RIDER OF THE MONTH

TITLE MAXIME RENAUX: STEPPING UP

2021 WAS A LANDMARK SEASON FOR MAXIME RENAUX AS HE CHARGED HIS WAY TO THE MX2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE, BUT NO SOONER HAD THE DUST SETTLED AT THE FINAL ROUND OF THE SEASON, THE FRENCH ACE WAS QUICK TO ANNOUNCE HIS MOVE TO THE PREMIER CLASS WHERE HE WILL COMPETE ALONGSIDE MULTI-WORLD CHAMPIONS JEFFREY HERLINGS, TIM GAJSER AND JORGE PRADO AMONG OTHERS ABOARD HIS YAMAHA YZ450FM. MXGP MAGAZINE CAUGHT UP WITH THE ‘959’ BEFORE HIS DEBUT RACE AT LACAPELLE-MARIVAL TO SEE HOW THINGS ARE SHAPING UP AHEAD OF HIS ROOKIE MXGP CAMPAIGN. Maxime Renaux’s journey to MX2 World Champion has been an interesting one� He first burst on to the scene in 2015 where at the opening round of the EMX125 championship in Italy at Trentino, he collected a brace of 2nd place finishes to stand on the top step of the podium at the first time of asking� He repeated those wins again in England at Matterley Basin (1-2) and Maggiora, Round 6 (3-1), and as he left Italy, he did so with a 10 point lead over New Zealand’s Josiah Natzke with Spain’s Jorge Prado just 4 points further adrift� That all changed though when Renaux arrived at Lommel for the penultimate round having crashed mid-week and suffered a broken collarbone�

Despite spinning some laps in practice, it was clear his EMX championship campaign was over, and after sitting out the final two rounds, Renaux ended the series in third� Two weeks earlier he went 1-1 to claim the FIM Junior World Championship title, so it was a bitter bill to swallow, all things said and done�

Needless to say, the young French starlet had shown that he was well placed to be one of MXGP’s next ‘big things’ but what followed next was just pure bad luck� Max would miss the next two seasons of EMX250 due to a problematic shoulder injury which was so badly damaged, that he was told he may never be able to race again, but as we have seen over the past few seasons, this kid is all heart and never gives up, and through hard work, grit and determination, the 959 found himself back on the grid, splitting his year between EMX250 and a few MX2 wildcard appearances� The re-building process had begun�

Maxime’s first full season in MX2 may have been a couple of years overdue, but a quick glance at the 2019 final standings show that it was a good solid effort, and whilst there were a few eye-opening moments, his breakthrough performance came at round twelve in Indonesia (Semarang) where he claimed 2nd place in the final race of the day, a week after taking his first top three race finish� From there he started to believe in himself once more and three rounds later, Renaux stood on the third step of the podium at Imola, Italy; by the time the season was done, the Yamaha SM Action - M�C� Migliori rider had placed 7th overall, but it was clear there was still room for improvement� And improve he did! On his way to 3rd overall in the MX2 World Championship, Renaux claimed a further five podiums, the highlight being the one celebrated from the top step at Faenza, Round Six where he not only qualified on pole position, but won the GP with a 2-1; in many ways, it was a perfect weekend and further proof that the Frenchie was still heading in the right direction�

All Change

At the end of the 2020 season, Renaux left the surrounds of SM Action as he was promoted to the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team where he would be part of a twopronged attack on the world championship alongside his teammate, Jago Geerts� After a difficult start at Orlyonok (6-9), Renaux bounced back to win the British GP and by round four, he was the latest recipient of the championship leader’s Red Plate, and it was clear he was in no hurry to relinquish it any time soon� In fact, holding the ‘plaque rouge’ only seemed

to strengthen his grip on the championship, culminating in a run of nine successive podiums which saw him stretch his lead to 108 points over his nearest rival after thirteen rounds� So, where did this new-found confidence and consistency come from exactly?

