MXGP #126 2024

THE BALTIC BATTLER

18

RIDER OF THE MONTH

54

HALL OF FAME

08 COOL SHOTS

GIRLS

MXGP

DEAR MXGP FANS, ALREADY TWO FANTASTIC GRAND PRIX ARE IN THE BOOKS. THE OPENING ROUND OF THE SEASON IN ARGENTINA – VILLA LA ANGOSTURA KEPT ITS REPUTATION OF BEING ONE OF THE BEST ATMOSPHERE GRAND PRIX OF THE YEAR. THE LATIN AMERICAN FANS WERE PRESENT MASSIVELY TO THE COMEBACK OF THE BEST MOTOCROSS RIDERS ON THE BEAUTIFUL PATAGONIA SITUATED TRACK. IT WAS ALSO VERY NICE TO MEET AGAIN THE WHOLE PADDOCK AFTER THE WINTER BREAK.

The defending MXGP Champion Jorge Prado started his season on the best way possible with a Grand Prix Victory. The podium was completed by Romain Febvre and Tim Gajser. In MX2, Kay De Wolf made also a very impressive beginning of season, followed by Simon Laengenfelder and Mikkel Haarup, who wrote History by putting the new Triumph 250cc bike on a podium at their first Grand Prix.

Then the paddock landed in Spain for the first Grand Prix in Europe. Prado was expecting a big attendance to support him for its first appearance after being crowned World Champion and the fans didn’t disappoint him. He scored a perfect weekend with 1-1-1 on Saturday’s RAM Qualifying Race and both Sunday Races. The podium was completed by Gajser and Febvre and Jeffrey Herlings finished 4th. The top 5 are in less than 50 points after the two first Grand Prix and the season promises to be very exciting. In MX2, De Wolf confirmed the good start in Argentina with a second victory, Laengenferlder finished second and Adamo scored important points in the journey of defending his MX2 World Title.

During the Argentinian Grand Prix and its traditional Press Conference, I announced the creation of a bright new Electric Motocross World Championship Category, the MXEP, that will start during the 2026 season. Based on the evolution of this technology during the past years and in collaboration with the FIM and the bike Manufacturers, we felt it was the time to start shaping a series that would takes place during the Grand Prix Weekend. It will allow us to use the fantastic MXGP platform, its audience and popularity to make this new category to grow and to touch new fans. It won’t be a question to mix electric bikes and classic ICE bikes during the same race, but to consider this new technology as a new way of promoting our sport. Now we will work hard during the next two years with the FIM

and the Manufacturers Association to create the technical rules of this new category. Our idea will be to start with 6 races, mainly in Europe and then develop it.

In Spain, we announced the prolongation for three more years of the MXGP of The Netherlands in Arnhem. After a very good first edition last year we are delighted to continue our collaboration with Dik Van Wikselaar and Maarten Roos until 2027. It is very important for the Dutch fans and riders to have a home Grand Prix and the MXGP has found a very professional and organized structure with them.

The second season of the Behind the Gate was back this week, and Episode 0 – Time for Redemption is available on YouTube MXGP channel and Episode 1 – Re-Ignited is already available on www.MXGP-TV.com. I invite all of you to watch it and enjoy the MXGP behind the scenes production. We’ve created this new program to go further than racing and to tell the story beyond the racers and all what make MXGP so spectacular and exceptional. If you want live action, you can still subscribe to MXGP-TV.com and follow all the races of Saturday and Sunday live!

I wish you a good week and see you in Riola Sardo for the third Grand Prix of the season in Italy.

David Luongo CEO of Infront Moto Racing

IN IT TO WIN IT

AFTER A FIVE-MONTH WINTER BREAK, MXGP FINALLY BURST BACK INTO LIFE IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE WITH THE YPF-INFINIA MXGP OF PATAGONIA-ARGENTINA, AND HOW GOOD WAS THAT? AS RACING-NUTS, WE WERE FINALLY BACK IN OUR ‘HAPPY PLACE’ WATCHING THE BEST RIDERS IN THE WORLD DOING THEIR THING, AND HONESTLY, THERE IS NO BETTER SIGHT NOR SOUND, THAN 40 RIDERS GOING BAR-TO-BAR ON THE BEST CIRCUITS IN THE WORLD.

However, aside from competing for the world championship title, there are several other ‘competitions’ taking place throughout the season as well, and if you’re not familiar with what they are exactly, then listen up! Especially you riders.

When you sign up to race the FIM Motocross World Championship, as a rider you know that the ultimate prize is to be crowned world champion, eventually; and to do that, all you need to do is score more points than your rivals over a twenty-round grand prix season which starts in March and ends at the end of

September. Easier said than done though, and not everyone will achieve that ultimate goal. To keep things interesting, during the course of the season, there are other competitions within the main competition of the world championship which are possibly more attainable, courtesy of some of our partners in MXGP. So, what are they and how do they work? Let’s begin with the start, shall we?

FOX Holeshot

As avid followers of MXGP you will know that the most important thing about any race is getting a good start, or as we like to call it, getting the holeshot. With a white line painted across the width of the track, we are able to ascertain upon close inspection, which rider crosses that line first, and therefore credited with the holeshot.

The rules for this are simple: cross the white holeshot line more times than anyone else during the season and you will win the FOX Holeshot competition. This only applies to the MX2 and MXGP categories and does not include the RAM Qualifying races on Saturday, so in theory, there are 40 opportunities

available to pick up a holeshot (20 GP’s, 2 races at each GP).

