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THE NEW LLION A T S N A ITALI
ANDREA ADAMO 2023 MX2 WORLD CHAMPION
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Chief Editor: Marionna Leiva Photos: MXGP INFRONT MOTO RACING MEDIA World Trade Center II Rte de Pré-Bois 29 1215 Geneva 15 Airport Switzerland MXGP Mag #123 2023 The articles published in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of Infront Moto Racing.
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MXGP MAG
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David Luongo CEO of Infront Moto Racing
Dear MXGP Friends, As we are approaching the end of the year, it is the time to have a look back on the great season we just had. The annual media report we receive every year brought very good data and figures on the 2023 season. The popularity and the exposure of the MXGP 2023 season surged to an impressive 25% compared to 2022 season in terms of TV spectators with an impressive total of 53 millions of people. During the last twelve months we extended the visibility of the sport to USA with CBS SN, but also to Brazil with Bandsports and IEG in Indonesia. We strengthened our presence in Europe with Eurosport and many National Channels. We also increased
THE POPULARITY AND THE EXPOSURE OF THE MXGP 2023 SEASON SURGED TO AN IMPRESSIVE 25% the total amount of broadcasting duration by 36% to more than 17.000 hours. During the first days of December, we attended to the annual FIM Awards in Liverpool, and we met on this occasion the MXGP’ Organizers of the upcoming 2024 season. During the seminar, we talked about the novelties of the 2024 season and we welcomed
the new Organizers that will join the championship in the upcoming months. Some of the Grand Prix already opened their ticketing sales and you can find all the links on MXGP.com. I would like to thank all the stakeholders of the MXGP family that participated to this fantastic season, the FIM, FIM Europe, the Organizers, the Manufacturers, the Riders, the Press and the Media, and all MXGP fans! Finally, I would like to send you all my best wishes for the New Year!
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THE 2023 SEASON WAS TO BE A LANDMARK YEAR FOR THE MXGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, WITH THE FUNDAMENTAL ADDITION OF THE RAM QUALIFYING RACE ON SATURDAY BEFORE EACH GRAND PRIX NOW COUNTING FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS. IN 2023 RIDERS WHO PERHAPS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN TOO WORRIED ABOUT THOSE RACES WHEN THEY ONLY COUNTED FOR GATE POSITION, NOW HAD TO ACCEPT THAT THEY REALLY MATTERED, AND THAT ULTIMATELY THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WOULD BE MADE UP OF 57 DIFFERENT POINTSPAYING RACES.
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MXGP INNOVATIONS It was a significant year for MXGP-TV as well, with a new 26-minute “Behind The Gate” series being run after each GP to show viewers the inside story on the major players within the MXGP paddock and make them feel closer to the stars of the Motocross world. This series recorded almost one Million views worldwide across the season, with a watch time of 86,374 hours – an excellent rookie season! A new innovation for 2023 was the MXGP Paddock Show, held on Saturday evening after the RAM Qualifying Races and featuring the winners from that day, the red plate holders, and selected special guests to reignite the close proximity with the fans. This was a successful addition to the overall fan experience, as was
evident by the amount of noise that was regularly made! TV GLOBAL REACH MXGP’s global appeal extended beyond the tracks, with a 25% surge in Cumulative Audience Evolution from 43 million to an impressive 53 million spectators, showcasing its growing worldwide coverage. Additionally, a 36% increase in Broadcast duration, totalling 17,287 hours, and collaborations with key TV partners led to a Global Potential Viewership of 785 million, underlining MXGP’s massive global exposure potential and reinforcing the increasing popularity of motocross and its global significance in 2023. ONE SEASON TO REMEMBER In the MXGP class, five-time World Champion Jeffrey Herlings would be returning on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing machine after missing the entire 2022 season with injury, but sadly the reigning World Champion Tim Gajser knocked himself out of
the series before it began. A massive crash in pre-season left Tim with a serious leg injury, and it would be down to the likes of Kawasaki KRT’s Romain Febvre, Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing talisman Jorge Prado, and the Monster Energy Yamaha trio of Jeremy Seewer, Maxime Renaux, and Glenn Coldenhoff to fight The Bullet for the title. Ruben Fernandez was suddenly the new team leader for Team HRC in Gajser’s absence, and he would be more of a threat than people might have thought! In MX2 it was looking to be no less competitive, as World Champion Tom Vialle left the series to be replaced at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing by the hungry trio of Sicilian Andrea Adamo, teenage flier Sacha Coenen and third-generation mega-talent Liam Everts. The eternally fast Monster Energy Yamaha charger Jago Geerts was looking at his last chance to grab the MX2 title before he would have to move to MXGP, and his teammate Thibault Benistant would also be a contender. Simon Langenfelder was maturing on the Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing
team, Kevin Horgmo had finished 4th in 2022 for F&H Racing Kawasaki, but perhaps the greatest triple threat came from Nestaan Husqvarna, with Kay de Wolf, Lucas Coenen and Roan van de Moosdijk, all looking fast in pre-season. A fantastic first GP win was earned by Fernandez at the opening round in Argentina, in front of a record attendance of 42,500 fans, although with Prado taking the RAM Qualifying Race win on Saturday, it was the Spaniard wearing #61 that wore the red plate into the second round. It didn’t take long for “The Bullet” to get back to winning ways though, with an amazing 100th career GP victory for Herlings at round two in Sardegna. Just as in Argentina though, and in total 7 times through the year, it was that GASGAS which took two chequered flags across the weekend. He continued that form in Switzerland for round three even though Renaux took the victory, then Prado’s first GP win came at round four in Trentino. He was already making his series lead a sizeable one. RECORD-BREAKING HERLINGS, PRADO’S NERVES OF STEEL & NAIL-BITING MX2 RIVALRIES 21
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From there though, it was time for history to be made on the Iberian Peninsula. At Agueda in Portugal, Jeffrey Herlings put the Red Bull KTM on top of the podium to reach GP win number #101, matching the record held by the Belgian legend Stefan Everts. A week later, at Prado’s home GP, although he was kept back by the red plate holder in the RAM Qualifying Race, a maximum on Sunday put the Dutch megastar all alone on 102 GP wins. Injuries may have kept Jeffrey from adding more titles to his record, but it will take a long time before anyone can approach his GP win tally, and the #84 isn’t finished yet. Swiss maestro Jeremy Seewer took his first GP win of the campaign at round 7 in France, the first GP that didn’t see any chequered flag taken by Prado. The Spaniard didn’t suffer too badly, because Herlings had a nightmarish and unfortunate no-score in race two. But the Dutchman struck back with a complete maximum in the sands of Kegums, making it just a 15-point gap between the pair in a gripping battle for the MXGP World Championship. By this point, the MX2 World Championship had already taken several twists of fortune. Geerts again looked strong with a three-heat maximum in Argentina, a feat which he nearly repeated in Sardegna, just losing out to Kay de Wolf in GP race one there. With some mistakes creeping in for Geerts, his teammate Benistant won in Switzerland, before Adamo took his first ever GP win, on home ground at Trentino. Italian soil would be kind to Andrea in 2023! Geerts pressed his advantage with another 60-point haul in Portugal, then Langenfelder took both Sunday heats in Spain, but then hurt himself in practice just two days later. France was the turning point for Geerts, who suffered a savage crash on a downhill at Villars-sous-Ecot and fractured his left wrist as a result. His absence left the way clear for Benistant to claim a popular home GP win, but he would suffer injury later in the year, too. De Wolf dominated with an unbeaten weekend in Latvia, before hurting himself in practice for the MXGP of Germany. Liam Everts took his first GP victory there, although a broken chain for Lucas Coenen denied him the 1-1 score for the day. Liam joked that there was “only a 100 GP wins to go” in the post-race interview,
