MXGP #72 August 2019 by MXGP MAG

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MXGP MAG Chief Editor: Marionna Leiva Photos: Youthstream YOUTHSTREAM Media World Trade Center II Rte de Pré-Bois 29 1215 Geneva 15 Airport Switzerland

�� P.7 �� P.8 � � � � � � � � � � � � MXGP Mag #72 AUGUST 2019 � � � � �� L � � The articles published in this RIA .14 �� P O � � � � � T � � I � � � � magazine do not necessarily reflect � � � � � � � � ED � � � the official position of Youthstream. �� OTS � � � H � 0 � S � 2 � . � � P L � � � � Then content of this publication is COO �� OT �� H � � based on the best knowledge and � S � LE �� 2 � � information available at the time � O 4 � . � H P � P � � � X U � the articles were written. � � O � F �� CH � � T � � � A � � � C � The copying of articles and P.44 �� ING � � � � � � C � � photos even partially is � � � � A � � R �� forbidden unless permission � � � � � � � � � � has ben requested from L �� A � I � � C Youthstream in advance and S L 0 SO R reference is made to the ��P.5 � R GI � � � E � H source (©Youthstream). � � T S NT �� N O O M � M HE �� T E F O AM .68 M ruct F P t � s A � F � n � E � O T Co �� E ts � ding � r � R n e � � a a � U t � p S EAT �� F L ber CIA �� P.76 � � � � � � SPE ’s in a num � � t �� E Wha � � FAM �� F P.80 � O � s � t � � r L � e � HAL Philippa �� d � i � Dav S �� K L A P.82 T � � � � � K � � � DOC �� PAD �� ki �� u z u 3S s 198 .90 r P e � o � � b � � e � G Eric E �� R U EAT �� F L CIA ss �� E P S otocro � P.96 � � � � � OR T Mem I D HE E T O ST N O I ST QUE ��

L A I R O T I D E

Giuseppe Luongo President of Youthstream Group

Dear MXGP Friends, The MXGP events in Indonesia in July were very successful; a lot of hard work was made by Youthstream staff and the local organisers to build the circuit and infrastructures to be in line with the standards of MXGP events in Europe. So that you have an understanding, in Europe the majority of tracks are permanent and in addition Youthstream supplies a lot of infrastructure and services Youthstream has 19 trucks and trailers (including the TV unit and offices) to transport all the necessary infrastructure and material to set everything up for each event, and naturally for the overseas events we cannot transport all of this material and are therefore obliged to find everything locally. The work is very hard and complicated, but we fully succeeded and the events were remarkable. A part of Youthstream staff, led by Nikos Gounaris, were onsite 40 days before the events to build the tracks, infrastructures and choose all the local suppliers to permit the teams, riders and media to work during the event

weekend in normal conditions, like when they are in Europe.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT ISSUE WHICH FIM, YOUTHSTREAM, MANUFACTURES AND TEAMS TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY IS THE SAFETY OF THE RIDERS. The welcome of the Indonesian fans and political authorities was excellent, the governor offered a welcome dinner in his Palace for FIM, Youthstream, teams riders and media, where everyone was received in a location and in manner worthy of a chief of state. Most importantly, thanks to MXGP and the cooperation between IMI (National Federation), the local Organizer, FIM, Youthstream and manufacturers, Motocross in Indonesia is growing rapidly and the MX market is exploding.

There are many riders who are starting to race MX and a National race was held as a support class at both events with 170 riders. The Indonesian motorcycle market is very important especially for Honda and Yamaha where they are strongly present, and they produce and sell a huge number of motorcycles; this is an important part of MXGPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role which is not only to be the major off-road Championship in the world, but it also has the role as ambassador of our sport to make Motocross develop worldwide, especially in continents like Asia, Latin America and Africa, which are growing markets and more and more people start to appreciate MX for pleasure and competition. Presence in important foreign markets is also helping teams to find new sources of revenue; already MXGP factory teams have Indonesian sponsors, and this will only continue to increase when we go to markets like China, India or Brazil. The work we have started to make together with the manufacturers is to have the local importer in these huge countries participate to the budget of the MXGP World