As the season progresses, we keep a running total and at the end of the year, the rider with the most holeshots in MX2 receives a cheque from FOX Racing. At the end of each race, the rider who crossed the holeshot line first, also receives a black plate for his efforts.

In recent years, the most prolific starter and winner of the most black plates, and therefore the most FOX Holeshots has been Jorge Prado, and with his three holeshots so far this season (from the first two GP’s) the Spaniard has so far amassed a staggering 133 FOX Holeshots, which means he also has 133 black plates packed away in boxes somewhere at home, or maybe on some shelves or at the team workshop!

At the end of 2016, Prado raced three MX2 GP’s as a wildcard in readiness for his move into the class in 2017, and from his six gate drops, he bagged three, meaning a 50% strike rate. Not bad when the rider with the most FOX Holeshots that year was Max Anstie. How many did Max win? Seven! Jeffrey Herlings collected six, Pauls Jonass took five whilst

Dylan Ferrandis claimed four. Behind Prado was David Herbreteau with two, whilst NINE other riders claimed one black plate. When you look at who those riders were – Roberts Justs, Jeremy Seewer, Thomas Covington, Alexandr Tonkov, Brian Bogers, Conrad Mewse, Samuele Bernardini, Austin Forkner and Darian Sanayei – then this tells you that anyone has the opportunity to win this competition, although, it really does help if you have good reactions and great technique as well.

Since 2017, Prado has not lost the Fox Holeshot competition, winning it three years in a row in MX2 from 2017-2019, and every year since in MXGP from 2020. The most he has scored in a single season? Go on, guess! TWENTY-SIX in 2018, which he followed up with twenty-three the following year, his final season in MX2.

When he won the competition with fourteen in 2017, only his Red Bull KTM teammate Pauls Jonass got close, the Latvian collecting an impressive ten, but in his most prolific year when he collected twenty-six, Prado’s closest challenger was Thomas Covington with five. In 2019, Tom Vialle picked up eight black plates, to Prado’s twenty-three and when he moved to MXGP in 2020, the ‘61’ claimed another sixteen to Tim Gajser’s six, despite missing the last eight moto’s of the year.

The closest anyone has got to challenging Prado in the premier class was Jeremy Seewer last year in 2023, and the Swiss rider actually led the competition with eleven, to Prado’s ten, with four rounds to go. From the remaining eight moto’s though, Prado went on to collect four more, to edge out Seewer, 14-11.

As for 2024, with four gate drops done, Prado has already bagged three black plates, meaning a 75% strike rate already, so it’s fair to say that the trend looks likely to continue for another season. From the 133 FOX Holeshots he has claimed to date (including Spain, round two) Prado has converted them to an impressive eighty race wins.

In MX2, the picture this year is slightly different; In Argentina we saw two different riders claim a FOX Holeshot – Sacha Coenen in race one and Mikkel Haarup in race two, and when Simon Laengenfelder added his name to the list in race one, Spain, with his first black plate of the season, we thought it was going to be one of those years; but along came Sacha Coenen once more to claim his second of the campaign.

In 2016, fifteen different riders collected a black plate, and in 2022 and 2023, there were twelve different winners, with Laengenfelder the defending champion, if you like. Will 2024 be any different, will one rider stand out as Prado has done since 2017? We will have to wait and see.

Acerbis Fastest Lap

In a similar way to the Fox holeshot competition, The Acerbis fastest lap does exactly what it says on the tin, and it’s quite simple, really. But, for those who need an explanation, here it goes. During each grand prix weekend, Sunday’s programme sees two races for MX2 and MXGP, and as each race goes on, circuit conditions can either

improve – due to the track drying out – or they can deteriorate, like a sand or mud race for instance. Either way, at some point during the race, a rider will register the fastest lap of the race, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that that rider is the eventual race winner. Anyway, from the two races in each class, whichever rider registers the fastest lap in either the first or second race, that rider will be credited with the accolade of being the winner of the Acerbis fastest lap.

For instance, take the most recent grand prix in Spain at intu-Xanadu Arroyomolinos:

MX2 Race 1, Nestaan Husqvarna’s Kay De Wolf posted the fastest lap of 1:52.225 on Lap

3 of 18, but in Race 2, Red Bull KTM’s Andrea Adamo’s fastest lap of 1:51.506 on Lap 4 was marginally quicker, and with Adamo’s lap being the quickest over the two races, it was the Italian who was credited with the Acerbis Fastest Lap in Spain. In both instances, both riders went on to win the race.

In Argentina, it was the class rookie MarcAntoine Rossi who registered the quickest lap for Red Bull GASGAS with a time of 1:46.688 on Lap 3 of Race 1, before going on to finish in 4th place. Heading to round three, this competition is tied between Rossi and Adamo, although it’s the latter who leads the standings due to him picking up the most recent fastest lap of the series.

In MXGP, it maybe comes as little or no surprise that it was Jorge Prado who claimed the fastest lap in Spain, setting the pace in both races. And just to show how consistent the overall grand prix winner was, The Red Bull GASGAS rider posted a 1:51.190 on Lap 2 of Race 1, followed by a 1:51.181 on Lap 2 of Race 2. He also set the fastest lap of 1:46.699 in Race 1 in Argentina, also on the second lap. So, for Prado, two fastest laps, both coming on Lap 2.

In recent years, and since we have had a fastest lap competition, the most dominant performance by a rider was in 2018 when Jeffrey Herlings decimated the competition on his way to his first MXGP World Championship. From the twenty rounds, Herlings set the fastest lap on no fewer than EIGHTEEN occasions, even though he missed the GP in Lombardia due to injury. The other two laps went to Antonio Cairoli, making it a clean sweep for the season for Red Bull KTM.