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a reference to his father Stefan’s tally. The man who broke that record, Jeffrey Herlings, looked in control of the first GP race at Teutschenthal before the dreaded injury curse hit him once again. A heavy impact with the hard-pack surface left him with fractured vertebrae, and another title challenge was in tatters. Prado went on to win all three races that weekend, and from there he managed to maintain a massive points gap over Romain Febvre. The French Kawasaki man went on a tear as he saw a title chance beckoning, with a 5-GP win streak being the best of his career. Seewer won in Sweden, then Febvre again in the Netherlands, but Prado kept solid with at least one race win over each of those weekends, keeping the gap at 92 points heading into Turkiye. In MX2, Lucas Coenen took the first GP win of his promising career at Sumbawa, part of an incredible Indonesian experience for MXGP. The GPs of Sumbawa and Lombok amassed a combined total of 115,000 spectators. The combined Indonesian GPs took the Best Media Opportunity and Best Promotion awards for the season. On track, Jago Geerts got back to winning ways at the first ever GP held at Lombok, then further wins at Loket and Lommel, as Adamo hit troubles, put the Belgian back in the hunt for that elusive title, just 13 points down from his Italian rival. The final nail in the coffin for his title prospects, however, was hammered into place at the Finnish GP. Caught up in a younger rider’s first lap crash, the resultant broken collarbone forced him to miss the Swedish GP as well, and as Adamo took a 1-1 in Finland it made the gap just too great. After a win for Langenfelder in Sweden, two straight wins for Everts, one a last-lap nail-biter in the Netherlands, made the title battle between the two Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammates close enough to make Adamo nervous. Kevin Horgmo had also taken his first ever GP race win in Turkiye, helping him in his quest to find a solid ride in MXGP for 2024. TITLE CELEBRATIONS & FANS ENGAGEMENT At Maggiora, in front of a screaming home crowd, the #80 rider was absolutely supreme in handling the pressure, and straight-up beat his teammate in a 26
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stunning first race. Liam was unfortunate with a second race crash that put him out of the race, and suddenly, as Jago Geerts took yet another GP win on a second return from injury, Andrea Adamo became the first Italian to win a world title since his team manager Antonio Cairoli! The home fans were ecstatic in celebrating their new World Champion! After a meagre 20-point haul in Turkiye, his worst weekend of the year, Jorge Prado saw his lead cut to 67, but after narrowly losing out to Tim Gajser at Afyonkarahisar, it all fell apart at Maggiora for Romain Febvre. Machine trouble for the Frenchman left him unable to climb one of the many steep hills, and the heat win for the Spaniard led to an increase in the celebrations as he suddenly realised he was also World Champion for the first time in MXGP! ZzZThe two-time MX2 Champion claimed his third title, the first in the class for a Spanish rider, and there were emotional scenes for his team who were on home ground as well. It was an incredible year for the #61, who took more GP race wins (14) than anyone else, and more RAM Qualifying Race wins (11) than the rest of the pack combined. It was a stellar season for a rider who has gone through the mill in the four years since stepping up from MX2. As he only turns 23 years old in January 2024, and will look to wear the #1 plate, the future is still massively bright for the Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing superstar. The celebrations helped with MXGP’s social media following in 2023 as well. Especially with the TikTok platform increasing by 150% to 251,000 views. A similar rise was seen in views of YouTube Shorts with 31 million in total. MXGP’s Instagram account rose to 1.25 million followers, and Facebook Post Impressions rose by 53% to 152 million. Fans also engaged with the posts on Facebook, with a 237% increase to a total of 5.4 million post engagements. These figures demonstrate the high level of engagement among fans, highlighting motocross’ distinctive and fervent nature. On the trackside, MXGP also saw an impressive jump in the overall crowd attendance this season. A season’s total of
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over 700,000 fans visited a GP and took part in the motocross festivities, corresponding to a 25% increase on 2022. It proves once again that, worldwide, MXGP is getting fans excited both trackside and through their devices. HISTORIC MXoN IN ERNEE AND MATTERLEY BASIN FOR 2024 Matterley Basin will be the home for the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in 2024, and the event in 2023 at Ernee was an absolutely epic season closer. In front of the largest crowd ever at an MXoN, with 102,000 fans coming through the turnstiles across the weekend, the home supporters had a lot to cheer for with Romain Febvre, Tom Vialle, and Maxime Renaux bringing the Chamberlain Trophy back into French hands. Febvre won an epic duel with World Champion Jorge Prado in the first heat, while Vialle topped the MX2 class with 8th place amongst the cream of the MXGP crop. The home team put one hand on the trophy with an epic 1-2 for Renaux and Vialle in race two, while Team Australia clinched a best-ever result for their country with Jett Lawrence’s win in the third race. Team Italy put together a great day to claim third on the podium. However, the noise was all made for the home team, who will defend the trophy at Matterley where they won in 2017. The last four MXoN events have been won by the home team, so no pressure for Team GB! …AND THE SHOW CONTINUES However, the 2024 season will be no foregone conclusion, as Jeremy Seewer, winner at Maggiora, moves to the factory Kawasaki KRT squad alongside the ever-determined Romain Febvre. Tim Gajser proved he has lost none of his speed by closing the season with a win at Matterley Basin, and both he and Team HRC teammate Ruben Fernandez will be strong contenders. Jago Geerts, winner in the UK in his last ever MX2 GP, will also be a force as he moves up to MXGP for Monster Energy Yamaha, and of course The Bullet will return to try and show once more that he can rule at the highest level. There is no doubt that 2024 is going to be as amazing as 2023, as the wild and unpredictable nature of MXGP can bring up any number of surprises across the planned 20-event season. Come and join us for the ride!
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@jeremyseewer91
@mattguada101 we are working, please do not disturb ⚠️ see you at christmas ur
Life lately…
@fimlive Is there a better taste than this one?
@simon_516 Counting the days till I get back on my @gasgas.official rocket
@kawasakimxgp 13 podiums, 6 wins and runner up in the world championship @mxgp this season. Well done @ romainfebvreLet’s work hard this winter to battle again in 2024! @tiga243 Honda Racing Thanks Day 2023 ! 🙌 Was super Fun !
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Season Review | MXGP 2023: Here we are with some of the best moments of the 2023 season with the most intense battles, incredible victories and las but not least, the crowning of the Motocross World and European Champions – all within this 19-minute special! The 2023 Season Review takes an in-depth look at Jorge Prado’s journey to his first MXGP World Title, along with the close fight for the crown in MX2 between Andrea Adamo, Jago Geerts, Simon Laengenfelder and Liam Everts till the MXGP of Italy and of course, the unforgettable 2023 Monste Energy FIM Motocross of Nations that took place in Ernée with more than 100.000 spectators cheerin for Team France’s victory!
@andreaadamo8 MXGP AWARDS 2023
@jorgeprado61 @fimlive AWARDS 2023
MXoN Recap | Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations 2023: Did you miss something at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in Ernée or did you get everything and just want to re-live those incredible moments? Here you have a recap of it
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@ajuntlloret Today we have the honor to receive @danielaguillen_255, young promise of female motocross and pride of #LloretdeMar.
@lucascoenen96 My MX2 career has come to an end and so to my time with the @nestaan_mx family… the last two years have been flying by, but it was a pleasure working with every single one of you!!! With highs and lows, podiums and injury’s. I always felt the full support I needed and The Moose is thankful for that
EP.4 | Behind The Gate | Bittersweet | MXGP 2023: Follow Jeremy Seewer in his quest to win his home GP in Switzerland and be with him throughout the Highs and Lows of the Grand Prix!
P G X M # D OF ORL W E H IN T
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SPEED IS VITAL. AGGRESSION AND DRIVE, ESPECIALLY IN MOTOCROSS, IS ALSO ALWAYS ESSENTIAL. IN THE END, HOWEVER, CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS. JUST AS IN MXGP, THE 2023 MX2 WORLD CHAMPION WAS CROWNED WITH A TOTAL OF TWO GRAND PRIX WINS OUT OF THE 19 AVAILABLE, BUT WE DO NOT GIVE OUT TITLES BASED ON RACE WINS! IT IS OF COURSE DOWN TO POINTS SCORED, AND ANDREA ADAMO EMBODIES THE IMPORTANCE OF “ALWAYS BEING THERE” MORE THAN MOST.
That, more than anything else, has made him the most recent rider to join the production line of MX2 World Champions that pours through the orange factory in Austria. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing squad has now won 15 of the 20 MX2 Rider’s titles since the inception of the class. Swinging your leg over the most successful 250cc machine in the four-stroke era carries its own pressures, and above all, the Sicilianborn 20-year-old has proved that he can deliver when the pressure is on him the most – a key ingredient in all World Champions! At numerous stages in the 2023 season, he showed that steely determination to not
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Support buckle when expectation was high. His first GP win, with two solid 2nd places, came in the pressure cooker of his home GP at Trentino, just 200km from where he grew up, so he would have been in front of friends and family all desperate to see him succeed. No problemo! This performance put Andrea into 2nd in the series, behind the experience and pace of the KTM team’s long-time nemesis, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team spearhead Jago Geerts. Adamo was well ahead of other fancied prospects such as Kay de Wolf, Simon Laengenfelder, and new teammate Liam Everts. So where does this resolute nature come from? It appears to stem from his modest family upbringing, where more basic pressures, such as simply putting food on the table, were endured on a regular basis.