Championship teams, it’s a long road but we are heading in the right direction. Today the world is becoming more and more global and for any company, including the motorsport industry, it would be impossible to survive and grow with the European market only, which is becoming more and more like a regional budget within the global market. This will require investment and hard work from everyone (Youthstream, FIM, manufacturers and teams), but it’s the only way if we want to continue to develop our sport and our market. Another important issue which FIM, Youthstream, manufactures and teams take very seriously is the safety of the riders. This year

there has been an especially high number of riders’ injuries in the major class. The direction is very clear; we have to all continue to improve the safety on the race track by reducing the speed and to work on the motorcycles to increase the safety. Concerning the tracks, in order to reduce the speed clearly more corners and obstacles need to be added, where necessary air fences will be placed and of course the medical services at the event will continue to be improved. Concerning the motorcycles, the new technology is being worked on, and also to make the 450cc (MXGP bike) lighter and less aggressive to ride. In any case, we are all aware of this, and as it has happened in the past when the 500cc had arrived to a level that was too performant for

the safety of the riders or what has been done in the Rally when the capacity of the bike was reduced from 900cc to 450cc, we will have to do the same for Motocross in the near future. All this will bring better racing, a better show and, most importantly, more safety for the riders. During the next meeting in September between FIM, Youthstream, manufactures and teams this will be the most important topic on the table. Now MXGP moves to the final phase of the year with Lommel next weekend, then Imola, Uddevalla, Afyonkarahisar and Shanghai, surely with more fantastic racing and the crowning of 2 great Champions. You can follow all the action live on MXGP-TV.com.

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FOX HOLESHOT JULY 16

JULY HAS BEEN A MONTH TO RACK UP THE AIR MILES FOR THOSE THAT LIKE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE FOX HOLESHOT. THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STARTED THE MONTH BY HEADING EAST FOR AN INDONESIAN DOUBLE HEADER.

Our odyssey started in hot and sticky Palembang, in South Sumatra. That was a real test of fitness for riders and teams alike, but it all seemed to be going so well for Jorge Prado, AKA Mr Holeshot, as he steamed away from the line in MX2 Race 1. Yes, the defending champion did grab his 15th holeshot of the season. And yes, he also went on to win the race. But the Spaniard was visibly distressed by the conditions by the end and he also tasted the dirt for the first time in a race in 2019. Did that have anything to do with the #61â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comparative failure to take the holeshot in Race 2? Perhaps, perhaps not. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team-mate Tom Vialle wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t about to look a gift horse in the mouth though and raced

away with his 5th black plate of the season. However, the rookie was unable to hold off Thomas Kjer Olsen for a first MX2 victory. Just for once, Prado did not have things all his own way. A week later in Semarang and the heat was, if anything, more intense. However, the humidity was somewhat lower in Central Java, much to the relief of the whole paddock. TKO tried to land a knockout blow at the start of Race 1 with his first Fox Holeshot of the year, but was unable to fend off a refreshed and determined championship leader for the win. That pattern repeated later in the afternoon when Henry Jacobi bagged his own first holeshot of the campaign, although the German could hardly even hold on to his bike by the end, digging deep to pick up that precious black plate for the cameras.

After that the paddock was given a precious week off to rehydrate in the record temperatures of Western Europe, before renewing hostilities in at the MXGP of Czech Republic in Loket. It was elbows out for all in Race 1, but a return to Europe also saw Prado return to type. Holeshot number 16 was the result, with a 17th black plate in his hands hours later after a dominant afternoon. The 18-year-old is well on his way to eclipsing his stunning 26 holeshots from 2018, and is now guaranteed to win the end of year Fox Holeshot award. Prado is 12 ahead of team-mate Vialle, with only 10 races remaining. Nobody else has managed more than 1 this season. In MXGP Tim Gajser arrived in Indonesia with a real swagger in his step, and reactions out of the gate to match. Having taken a lovely pair of black plates away from the previous round in Germany, the Team HRC rider was at it again in Palembang, as he continued to power his way towards a 4th world title with Antonio Cairoli out for the 17

rest of the season after surgery on his dislocated shoulder. By the time the Honda man was also fastest out of the gate in Race 1 in Semarang, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d picked up 5 black plates in a row, threatening to swamp his trophy cabinet back home. However, Race 2 saw a change of fortunes, as Jeremy Seewer started to make his mark. The Swiss rider obviously very relaxed after a short break on the island paradise of Bali, timing his reaction to perfection to take his first Fox Holeshot of the year. Those reflexes were still on point by the time we came back to Europe. Fastest out of the gate in the Qualifying Race to lay down the gauntlet to the rest of the paddock, and then repeating the trick twice

on Sunday to make it 3 black plates in a row for his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team.