In 2023, Jorge Prado accomplished the triple by winning the FOX Holeshot and Acerbis Fastest Lap on his way to winning the MXGP World Championship. It’s the third time that he achieved this having claimed all three in 2018 and 2019 in MX2 on his way to winning the championship.

RAM Qualifying

On Saturday at each round of MXGP the riders begin the day with Free Practice, followed by a Timed Practice session. In the timed session, the riders need to record their fastest lap which determines their start position, or grid position

– the order in which they go to the start line for the RAM Qualifying Race.

The RAM Qualifying Race duration is 20 minutes + 2 Laps, and the finishing order determines the riders’ grid position for the two main races on Sunday. In the same way as the Fox Holeshot competition, the winner of the RAM Qualifying Race will receive a RAM Award in the form of a black plate, and as of 2023, these races also came with world championship points, awarded to the first ten finishers: 10 points for 1st place – 9 points for 2nd … with 10th place picking 1 point.

At the end of the season, the MXGP riders with the most RAM Qualifying wins will also receive a prize in the form of a ‘driving experience’ from RAM which covers a period of 6 months. Roughly translated, this means the use of a RAM vehicle for 6 months. However, on this occasion, this only applies to the MXGP class and does not include MX2.

Last year, Jorge Prado dominated the RAM Qualifying Races in the MXGP class, picking up eleven wins in the series. After two rounds Prado is tied with Tim Gajser with both riders winning one RAM race apiece.

So, as you can see, there are a few different ways in which riders can motivate themselves in order to take their riding to the next level. For some, even collecting a black plate for taking the Fox Holeshot is an achievement as it might not happen very often, but that’s not to say it’s impossible. And who knows, given the right circumstances, an Acerbis Fastest Lap can also be achieved, but in order to do any of the above, you have to be in it to win it. Good luck.

ARGENTINA & SPAIN

ALL STARTS WITH ARGENTINA

THE ARGENTINIAN ATMOSPHERE IS SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE IN MOTOCROSS WANT TO EXPERIENCE, WHETHER BY RIDERS, TEAMS AND THE PADDOCK IN GENERAL, AS THE INTENSE YET RELAX GRAND PRIX PUT AN INDELIBLE PRINT IN THE MXGP CALENDAR.

As the opening round, the PatagoniaArgentinian Grand Prix is always busy and fill with duties from the riders’ video graphics and official photos, to the MXGP officials. But it is also the perfect environment for teams, mechanics and riders alike to meet again after a long winter of preparation with so much anticipation and changes. Let’s not forget the 42,000 Argentinian and Latin American fans coming especially for this important Grand Prix and showed that MXGP has a special place in all South America’s heart!

Starting the celebratory weekend was the 2024 season’s Opening Press conference with Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo, FIM/CMS Director Antonio Alia Portela and the organizer of the YPF INFINIA MXGP of Patagonia Argentina. Warm welcomes and excitement were on the menu for the first press conference of the year. All guests expressed the historic season incoming with many World Champions on the starting line.

MXEP announcement

An added announcement also made his way up to the headlines of the MXGP world and beyond during the Opening Press Conference. Mr Luongo officially announced the creation of a fully electric class from 2026. The supporting class to the MXGP and MX2 championships, will be named MXEP. This ground-breaking news focused on further enhancing the motocross experience for riders, fans, and manufacturers alike. MXGP will serve as a perfect global platform to showcase prototype electric bikes across 6 rounds in Europe, running alongside MXGP events.

Two years until the grand debut of the new class will be used by Infront Moto Racing

to collaborate very closely with the FIM and the MSMA to craft the regulations and the necessary infrastructure to establish the MXEP as a thrilling championship. Once again MXGP will lead the charge in pioneering new initiatives with a focus on further enhancing the motocross experience for riders, fans, and manufacturers alike.

Electric Media Event in Villa La Angostura

Speaking about electric, with the famous Latin American passion for sport and the incredible welcome that people can experience throughout the whole region, there were no doubts the first media event of the season would be an electric one! Electric is exactly what it was with many fans coming to Villa La Angostura’s downtown on the Friday to get a glimpse of these impressive athletes and maybe get a signed poster from their heroes.

With the special place that the Argentinian town and the region have in all riders’ heart, all the top riders came to the signing session for this communion with their fans. The riders present included 2023 World Champion Jorge Prado, five-time World champions Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings, World Champions Romain Febvre, Andrea Adamo and Maxime Renaux, as well as Lucas and Sacha Coenen, Kay de Wolf, Mikkel Haarup to name only a few.

Back to business

After five long months of the off-season and preparation for the new racing year, the MXGP World Motocross Championships re-ignited for 2024 with the YPF INFINIA MXGP of PatagoniaArgentina, serving up all the action and drama that you might expect for such a beautiful but brutal circuit as Villa La Angostura. The unique South American surface requires maximum concentration, and its unpredictable nature helped to make the opening round of the season a particularly dramatic one.

First blood in MXGP went to Tim Gajser, pulling a clean holeshot on his new Team HRC Honda and escaping with the victory in the first RAM Qualifying Race of the season, collecting the maximum ten points on the Saturday for the first time in his career. Romain Febvre took second for KRT, ahead of surprise package Pauls Jonass on the Standing Construct Honda. Jorge Prado had to settle for 4th and swap the red plates on his Red Bull GASGAS for white ones on the Sunday, but that didn’t last long, as the number 1 machine scored a trademark holeshot in race one! The Champion fought with Febvre and Monster Energy Yamaha’s Maxime Renaux to keep the lead into the third corner and beyond!