Speaking about his background, Andrea Adamo talks of a Sicilian family of four children, whose parents chose to move to mainland Italy and head to Bologna, when he was just 10 years old. The sound of the motorcycle was not initially what set the pace in his family’s life but, despite a very modest lifestyle, Andrea’s passion came to the forefront at the price of certain sacrifices, as he declared after winning his MX2 World title in Maggiora: “My parents had normal jobs and it wasn’t always easy. So, I am so grateful! Now that I have reached my dream, I am super happy that everything they made for me has paid off. My family is not a ‘Motocross expert’ one, so they prefer to stay on the side and let me work, while they are always by my side to support me”. Between 2015 and 2017, young Andrea made himself known in the Motocross world, competing
in the Honda 150cc European Championship with Pardi Racing Team. A competition he won in his final year, taking pole position in every round and winning seven of the heats that have been raced, before heading across the Atlantic Ocean for a year. Back from his time in the US, the Italian teamed up with Yamaha SM Action - M.C. Migliori in 2019, with whom he competed in the EMX250 Championship for two seasons. However, the results weren’t there yet, mainly due to a few injuries, but his confidence wasn’t dented, and in 2021, Adamo officially began his MX2 career with the same team, but with a new name and a new bike supplied by GASGAS: SM Action Racing Team. Fourteenth in the World Championship for his first year in the class, the rider finished 8th in 2022, scoring his first career GP podium at Mantova in Italy, in the process. Replacing the Champ His improvements caught the eye of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team, which decided to 41
put its faith in the rising Italian star for 2023, replacing Tom Vialle, the reigning and double MX2 World Champion at that time. It emerged as a successful gamble for the Austrian company, but it took a lot of work to challenge predictions of this season, as the scenario of Andrea Adamo finishing as World Champion in his first year with the team was not envisaged. Even after claiming the red plate at the Latvian GP’s RAM Qualifying Race, following Geerts’ injury in France, it was lost the following day to Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf, who was determined to take his part in the Championship. The Dutchman also picked up an injury prior to Grand Prix Sunday the very next weekend, so the change in the lead was only temporary as Adamo regained it one GP later in Germany with solid 3-32 finishes. The red plate would never slip from his machine again. Andrea showed great determination throughout the season when faced with adversity. Fighting back from a first corner tangle at Sumbawa, after digging deep to win a race-long battle with Laengenfelder in the opening heat, showed that his fitness was there to match his never-say-die attitude. Whether the advice came from within the highly experienced world title winners in his corner, or purely on instinct, he recognised that the threat was back on from Geerts, as the Belgian went perfect through the second weekend of the Indonesian trip, while Adamo was 2nd overall. First the RAM Qualifying race win on Saturday, then a crucial second-race victory on Sunday at Loket were both the first of Andrea’s career and proved to both himself and his rivals that he could raise the pace to take a chequered flag. Pressure The following weekend at Lommel proved that Andrea needs to work on his speed in the deep sand, as Geerts again dominated and closed the gap back to just 13 points. Wonderful news for neutral fans who want a close contest, but again this royally tested the resolve of the #80. However, he passed that test on the slightly less deep circuit of Vantaa in Finland that was still plenty sandy enough! The key 42
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was always going to be the gate drop, and Adamo got a beauty, staying clear of trouble, something Jago simply did not do. While the crash for Swedish teenager Hakan Osterhagen over a big jump on the opening lap was completely out of the Belgian’s control, with a better start he simply wouldn’t have been there, and once again an injury would rule him out of the Grand Prix, this time due to damaging an already-plated left collarbone. After this, his championship really was in tatters. The red plate holder took full advantage of his rival’s misfortunes with the first two-race maximum of his career, and the series lead was back out to a massive 60 points with just five GPs to go. More importantly, there were a further 27 markers back to Liam Everts, who had also done the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team proud with his first GP win in Germany and more top finishes that left him 3rd in the standings. Sweden would see him take another second-race win, making up for a troubled first race which saw him only in 10th. From there, the Dutch GP was a wild affair that went down to the very last lap for the overall win! The headline scrap between returning iron man Geerts, Everts, and Lucas Coenen for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing went right to the wire, but behind them Adamo kept charging through the relentless sand. He put a late pass on teammate Everts to draw more air from his balloon on terrain that should have suited the Belgian! Then a similar late effort in race two over Simon Laengenfelder limited the damage of Liam’s overall GP win. The gap between them stood at a familiar number – 72! A crash-affected MXGP of Turkiye saw the Italian’s advantage hacked down by over a third – down to 48, as his teammate won his second successive Grand Prix with the same 3-2 score line as Arnhem! It looked like the dream title clincher, that had looked possible when the penultimate round had been
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relocated to Maggiora, would be a tough ask with Everts on such fine form. However, nothing can be taken for granted in Motocross, as problems for Liam on Saturday meant that Adamo padded another seven points to his cushion, meaning that he only had to gain five more on Sunday to get the deal done! “I came to Maggiora not thinking about the GP win, mainly about the first chance to take the title,” said Andrea. That focus paid off on Sunday. The first race saw a typically consistent ride as he continued to make progress with a fine 3rd place, most importantly of all, he was able to hold Liam directly behind him to put himself two further points away! Again, this was where his mental toughness came into play. Don’t forget that before the second MX2 outing the paddock was bouncing to the celebrations of newly crowned MXGP World Champion Jorge Prado. Andrea certainly would have known that similar t-shirts, hats, and banners would have been printed with his name on and stored secretly away somewhere in the orange race transporter. Add to that the iconic hillsides of the historic Maggiora circuit, so emotive to passionate Italian fans, would have been packed with smoke flares and noisy supporters who were desperate to see an Italian World Champion crowned for the first time since the great Antonio Cairoli – Andrea’s own team boss! Keeping his Latin passion in check and not losing his nerve, he started well and let Laengenfelder and Geerts knock lumps out of each other up front, while he passed a ragged Thibault Benistant and a feisty Kevin Horgmo on the F&H Kawasaki. Everts was behind and chasing him throughout, but Adamo was playing it cool and had things remarkably under control. “I am usually able to look around me on-track and I know if I am going to be on the podium overall, or able to take a win, so I knew that once I was into 4th and then 3rd, even if Liam was behind me, then I could win the title. I heard Liam’s name on the speakers, so I thought he had passed Benistant, but then of course I saw him on the side of 46
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the track after his crash. I felt bad for him, because I would prefer not to win like this, but this is part of the sport. I hope he is fine and able to still fight for second in the Championship.” Liam had indeed hit the hard ground whilst trying to catch his teammate, and it was touching to see that Cairoli was right there to help pick the young Belgian up from his crash. Meanwhile, Andrea kept it steady and as he crossed the line to start the last lap the celebration party was already gathering! All of the emotion poured out as he crossed the line as the new MX2 World Champion, revving his bike to the limiter and bouncing his way into the horde of fans, team members and press workers as the Champion was applauded in brilliant style! Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager Antonio Cairoli proudly said that “It’s amazing what Andrea has done this year. I know how hard it is to do that in your first year as a factory rider. To keep the Red Plate is something that you only find in a real Champion. We are so proud of him, with a rider like him, everything is easier”. From a managing point of view, the 9-time Motocross World Champion led Andrea Adamo and Liam Everts into the MX2 Top 5 this year, which is no small feat considering the competition and an achievement no-one saw coming. In terms of statistics, including his two GP wins. The new Champion, who turned 20 in August, finished in the overall top three on ten occasions in 2023, and when he wasn’t on the podium, he did his utmost not to be outdone by his rivals at the front, often settling for Top 5. This hard work enabled him to score a total of 826 points, 67 ahead of his main rival Geerts, whose 13 heat wins were negated by two injuries that left him with eight zeroscores in total. Amazingly, he never ranked outside the top ten overall in
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a Grand Prix, his worst position this year being 7th at Lommel. He became the 8th Italian Motocross World Champion this season, after Michele Rinaldi, Alessandro Puzar, Alessio Chiodi, Andrea Bartolini, David Philippaerts, Antonio Cairoli, and Kiara Fontanesi. He was among four first-time winners in MX2 this season, so all of those rivalries will continue into 2024! After he celebrated his title with another podium at the final GP in front of British fans at Matterley Basin, Andrea showed more of that true grit at the 2023 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations at Ernée, digging in for two solid results against the bigger machines, in particular a 4th in the second moto behind only Maxime Renaux on the 450cc, returning French hero Tom Vialle on a 250cc, and his usual teammate Everts on a 350cc in the
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Open class! Nicely for Andrea, he finished ahead of the American Champion, Hunter Lawrence, who of course raced for Australia! His scores helped to drive an unfancied Italian team, with Alberto Forato and EMX250 rider Simone Bonacorsi, a late injury replacement for Mattia Guadagnini, onto the final podium with 3rd for the weekend!
enjoy this one. Then in the winter, I will start to think about the next one and do my best to be competitive in 2024”.
Moving forward, the new MX2 World Champion knows that his opponents will be waiting for him next season. Winning the title is tough, defending it even tougher! He has chosen not to deal with “the weight of the plate”, deciding not to race with #1 but keep his lucky #80. The title defence doesn’t seem to worry him too much. He knows he has what it takes to repeat that performance, and that is his intention, concluding “I have one Motocross World Title, my first one, and I want to fully
Season Stats:
Next year’s MX2 World Championship promises to be a royal battle throughout the season, and once more Andrea Adamo will have to “always be there” in order to defend his crown.
Grand Prix Wins: 2 from 19 (10.5%) Grand Prix Podiums: 11 from 19 (57.9%) Grand Prix Heat Wins: 4 from 38 (10.5%) Grand Prix Heat Top 3 Finishes: 23 from 38 (60.5%) RAM Qualifying Race wins: 1 from 19 (5.3%) Laps Led: 66 from 659 (10%)
JORGE PRADO GARCIA 2023 MXGP WORLD CHAMPION
ANDREA ADAMO
2023 MX2 WORLD CHAMPION
“WE SELL WHAT WE RACE, WE RACE WHAT WE SELL”
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4 2 0 2 S E M M O I C F L E E H W T L & O S O R P E R Z I E N A LIV G R O P MXG S D R A AW
EVERY YEAR, MXGP’S ORGANISERS COME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO MEET AND PREPARE FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON. THIS YEAR’S EVENT TOOK PLACE IN LIVERPOOL, WHERE THE CHARACTERISTIC SNAPPING COLD WINTER ON THE MERSEYSIDE CONTRASTED SUPERBLY WITH THE ICONIC WARM AND WELCOMING ENGLISH CITY.