MXGP TABLE Antonio Cairoli

So, with just 5 rounds left and 10 Fox Holeshots yet to be claimed, Cairoli still leads the way on 8. However, the Sicilian a sitting duck atop the standings now, with Gajser closing in with 6. Next up are the boys in blue with Seewer joined on 3 by Arnaud Tonus, who just seems to have gone off the boil for the moment. The in-form Romain Febvre is tucked in behind with 2, along with the injured Julien Lieber, as the riders head to the next round of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship at the MXGP of Belgium in Lommel.

Tim Gajser

Arnaud Tonus

MX2 TABLE Jorge Prado Tom Vialle

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P U G H N ATC I C A C R

H G I H â&#x20AC;&#x2122; N I FLY 21

AFTER A ONE-WEEK BREAK FOLLOWING ON FROM GERMANY, MXGP HIT THE SKIES AGAIN AS WE HEADED TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD FOR A TWO-WEEK STINT IN ASIA, BEFORE RETURNING TO LOKET IN CZECH REPUBLIC FOR ROUND THIRTEEN, SO LET’S HEAD BACK TO THE FIRST OF OUR ‘FLY-AWAY’ GP’S AT THE NEW VENUE OF PALEMBANG FOR THE MXGP OF INDONESIA.

With the conclusion of the MXGP of Germany at Teutschenthal, the Paddock quickly disassembled before returning back to base in order to make the final preparations for Indonesia. With the flight-cases being shipped out on Tuesday, there was still plenty of work to be done before enjoying a couple of days of respite, meaning the teams had to ensure that bikes, parts and riding-gear were added to the crates before they were sealed, collected and dispatched to the other side of the world. The next time they would see them would be at the new venue of Palembang on Thursday before the GP.

After two consecutive years at Pangkal Pinang, the organisers of the MXGP of Indonesia opted for a new venue; however, the original location proved to be a tad on the challenging side, especially when Mother Nature decided to throw a little moisture from her little heavenly platform on Cloud Nine! So, with that in mind there came a late switch to a new venue, which granted, was a little smaller than planned, but it still held-up to the demands of MXGP. For those that are geographically challenged, Indonesia is located in South-East Asia between the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is made up of around 17,000 different islands, making it the largest island country in the world. To get there, the Paddock travelled

around 11,000km to the capital city of Jakarta, before connecting internally to Palembang, where bizarrely, we had to fly south-east over Palembang before heading back, north-west on a one-hour flight to get there! When all was said and done, the total trip from door-to-door, as in from home-tohotel took around twenty hours! After that amount of time spent in air-co’ the first thing you notice is the humidity and overall heat, and with temperatures around 35˚ and humidity at around 90% there was always the inclination that the first trip in particular was going to be tough. As for Palembang, the city has the distinction of being the capital of South Sumatra Province as well as being one of the oldest cities in South-East Asia.

With no motorhomes for the riders to rely on in between races, the

Paddock was more than pleased to learn that the hotel that was booked for them overlooked the circuit which meant that after each session they were able to head ‘back upstairs’ to hit the shower, lie down or have a sleep in order to recharge for the next outing. As Pauls Jonass stated on the MXGPTV Studio Show a week later, ‘it was cool to have the hotel that close; we can’t even park our campers that close to the circuit when we are in Europe.’ The circuit was built with red-clay dirt, was 1520m long, with an array of jumps, including a 32m triple before the end of the lap. Perhaps the most physically challenging aspect of the track because of the searing temperatures, were the back-to-back wave sections, neither of which were in a straight line. Instead, the first set travelled through a ‘long-left’ whilst the other travelled in the opposite direction through a ‘longright.’ Both sections would have consequences when it came to the races on Sunday. 23