Even with all the pre-race talk of the six World Champions in the field, it was still amazing to see them all fill the top six at the start of the opening event! Gajser suffered a small crash, while Prado maintained the gap and took the win from Febvre, with Jonass again third in front of Renaux and the recovering Gajser.

Race two saw Renaux claim the Fox Holeshot Award, but he would never lead again after running wide, allowing Gajser to move to the front, and the Slovenian was able to establish an early gap that he would never relinquish. Prado railed around Jonass into 2nd on lap one, then Febvre moved past Jonass on the second lap, good enough for an overall podium place.

This left Jorge Prado to claim his 39th overall Grand Prix victory, equalling the great Eric Geboers for 7th in the all-time GP winner’s list and returning him to the top of the MXGP standings. Febvre’s 2nd overall ahead of Gajser left him level with the Slovenian in the championship, both just three points behind the leader as they headed to his home territory in Spain!

MX2 Battle is ON

MX2 saw some incredible action across the opening weekend, with the top three positions changing in the final lap of all three races!

Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing firebrand Lucas Coenen had looked strong in taking Saturday’s RAM Qualifying Race win, and as he

moved into the lead on Sunday’s opening race, he must have felt good. However, just after fending off a retaliation from Rossi, he tucked the front wheel and fell awkwardly in a righthand sweeper. Nursing a thumb injury, he rode slowly into the pits and retired from the first race altogether.

Rossi led for much of the race until he fell on the final corner of the 11th lap to lose the lead to Monster Energy Yamaha MX2 team leader Thibault Benistant! Rossi’s teammate Laengenfelder also nipped past, then carved inside the Yamaha to win the first race for the sixth straight GP in MX2! Rossi tried to pass Benistant on the final lap, but fell as he span sideways and clipped the chasing De Wolf! Amazingly, the Dutchman dived up the inside of

Benistant to claim 2nd on the very last corner of the race!

In race two, Mikkel Haarup stuck a major feather in the cap of his new bike as he gunned the Triumph into the lead to take the Fox Holeshot Award! He kept the lead until Lucas, fighting through the pain barrier, launched his Husqvarna past the Dane on lap five!

Despite running off the track and losing two places, the Belgian was back into the lead on lap eleven with a brilliant outside-to-inside move past Laengenfelder! The German faded, and for the fifth straight GP could not convert his first race win into an overall GP victory, finishing 4th in the race for 2nd overall.

De Wolf was once more on the charge, pulling a stunning move on Haarup who did not give up easily! Lucas suddenly dropped the bike in the same corner that he lost the lead on earlier, and dropped to 3rd just two corners from the

HE SIMPLY WAS NOT GOING TO BE BEATEN, FINISHING FASTEST IN EVERY SESSION, WITH CLEAN HOLESHOTS IN ALL THREE RACES OVER THE WEEKEND RESULTING IN COMPLETE DOMINATION. NOBODY GOT IN FRONT OF HIM ALL WEEKEND.

line! This gave De Wolf the race win, his second career GP win, and the Championship lead to take back to Europe!

Arroyomolinos: MXGP’s Epic European Comeback!

From one Spanish speaking country to another! As MXGP makes its triumphant return to Europe for the season’s inaugural Grand Prix on the Old Continent, all eyes are on Spain’s Arroyomolinos, the privileged host of this exhilarating event. The excitement kicked off with an unforgettable media event at the grand intu-Xanadu Shopping Center, where many motocross stars were welcomed by enthusiastic locals. Among them were the legendary five-time MX World Champions

Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings, MX2 World Champion Andrea Adamo, and a contingent of Spanish talents including Oriol Oliver and Daniela Guillen.

Of course, the spotlight was none other than the national hero himself, defending MXGP World Champion Jorge Prado, fresh off his victory in Argentina. The excitement continued with a visit to the chilly Snowzone, a stark contrast to the warm Madrid weather, where riders bravely posed with snow bicycles against the icy backdrop. The jovial atmosphere persisted during the signing session at El Corte Ingles shop, where packs of fans eagerly lined up for autographs and cherished moments with their heroes, particularly Prado, who graciously ensured every fan left with a memento.

With over 30,000 passionate MX enthusiasts in attendance, the energy was electric, culminating in a sensational Paddock Show and RAM Qualifying Race on Saturday. Prado, once again, stole the show with a dominant performance, further igniting the fervour of the Spanish crowd. The Paddock show was filled with memorable moments such as the heart-warming scenes like the injured Ruben Fernandez receiving a hero’s welcome onstage. As MX2 Red Plate holder Kay De Wolf and Prado shared the stage, the fervent cheers of the crowd roared alongside the revving of chainsaws, encapsulating the electric atmosphere of MXGP’s return to Europe.

Prado 1-1-1 in Spain

Despite suffering the multiple pressures of being reigning Champion, Red Plate Holder, and the single home hero after Rubén Fernandez’s injury-enforced absence, Prado kept a laser-like focus on the job at intu-Xanadú Arroyomolinos. He simply was not going to be beaten, finishing fastest in every session, with clean holeshots in all three races over the weekend resulting in complete domination. Nobody got in front of him all weekend. Even with solid second race starts for Gajser, Febvre, and even last year’s winner Jeffrey Herlings for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, they simply could not match his pace or stop him from running away at the front. Those three former World Champions fill the chasing places from 2nd to 4th in the Championship table as they head to Italian soil at the beginning of April.

It is a scary prospect for his challengers that he was so dominant on home ground. There is another round to come soon that is literally in the area where he was born, and with his

confidence at an all-time high you would be brave to bet against him. The only question mark might be if he can maintain that speed advantage through deep sand. That question could be answered in the sands of Sardegna!