‘First of all, it was the change of team; I went to the factory team, and it was a pretty good change actually because we had some little bit better material and some good surroundings with the mechanics and also the team, so that was nice� And then the goal was to train as hard as possible in the winter to try to get to the level that I can ride, you know, like … not 100% in every race, but keep always that little percentage of margin to don’t push too much and to don’t make mistakes, and that’s what I could do this year; I didn’t have to ride at my 100% to win races or to do podiums�’

‘Okay, sometimes I was riding 100% for sure, but not always and I think that’s how and why I was able to be consistent all through the season� I also built a lot on the physical side last winter and I really made a step on the physical side, so everything mixed together with also the focus on being consistent and to be able to also sometimes ride at 95% to be more secure, more-safe and don’t crash, makes a really consistent season� I guess nine podiums in a row in the middle of the season was quite amazing, and fourteen in total it’s like a perfect season, almost� ’

With race wins, podiums and points being racked up at an alarming rate, and with rounds being ticked off in quick succession, the MX2 title chase was starting to become a ‘onehorse race’ and the word in the paddock was it’s a case of ‘when’ and not ‘if’ Renaux was to win the championship, so as the rider in that position, was there a moment, or a particular GP that stood out as the one where if everything continued without

‘Actually, the GP which was really good for the mental and also for the championship, where everyone understood that if nothing could go wrong, I would be world champion, was after

Spain� I had a really good GP in Spain; I won the GP and I proved again I was the main challenger for the title, and so inside of me, to win the GP before heading to the triple-header in Arco was a confidence boost, and I was feeling that I could really get it to the end� After Spain, I was confident but also at the same time I would not say afraid, but I was trying to watch out to don’t make stupid mistakes, because as we all know, motocross is a sport where everything can happen, so I needed to keep it quiet at the same time and not make any mistakes and don’t get injured� ’

That though, is easier said than done, as he found out during the next two rounds at Trentino where Renaux found himself in a position he didn’t need to be in:

‘Trentino one and two was a little bit of a mess and nothing was going my way! I had bad starts, crashed on the start, I crashed in the races with some other riders and it was a big mess actually, and not the best GP’s, but I can tell you, even with 100 points advantage, when you start to get some moto’s like this where everything is not going as you planned with mistakes and crashes, and even if I was coming back almost every time in the top five, you start to doubt a little bit, and I was like ‘I have to watch out not to make too many mistakes and try also to make the good starts …’ because Arco is a really hard track to pass� So, I just tried to recover a little bit mentally, to stop thinking too much and for the last Arco, it went really well!’

Champion of The World

After two shaky rounds, Renaux claimed the title at the very next round with a race and GP win to record Yamaha’s first success in the MX2 class since Antonio Cairoli in 2007 and the dream of becoming world champion had become a reality and whilst he may thank the team for everything they did to help him achieve that goal, he is quick to point out how important his family was throughout the journey as well:

‘Just like almost every rider, we all started with our family and from my side I started with my dad and even though he wasn’t really into motocross, it became a really big passion really soon, and we could never have dreamed of one day being a world championship rider, you know? Not even chasing a world title, but just being in the world championship, riding for a factory team is already a goal achieved, you know, but with time, and with the races etc … and the expectations and goals grows, and we were just trying to do everything to get this one, and now we touched it� ’

‘As a kid I was not dreaming to become world champion but when I started racing, I understood it� I was made for racing because when I was going on a race as a young kid at six, seven years old, I was just going for the win and now it’s more or less the same and I cannot live without racing actually now! It’s really a part of my life� ’

‘We were not a poor family, but we were not rich either, we were just a normal family, so it was a big investment for them� They were trying to give everything they could to give me the best, so it was a big investment for them at that time� My dad was my mechanic for so many years and late at night, most of the time he was working on my bike and then the next morning waking up so early to go to work; it’s really a big part of them that I am even here today, because without my parents to be so good

with me, I could have never even dreamt about riding a motorcycle� I was really a lucky boy� ’