With MXGP mostly operating on mainland Europe, we almost take it for granted sometimes because we are so used to travelling to the different countries that make up the majority of the series, all of which have their own traditions, cultures, languages and landscapes; but it doesn’t stop us from enjoying them any-less, whether it be discovering a local restaurant or bar, or staying for an extra day to explore what else each country has to offer. So, when MXGP travels to places like Argentina or Russia, Indonesia or Turkey and China, which will come later, it’s always refreshing to attend the Media Opportunity or official Welcome Party, which is filled with local tradition. In Palembang, the whole of MXGP was invited to a ceremonial dinner at the house of the Governor of Palembang where we were wowed by traditional dancers, music and an array of local cuisine. Speeches from important dignitaries followed before the night was officially declared over, thus allowing the riders and teams to head back to re-focus on the reason why they were there. LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION … After the Free and Time Practice sessions, the MX2 Qualifying Race saw Jorge Prado guide his Red Bull KTM to his seventh Pole Position of the season where he was followed home by Mitch Evans; the Australian’s best grid position of the campaign in his rookie season. It was great to see Calvin Vlaanderen back behind the gate as well after his ankle injury and related set-back during the recovery process kept him out of action for five GP’s. The HRC rider eventually crossed the line in fifth. At the end of the qualifying scale was Henry Jacobi; the F&H Kawasaki rider rode an error-strewn race to drop from 8th to eighteenth by the time the chequered flag fell. When gate dropped for MX2 Race 1 on Sunday, there was drama before the rider’s even made it to the first turn as the two Mitchell’s, Harrison and Evans, collided 26

midway down the start straight, crashing out spectacularly. Both riders eventually re-mounted with Harrison coming home in 16th. Evans though was not so lucky and after another heavy fall, the Honda 114 Motorsports rider was forced to retire after seven laps. He would not line up for Race Two and would not travel to Semarang for the next instalment either! His body was still beat-up after a series of crashes at the previous three rounds. Sometimes, you just need to take a step back, take time out, re-asses and then get back to what you know. We should see Evans again in Czech Republic. Jorge Prado won the race, although he put himself under unnecessary pressure after falling in a turn at the halfway point of the race. His teammate Tom Vialle, who’s father Frederic won the first moto in the 1996 edition of the 125cc Indonesian Grand Prix at Yogyjakarta some 23 years ago, suddenly found himself leading by a six second margin over Prado, who now had a serious decision to make; go for the race win or settle for second. The Spaniard opted to go for broke, chased down his teammate and regained the lead with five laps remaining. However, the extra effort to do that took its toll, and after the race, the defending champ could barely speak, let alone stand. Behind the two KTM’s we saw a newcomer to the top three in the form of former FIM Junior 125cc World Champion, Maxime Renaux. The Yamaha SM Action M.C. Migliori rider rode a solid race, made a good start in 3rd and stayed there which was great to see. Vlaanderen placed fourth ahead of Jed Beaton on the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna. The two riders challenging for third in the championship also had a challenging first race; Thomas Olsen started 7th and came home 6th, and not only was he passed by his teammate Beaton, he was also gifted a place and an extra twelve points when Jago Geerts crashed out of 5th just before the halfway mark. MX2 Race 2 was probably one of the best races we have seen so far