First Back-to-Back For De Wolf

The Dutch teenager looked strong again in Spain, moving forward in both the RAM Qualifying Race and Sunday’s first Grand Prix outing to win convincingly both times. It was starting to look scary for the opposition, as again Lucas Coenen made mistakes, Laengenfelder couldn’t hold De Wolf’s pace, and both Benistant and Adamo were shuffled backwards throughout.

It came down to the reigning World Champion, however, to turn things around. Admitting in a post-race interview that it’s been “a tough winter” for him, Andrea Adamo had not looked on the pace for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, but he dug deep in the second race to reel in De Wolf and pass him at just under half distance! The Dutchman could not match his pace, and fell trying, so although he won a second GP in a row, the message has been sent that the Champ will not give up his crown without a fight! He lies 3rd in points now behind De Wolf and the consistent Laengenfelder, and the next two rounds are on Italian soil! Sardegna’s deep sand is sure to make the MX2 class wildly unpredictable!

That’s a wrap of the first two Grand Prix of the season! Now let’s head to the Italian back-to-back of Sardegna and Trentino where competition will go up a notch!

PAULS JONASs: THE RETURN OF THE BALTIC BATtLER

THERE WAS A TIME, EARLY IN THE 2018 MXGP SEASON, THAT PAULS JONASS, THE FIRST EVER WORLD CHAMPION TO COME FROM THE LAND OF LATVIA, LOOKED LIKE HE WOULD FOLLOW HIS THENTEAMMATE JEFFREY HERLINGS INTO A POSITION OF TOTAL DOMINATION IN WORLD MOTOCROSS.

train on almost any kind of circuit in my part of Latvia.”

A commanding MX2 World Championship win in 2017, picking up the title vacated by The Bullet the previous year, and victory in the first six individual races of the ’18 series, made Pauls Jonass one of the hottest Motocross properties on the planet. He wore the #1 plate with pride, and his speed, fitness, and professional attitude not only suited the number, but made him favourite to retain it.

Fast forward to 2024 and the now 27-year-old is one of six World Champions lining up for the MXGP class, and whilst he is on the solid professional team that is Standing Construct Honda, the other five to have won titles are all on full factory bikes and being featured on all the promotion and experts’ predictions for the season ahead. We caught up with Pauls and his team during the MXGP of Spain to get his thoughts on where he’s been and where he’s going.

Rising Star

Having grown up in Kalvene Parish, near the west coast of the Baltic Sea, Pauls describes the land he grew up riding on with real fondness, and that despite being the only true world class star to emerge from the country, it isn’t down to a lack of places to go.

“Where I grew up, we have everything, we have so many tracks we can go to, from really hardpack tracks to sandy tracks, in-between as well like medium to soft. I was spoiled in that way, we could

Winning everything in his home country, then racing across the Baltic states – Latvia is sandwiched between Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south, with its eastern and south-eastern borders leading to Russia and Belarus – the young Pauls made rapid progress to ADAC races in Germany and ventured into European Championship racing at the age of 10. His debut race was at Valkenswaard in July of 2007, the fourth round of an E65 series that was being completely dominated by a certain Slovenian kid by the name of Tim Gajser. We saw a glimpse into the future as the pair who would dispute the MX2 World Championship 8 years later finished first and second in the Dutch sand, with Pauls becoming the first rider to beat Tim in a race during that series! Gajser did retaliate and took the overall win, as Jonass finished 3rd in race two, but for sure a rivalry was born right there!

Pauls had caught the bug and he raced all but one of the six rounds of the 2008 E65 series, which had seen a double win at Lierop for a British kid by the name of Ben Watson. Pauls had missed the Bulgarian third round, but round four was at Kegums, just 200km east of his hometown, and he swept to a popular double win on home ground! From there he won three of the remaining four races and finished 4th in a series won by Dutch prodigy Davy Pootjes.

He had a quiet couple of years on Suzuki machinery from there, but finished 4th at the 2010 World Junior Championships, finishing 2nd again behind Gajser in the second race, although the overall was won by German Henry Jacobi.

Going Places

From there he really started to go places, winning the 2011 Junior World Championship in the 85cc class, a one-event title earned that year in Italy, at the renowned Cingoli venue. The winner of the 65cc class that day was Pauls’ future rival, Jorge Prado.

Picking up a Junior KTM contract and racing at the sharp end all year on a 125cc in a 2012 season dominated again by Gajser, it was 2013 that saw a 16-year-old Pauls take victory in not only the World Junior Championship one-off, this time held at Jinin in the Czech Republic, but also in the EMX125 series for his first big multi-round Championship title.

It was a dominant season for the Latvian, winning all but one race and cruising to the title, before switching to EMX250 for the final round and immediately finishing 4th. That sort of performance meant that the move to Grand Prix racing was a

mere formality, and he impressed with a top five finish in the deep sand of Lommel, a place he was very familiar with as part of the factory KTM family.

Factory Rider

Straight into a Red Bull KTM Factory Racing berth for 2015, replacing the reigning World Champion Jordi Tixier to race alongside Jeffrey Herlings, and under the tutelage of 10-time World Champion Stefan Everts, he was never expected to be fighting for a world title. “The Bullet” was knocked out of the series from the 11th round, so Pauls was suddenly tasked with flying the flag for the team and trying to emulate Tixier, who had done that job successfully the previous year.