The annual event gives the opportunity to all Organisers of the upcoming FIM Motocross World Championship season to gather and share successful strategies and learn valuable insights in a convivial atmosphere. The reunion is also an incredible moment for the international MXGP family to share their passion for the sport while planning for the exciting season that lies ahead. ORGANIZERS MEETING Infront Moto Racing’s Marketing Director Marionna Leiva opened the event by introducing officials which included Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo, Infront Moto Racing COO Daniele Rizzi, as well as every Infront Moto Racing Departments’ Managers present at the meeting together with FIM/CMS Director Antonio Alia Portela, MXGP Race Director Ingo Partsch, FIM Technical Director Andrew Summers and FIM Medical Director David McMagnus. Organizers from the 2024 MXGP rounds, spanning from Patagonia-Argentina to Indonesia and including organizers from France, the Netherlands, Flanders, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Finland, Romania along with the organizers of the 2024 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations at Matterley Basin, were present and geared up for an outstanding season. Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo extended a warm welcome and expressed his gratitude for the collective effort invested in the 2023 MXGP season. He highlighted the positive developments, including increased TV viewership and public attendance, attributing the success to the unwavering support and commitment of the organizers. Mr Luongo acknowledged the challenges posed by the COVID era and thanked everyone for their resilience and dedication: “Reflecting on the past season, we are immensely proud and happy. It marked a sort of ‘year zero’ post-COVID, with most countries lifting restrictions, and public attendance surged at many races. TV audience figures also saw a significant increase, the largest in the last 20 years, reaching over 52 million viewers. This boost is crucial for the sport’s popularity. I want to express my gratitude to each one of you. Despite facing one of the toughest periods in the last 50 years with COVID, the World Championship kept going due to your solid and consistent support. Without your commitment, the championship would have faced a disastrous situation. Thank you for staying on board, for saying ‘yes’ to the
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races, and for putting in the effort and sacrifices needed to make each race possible.” Mr Luongo underscored the memorable moments in MXGP, MX2, WMX, and the European Championships, emphasising “the importance of continuing to improve the championship from an organisation point of view, in order to keep growing the world of motocross”. Following that aspect, David Luongo shared his enthusiasm for the 2024 Monster Energy FIM MXoN at Matterley which promises to showcase a fantastic show in one of the most revered tracks in the world and among riders’ favourite venue. Looking ahead, Infront Moto Racing CEO expressed his optimism about the future, and emphasised the vital collaboration with the organizers and the FIM to keep developing the sport and always striving to improve. Mr Luongo reiterated the long-standing collaboration for 40 years with the FIM and the importance of this cooperation in growing this motocross. FIM/CMS Director Antonio Alia Portela took the microphone to thank everyone for a fantastic year and being present for this great opportunity to work together towards the upcoming season. He also thanked Infront Moto Racing and all the organizers for the great collaboration that has increased enormously. He mentioned that “the way we work together is improving. This step brings up all the benefits on the sporting side, the marketing side and the image which also impacts on the local and national markets. That is why we always try to improve and get better and better, so we are there to support organizers to step into that direction. When we find that collaboration and that symbiosis between the three bodies that make these events a reality, things get much easier”. The subsequent MXGP presentation delved into key departments, providing insights into crucial areas for the upcoming season, such as paddock requirements, infrastructures, circuit preparations, and marketing strategies. The discussion included the significant growth of MXGP coverage
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across digital and social media platforms, showcasing a 20% increase in cumulative TV audience compared to 2022. Following the warm welcome speeches, the MXGP presentation delved into key departments, shedding light on crucial focus areas for the upcoming season. Each department was covered with the updates and important aspects highlighted, ranging from paddock requirements, infrastructures, circuit preparations, and TV/media metrics to marketing strategies. The complete overview set the key elements that will shape the 2024 season. The spotlight then shifted to the notable venues of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship, showcasing their exceptional contributions. Among them were the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina that hosted in 2023 its 7th edition of MXGP in Villa La Angostura, in the province of Neuquén. After having won the MXGP best Fan engagement in 2023, it is easy to understand the excitement and atmosphere that surrounds the only round of the MXGP season in the Americas. The Indonesian MXGP of Sumbawa and Lombok, which received special prizes at the end of the season with MXGP Best Media Opportunity and MXGP Best Promotion. These standouts venues were exceptional and contributed to MXGP worldwide showcase. Being present in 2024 these venues will again be highlights and part of a successful campaign. Additionally, the presentation of the Junior Motocross World Championship that will be held at Heerde in The Netherlands, the Snowcross World Championship that is expanding and will be heading to Turkyie, Kayceri-Erciyes, along with two rounds in Scandinavia, in Finland in a venue to be determined and in Norway at Kirkenes that successfully organised the 2023 FIM SNX World Championship. Finally, the presentation of the 2024 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations at Matterley Basin added excitement to the room. Being one of the most historical places in motocross, Great Britain is gearing up for the biggest offroad show of the year. The revered track of Matterley Basin seems perfectly fitted to offer, for the third time in its history, another outstanding MXoN. Following the venues presentation, on the technical side, FIM Race Director Ingo 58
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Partsch, FIM MX Technical Director Andy Summers, and FIM Medical Director David McManus then took centre stage to outline critical points regarding the FIM’s onsite efforts at each event. Expressing gratitude to organizers for their collaboration, they emphasized the high standards of preparation expected and provided guidelines to ensure every event runs smoothly. They thanked the organisers for their collaboration over the years and also reiterated the high standards of the preparation that is expected to make sure every event can be run at the highest level. The afternoon saw in-depth individual meetings between organizers, Infront Moto Racing, and FIM to provide efficient tips and tools for an amazing upcoming season. FIM AWARDS CEREMONY Continuing the tradition, the MXGP Organizers Meeting coincided with the annual FIM Awards ceremony, held for the very first time ever in the UK. Liverpool was chosen to host it at the astonishing ACC near the Pier Head UNESCO World Heritage Site and world-famous Albert Dock. The FIM Awards ceremony topped these important meetings with the celebration of the FIM World Champions. World champions that MXGP went to see during the pre-event of the FIM Awards programme that included a signing session with the FIM World Champions. It was a special occasion for every fan to come, meet and exchange with their favourite champions in a lively and joyful atmosphere. The evening opened with an elegant red carpet where guests could take the measure of the importance of their success at the highest stage of motorcycling. The iconic and famous motorcycles showcased at the entrance of the venue were another celebration of the scale of the achievements of past winners and legends. FIM President Jorge Viegas welcomed all the attendees and during a dining ceremony, our
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champions were invited on stage in turns to receive their medals such as 2023 MXGP World Champion Jorge Prado, MX2 World Champions Andrea Adamo, Women’s Motocross World Champion Courtney Duncan who could not be present but addressed a video message to the attendees, 125cc Junior Motocross World Champion Mathis Valin, and 85cc World Champion Dani Heitink, 2023 SNX World Champion Aki Pihlaja, alongside FFM President Sebastien Poirier who collected Team France’s 2023 Monster Energy FIM MXoN winning award and other outstanding figures in motorcycle sport.
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During the backstage interview MXGP World Champion Jorge Prado congratulated all the amazing riders in 2023 and he added “I know it takes a lot of effort to make it happen. In my case I made a dream come true and hopefully next season I can come back to the top”. At the end of the ceremony, Jorge Viegas took a moment to reflect on the history of the FIM, especially as the organisation will celebrate its 120th Anniversary in 2024. The FIM president then grasped that occasion to proudly unveil with a video reminiscing the past and present of motorcycling, the
new FIM logo representing the dynamism and evolution of the organisation throughout the years and stepping into a new era. With the Organisers Meeting concluded, organizers informed and well prepared for next season and our champions of 2023 rewarded at the FIM Awards Ceremony, the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship season can now be in everyone’s mind and wait for the first gate drop in March in ArgentinaPatagonia. Photos: FIM & MXGP
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IN THE EXHILARATING WORLD OF MOTOCROSS, WHERE ADRENALINE MEETS SKILL, THE 2023 EUROPEAN MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS CATEGORIES HAVE EMERGED AS AN INSPIRATION FOR THE SPORT’S PROMISING TALENTS. AS THE DUST SETTLES ON ANOTHER THRILLING SEASON, WE TURN OUR ATTENTION TO THE RISING STARS WHO HAVE ETCHED THEIR NAMES INTO THE ANNALS OF MOTOCROSS HISTORY. THE EMX CATEGORIES ARE HOST TO INTENSE COMPETITION, DETERMINATION, AND RAW TALENT, AND SERVE AS A PIVOTAL STEPPING STONE FOR YOUNG RIDERS ASPIRING TO REACH THE PINNACLE OF MOTOCROSS.
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In the heart of this fiercely contested championship lies the promise of a future generation destined to make waves in the motocross world. The 2023 edition has showcased a dazzling collection of young riders who, with their exceptional skills, are setting the stage and hoping to become part of the next era of motocross dominance. Beyond the thrilling races, the EMX plays a crucial role in shaping the character and abilities of these promising athletes. Young champions who get closer and closer to their dream of becoming part of the elite of the Motocross World Championship.
2023 EMX250 CHAMPION: ANDREA BONACORSI Date of Birth: 23/04/2003 Nationality: Italian
Andrea Bonacorsi has made it to the top of the EMX250 before making the jump in the bigger class. The Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 rider now boasts two European Motocross Championships, in EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing and EMX250.