this year. Vialle grabbed his fifth Fox Holeshot as he nudged Prado wide through turn one, but then what happened next was quite remarkable. Before the end of the opening lap, Prado passed Vialle for the lead but two corners later, coming out of the final turn, the ‘61’ ran wide, allowing both Vialle and a very second-hand Geerts to charge by. Seven laps later, Prado had worked his way down to 7th and was well and truly getting a mauling by his rivals, who sensed an opportunity to strike. By lap two, Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha’s Geerts had taken over at the front, as TKO followed him into 2nd. As for the series leader, Prado had a five-lap period where he looked shaken by the whooping he’d taken as Vialle, Geerts, Olsen, Beaton, Brian Moreau and Brent Van doninck all came charging by. As the race neared the halfway mark, Prado past Beaton and into 4th and with six laps to go he found himself in 3rd after another slip-off from Geerts. At the moment, it appeared that ‘JP61’ felt the win was on the cards and after an extra push, he was up to 2nd with four laps remaining, but by then Olsen was gone. The Dane went on to take his third race-win of the season but it was Prado who stood on the top step of the podium once again, with Vialle and Olsen alongside him. After his 3rd in Race One, Maxime Renaux fell on the opening lap but his 7th place was good enough to give him his best ever finish in MX2 with 4th overall. WIN SIX AND CHILL For the second GP in a row, there would not be Red Bull KTM representation with both Jeffrey Herlings and Antonio Cairoli on the sidelines; The Bullet recovering from a second ankle injury and TC222 opting to have surgery on his dislocated shoulder sustained in Latvia which leaves the Sicilian out of the championship for the rest of the season. There would be no Monster Energy Kawasaki’s either at the expense of Clement

Desalle and Julien Lieber, although the team had announced that Tommy Searle would be a replacement rider but not before Loket. With that in mind, the formman was still Tim Gajser, who arrived in Indo on the back of five GP wins in a row. In the Qualifying Race, the Slovenian cruised to his 5th Pole Position of the season followed by two of the Standing Construct KTM’s of Max Anstie and Glenn Coldenhoff. For Anstie, the eleventh round signalled his best Quali’ Race of the season. Behind them were the four Yamaha’s of Febvre, Tonus, Seewer and Paulin. In MXGP Race One, Tim Gajser turned his 4th Fox Holeshot into his thirteenth race win of the season, leading every lap of the way in the process. Six seconds adrift was Max Anstie, who had started 4th but by Lap 10 had moved past his teammate Coldenhoff and Jeremy Seewer on the Monster Energy Yamaha. It was the first time the Brit had placed 2nd since the final GP at Villars sous Ecot in 2017. When the chequered flag fell, Seewer placed 3rd ahead of his teammate Febvre with Coldenhoff 5th. Arnaud Tonus was 6th. There was drama at the start of Race Two as Tonus, looking for his sixth consecutive podium suffered a technical failure through the first turn, which signalled an early exit from the race. Meanwhile, Gajser secured another Black Plate as he stormed the Fox Holeshot line for the 5th time, but this time he had Romain Febvre in tow. All was looking good for ‘Tiga’ until Lap 4, when he jumped slightly off-line, and landed with his back wheel the wrong side of the landing zone, leading him to spin out of the lead. Febvre, never one to turn down an invitation, took this one with both hands before romping home for his first race win since Sweden, August 20th 2017, when he won the second race. That is a long time between drinks; almost two years in fact! After starting 5th, Coldenhoff brought his KTM home in 3rd and looked strong in the 31

latter stages of the race, passing the Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha of Gautier Paulin on Lap 8 and Seewer with five laps to go. Anstie, who was looking at a first podium since the penultimate round in Assen, 2018, fell from 2nd on the exit of turn three and his sixth place left him 4th overall, missing out by a single point. Gajser secured his sixth straight victory, the first Indonesian win for Honda, his seventh of the season and twenty-second career win and left Palembang with a 161-point buffer over Seewer, who with Cairoli out, was now effectively second in the points-chase. Febvre’s 2nd overall was his third podium appearance of the season and with Jeremy Seewer securing 3rd overall, it was the first Factory Yamaha double-podium of the year and the first since Thailand, Round 2 of the 2016 season, or three years and a day to be precise. NO TIME TO REST No sooner had the chequered flag been thrown, the teams were already packing the flight-cases in readiness of the MXGP of Asia in one week’s time at Semarang. With that in mind and with the Paddock being on the other side of the world with no bikes to train on during the one-week break, most riders and team members headed off to nearby Bali for a bit of downtime. Even Tim Gajser, who has never ventured there before, afforded himself a mid-week ‘holiday’ – a true sign that the Slovenian was relaxed and enjoying his riding like never before. Of course it helps when he has more than three GP’s advantage over his nearest rival in his back pocket. Those who ventured south-east maintained a level of fitness, they continued to train but they were also able to escape and re-charge their batteries after what was a challenging, hot and humid race in Palembang. If you haven’t already done so, check out the ‘Behind The Gate’ episode from the MXGP of Asia on MXGP-TV where we followed Jeremy Seewer around for the whole week to get an idea of the trip to Bali and what the likes of 32

he and others got up to. It’s a good watch.

