his passenger Ben

van den Bogaart, he would win nine more races and add another thirteen podium finishes to his tally, giving him seven overall victories. Talk about being consistent.

Adriaenssen was well in control of the Championship.

Bax came back in the second event claiming victory in the Ukraine and winning 15 races. He may have won more races than Adriaenssen but could never equal his consistency. Five DNFs cost him dearly and apart from his race victories, he counted only five podium finishes.

Third in the Championship went to Jan Hendrickx who paired up with Elvijs Mucenieks. Hendrickx could never match the speed of the leaders but regularly scoring top ten points earned him bronze.

There are many young drivers and passengers in the Championship now and even if the “old guard” still has something to say, we may have reached a turning point in Sidecar Motocross.

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Š Nuno Laranjeira

Chiara Fontanesi

FIM Women’s Motocross World Champion Born on 10 March 1994 in Parma, Italy

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FONTANESI BIS REPITA Chiara Fontanesi was the dominant rider in the 2013 FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship, winning four events and nine races, proving that her 2012 Championship was no fluke.

Fontanesi remained unbeaten for seven races in a row before Ireland’s Natalie Kane could snatch a victory away from the Italian. But Chiara immediately put things straight in the next event when she scored a “full house” again. The last event in Senkvice (SVK) would have seemed like a formality if it were not for the fact that she arrived there injured and on crutches; an unwelcome reminder of the X-Games. Still, she felt confident that she could secure the Championship as of race 1, but she knew that she would probably have to put her pride aside and ride with her head rather than with her heart.

And she did just that, celebrating her second FIM World title with a pizza in the local pizzeria on Sunday evening.

Behind her – and during the whole season – battle raged between Natalie Kane, Megan Rutlidge and Steffi

Laier respectively two, three and four in the provisional standings. Together with Fontanesi, they had all been expecting podium finishes. But Kane crashed on Sunday practice and was transported to hospital. She came back after race 1 and convincingly won the last race of the season but it was not enough... Her hopes of a possible second place in the Championship went up in smoke and she had to settle for fourth.

Second place was taken by Australia’s Megan Rutledge.

It was her first complete season but she proved to be a “fast learner” and even won the last final round, taking home silver.

Bronze went to four-time FIM World Champion Steffi Laier from Germany. After a two year absence, she returned to the FIM series, regularly scoring consistent results between second and fourth position. The “grande dame” of FIM Women’s Motocross is still a force to be reckoned with !

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Š Nuno Laranjeira

Ryan Villopoto

AMA Supercross, an FIM World Champion Born on 13 August 1988 in Poulsbo (Washington), USA

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VILLOPOTO MAKES IT THREE IN A ROW !

Ryan Villopoto won his third AMA Supercross FIM World Championship in as many years. But it was not that easy… The season opener in Anaheim (I) started with a shock when 2012 runner-up David Millsaps put in an unexpected ride that saw him win the event. Ryan Villopoto definitely had the speed but crashed his way through the Final to finish in 16th position only.

The next week in Phoenix, Ryan took a second and then clinched his first victory the following week in Anaheim (II) and another one in Oakland. Everybody thought at that point that it would be just a matter of a few weeks before the defending Champion was leading the Series, but a strong David Millsaps kept putting in solid rides and stayed on top of the points table. And Villopoto only got a 6th and 7th in the next two races whereas his competitors Millsaps and Dungey were on the podium each time …

But as of round 7 in Arlington, Villopoto was back in on top of his game. As of then he was constantly scoring top two finishes (eight victories and three times 2nd in 11 races), taking command in the Championship in Daytona and securing the number 1 plate in Salt Lake City.

In the meantime, the battle for 2nd and 3rd place in the Championship raged on between a solid Millsaps and a consistant Dungey, the Suzuki rider taking 2nd place beating the KTM rider by just one point… exactly the same top three as last year.

With a total of 10 victories and four 2nd places, Villopoto was once again the “masterblaster” in the series. With three consecutive AMA Supercross Championships, he has accomplished a feat that only legends like Bob Hannah, Jeremy McGrath and Ricky Carmichael had managed before him !

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Š Nuno Laranjeira

Klemen GerÄ?ar

FIM MX3 Motocross World Champion Born on 20 December 1990 in Ljubljana, Slovenia

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THE END OF AN ERA !

2013 was the last year of the MX3 (former 500cc class) which started off as a European Championship in 1952 and got FIM World Championship status in 1957. Klemen Gerčar will go down in history as the last World Champion of the class that includes the names of Nilsson, Lundin, Tibblin, Smith, Friedrichs, Aberg, De Coster, Mikkola, Noyce, Malherbe, Carlqvist, Thorpe, Geboers, Jobé, Smets and Everts...

The 2013 season was a battle between defending Champion Mathias Walkner from Austria, last year’s runner-up Martin Micheck and Klemen Gerčar who finished fifth. And battle they did !