Place of Birth (City): Bergamo. Nickname: Bona Number: 32 Team: Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 Best result: 2023 EMX250 Champion First EMX250 race: 2021, round of Matterley Basin Favourite track: Matterley Basin 2023 stats: Race wins: 5 Podiums: 9 Overall victories: 4
At 20 years old, Andrea Bonacorsi already has a full trophy cabinet, and he will have to find some space with this new European Championship title, this time in the EMX250 class. A destiny all mapped out. That’s what you’d think when you look at his journey to date in the world of Motocross. His love for motorbike sports was born at a very early age, when the barely two-year-old was walking the paths of the Italian paddocks with his father, a national enduro rider. The passion was already there, and a year later the kid was given his first bike. Once he sat on it, he never got off again. At the age of 8, Bonacorsi took part in his first races in Italy. It was the start of a long road to develop his
riding skills, and one day reach the European and World elite. He reached the top level at the age of 15, when he entered the EMX125 Championship with the team KTM Silver Action. A year to familiarize himself with the category, and in 2018 an important milestone was reached, with the teenager’s first podium in Lommel, the temple of motocross. That day, while he was third behind Swede Filip Olsson and his compatriot Mattia Guadagnini, Andrea realized that nothing could stop him from achieving his title dreams. But he will still have to wait. While he joined team Celestini KTM, 2019 had not been his best year, with a ninth-place finish in the EMX125 overall standings, but the feeling that he could become a Champion remained intact. And that obsession came to fruition a year later. Seven races won in 2020 and four overall wins later, the rider - at the time with Fantic Factory Team Maddii - was on the top step of the overall podium. The Hutten Metaal Yamaha Official EMX250 Team didn’t fail to notice the young phenomenon’s results and welcomed him for the 2021 67
season in the Netherlands, for his switch to the EMX250 class. After an excellent rookie year in which he finished on the podium three times and obtained fourth overall, Bonacorsi started his 2022 season...in MX2! Indeed, he was given the opportunity to replace Thibault Benistant at Matterley Basin, with the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 team. This first attempt did not end as he’d hoped, but other opportunities to shine at this level came later. A second European campaign which he was therefore able to alternate with a few races in the MX2 class resulted in a 6th place in the EMX250 overall standings. Almost anecdotal as the experience gained will be beneficial for the future. Three years after his coronation in EMX125, Andrea Bonacorsi has conquered a new crown. And with manner. In the nine races of the 2023 EMX250 Championship, the Italian reached the podium each time, winning a total of four rounds. During the first Round, in Sardinia, Bonacorsi went 1-1 to get a precious win to kick-start his season, while Prugnieres clinched the second place on the podium and Karssemakers third overall. Then at Trentino, Valerio Lata clinched his first EMX250 win in front of the Red Plate holder who finished second (1-2), and Ferruccio Zanchi third for a 100% Italian podium. Agueda saw Bonacorsi getting his second overall win of the season, while Kay Karssemakers made a good operation with his solid racing getting second on the podium and second in the Championship Standings. Ferruccio Zanchi also rode very well in Portugal getting a well-deserved back-to-back podium. A week later in Madrid, Cas Valk won the overall while the No.32 managed to get an important overall second place for the Championship and Kay Karssemakers made another podium in third. Coming to Eastern Europe then, at Kegums, the boy from Yamaha was surprised by finishing third behind Ivano Van Erp and the consistent Kay Karssemakers. Bonacorsi tried to correct his “failure” in Germany and he finished second behind Marc-Antoine Rossi, but ahead of Kay Karssemakers. Still under threat while he was still leader of the series, the Italian got a new second place at Uddevalla, Sweden (2-2), beaten this this time by Cas Valk, while the third-man Kay Karssemakers 68
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fought hard to get on the last step of the podium. But it wouldn’t be long anymore before Andrea regained the taste of victory. It was in the Netherlands, with a 2-2 result, that he was able to take first overall, in front of Cas Valk and Kay Karssemakers. And at Afyonkarahisar, despite a fourth place in Race 1, the kid from Bergamo surpassed himself to take the lead in the second heat and snatch a precious overall victory, the one that offered him the title, ahead of Valk and Karssemakers. “It’s really cool for me. I worked so hard during the last two-three years to achieve this goal. If I put a goal to myself, I do everything that I can to achieve it. And I did it, so I’m really proud of myself because I did not give up and I’m really proud of all the guys around me,” Bonacorsi rejoiced after winning the overall and the European title in Afyonkarahisar, Türkiye. At the same time, he gave Yamaha its third EMX250 title in the last four years. Thibault Benistant in 2021 and Rick Elzinga in 2022 had previously allowed the Japanese brand to establish itself as the benchmark manufacturer in the category in recent years. 2023 EMX125 PRESENTED BY FMF RACING EUROPEAN CHAMPION: JANIS MARTIN REISULIS Date of Birth: 25/03/2008 Nationality: Latvian Place of Birth (City): Gulbene Racing Number: 772 Best Results: 2023 EMX125 Champion 2023 FIM World Championship Jr 125cc 2nd 2022 EMX125 3rd 2022 FIM World Championship Jr 125cc 2nd 2021 EMX85 2nd Six overall round victories out of the season’s nine, that’s the almost
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perfect record achieved by Janis Martin Reisulis, the new European Champion in the EMX125 presented by FMF Racing. And yet, the Latvian had to fight hard against his great rival, Mathis Valin, right up to the last round in Great Britain, end of Race 1, to exult and secure the top step of the podium. Up until Round 6 in Teutschenthal, Germany, the two boys had managed to win three GPs each and keep the suspense alive. But all that changed at the round of Flanders, when Reisulis took the best of the pack and showed his force of character to win the round and increased his lead in the Championship to 31 points. Still challenged by Valin, Reisulis gradually buried the last hopes of his closest rival. In Round 8 at Uddevalla, Sweden, he won two the races for a perfect win, with authority, leaving his rivals far behind him. The ultimate round in Great Britain saw him definitely establish his dominance over the rest of the pack, with a 28-second lead over Elias Escandell, 2nd in the first heat, before taking the lead to over 40 seconds ahead of his first pursuer in the Championship, Valin in race 2. Janis Reisulis’ success is by no means down to chance. He owes his passion for Motocross to his older brother, Karlis Alberts Reisulis, competing in EMX250, who gave him a taste for this sport by allowing him to try his hand at one of his bikes. From then on, Janis has won his first titles, notably at national level where he became Latvian Champion five times: in the 50-cc class in 2015, then in 85B in 2018, twice in the 85-cc category (2020 and 2021) and in 2022, 125cc class, his first season in the Motorbike category. The 2022 year was also his last with the privateer Motofavorits KTM Team, with whom he took third place in the EMX125 presented by FMF Racing championship and second place at the Junior World Championship, in the same bike class. His two podium finishes convinced the French MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 team that hiring this MX rising star, combined with the highperformance GYTR kitted YZ125, would be a winning bet in the near future. It’s hardly surprising, then, that the Gulbene-born rider has made further progress in 2023, not only with this European title, but also with a second place at the Junior World Championship, which he acquired in the pain of a crash 72
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in Race 1, and of whom we will especially remember the fabulous comeback to take 7th place, before winning the second heat. And, at the end of a busy season, the young rider was able to discover the intensity of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations for the first time in his career, in a team made up of his older brother and another Latvian star, Pauls Jonass, 125cc European Champion and MX2 World Champion ten years earlier. Maybe an omen for the talented young Latvian, Janis Reisulis. 2023 EMX2t CHAMPION: CAS VALK Date of Birth: 28/06/2005 Nationality: Dutch Place of birth: Hellendoorn Racing Number: 172 Team: Fantic Racing MX Best Results: EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Champion, EMX2t Champion The 2023 season was one that followed the successful 2022 season for Fantic Racing MX’s Cas Valk. Along with competing in the EMX250 Championship for his rookie year, Cas Valk decided to line up in the one-round Championship of EMX2t held at Loket, Czech Republic. This proved to be an excellent idea for the young Dutchman who delivered an outstanding performance in hilly Loket to emphatically win the EMX2t with a perfect 1-1. Valk dominated the entire weekend after topping every session from start to finish showing an outstanding control. Following his 2022 EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing title, Valk added another European silverware to his collection with the EMX2t.“It was just the perfect weekend and it was such a cool race. Get the win was even more amazing and I’m super happy to be the new EMX2t champion! It meant really something to me and gave me more confidence for the next EMX250 rounds.” That’s exactly what happened, as he went from strength to strength during the rest of the season. On
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his rookie year in EMX250, he clinched 5 race wins, 2 overall wins and 4 podiums, leading him to an excellent 3rd place in the championship standings to wrap up another excellent season and show his impressive talent. Before asserting and imposing his style with these titles, Valk first started to race at the age of eight. After watching his older sister, Lynn Valk, who finished 4th the 2023 Women’s Motocross World Championship, he entered some local races and after a year he switched to the 65cc and started doing some professional races in the Dutch Championship. That led him to compete in 2021 in the EMX125 presented by FMF Racing along with riders such as the Coenen’s brothers, Sacha and Lucas, Valerio Lata, Ivano Van Erp and the Reisulis brothers, Karlis and Janis. Valk managed to get a podium in Mantova with the 3rd place. After a season of learning and finishing 14th in the standings, Valk came into 2022 with a lot of confidence. He had an immense season and went on to win the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing title with 363 points, 49 points ahead of Karlis Reisulis. This great achievement marked his first European title before jumping in EMX250. Valk is excited about the upcoming 2024 season and has made some significant changes to his racing setup. He will be riding the KTM 250f for Gabriël SS24 KTM with official support from KTM and Joël Smets as his bike trainer. Valk will compete in the EMX250 championship and participate in some MX2 rounds. He is thrilled about this opportunity and can’t wait to kick off the season. Cas Valk, who showed a steady and impressive growth throughout his young career, gained a lot of experience and will be expected to fight for the top spots after this successful season; a challenge that seems to be fitting perfectly for this talented rider. 2023 EMX OPEN EUROPEAN CHAMPION - PIERRE GOUPILLON Date of Birth: 23/02/1999 Nationality: French Place of birth: Brittany Racing Number: 57 Team: Tech 32