WATCH THE VIDEO Before long, everybody was back at work for Round Twelve of Eighteen and a venue they already knew from 2018. Semarang is a red-clay circuit that dries very quickly to a blue-groove hard packed base and this year was no different. The circuit itself was around 200m shorter than the first edition of 2018 but it still had the look of a wide, flowing and spectacular track, nonetheless. After collecting his sixth pole position of the season, Jorge Prado took another emphatic win over his teammate Tom Vialle who is still riding the crest of a wave in his rookie season. Thomas Olsen came home third after picking up his first Fox Holeshot of the year. Olsen’s teammate, Jed Beaton also impressed to take fourth from Vlaanderen, who recovered from tenth to fifth. Race Two was over just as soon as it began for two riders as Olsen hit a rear wheel ahead of him, got shunted off line and over the ‘bars before the first turn. No sooner had his bike hit the ground, Bas Vaessen had nowhere to go and both he and his Hitachi KTM UK fuelled by Milwaukee machine were flung into the air before landing with a sudden jolt. Whilst both riders eventually picked themselves up, Vaessen’s postGP check up when he returned to Europe showed a broken C6 vertebra which means he will be out of action for at least six weeks. Heal up soon Bas. The ride of the race award had to go to Maxime Renaux. The nineteen year-old Frenchman started just inside the top ten but with five laps to go, he’d passed Vlaanderen for 2nd to register another career best result. A week earlier he’d claimed 3rd in Palembang, and here he took a 2nd. The Yamaha SM Action M.C.

Migliori rider is starting to find his place in MX2. It was still only good enough for a second consecutive 4th overall though, but his podium will come sooner rather than later. Prado claimed his twentieth race win, Renaux was 2nd and Vlannderen was 3rd, lifting the South African to the third step of the podium for the first time this year, and his first visit to the box in almost a year when he placed 2nd overall at Loket in 2018. Second overall was Vialle, which meant that Red Bull KTM had now finished the last three GP’s as 1-2 and Vialle had moved from 4th to 3rd in the championship as a result, leapfrogging Geerts in the process. RECORD BREAKER When we look through the history books there are many achievements that are there for all to see. Most world titles belong to Stefan Everts with 10; most GP wins (101) belong to Everts; most consecutive GP wins in a season also belong to the GOAT with 17 if you add up his wins from 2003 from Round Four where he raced in the Motocross GP Class, his wins from 125cc when he doubled-up on his agenda finally culminating in his 650cc win at Ernee where he also won all three races that day. In Semarang, Tim Gajser achieved a couple of milestone’s of his own when he claimed his 8th GP win in a single season; previously he’d won five in 2015 on his way to the MX2 title, and seven in 2016 when he won the MXGP title. His win in Semarang was his 7th consecutive win making it the longest ever Honda win streak in history by a single rider. Prior to that Gajser was tied with Julien Bill who won six, MX3 GP’s in a row in 2011 on his way to the title. And still, there is work to be done. Honda’s longest ever win-streak came in 1985 where HRC claimed the last ten GP wins of the season in the 500cc class with André Malherbe (4) – David Thorpe (3) – Eric Geboers (2) and David Bailey (1). If Gajser can win in Loket and Lommel, then he will equal that streak, but by