His old foe Gajser was right there as well, however, and an on-form Max Anstie took 9 wins from 13 races in the second half of the season, but Pauls did claim his first ever individual race win at the MXGP of Mexico. That memory is tarnished, however, by a monumental crash that he suffered in race two – one that can still be found quite easily on YouTube – that saw the Latvian flung from his bike even higher than the Monster Energy sign over the take-off ramp. He still, incredibly, finished that race but it dented more than just his title hopes and he finished his first full World Championship season in 2nd place to Gajser, just 25 points down on the Honda man.

A pre-season thumb injury left him chasing the top men, and Herlings was back in dominant mood, losing only one of the first 24 races. Closing in on Jeremy Seewer for 2nd in the series by the 13th

round at Loket, Pauls then suffered a savage crash down one of the Czech circuit’s steep downhills. “My season came to an end there. I had a pretty bad concussion and still after a month my brain was a little damaged. After a check-up, the doctor would not allow me to go on a bike for at least another month and that was it.”

Taking the time to recover, and still working with Harry Everts on his condition, he turned 20 years old in January of 2017. He hit the new season running with his first Grand Prix win, a double victory in the opener at Qatar, then despite a hiccup in the slop of Indonesia (it was that bad that the second MXGP race was cancelled) got straight back to business with another double in Argentina. Re-taking the Championship lead after round five at Trentino from Suzuki’s Jeremy Seewer, a race which saw the first

GP win for new teammate Jorge Prado, he was never to let the red plate go again as another double win at Valkenswaard asserted his authority on the series.

Title Glory

He won a race but still lost the overall at his home GP – an event which he has never quite been able to win in his career – but pressed on with overall victories in France, Russia, and in a battle over the memories from 2016, the Czech Republic. He took 14 race wins, twice as many as his nearest challenger Seewer, and celebrated the world title with a race to go at Villars-sous-Ecot in France.

“THE HARD WORK, SACRIFICE AND DEDICATION DO KIND OF COME EASY TO ME. I’M NOT DIFFICULT TO MOTIVATE, I JUST GET ON AND DO IT, AND THAT’S WHY I DO IT! I WANT TO BE UP FRONT AND BATTLING WITH THE TOP GUYS. I WANT TO GET THAT CONFIDENCE AGAIN WHERE I KNOW THAT I CAN WIN, EVERY WEEKEND. OF COURSE, IT TAKES TIME, AND MAYBE I WILL NEVER GET THERE, BUT THAT’S THE END GOAL, TO WIN, ALWAYS.”

From there he took the #1 plate into 2018, and as already mentioned took the first six races of the season, and further double wins in Russia and Great Britain showed his speed was still there. The unrelenting holeshots and race-controlling speed of Prado, a method which is still working for him today in MXGP, saw the Spaniard pull back and take over the series lead by the 14th round of 20. In the week leading up to the season finale at Imola, with Jonass needing a minor miracle to deprive Prado of the title, the Latvian tore an ACL and needed surgery, effectively handing the title to his teenage teammate.

Already intent on moving to the 450cc class, which was full in the orange camp with Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings, Pauls had discussions with the Austrian hierarchy and made a move to the factory Husqvarna team, at the time run by ICE One Manager Antti Pyrhonen. It was a nice fit and although struggling for the top speed of the two KTM men, when they were healthy, and eventual champion Gajser, a solid 6th in the Championship included three podium visits and an intent to build from there.

Frustration

The four seasons since have seen constant frustration for the former World Champion, with a heavy crash in training, before the end of the break

for COVID, breaking ribs and spinous processes (the bones that show you where the spine is as you look at someone’s back), and denied him the chance to race three consecutive GPs on home ground at Kegums. That was the end of the association with ICE One Husqvarna, and he returned the following season for the Standing Construct team, which he has been with ever since, switching with them to GASGAS, back to Husqvarna, then finally a move away from Austrian machinery to Honda. Pauls had raced nothing Japanese since his 2010 85cc Suzuki!

8th in 2021 and 9th in 2022, with both seasons featuring just the single podium appearance as well as sporadic injury-enforced absences, have put Pauls further down the order of potential contenders than he probably deserves. Those podium finishes at Lommel in 2021 and an emotional double 2nd to lifetime rival Gajser at his home GP at Kegums have not been backed up as the Latvian occasionally gets lost among the star-studded factory line-up in MXGP these days. But he still has serious intent on getting back to where he believes that he belongs.

“The hard work, sacrifice and dedication do kind of come easy to me. I’m not difficult to motivate, I just get on and do it, and that’s why I do it! I want to be up front and battling with the top guys. I want to get that confidence again where I know that I can win, every weekend. Of course, it takes time, and maybe I will never get there, but that’s the end goal, to win, always.”

2023 was ruined by another pesky thumb injury, called “skier’s thumb” in medical circles, where he not only broke the ligament that supports the

handlebar grip, but also a small piece of the bone where the ligament attaches. A screw had to be fixed in order to strengthen the joint, and the scar is right where the thumb meets the edge of the throttle grip where many riders get blisters unless taped up. It took six weeks to get back on a bike and even then, it was a painful experience.

New Challenge

After another winter of preparation for a new season, he is happy with the Honda and ready for the new challenge. “The team did a really good job of setting up, after the Nations last year we found a few things in the chassis and more things in the engine that built confidence for me in the bike. I have also changed my mind-set a little, so I don’t put so much pressure on myself.”

The Latvian is working with his old mentor Stefan Everts again – “He goes into really specific detail about the mental preparation, and he is the record Champion, so whatever he says to do, I do! Maybe if he says jump out of a window, I might think about it a little, but still, it’s a high percentage that I will do it!” – and there is no doubt that he looks relaxed, fast, and ready to take on the 2024 World Championship amongst five fellow World Champions and up to 15 GP Winners also in the field.