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In the tough world of motocross, there are riders whose journeys are filled with passion, determination, and a relentless pursuit of excellence. One such rider is Pierre Goupillon, whose story is a testament to the unwavering spirit of a true motocross champion. His introduction to the world of motorbikes came at the age of four when his father, himself a passionate enthusiast, placed him on a bike. Pierre’s father had harboured a lifelong dream of riding a motorcycle, even though he had never had the means to do so himself. Goupillon’s journey on two wheels began fuelled by the dreams of generations. At the age of seven, in 2007, Pierre embarked on his first race in Romagne, France. It was a modest start, but it was enough to ignite the fire of competition within him. In that very first race, he defied the odds and clinched a remarkable 4th place finish. This taste of success was all it took to convince him that motocross was his destiny, and there was no turning back. However, his journey was not without its share of challenges. In the cadet category, Goupillon faced numerous injuries, preventing him from completing full seasons. His commitment to the sport was still intact as he even sought training opportunities in the United States to further improve his skills. In 2015, Pierre Goupillon transitioned to the 125cc Junior category, marking the beginning of a new chapter. Though he aimed to secure a spot in the top ranks, his initial year saw him finish 4th or 5th. Nevertheless, he remained resolute and continued his quest for greatness. Success finally began to materialize in 2016 when Goupillon clinched a remarkable 3rd place in EMX125, behind Jago Geerts and Stephen Rubini. Despite his impressive performances, Pierre was not yet part of an official team, as it was with his father that they travelled through the European Championship. Pierre proudly remembers “the first podium of my career was at on home soil, at
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St Jean d’Angely in EMX125 in 2016 which I will never forget. “ In 2017 Pierre joined VHR for the EMX250 category and finished 10th in the Championship. In 2018, Pierre made a move to Bud Racing, yet it wasn’t without its challenges but he managed an overall win and 2 podiums for the season. In 2019, Goupillon made a pivotal move to AssoMotor Honda, embarking on a new chapter in his career. He began training with Yves Demaria, setting the stage for a promising pre-season but got injured with a broken femur. At that moment, the thought of quitting crossed his mind. However, it was during this darkest hour that a glimmer of hope emerged. Bud Racing reached out to Pierre’s father, encouraging him to keep racing. It was a lifeline that he grasped with both hands, offering him a contract. Despite the challenges of 2020, marked by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and another injury, Goupillon found himself racing once again, determined to make the most of the opportunity. In 2021, Goupillon made a bold move to Team WIB Motorsports, aligning himself with Tony Werlé and participating in several MX2 Grand Prix. In 2022, Goupillon’s journey took a new direction as he joined Tech32, KTM France. He races in several MX2 Grand Prix again. In 2023, he participated in several MXGP Gran Prix but the significant highlight of his year and his career was his participation in EMXOpen in Lommel, a championship where few expected him to shine. Nevertheless, Goupillon emerged as the champion, concluding the last three seasons at Tech 32 with the best result of his career.
Through injuries, challenges, and moments of doubt, Pierre Goupillon showed great resilience and a great commitment to the sport and to those who supported him throughout his career. The victorious moment at the EMXOpen in Lommel, celebrated with the Marseillaise anthem alongside his team, Tech 32 and family who believed in him, was a testament to the power of persistence and a relentless determination. 2023 EMX85 EUROPEAN CHAMPION: NICOLO ALVISI
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Date of Birth: 31/8/2009 Nationality: Italian Place of Birth (City): Bologna Racing Number: 208 Best Results: 2023 EMX85 Champion 2022 Italian 85cc Senior Champion 2022 Italian “International Supercross” 85cc Champion 2021 Italian 85cc Junior Champion 2020 Italian 65cc Champion (Enduro & Motocross) Italy has had its share of first places this 2023 season, particularly in the youth categories. After Francesco Assini, in EMX65, it was Nicoló Alvisi who took the EMX85 European Champion title, thanks to the 2-1 positions he achieved during the Final in Loket, Czech Republic. A prestigious success for the young rider, product of the Pata Talenti Azzurri FMI project (like EMX250 Champion Andrea Bonacorsi and MX2 World Champion Andrea Adamo) and supported by the Italian Motorcycling Federation. In the first heat, Frenchman Liam Bruneau, one of his rivals, got off to the best start and took the lead. He did so perfectly, leading from start to finish and crossing the chequered flag first. This could have complicated matters for Alvisi, who had to fight hard at the start of the race to climb from 6th place to the top. He even touched wheel with Riccardo Pini midway through the race, as the two battled for 3rd. Alvisi finally overtook his compatriot and took 2nd position. His last-ditch efforts to catch up with Bruneau unfortunately failed to pay off, even though he came within a second of his rival. In the second race, it was Spaniard Juan Izaguirre who took the lead from the first corner. But this time, Nicoló Alvisi had followed well. He stole the lead on that same first lap. A position he retained until the end, despite Bruneau’s return to 2nd place and an attempt to regain 1st for
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the Frenchman, who gave everything to get closer to the Italian. But with this 2-1 performance, the gold went to the young Nicoló. During the regular season, the youngster competed in the Southwest Zone of the European Championship. With one GP missed out of the four – it was in Portugal – he was unable to take full points and had to relinquish first place to Riccardo Pini. But it is interesting to note that like Francesco Assini in 65cc, Alvisi was in the Top 5 at every race, but without winning a round. Born on August 31, 2009, the Castellari GASGAS Team rider already has a track record that would make his rivals green with envy. And not just in motocross: at the age of 11, he won his first Italian championship in the 65cc Enduro class, before repeating the feat in MX, in the same year (2020) and with the same engine. A year later, he won again on home soil, this time in the 85cc category. Building on this success, the young man put in another remarkable performance, winning the Italian International Supercross Championship in the 85cc class. Until this year when he moved to the next level with his European title. Either way, one gold medal per season is difficult to do better at the start of a career. So, let’s hope for him that this is just the start of a long series. EMX65 EUROPEAN CHAMPION: FRANCESCO ASSINI Date of Birth: 11.08.2011 Nationality: Italian Place of Birth (City): Brescia Racing Number: 265 Best Results: 2023 EMX65 Champion 2023 Team Junior World Champion 2023 3rd at 65cc Junior World Championship 2023 Italian Champion 85 cc 2022 Italian Champion 65 cc His smile was tense, but his position in front of the cameras was already good. Barely 12 years old, Francesco Assini received one of the first rewards of his
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young career at the MXGP Awards last September, after winning the EMX65 ahead of France’s Tim Lopes and Britain’s Harry Dale. Although Dale, who had an exceptional season, was the favourite going into the final at Loket, Czech Republic, on 15 and 16 July, the young Italian made the most of his chance to claim a well-deserved gold medal. In Race 1, Assini got off to the best start and took the lead from Tim Lopes. A battle ensued between the two youngsters, until the Frenchman made a mistake on his GasGas, allowing the number 265 to pull away. Lopes tried to come back, but his efforts were not enough to get ahead, allowing Assini to take the win. In the second heat, Harry Dale got off to an excellent start. The Briton led from start to finish and crossed the line ahead of everyone else. Meanwhile, Francesco Assini got off to a very poor start, but the Azzurri rider pulled off a heroic comeback to climb from 9th to 4th place,
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synonymous with the European Championship title. This performance sums up Francesco’s year. With his LGM Racing Team, the youngster showed great consistency finishing in the Top 5 in each of the four GPs, with a brilliant result in Portugal in particular, where he took 50 points by winning both races. His hard-working attitude is reminiscent of one of his compatriots, Andrea Adamo, also a Champion this season, even if it’s a World title. Assini finished first in the Motocross European Championship South West Zone, with 163 points, comfortably ahead of Slovenia’s Alex Novak (131 points), who missed the GP at Fernao Joanes, Portugal, and Tim Lopes (119 points), who was absent at Mladina, Croatia. But that wasn’t the only accolade of the year for ‘Francy’. At the FIM Junior Motocross World Championship in Bucharest, the Italian rising star took the team gold medal, ahead of the Netherlands and France. As an
individual, he finished 3rd in his 65cc race. Young Latvian Patricks Cirulis and American Easton Graves finished ahead of him. For the time being, the young fellow who made motocross his passion when he was just four years old is officially preparing to move up to the 85cc junior category in 2024. A progression that shouldn’t frighten him, having already won a national title in this class this year. And let’s not forget his recent bronze medal in the European Supercross, again in 85cc. So, it remains to be seen whether Francesco Assini will be capable of repeating such a good year next season. In any case, what seems certain is that the training of the next generation of Italian phenomena is already underway. Hats off to the outstanding champions of 2023! We look forward to witnessing their achievements and prowess in 2024.