A New Challenge

With a MX2 World Championship under his belt, Renaux was keen to move on and seek a new challenge in the premier class� Sure, he could have stayed and tried to defend the title, but the reality was the Frenchman was looking at the bigger picture, and rather than look just one step ahead, the 959 is looking beyond that in the hope of adding another title somewhere down the track:

‘I’ve always been in love with the 450cc because I’ve been riding it since I was fifteen; I have always felt really good on it and then also my size on the bike is more suited to the 450cc� I’m more of a big guy let’s say, so I found more advantage to step-up to the 450cc to build, because my goals are now to get a title in 450cc�

‘So, I was thinking how would be the best way to one day get the 450cc title, and for me the best way to do that is to go in 450cc in the best conditions I can have� Now I am in the factory team of Yamaha and I will be surrounded by the best people and I can just start to learn and to fight with those guys� I am really, really happy with my choice, I really don’t regret it, so let’s see what the race will bring but on the feeling on the bike, I’ve never had so much fun and I really enjoy every moment� ’

Aside from moving from Hans Corvers’ MX2 team to that of Louis Vosters, the transition has been seamless as he not only retains his training mechanic, but also gains a fellow Frenchman as a race mechanic, and whilst the YZ450FM might be a bigger, more powerful bike, Renaux has also been able to utilise the same suspension technician from last year, which means he has already dialledin his overall set-up, a crucial achievement with such a short offseason this past winter:

‘I started almost straight away on the factory bike; we started with a base engine for the factory bike and I rode a little bit with that� The suspension was quite similar to my 250cc except some changes let’s say for the 450cc, and to be honest, the first set of suspension that I had in my bike is still the same today; sure, we made some testing, we tried to improve but we always came back to the first setting because it was working so well� From the very beginning the bike was working really good for me, and then we made some improvements on the engine to try to tune it how I want and now today, I just feel like I am on my 250cc but with a different type of engine behaviour, and I really love the way that the engine is working� ’

With a pre-season international race planned in France before the opening GP, Maxime knows that as a world champion, there will be a lot of eyes watching his every move as he lines up in the premier class� There will also be a lot of expectation, but none of this seems to faze him, so is he feeling any pressure at all prior to the start of the season?

‘I will not say there is any pressure because I don’t feel I need to prove anything, but people are gonna expect me to do something a little bit, because coming into 450cc as a 250cc world champion, the people will look at me to see what I can do� But I feel no pressure and I’m just feeling awesome on the bike and I will try to put into the race what I do in training, try to get good starts again because that’s really important and then I think there is not very big problems for me, so we will just try to race like we train, and try to get as much experience as we can in the next years to get closer and closer to reach the main goal, which is to become world champion� ’

You can see how Maxime Renaux gets on in the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship when the new season of MXGP kicks off with the MXGP of Great Britain at Matterley Basin on February 19th and 20th, and you can witness all of the action LIVE on www�MXGP-TV�com

TEAM RACESTORE: BEHIND A PRIVATEER TEAM IN THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PADDOCK IS WELL KNOWN ALL OVER THE WORLD FOR THE OFFICIAL FACTORY TEAMS THAT TAKE PART IN THE MOST COMPETITIVE CLASSES INCLUDING MXGP AND MX2, AS WELL AS THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS AS WELL; BUT APART FROM THE FACTORY TEAMS THERE IS MUCH MORE, AND THIS MONTH WE ARE GOING DEEPER INTO DETAIL AS WE HAD THE CHANCE TO SPEAK WITH A PRIVATEER ITALIAN TEAM. Racestore Team has contested in the FIM Motocross World Championship MX2 since 2019 and in the past years lined up many riders in both the world and European Championships� Riders like Jan Pancar, Ivo Monticelli, also the European Champion Morgan Lesiardo have all been under the Racestore Team awning, even including the current 2021 EMX250 Champion Nicholas Lapucci, who in the past, was supported by Racestore� In 2021 we also saw something new, with Team Racestore giving logistic support to Kiara Fontanesi, six-time WMX World Champion; so there is plenty to say about this team and let’s discover more together…