Pauls Jonass is a hard-working, professional Grand Prix rider that deserves every success that comes his way, and a rider to cheer for if you like to root for the underdog in the talent rich MXGP class of 2024.

BENAVIDES’ BROTHERS VISIT MXGP

AT THE LAST YPF INFINIA MXGP OF PATAGONIA-ARGENTINA

WE HAD A CHANCE TO HAVE TWO SPECIAL GUEST: KEVIN AND LUCIANO BENAVIDES, TWO RALLY LEGENDS. HERE IS WHAT CAME OUT AFTER GIVING THEM THE MIC CLICK

TO HEAR OR WATCH

THE PODCAST

ERIC GEBOERS 1990 HRC HONDA RC500

WHEN JORGE PRADO SECURED VICTORY AT THE YPF-INFINIA MXGP OF PATAGONIA-ARGENTINA, AT THE OPENING ROUND OF THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ON 10TH MARCH 2024, THE SPANIARD JOINED ERIC GEBOERS IN 7TH PLACE ON THE ALL-TIME GRAND PRIX WIN LIST WITH 39 VICTORIES.

we will feature in this issue of MXGP Magazine.

Eric’s debut season in grand prix motocross began in 1980 and he won his first GP at just his second attempt, at Verdun, France, going 4-1 on the day, for not only his first race win but also his first GP victory. Eric retired from the sport at the end of the 1990 season as a five-time world champion with 39 victories, and it’s Eric’s HRC Honda RC500 which

By the time Eric Geboers lined up for the 1990 season, the Belgian was already a superstar in his native Belgium where motocross was a religion. A quick look at the list of Belgian world champions up to that point was impressive: René Baeten, Joel Robert, Roger De Coster, Harry Everts, Gaston Rahier, André Malherbe and Georges Jobé – who, along with Eric, had to this point, amassed an incredible twenty-nine world titles for Belgium since the series began 33 years prior.

Eric’s success had seen him win back-to-back titles in the 125cc class in 1982, ’83, before switching to

the premier 500cc class the following year. With no ‘gold’ to show for his three years in the class, Eric reluctantly dropped back to the 250cc class – at the request of HRC – and won the title at his first attempt in 1997, thus prompting his move back to 500’s the following year. By now, Eric was a threetime world champion and when he won his fourth title in 1988, he became the first rider to win a title in all three classes, giving him the nickname ‘Mr. 875’. By comparison to his 1988 accomplishments, 1989 was a huge disappointment, finishing 3rd overall with just two race wins and six podiums, including just one as a winner.

By now, HRC were no longer permitted to produce the ‘money can’t buy’ bikes that we could only dream of, a decision which came about as a direct result of the ‘production rule’ which came into force in the USA in 1987, and if Honda wanted to sell more bikes to the public, then it had to adapt to what was happening in the real world. The last true ‘unobtanium’ bike from HRC was 1986; anything after that was production-based, especially when it came to the overall looks.

Honda and HRC could still push those boundaries though and with factory USD Showa forks and triple clamp, rear shock with factory HRC link, and a frame which underwent hand-welded modifications back in Japan, as far as handling goes, there

probably wasn’t a better handling motorcycle. The swingarm was also factory from HRC and known as the ‘Coke bottle’ design, due to its shape.

The cylinder and Eric’s preference of a lowcompression head were full HRC, although the crankcase was standard, but with a shorter conrod, the cylinder was therefore lower; difficult to see from the naked eye. The ignition was Kokusan and the Keihin carburettor was the tried and tested 38mm. This was also a factory item and came with hand drilled jets. The gear box was 4-speed as opposed to five. And to make it easier to start, the bike came with a decompressor lever which was located on the left side of the handlebar, next to the clutch lever, something which had been available since 1988. The piston was also from HRC and there were three different weight options for the crankshaft. The airbox was modified production, with extra airholes for more efficient air-flow, made by HRC.

As for power delivery, Eric preferred low to midrange power, set up in such a way that he could use third gear almost all the time.

His mechanic at the time who had been with him for all of his previous world titles was Jukka Pentilla from Finland, and he shed some light as to how and

when Eric’s idea for this specific bike set-up came about:

‘Eric’s goal was to stay a long time in 3rd gear, hardly ever shifting. He copied that from Brad Lackey when Eric was 125cc world champion in 1982, and Brad was 500cc world champion. They had some issues with Brad and Suzuki, and the day after the last GP in Luxembourg they took the bike away from Brad as they didn’t want him (on the team) next year, anymore. Eric and Sylvain, they looked to Brad’s way of riding that bike and agreed it was a very good bike. After Brad got the title, Eric tested Brad’s bike and he liked that style of bike with that smooth powerband and 4-speed gearbox. Same style of riding and he copied that, he liked it very much.’

The similarities between the 1988 and 1990 seasons were, in that both started steadily but in the middle of the season Eric went on a race-win rampage and clicked off six wins in a row. He also arrived in Belgium, his home GP at Namur with a chance of winning the title. After a 5th in Race One, Eric sealed the deal with a win in Race Two, the GP win and with it his fifth world title, with two rounds to spare. As soon as he crossed the finish line though, Eric was whisked away to a Belgian TV studio where he promptly announced his retirement, LIVE on television. He would compete in the final two rounds and walk away from the sport of motocross.

On 26th August 1990, at the USGP in Glen Helen, Eric knew he would be lining up for his final grand prix and as the new world champion, wanted to hold himself accountable. He could have cruised round and enjoyed the weekend, soak it all in; but that wasn’t Eric. He wanted to win his final grand prix, even if it was in America. Especially because it was in America.