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E M A F F O
CLÉMENT “MX PANDA” TITLE DESALLE WITH TWENTY-THREE GP WINS, THIRTY-FIVE RACE WINS AND EIGHTY-TWO GP PODIUMS, CLÉMENT DESALLE HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MAIN PROTAGONISTS OF THE MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DURING FIFTEEN YEARS. HE NEVER CLAIMED AN INDIVIDUAL WORLD TITLE, BUT HE WAS PART OF THE WINNING TEAM AT THE 2013 MONSTER ENERGY FIM MOTOCROSS OF NATIONS AND COLLECTED THREE SILVER MEDALS AND THREE BRONZE MEDALS IN THE MAIN CLASS. Motocross has always been part of Clément’s life, as his father was used to ride motocross bikes. Born on 19th May 1989 in La Louvière, Clément got a little bike when he was a kid; at first he rode it in the garden, and when he turned ten years old, he had the opportunity to go on a real motocross track. Training in Belgium but living close to the French border, he also trained in France and regularly entered some rounds of the French championship as school was the priority for his parents. Runner up in the 2001 Minivert series, he started to race the full season in the 125cc European championship in 2005 and impressed the staff of team Kurz Suzuki, who signed him to race the German series. As Clément enjoyed riding a 450cc bike really young, it was not really a surprise for his father to see him jumping straight from a 125cc to a 450cc four stroke when he joined team Kurz. He started racing some German supercross and later got the
opportunity to race a few GP’s when he was only seventeen years old! It was a kind of dream for him, and it took him only four seasons in the main class to be able to win his first GP’s. Racing for Honda LS in 2009, he got his first ever podium at the first round of the MX1 series at Faenza, and later that season he won two of the last GP’s in Czechoslovakia and Brazil. At 20 years old, he was ready to join Sylvain Geboers and the factory Suzuki team. During five seasons Clément was a title contender, winning GP’s every year and fighting with Antonio Cairoli for the World title. The 2011 season was nearly perfect, as he was tight in points with his Italian rival by midseason, but he missed the last rounds due to an injury suffered during a round of the Belgian championship. In 2012 and 2013 he again collected a silver medal, the third one within four campaigns, but then he never had the opportunity to do an entire season due to injuries. 89
In 2016 he signed with Kawasaki but broke his collarbone during a preseason race and missed several rounds. However, he helped the team to develop the bike and won the Dutch GP. Winner in France and Russia one year later, he was on the championship podium until the Dutch round at Assen where he crashed and missed the last two GP’s due to a back injury. In 2018 he collected his sixth and last medal in the MXGP class, a bronze one after a full season for the first time since 2013; winner in Russia for the second year in a row he would not be so successful at Orlyonok in 2019 when he broke his tibia-fibula in a brutal crash. When the Covid-19 affected all plans for the 2020 campaign after two GP’s, nobody could imagine that it would be the last season of Clément, who announced his retirement from professional racing just before the Belgian GP. Never giving up during his career, he won his last moto and enjoyed his last podium celebration at Arco di Trento in November, ending the first chapter of his career. Then he enjoyed racing some enduro with friends as his life has always been linked with Offroad bikes, until he was approached by Thierry Chizat Suzzoni, his former team owner, to be part of a new and exciting project. During almost one year Clément has been working closely with the Triumph factory and the team based in the Netherlands to develop the 250cc Triumph, which will make its official debut at the MXGP of Argentina in March 2024 with Danish Mikkel Haarup and South African Camden McLellan. Text and Photos: Pascal Haudiquert
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2005:
5th in the 125 Junior World Championship (Yamaha)
2006
25th in the MX1 World Championship (Suzuki)
2007
20th in the MX1 World Championship (Suzuki)
2008
11th in the MX1 World Championship (Suzuki)
2009
3rd in the MX1 World Championship (Honda). Win 2 GP’s 3rd at the MX of Nations with team Belgium
2010
2nd in the MX1 World Championship (Suzuki). Win 3 GP’s 2nd at the MX of Nations with team Belgium
2011
3rd in the MX1 World Championship (Suzuki). Win 4 GP’s
2012
2nd in the MX1 World Championship (Suzuki). Win 2 GP’s 2nd at the MX of Nations with team Belgium
2013
2nd in the MX1 World Championship (Suzuki). Win 4 GP’s Winner of the MX of Nations with team Belgium
2014
4th in the MXGP World Championship (Suzuki). Win 4 GP’s
2015
10th in the MXGP World Championship (Suzuki)
2016
8th in the MXGP World Championship (Kawasaki). Win 1 GP
2017
4th in the MXGP World Championship (Kawasaki). Win 2 GP’s
2018
3rd in the MXGP World Championship (Kawasaki). Win 1 GP
2019
14th in the MXGP World Championship (Kawasaki)
2020
7th in the MXGP World Championship (Kawasaki)
S K L A T K C O D PAD 1
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Standing Construct Honda MXGP signed Alberto Forato for the 2024 season which is an exciting new chapter for the young Italian rider who proved to be very fast in 2023
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Isak Gifting joins JK Racing Yamaha for 2024. Th Swedish rider will take part in his rookie MXGP year on board of a Yamaha livery.
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The Provisional Officially Approved Teams (OAT) list has been unveiled with 23 Teams in 2024. The teams will be distributed through 15 teams in MXGP and 13 in MX2 with notably the addition of the Monster Energy Triumph Racing Team in MX2.
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Alvin Ostlund has signed for another year with the Swedish Team JWR Honda Racing Powered by 24MX to compete in the MXGP in 2024. The Swede will hope to improve his 17th place in the MXGP Championship.
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The Swiss rider Jeremy Seewer has officially joined the Kawasaki Racing Team. The 3rd in the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship will wear the green colours of Kawasaki alongside Romain Febvre to form a very strong team in 2024.
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Yamaha Revealed the 2023 YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup Winners during the bLU cRU Masterclass held over two-days at Motocross des Costières in France with Gautier Paulin and Nancy Van De Ven. The winners were Giorgio Orlando in the YZ125 Cup, Bertram Thorius and Willads Gordon in the YZ85 and YZ65 categories respectively.
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De Carli Racing will keep leading the Red Bull GASGAS Facory in the future. A Multi-year contract will ensure consistency for GASGAS Factory team.
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E L R A U I T C A E E SP F
2011 KTM 350SX-F 94
IT’S NOT OFTEN THAT A MOTORCYCLE COMES ALONG WHICH IS CONSIDERED AS A POTENTIAL GAMECHANGER, BUT WHEN NEWS BEGAN TO CIRCULATE THAT KTM WAS PREPARING TO ENTER THE MARKET WITH AN ALL-NEW 350CC, IN A MOVE WHICH COULD POSSIBLY DISRUPT THE PRODUCTION OF 450CC MOTOCROSS BIKES, IT’S FAIR TO SAY THAT MORE THAN A FEW EYEBROWS WERE RAISED.
MSMA level and most of the other manufacturers agreed, but unfortunately not all of them.’ But, whilst its time in MXGP was short-lived, the 350SX-F did in fact cause quite a stir, and so, in this issue of MXGP Magazine we will be taking a look at how this project came about. MXGP MAG: So, how did this ambitious project come about? Robert Jonas, Vice President Off-Road Racing (KTM Group) provided a backdrop for us: ‘The idea of a 350cc was born in that time because of ongoing safety discussions in motocross. We were convinced that a reduction of the capacity (from 450cc) to 350cc was a way to reduce the risk of injury, as a smaller bike theoretically, was easier to control when racing on the limits. We even tried to push this through on FIM and
One of the key figures in the project was Stefan Everts, although talks of a new 350cc began long before Everts joined KTM at the end of 2006/’07, as Jonas recalls: ‘It was an idea born between Mr. Peirer and Pit Beirer, and it was just a theory we had at that time – and I have to say, our 450cc, if you remember, the engine concept was called ‘773’ – and this engine was a rather big one, handling-wise. It had a lot of power; Max Nagl was, I think, still racing that one, and I remember a few years before it was developed with Jonathan Barragan. Seeing the disadvantages of the 450cc and seeing the 250cc becoming faster and faster, the conclusion
was made that the 350cc could be the right concept for the future. And I believe it was made between Mr. Peirer and Pit at that time. The project was actually called ‘Motocross New’ at the beginning, and not yet 350cc.’ Champ For Hire Now, cast your minds back to 2006. Stefan Everts had just clinched his tenth world championship, his sixth for Yamaha, and had already announced it would be his final season of racing. From there, it was widely considered he would naturally slip into some kind of ambassadorial role or as an obvious choice as a lead test and development rider. But, when it was announced at the MXoN at Matterley Basin that the G.O.A.T of the FIM Motocross world Championship would be joining forces with KTM as its Motocross Racing Director, it was more than a bombshell moment. 95
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Initially, his role was to help nurture and develop the next wave of talent within KTM, but over the next couple of years he would become a key figure in the firms most ambitious off-road project since the company was formed in 1953. However, it wasn’t just a 350cc that was in the pipeline, but also the introduction of an all-new linkage system which would replace the tried and tested PDS system, something which only KTM was running at that time. Stefan picks up the story: ‘Already in 2007, we started the discussion about the linkage, within a couple of months of me being there at KTM. After thinking about the American market and if you want to enter there in supercross, ‘you need to have a link’ was one of my remarks and also in general you know, we need a better-looking bike, slimmer; and that’s where the linkage thing started.’ Also present in those discussions was Robert Jonas, who recalls some of Everts’ comments after testing the 450cc, which was being raced at that time: ‘The linkage discussion was done in a triangle between Stefan, Pit and myself. During the first test actually, with our (then) current bike, Stefan gave us not so good feedback. He described some specific issues he had; especially in sand, going to the take-offs of the jumps when it was rutted, and he wanted to be able to choose a line on top of the wall between two ruts. And our bike at that time was not precise enough to allow him to do this regularly, and with a certain safety, so in general he was looking for a more precise bike.’ ‘We had the technician in the workshop, he was still working on the PDS frame with a different shock mount to separate the shock mount a little bit from the top tube, because the PDS frame, the shock mount was directly mounted on the upper tube, and the theory was that all the forces from the shock, they would just push into the top tube and arrive then somehow at