Team Racestore as we know it today was ‘born’ in 2019 from an idea of Paolo Mencacci, owner and Team Manager; Paolo is a true motocross fan and in the past was a regional championship rider in Tuscany� Once Mencacci retired from his racing career almost fifteen years ago, he decided to build a shop made for motocross riders using his knowledge of many years of racing� Racestore, that was the name of the shop, was the place were riders could find all the services that they needed: from bike setup (including tyres and suspension) to a big choice of gear, essentially this is how the story of Racestore began�

In 2016 KTM AG recognised the work that Paolo did with his shop to develop motocross in Tuscany, and from that moment he had the chance to become the official KTM dealer: being an official KTM dealer in Tuscany, the region in Italy where motocross is one of the most important sports since late 80’s, meant a lot to Racestore and the results were yet to come�

With the support of KTM in the mind of Paolo started to finetune his biggest dream of creating a team that would compete in the FIM Motocross World Championship and thus in 2019 his dream came true! Team Racestore came into fruition with Morgan Lesiardo, the EMX250 Champion of 2017 was the rider to start Racestore’s new adventure in the world championships�

The first experience in the FIM Motocross World Championship in 2019 was very successful with Lesiardo able to finish 11th overall at the MXGP of Italy that took place in Imola with a bike that is not far from a standard KTM SX-F 250 that people could buy in the shop� In 2020 the team continued to compete in the FIM Motocross World Championship with the young and talented Jan Pancar, who despite his young age the Slovenian was able to get an incredible 8th overall at the MXGP of Italy that took place in Faenza� Jan was riding comfortable on his KTM in the MX2 class and battled during the first race with Thomas Kjer Olsen, Conrad Mewse and Tom Vialle, all factory riders and title contenders�

“For us Racestore our achievement in MX2 is really important because it give us the chance to be in contact with our customers and on the other side we are able to compete in the FIM Motocross World Championship and, for such a small team as we are, is something amazing� All the results we got in those years come from hard work and perfect coordination of every team member; we try to put all our efforts in this experience in the World Championship,” says Paolo Mencacci Team Manager�

In the meantime, KTM AG acquired GasGas and, due to the good results throughout the years, Racestore became also a GasGas dealer for the Italian market�

In 2021 the team Racestore was split into two parts: Team KTM Racestore MX2 taking

part in the FIM Motocross World Championship MX2 with Jan Pancar and the Team Racestore GasGas that competed the EMX250 championship with Andrea Roncoli�

Pancar had a solid season even with an injury; the Slovenian got 10th at the MXGP of MFR and 14th at the MXGP of Lombardia finishing the season in 20th position in the MX2 class as his best results of the season� Meanwhile, Andrea Roncoli, who raced with the big four stroke bikes at his first season, was able to finish 40th in the EMX250 category�

During the MXGP of Trentino 2021 we had the chance to take a closer look at the Team Racestore to discover more of the behind the scenes! You can watch that HERE!

WATCH THE VIDEO

To understand better how a team like Racestore runs, we took the chance to speak with Simona Filoni, Team Coordinator and responsible for the technicallogistics side at Racestore�

MXGP Mag: Hi Simona, how important is the organisation of every small detail for a team like Racestore competing in MX2?

“The organization is everything for a team and much more if you are a small team like us; it is even more important to have everything ready for the riders: training and racing bikes, gears, spare parts� People outside of this world don’t really know how everything is organised; in a team also the spare parts are a really important thing and they are necessary to have the bikes always ready, so is really important to know what you need in advance� We are lucky because having a big shop like Racestore behind us is a big help in many fields, in that way we are independent and we

can focus more on the races� Last but not least of course the planning of the season is another fundamental part of the job”�

MXGP Mag: Most of the time fans don’t know how much planning there is behind teams that compete in the FIM Motocross World Championship. You said planning is important but how important is it?