himself. Stay tuned to see how it unfolds. After taking his third pole position of the season, Romain Febvre’s first race came to a halt on Lap 3 whilst in 4th. On the exit of the first turn, he asked a little too much of the rear tyre and it spun him up-and-over. He was okay, but the impact and the angle of which his handlebars hit the hard-packed dirt left him with no alternative but to withdraw from the race. Arnaud Tonus was impressive though; the Swiss rider hovered inside the top ten on the opening lap but by the end of the race had moved up to 2nd. Suddenly that sixth podium was back on track. Seewer took 3rd from Coldenhoff and Arminas Jasikonis on the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna. His teammate had been running comfortably in 2nd but then a freak crash at the end of Pit Lane saw him hit a kicker right where he needed to be braking, and the Latvian went straight on instead of turning right! He was fine but his rear wheel gathered some trackside ‘furniture’ that took three laps to unravel. No-one was a match for the Tiga though as he went on to win for the fourteenth time. By now we know that Gajser won a seventh consecutive GP, and with race win number fifteen in the books – the same amount of wins as 2016 when he won the title – it’s almost fair to say that he has one hand on the title. His lead currently sits at 173 over Seewer who has now moved past Cairoli into second in the championship, which gives Tiga three GP’s (150) plus 23 points (between a 1st and a 2nd) advantage going into Loket, Czech Republic with six GP’s remaining. If things continue as they are, he could effectively wrap up the championship in Italy, or before that in Belgium – but it would need some serious inconsistency from everyone else for that to happen! But it’s not impossible. However, how many times have we seen big margins come to nothing? Herlings and Josh Coppins seem to spring mind, if you catch our drift, but let’s just take one race at a time, shall we? 35

As for the conclusion of Asia, for the second time in history and also this season, the Swiss duo of Arnaud Tonus and Jeremy Seewer rounded out the podium and going 2-3 and 3-4 respectively. Coldenhoff’s championship continues to gather momentum and he came away from Semarang with his best overall finish of the season so far with 4th just one place ahead of his stable mate, Anstie. FEBVRE CZECH’S IN … AFTER THREE YEARS The final race in this month’s round up comes from Loket in Czech Republic where for once the weather was kind to us. In fact, so much so that on Thursday, temperatures were nudging 40˚C, which is unheard of. Thankfully though, the heat dispersed by the weekend, but it was still pretty warm to be racing a motorcycle. The Serpentine Circuit has been on the calendar since 1995 and every year since 2002 making this edition the 18th consecutive race to be held here which is incredible. Not too far away from Loket is the very pleasant town of Karlsbad/Karlovy Vary and when newcomers to this GP come for the first time, they always check out that particular spa town. If you don’t want to travel the twenty-minute journey though, then there is always Loket itself to admire. The castle is its main dominating feature and the drive along the winding road (to the left of it) is nothing but spectacular. Once in the town you can enjoy an array of fantastic restaurants and street-side bars, where the food is great, and the atmosphere laid back and wonderful. But you will never catch any of us sampling the local cuisine or liquids of the local region. No way José … okay, maybe just one drink, but never more than two! After sitting out Race Two in Asia, Mitch Evans showed up to ride but after Free Practice decided he was still unfit to race and as a result, the Aussie has now slipped to tenth in the MX2 rankings. Ben Watson didn’t even travel, after re-injuring his hand at Semarang meaning he had dropped to ninth 36

by the time this GP was over. As for Prado, well, let’s just say that his Gravy Train continues to roll on, his win streak uninterrupted and as he heads to Belgium he has twenty-two race wins and twelve GP victories under his belt this year alone; eleven of those have come since Valkenswaard, and he is now ninety points clear of Olsen. Henry Jacobi found himself back on the podium in 2nd for the first time since Matterley Basin after posting 2-3 results. He was possibly helped along by the incident in Race One that saw Vlaanderen and Vialle crash out of 2nd and 3rd spectacularly just after the halfway mark. But as the saying goes, ‘you have to be in it to win it’ and whilst Jacobi remains 5th in the standings he now sits just three points behind Vialle in 4th, and fourteen adrift of Geerts in 3rd. Suddenly, his fight for 3rd is back on. Thomas Olsen rounded out the podium with two mediocre performances; his 3-4 was as a combination of being in the right place at the right time in Race One when two riders crashed out in front of him, but also because he still wasn’t 100% fit after his crash in Asia two weeks earlier. So, on that basis, it wasn’t a bad effort. The performance of the day though came from Adam Sterry; the F&H Kawasaki rider came from outside the top ten to 6th in Race One, and followed it up with 2nd in Race Two. It’s the first time that the Welsh Dragon has placed inside the top three in a race and it also landed him 4th overall. Even more satisfying perhaps was that he passed his teammate for 2nd with four laps to go. Can he land his first podium in Belgium? One rider who will be looking to climb the box again will Jago Geerts; the Belgian is probably fed up with hard-pack for this year and will relish being quite literally, back on home turf, or sand if you will. His 5th overall in Loket meant he regained 3rd in the championship and he will hope to gain a few more points on his rivals, maybe even claim his first GP win in front of his home fans at Lommel.