A win in Race One turned out to be Eric’s final career race win, but when he followed it up with a 2nd in Race Two, it was enough to claim the overall GP victory, edging out American legend Ricky Johnson by two points. How badly did Eric want that win? Put it this way, when it’s just over 100˚F/40˚C and you want to win so bad that pulling over to throw up is not an option … that’s how bad. Instead, Eric was forced throw up inside his helmet during the race. It’s worth pointing out that the duration of the races were also 40 minutes + 2 Laps back then as well.

When the dust settled on Eric’s career, he could be happy in the knowledge that he had joined Roger De Coster as a five-time world champion. At that time, only Joel Robert had won more, with six. Eric finished on the podium 75 times, with thirty-nine of those as a winner. He also collected seventy-four race wins along the way. His fifth and final world title was also the thirtieth for the small country of Belgium.

Vico had a strong career in the Motocross World Championship, being the first Catalan rider to ever win a 500cc Grand Prix in 2002. Ten-times Spanish champion, he finished twice on the podium of the World Championship with a bronze medal in 2002 and a silver one in 2003.

European Championship at Jerez de la Frontera; fifth of the first heat he won the second moto and the overall, but he had to wait one more year to race the full series as a true privateer, as he was working during the week and had no mechanic to help him at the races. The season didn’t start really well, as he retired in the first heat of the championship, but it was a great season as he finally won the title and was selected in the Spanish team to take part at the Motocross of Nations.

Thanks to this title he got a ride in an Italian team to race the 250cc World Championship in 1997 but it was only two years later, when he moved to the 500cc class, that he got his first ever GP podium with a second overall in Luxemburg behind Andrea Bartolini. Seventh in the standings and also seventh with team Spain at the MXoN, he had the opportunity to join the factory KTM squad in 2001 with the support of Telefonica Movistar, as the championship had a strong TV coverage. Scoring points during thirteen of the fourteen rounds at a period when there was only one moto per class, he finished fourth of the series and fought for the final podium in 2002; at the last round of the season in Russia he got the support of team mate Joel Smets, who offered him the last GP win to secure a bronze medal in the 500cc class and a 1/2 for the team in the championship. At the MXoN organized at Bellpuig he won the main event –that year it was a schedule with two semi-finals and one final race – and helped team Spain to get his best ever result in this competition with a fourth overall.

MANY OPPORTUNITIES.

In 2003 the 650cc class replaced the 500cc one, and Javier was again team mate with Joel Smets in the KTM team; both dominated the season and scored points in all the rounds with ten second positions and two third for Vico, who finished runner up behind his team mate. His new challenge on the revolutionary 450 MXV Aprilia in 2004 wasn’t successful, as he got injured after a few races, and even he if entered a few GP’s in the following seasons, he never got

Text & Photos : PAscal Haudiquert

16TH IN THE 250 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (YAMAHA)

1996: 250 EUROPEAN CHAMPION (YAMAHA)

1997: 26TH IN THE 250 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (YAMAHA)

MX 250 SPANISH CHAMPION

1998: 21TH IN THE 250 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (YAMAHA)

MX 250 SPANISH CHAMPION

1999: 7TH IN THE 500 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (YAMAHA)

2000: 17TH IN THE 500 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (YAMAHA)

MX OPEN SPANISH CHAMPION

2001: 4TH IN THE 500 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (KTM)

MX OPEN SPANISH CHAMPION

2002: 3RD IN THE 500 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (KTM). WIN 1 GP

MX OPEN SPANISH CHAMPION

2003: 2ND IN THE 650 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (KTM)

MX OPEN SPANISH CHAMPION

2004: 22ND IN THE MX1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (APRILIA)

2005: 27TH IN THE MX1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (HONDA)

MX1 SPANISH CHAMPION

2006: 12TH IN THE MX1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (HONDA)

MX1 SPANISH CHAMPION

2007: 56TH IN THE MX3 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (KAWASAKI)

2008: 76TH IN THE MX3 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (HONDA)

JORGE PRADO GARCIA

2023 MXGP WORLD CHAMPION

ANDREA ADAMO

2023 MX2 WORLD CHAMPION

“WE SELL WHAT WE RACE, WE RACE WHAT WE SELL”

1 After an injury sustained during pre-season, Liam Everts were back strongly is Spain for the second GP of 2024 with a 5th overall.

2 MX2 newcomer, Akon Osterhagen has scored his first career World Championship points in Argentina (17/17) on his JM Racing Honda.

3 The brand new Triumph TF 250-F made his first appearance in MX2 with an impressive overall podium result in Patagonia-Argentina thanks to Mikkel Haarup.

4 Jorge Prado dominates the start of the MXGP season with his new number 1. 2 GP, 2 Wins.

5 Unfortunately, Maxime Renaux must withdraw from the track for an indeterminate duration to undergo another surgery on his foot injured in Spain last year.

6 Daniela Guillen fought in an intense battle with Lotte Van Drunen for clinch the victory and the red plate at her home race in Spain.

7 Many of the top riders shared an nice event with the fans in the intu-Xanadú shopping center and SnoZone ski slope during the MXGP of Spain.

8 MXGP Academy 2024 has started at MXGP of Spain with an edition reserved for women’s motocross gathering young motocross enthusiasts accompanied by World Champion Nancy Van De Ven.

9 Congratulations to Valerio Lata who won with an awesome effort the opener of the EMX250 championship in intu-Xanadú - Arroyomolinos in front of newcomer 125cc World Champion Mathis Valin.