“I have to say that having a well-planned season can be fundamental for good results on the track even if many people don’t think so� At the beginning of the year, we write down a calendar with all the races, training and everything that the riders and every team member have to follow during the season, then of course we need to adjust it and sometimes, with the injuries, we have to change totally the schedule� The training session are really important but is also important to schedule them properly in order to have time to test new material or new bikes and give the riders time to recover and take a little break that is important also for their mental’s health”

MXGP Mag: How do you coordinate with the riders?

“We leave every rider free to live at his place and train with his own schedule and trainer because we think that is important for riders’ health to be in a safe and familiar environment�

At the beginning of the season, we schedule meetings every 10 days in order to monitor the training schedule, the improvement, the recovery etc� We have a place where the riders can stay during the 2-3 day meeting, during that time they can test new parts for the bike or whatever; this time together is also important also to strength the partnership with every team member� During the races then everything changes because we

spend more time together and we can follow them even better�

MXGP Mag: You said that using also the free time to recover is really important, can you tell us more about the off season? How necessary off season recovery and training are to achieve great results?

“For me the off season is one of the most important moments of the year to get good results� We can organise everything better than during the season and it is an important moment to strength also the relationship between the rider and his mechanic to be ready for the races, like that they can understand each other immediately” time WMX World Champion Kiara Fontanesi and her crew were very often under Racestore tent. Tell us more about this partnership.

“The partnership with Kiara was born by chance; Kiara is been supported by UFO for many years and Racestore is an official UFO dealer from more than fifteen years, so thanks to that mutual partner we started to think about this partnership at the beginning of the 2021 season� In the 2021 season we gave Kiara and her team the logistic support for the races of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship giving her the support and the materials she needed during the season; for us and for all the MXGP paddock has been something new and this partnership has revealed really successful for each other” After the great results in 2021, Team Racestore is now looking forward to the 2022 season where they will try to achieve even more; Samuel Nilsson represent the team in the MX2 World Championship with the KTM SX-F 250 and then the team will also support Simone Mancini that will compete in the challenging EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing category with the KTM SX 125� Samuel Nilsson is one of the most talented Spanish riders who already had some solid results in the EMX250 class, while Simone Mancini finished 5th in the FIM Junior Motocross World Championship in 2021 in Megalopolis�

HALL OF FAME

MICHELE “FANTOMAS” FANTON

FIRST ITALIAN TO WIN A 250CC GRAND PRIX, MICHELE FANTON WAS ONE OF THE BEST ITALIAN RIDERS IN THE 125CC AND 250CC CLASSES FOR ALMOST 15 YEARS. WINNER OF GP’S, HE NEVER ENJOYED A PODIUM FINISH AT THE END OF A SEASON, BUT WITH TEAM ITALIA HE HAD THE CHANCE TO FINISH SECOND AT THE 1984 CUP OF NATIONS IN THE 125CC CLASS, AND IN 1989 HE FINISHED AGAIN SECOND AT THE MOTOCROSS OF NATIONS.

Born on 29th November 1966, Michele Fanton was involved in a Motorcycle environment since his youngest age, as his father Elio was a motocross rider himself� But even if he got as present his first bike when he was only four years old, Michele spent more time playing football than training on his little Italjet� He was eight-years-old when he finally entered his first Minicross race, and he won it, but it was just a single appearance�

He kept on playing football with the local team, and when he turned eleven he started to race more often� A few years later his parents asked him to make a choice between football and motocross� Loving both sports, he was fourteen years old when he decided to focus on motocross and entered the regional championship� In 1983 he had the opportunity to get a wildcard spot to race his first GP’s, and after he scored one point twice, in Czechoslovakia and Spain, when he was sixteen years old, he had the opportunity to get a factory ride with Aprilia� Tenth in the 125cc championship, he ended the 1984 season with great results as he got his first podium result during the last round of the series in Luxemburg and then finished second at the Cup of Nations in Dalecin alongside Michele Rinaldi, Massimo Contini and Giuseppe Andreani�

Signing with Yamaha for 1985 he unfortunately got injured and did only three rounds of the World Championship� Moving to the 250cc class in 1986 he missed the first two GP’s, went back at the third one in France and one week later he won his first GP in front of the tifosis at Gallarate� “It was so emotional! I was the first Italian to ever win a 250 GP, I beat that day Vimond, Rinaldi, Van Doorn and all

the other guys, never in my life I will have again such an emotion,” he remembered� Due to injuries Michele never had the opportunity to finish inside the top three in the World Championship standings, but he won two other GP’s in the 250cc class and had his best season in 1990 when he finished fourth in the World Championship and won the Italian title�

Back in the 125cc class in 1995, he started to share his long racing experience with his team mates during a couple of seasons, before he retired in 1998 after fifteen GP campaigns� Far from the tracks during one year, he realized that his passion was motocross and only motocross, and then he created his own school, focusing on very young talents such as Mattia Guadagnini or Alberto Forato, who had the opportunity to work with him when they raced in the Minicross class�

Text & Photos: Pascal Haudiquert 1977: 29th in the 125 World Championship (Aprilia) 1984: 10th in the 125 World Championship (Aprilia) 2nd at the Cup of Nations with Team Italy 1985: 23rd in the 125 World Championship (Yamaha) 1986: 8th in the 250 World Championship (Yamaha). Winner of 1 GP 1987: 9th in the 250 World Championship (Yamaha) 1988: 9th in the 250 World Championship (Yamaha). Winner of 1 GP 1989: 5th in the 250 World Championship (Suzuki). Winner of 1 GP 2nd at the MX of Nations with Team Italy 1990: 4th in the 250 World Championship (Suzuki) 250 Italian Champion 1991: 10th in the 250 World Championship (Honda). 1992: 14th in the 250 World Championship (Honda) 1993: 13th in the 250 World Championship (Kawasaki) 1994: 15th in the 250 World Championship (Kawasaki) 1995: 7th in the 125 World Championship (Kawasaki) 1996: 5th in the 125 World Championship (Kawasaki) 1997: 12th in the 125 World Championship (Kawasaki) 1998: 13th in the 125 World Championship (Kawasaki)

PADDOCK TALKS

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1 When two worlds collide! MotoGP megastar Valentino Rossi pictured with multi-time Motocross World Champion

Tim Gajser. 2 A new look for Conrad Mewse in 2022. 3 Calvin Vlaanderen enjoying the sunshine before the first gate drop in

Matterley Basin. 4 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP &

MX2 squads are ready to rock! 5 Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle pictured at the recent KTM photoshoot… 6 The new Husqvarna factory riders in town! Pauls Jonass and Brian Bogers will continue to represent Standing

Construct Husqvarna Factory Racing who have switched manufacturers for 2022! 7 Mattia Guadagnini showing off his

‘vlogger’ look in between training. 8 Ivo Monticelli making sure the camera catches his ‘best side’ during the recent team photoshoot. 9 Another baby on the way! Exciting news for the six-time WMX Champion, Kiara

Fontanesi who is set to welcome another baby girl – Congrats Kiara! 10 Jeremy Van Horebeek and Alessandro

Lupino ready for combat in 2022 with

Beat SDM Corse.

AFTER WINNING THE 1988 125CC FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, JEAN-MICHEL BAYLE WASTED NO TIME MAKING THE SWITCH TO THE 250CC CLASS, AND ARMED WITH HRC MACHINERY, THE FRENCHMAN HAD JUST ONE THING ON HIS MIND: WINNING BACK-TO-BACK TITLES BEFORE HEADING OFF TO AMERICA. BY NOW OF COURSE, WE ALL KNOW THAT HE ACHIEVED HIS GOAL AND SO IN THIS ISSUE OF MXGP MAGAZINE, WE TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE RC250M THAT TOOK ‘JMB’ TO THE 1989 250CC WORLD TITLE.