Walkner was still recovering from an injury when the season started. Estonia’s Gert Krestinov may have won the red number plate of points leader at the opening round but as of the second event in Troyan (BUL), the red plate always went from Gerčar to Walkner and back.

Micheck was consistent and could not be ruled out for the Championship but the Czech rider never could get his hands on the coveted red plate.

Still, when the riders arrived for the final round in Senkvice (Slovakia), the Championship was down to Gerčar and Michek, the Slovenian leading his opponent by 13 points but there were still 50 points for grabs.

Walkner had been relegated to third and had only a minimal mathematical chance of renewing his title. In the end, he had to settle for third.

The start of the first race saw Gerčar on the ground in a heap of riders. The Slovenian jumped back on his motorcycle to hunt down the competition and raced through the pack to 7th place. Michek, however finished second and the points gap was now reduced to 5 !

The last race saw a heated duel between both riders. It was a ding dong battle, each one taking the upper hand on several occasions. After the 20 minute mark, Gerčar steadily pulled away from Micheck, thus extending his points lead. Relief and joy for Gerčar; desolation and disappointment for Michek who saw the title slip away.

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Š Nuno Laranjeira

Jeffrey Herlings

FIM MX2 Motocross World Champion Born on 12 September 1994 in Geldrop, Netherlands

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HERLINGS AGAINST THE REST OF THE WORLD Dutch rider Jeffrey Herlings took home a second consecutive FIM MX2 World Championship in true dominant style. A shoulder injury had him sidelined for two events but he won all 15 GPs in which he participated.

With a total of 30 Grand Prix wins, he is now not only the most successful Dutch rider in Motocross history but he has also broken Gaston Rahier’s long standing record of 29 victories in the former 125cc class. And he only needed three years to do it !

There are many good riders in the MX2 class : Tixier, Butron, Charlier, Coldenhof, Ferris, Nicholls, etc. And although they were all men on a mission, Butron and Charlier were the only two riders who could snatch a race win away from Herlings when racing for points.

In fact, the biggest danger to Herlings was Herlings himself. His pride and determination sometimes went into “overdrive” but whatever precarious situations he put himself in, he still pulled off 28 victories in the 30 races that saw him take the start.

Teammate Jordi Tixier ended a distant second making it 1 and 2 for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team. Jordi is a pillar in the MX2 class and put up a fierce resistance when duelling with Herlings but to no avail. Runner-up was the best the French rider could do this year but he has nothing to be ashamed of.

Third place also went to a KTM rider : Spain’s José Butron. This may come as a bit of a surprise but José has been working up his way through the ranks, improving every year. And he was one of the two riders capable of beating Herlings this year; not bad at all ! Nobody ever doubted his talent, not even four time FIM World Champion Harry Everts who has been a “Butron believer” for several years now. Together with the upcoming and talented youngsters Jorge Zaragoza and Jorge Prado, he will be spearheading Spain’s blaze for Motocross glory in the future.

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Š Ray Archer

Antonio Cairoli

FIM MX1 Motocross World Champion Born on 23 September 1985 in Patti, Italy

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LUCKY SEVEN FOR ANTONIO CAIROLI Antonio Cairoli was once again the man to beat… And once again, he withstood all attempts to end his reign.

Analysing this year’s results, one cannot but be full of admiration for the Sicilian. True, he lost some Grand Prix victories to Clément Desalle (4), Gautier Paulin (3) and Shaun Simpson (1) but he added nine to his credit winning 17 out of 34 races. With seven FIM World Championships and 63 Grand Prix victories under his belt, he is now second in line behind the great Stefan Everts (10 FIM World Championships and 101 GP victories).

Once again, Suzuki’s Clément Desalle was one of his fiercest opponents. But, after winning the opening round in Quatar, the Suzuki rider lost some momentum.

He never gave up though, scoring podium results but never could match Cairoli’s speed and consistency.

In fact, he was in a fierce battle with Gautier Paulin for second. Clèment even had to wait until round 9 in Maggiora (Italy) before he could even win another race.

But a mechanical breakdown in the second race cost

him more valuable points. After that, he finished eight times on the podium in the remaining nine Grands Prix, eventually taking silver.

Gautier Paulin performed at the same level as Clément Desalle: fast and furious but also lacking Cairoli’s consistency. A crash in Germany saw him end up in hospital. He chose not to take part in the following event in the Czech Republic and even DNF’ed in the second race in Belgium. These five “zero” scores explain his 5th position in the final standings.

Finally, third place in the Championship went to a “reborn” Ken De Dijcker. Cairoli’s team mate put in some nice results, taking away valuable points from the competition whenever he could. Whether he would also have reached the podium without Paulin’s mishaps remains an open question. The fact is that the tall Belgian is back on the same pace that saw him finish runner up in 2007.

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