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the handlebars. And that was a killer for comfort, and also made it less precise, so to say. And indeed, this first move from our technician where we had a prototype frame done, that was a big step forward, and at the same time, at the same test – on 12th July 2007 – we had the first linkage test with Stefan.’ Nice Chassis With the linkage test done and successful, you would assume that everyone was happy, right? Hmm, not everyone – there were some internal struggles and some people who still needed convincing – but for now, it was a step in the right direction at least, as Jonas recalls: ‘This was still the 450cc, the old engine, and we were working on that chassis first and it was a big step for this first prototype frame; and then the same frame concept we added the linkage, and that was a milestone. And Stefan was just so blown away from the function of this prototype.’ ‘The PDS was quite settled here in KTM, and a topic you would not touch basically, and so we definitely needed a lot of power to convince our board and also the technicians to leave the PDS concept for linkage; with Stefan, and with these tests we had done quite successfully, then we were able to convince those guys.’ Whilst the chassis and linkage tests were being carried out, the R&D unit was finalising tests on what was now a 350cc engine, but not everybody was aware of project ‘Motocross New’, or certainly not in the beginning at least. One of those was Everts himself: ‘I’m not sure about the first discussions of the 350cc, because all of the discussions about the engine were done with the design team, then it went to the Dyno for many hours of tests; I was not a part of that process but one day eventually, it was ready to go.’ Bearing in mind that the first discussions of a 350cc engine took place during 2006 before Everts joined KTM, the first tests to take place on-track were not until early 2009, with Robert Jonas documenting a further test as ‘350 SXF ‘P2’ (Prototype 2 phase) in July 2009. By now though, Jonas’ time as Project Leader for the chassis and linkage tests had already come to an end in 2008, leaving the 350cc engine development 98
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in the hands of R&D and Everts himself. Joining Stefan on several of those tests was Thomas Traversini, who according to Jonas, was an important asset as ‘we had to do all the tests in secret, and I remember when we had to use tracks in Italy, Thomas was helping us a lot; he knew pretty much everything and everyone where we could test behind closed gates. He was also quite sometimes involved as a test rider.’ One of the things that stands out the most from when Jonas was in charge of the chassis project, was how good Everts was as a test rider, as he reflects: ‘What I definitely remember quite well, and is still impressive today, is how Stefan was as a test rider. Like, being retired from his career and being ten times world champion, he came testing with us and he didn’t care about the weather or the rain, he just did the job.’ ‘Also, how precise his comments were; I’ve never seen that coming from any rider, coming close to how precise and how good Stefan’s comments were. And at that time, we recorded every single lap time and he was almost all of the time 100% accurate also what was concerning the lap time, so he could confirm anything. If he told us ‘this was better and that he was faster’ the lap time would show it. That was really outstanding, I would say!’ Quite an important asset when developing a new bike. Jonas was mostly speaking of the times when Everts would test the 250cc or 450cc with the new chassis, and whilst Jonas’ comments are positive, for Everts, there was still the ‘unknowing’ as to how it might translate with the 350cc engine, as the G.O.A.T recalls: ‘The linkage/chassis was a prototype and so we were comparing against the old bike and the new bike, so at times it was difficult, you know? Is it really better, is it the right direction we are going in, because before we had the 350cc
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engine, we only had the 450cc engine, and so the engine has a lot of influence on the chassis.’ ‘I don’t say guessing, but it was hard to imagine how the 350cc would be inside that chassis that we were developing. It wasn’t so easy. Just like when I was a test rider when racing, to always be 100% sure or convinced, is it really the right direction and all that, you know?’ By the end of 2009, the 350cc project was now in full-swing and gaining momentum. Coincidentally, this aligned with Antonio Cairoli winning his first MX1 World Championship, and when he and Claudio De Carli could not agree terms to extend their agreement with Yamaha, KTM signed their entire team in a heartbeat for the 2010 season. Part 2 of this incredible journey will continue next month, but the rest as they say, is history. Whilst Tony Cairoli raced the factory 350cc in 2010, the production version that KTM had worked on collectively since 2006 was released into production in 2011, and by now we had seen how this all-new bike had fared on the world stage, particularly in the hands of Cairoli. For ‘222’ he probably had no clue as to what went into making his 350cc, but behind that bike and the one that would finally make it to production, was a small army of ambitious workers. For Everts, it was an experience he will never forget, especially seeing the clay model of the KTM 350SX-F for the first time, at the start of the project, as he fondly remembers: ‘I wanted to have a slimmer bike and a much better-looking bike, because the 2007 model looked big. The whole package and the combination of a new 350cc engine, a steel frame, a new linkage, better looking bike started getting in my head about how it could look. The easy part of the whole process is putting it together in your head, but realising it is another thing.’ ‘Eventually I went to Austria to visit KISKA, the design agency, to see the first clay model of the new bike. Seeing it go from a design on paper to a clay model, I was really impressed. I’d never seen that before in my life. The base of it is a normal bike but the outside they build up with clay and they make it exactly like it is on the design, on paper, and it looked so trick! And then you 102
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can say ‘I want a bit off here, and there, I want this higher or lower, and they can do it, immediately! While you’re standing there.’ The ‘outside’ he was referring to was what would eventually be the bodywork, and the clay allows you to fine-tune the design prior to production. Robert Jonas also shared Everts’ view upon seeing the clay model for the first time: ‘I was blown away by how much we could shape the bike on site, and then Stefan would be there, I was there, also a few other riders and they brought their pants, knee braces and boots, and we were trying to find the best shape of the bike and of course, the most important voice was Stefan’s at that time, and since then, we’ve kept involving our factory riders when a new model comes, we try to have them involved in our clay model checks.’ Everts’ admiration for the team behind the project was also plain to see, reflecting that, ‘there were a lot of people involved developing the motorcycle, from the chassis guys to the engine guys to the designers; it’s very complicated to design a new bike and bring it all
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together, and from my side it was very interesting to see that side of it. When you are a racer, you don’t have any idea what it takes to develop a bike, and that whole process I went through was a great experience.’ ‘What I also remember is that the 350cc was the start of the new era for KTM; the start of having a much cooler bike also, in general with the linkage, because another point that made it harder was WP! When they heard KTM were going to change to the link, the WP guys invented the Track-System and that made the PDS a lot better.’ Upon reflection, Robert Jonas added: ‘The 350SX-F was definitely ahead of its time, yes. For supercross, we never got (to see) the full proof of if the bike can make it or not, because in that time we raced it we had Andrew Short and Mike Alessi, and they were not really title-contenders; yes, they were competitive with this bike, but it would have been interesting of course to see a top guy sitting on a 350cc in America, where in America ‘if a bike has to have a linkage, a bike has to have a linkage!’ And, a motocross bike or a supercross bike does have
a linkage, so, you have to have a linkage. ‘That was definitely clear also to us at that time. Even if you can make it work with a PDS, convincing a rider to come your way, the bike has to have a linkage … and 450cc! That was also something, and we couldn’t get a top rider for our 350cc (over there). The 350SX-F became the top selling motocross motorcycle in our portfolio and even though we had developed a new 450cc a few years later and won races and championships in the US with that bike, the 350cc remained as the most selling mx bike for many years.’ Whilst this statistic has recently changed to where 250cc and 450cc KTMs have now eclipsed the 350cc in sales, it can’t be denied that the KTM 350SX-F was a gamechanger! It came, it saw, and for a handful of years it conquered the world at the very highest level. NEXT MONTH: Part 2 – Antonio Cairoli’s 2010 KTM 350SX-F Photos: KTM & MXGP
S N R O O I T T I S E ED E U QO TH T ❝
Hello MXGP, could you let me know the date for the MXGP of Switzerland and where it will be held at? Hector:
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Hi Hector: , The MXGP of Switzerland will be held on 25 August in Frauenfeld like last season. Check all the info of the Grand Prix at https://www.mxgp.com/tracks Thanks MXGP
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Hello MXGP, where do I see the full MXGP Calendar for 2024? Jules Hi Jules, please check the 2024 MXGP calendar at www. mxgp.com You will see all the Grand Prix and dates. Regards MXGP
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Hi MXGP, how do I check the MX2 results of the 2020 season? Justin
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Dear Justin, Check the results section on www.mxgp.com. You will be able to find all the results of all categories from 2004 onwards. Best Regards MXGP
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Hello MXGP, I am working as a photographer for a magazine and I would like to come to some MXGP events in 2024, where do I start? Eric Hello Eric : if you are an international media, please contact a.andreu@ mxgp.com no later than 2 weeks before the event. If you are a national media contact the Local press officer no later than 2 weeks in advance (find details on their pages at https://www.mxgp.com/tracks Thanks MXGP
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Hello MXGP, I am working for a magazine and I would like to get accredited for some Grand Prix during the season, could you tell me how it works Maya
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Hi Maya, of course we can help you with that request. You can go directly at https://www.mxgp. com/inside-mxgp/mediaapplications and you will see all the steps you need to do to get accredited. Thanks MXGP
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