JEAN-MICHEL BAYLE 1989 HRC RC250M HONDA

Cast our minds back to 1987 when Jean-Michel Bayle placed 3rd overall in the 125cc world championship where the rising French star was competing on a Mugen Honda, in many ways, things were so much simpler in that the bike he was racing was a production-based machine with the addition of a different engine� When he was moved under the HRC tent for 1988, all of that changed and like all HRC riders before him in either 125cc, 250cc or 500cc classes, the process was the same, albeit time consuming, when setting up the perfect bike: multiple frames, footpeg positions, bar mounts, triple clamps, engine configurations, pipes, silencer, gearboxes … the list was endless� So, how was the transition from 125cc to 250cc in that regard, and was it as exhausting? ‘Of course, a lot of details were already the same with what I liked and what I didn’t like, so it was a little bit easier; but also the 250cc was more easy, also for Honda because they were doing a lot of testing in America and everywhere, so it was not a new bike like the 125cc was, so from that side it was easier!’

Despite the bike being a brand-new model - back then, Honda ran a three-year cycle, so this particular base model was on track from ’89’91 - by the time JMB first threw a leg over it, the bike was pretty much ready to go� The first test was in America before heading back to his own track in Manosque in the south of France, where testing continued for a further three to four days� The main difference though between his time spent in the USA and the testing schedule in Europe was the type of equipment he was using; in America he was riding a production Honda with Pro-Circuit hardware, and after winning the opening round of the US nationals at Gainesville, Florida, the relationship between rider and machine was an instant success, and when he returned to Europe, that relationship was elevated further when he felt that his world championship race bike was a lot better; he was more than happy with the HRC bike�

With the opening round set for Yugoslavia cancelled due to bad weather, JMB had to wait until round two at Payerne in Switzerland to see how he stacked up with the 250cc regulars, but a fall during training less than two weeks before the GP left him with a broken arm, and whilst he could ride the bike, he opted to sit out the event, as he recalls:

‘I broke my arm just two weeks before the Swiss GP� I rode in practice but actually I had some pins in my arm, and when I rode in practice, the pins were coming loose and starting to come out with the vibration, so I couldn’t race� I

only did the practice� I was trying to put it back in but after, it was getting too loose and so … it was okay for five or six laps but not to do forty-five-minute moto’s� ’

Fortunately for Bayle, the next race wasn’t scheduled for another three weeks and so, by the time he arrived in Austria, he was ready to claw back some lost points; this though was easier said than done� A ‘big crash on the first lap of race one, with two other riders’ left his handlebars too badly damaged to continue, and the ‘111’ was forced to watch from the side lines� His fortunes turned around pretty quickly though, and after winning the next race, Bayle went on to make it five race wins in a row, and by the time he headed to his home GP in France, he held a slender 8-point advantage over his closest rival� The home round didn’t go according to plan though, and after posting 0-10 scores, there may have been reason for some concern, but JMB bounced right back with a solid 1-1 at the very next round in Venezuela� The Honda man was back in control, and from there, it was one way traffic to the end of the season�

Over the last six GP’s, Bayle placed inside the top three (in all 12 races), and claimed 4 overall victories in the process� He clinched the title with a round to go in Finland, and for him, the title was never in doubt, even before the season began:

‘I was sure I would win the championship if I had no problem, or no big problem, but actually I had one (broken arm), but I still won it� As riding, it was a very easy championship for me, it was not so difficult� The only thing that could stop me not to be world champion was a big mistake during the year, and crash and getting hurt, but the other riders were not very consistent at this time, so for me was an easy championship� My speed was a lot better also, compared to the people I was racing with, because in the start of the season I won the opening US national in Gainesville with a standard bike, so at that time I was ready, and almost ready for America with my speed, so racing in Europe you know, was quite easy� ’

From the outside, that might sound a bit boastful, but when you compare what JMB did to his rivals, the difference was clear� During the season, even though he missed the opening round, Bayle won a total of 12 races in a year that saw TEN different race winners, and the only other rider who won more than one race was America’s Ricky Johnson when he won the USGP (1-1)� The other eight riders won just one race each� He also claimed six GP victories from the eleven rounds and finished on the podium eight times�

As for the bike that took him to the world title, Bayle’s RC250 was a full HRC machine from the ground up� The frame, swingarm, wheels and hubs were all factory and so too the cylinder, cylinder head, exhaust pipe and silencer� Magnesium engine and clutch cases added some extra bling and holding everything up was factory Showa (USD) forks and rear shock� The 5-speed gearbox and clutch were in-house items, whilst the cockpit came equipped with factory brake and clutch levers and factory Nissin brakes� The rear brake also had some extra stopping power due to the fact the Bayle was a hard rear brake user; to combat any kind of brake fade, HRC supplied a special disc and a special calliper with a bigger oil reservoir ‘to absorb more temperature’� The carburettor was a factory Keihin unit�

As for the type of power delivery, with Bayle’s 125cc bike from ’87, he and his mechanic Jean-Marie Hacking worked tirelessly to get more useable power to the ground for maximum traction, whereas the challenge with the 250cc was there was too much power, as Bayle reminds us:

‘On the 250cc the power was good but the delivery was very aggressive because they were working a lot with American riders, with Rick Johnson and people like that� In America, the tracks were different than Europe, you know, more prepared, with softer ground� So, when the ground is soft you can ride with an aggressive engine without any problem, but when the ground is harder, it’s difficult to ride with an aggressive engine� I always tried to have good bottom and middle power on the 250cc to help me out of the corners and we had to work on this, but at that time at HRC in Japan, they had everything in a box and you just had to ask, and they always brought the box and said ‘okay, try this!’ and it was working! So yeah, we tried to work on it, but it was easy to fix� ’

When Bayle clinched the title in Finland at the penultimate round, he became the second rider from France to win a world motocross championship, but the first from France to win multiple titles� He was also only the fourth rider to win backto-back world titles in different classes and during his time in the motocross world championship he enjoyed celebrating from the top step of the podium no fewer than thirteen times from 19871989� However, despite his move to the USA, he won the 500cc USGP twice in 1991 and ’92 before switching from dirt to tarmac and a career in MotoGP� All of his GP wins were on Honda with 7 in the 125cc class, 6 in the 250cc class and 2 in the 500cc category�

QUESTIONS TO THE EDITOR

❝Hi,I missed the live chat with the riders, I would like to see it in replay, where can I find it? Benjamin ❞ Hi Benjamin , you can watch the replay of our live chat here https:// www.youtube.com/wa tch?v=FV5k6qGu16M Best Regards MXGP

❝Hey, where can I follow the live streaming during the European championship season? Lucas ❞

Hi Lucas , you can follow all results by clicking here: https://results. mxgp.com/mxgp/livestandings. aspx or you can watch it all LIVE with MXGP-TV.com Regards MXGP ❝ Hey MXGP, where can I find the latest issue of the magazine? Giacomo ❞ Dear Giacomo , I would like to know if the Spanish grand prix is maintained and if I can reserve vip seats for my company and my employees Best Regards MXGP ❝ where can I find the latest issue of the magazine?

Fiona ❞

Hi Fiona you can check out the latest issue of MXGP Magazine HERE: https://issuu.com/mxgpmag Thanks MXGP

❝where can I buy one ticket to go in MXGP of France in Ernée? Jules ❞ Hello Jules: yes you can now book all your tickets on our website by clicking on the link below https://spain.motocrossviptickets.com/en/3441-spain/ Thanks MXGP