AND NOW … A HAPPY ENDING Sometimes things happen in racing that leave you feeling like there is still hope, no matter what line of work you are into; and it happened here in Loket. From the very first lap of Free Practice, Romain Febvre signalled his intent for a win in the premier class by putting himself at the top of the timing sheets in every session. But we’ve seen it all before, right? Come race day something happens that denies the Frenchman a race or GP win and there’s only so much a guy can take. So, when he won Race One on Sunday, he knew he had to maintain his focus for another thirtyfive minutes later on in the afternoon in order to win again. The last time ‘461’ stood on the top step of the podium was way, way, WAAAAAAAY back in 2016! June 5th in fact, which makes it 3 years and 2 months between drinks. His win in Race One was stunning, his win in Race Two even better as he came from 4th to pass Paulin, Gajser and Seewer in the first six laps. The only rider to offer him any kind of challenge was his teammate Seewer, who took both Fox Holeshots on his Factory Yamaha. Febvre’s win was the highlight of the GP and for him, maybe the pressure has been lifted somewhat to enable him to go after another win before the season is over. For the overall, Febvre went 1-1 for his thirteenth career GP win, Gajser went 2-2 for HRC and Seewer rode solid for a 3-3, his third podium in-a-row and his fourth of the campaign. Fourth overall belonged to Gautier Paulin who went 4-4, whilst The Jerry Man Van Horebeek was back in the top five with 5th overall. As we head to Belgium, Round Fourteen, Gajser is flyin’ high, 177 points clear of Seewer in 2nd who in turn, is 26 clear of Paulin with Tonus just 3 behind the Frenchman. As Gajser counts down the laps to what should be his third world title, the next two podium places seem destined for Blue; the trouble is, there are three riders fighting for those two final championship podium places. Maybe Belgium will have a huge say in how things will eventually play out. 39

FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

STANDINGS MXGP CHAMP. STANDINGS

MX2 CHAMP. STANDINGS

1. T. Gajser (SLO, HON) 582 p. 2. J. Seewer (SUI, YAM), 405 p. 3. G. Paulin (FRA, YAM), 379 p. 4. A. Tonus (SUI, HUS), 373 p. 5. A. Cairoli (ITA, KTM) 358 p. 6. A. Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 327 p. 7. G. Coldenhoff (NED, KTM) , 309 p. 8. J. Van Horebeek (BEL, HON) , 300 p. 9. P. Jonass (LAT, HUS), 297 p. 10. R. Febvre (FRA, YAM) , 293 p.

1. J. Prado (ESP, KTM) 2. T. Olsen (DEN, HUS) 3. J. Geerts (BEL, YAM) 4. T. Vialle (FRA, KTM) 5. H. Jacobi (GER, KAW) 6. A. Sterry (GBR, KAW) 7. J. Beaton (AUS, HUS) 8. B. Watson (GBR, YAM) 9. M. Renaux (FRA, YAM) 10. M. Evans (AUS, HON)

MXGP MANUFACTURERS

MX2 MANUFACTURERS

1. Honda 2. Yamaha 3. KTM 4. Husqvarna 5. Kawasaki

1. KTM 2. Husqvarna 3. Yamaha 4. Honda 5. Kawasaki

591 p. 535 p. 527 p. 393 p. 301 p.

594 p. 504 p. 391 p. 380 p. 377 p. 279 p. 250 p. 246 p. 242 p. 228 p.

632 p. 517 p. 476 p. 418 p. 411 p.

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P G X M # D OF ORL W HE IN T

Semarang is one of the favorite tracks of the MXGP calendar. Make a lap at the MXGP of Asia circuit from a GoPro point of view 43

R E S T L S R I N G MO

H T N O M A M E E T F TH O

S W 50

: M T K T C U R T S N E O S C O L G C N I G D N N I A T T T S E G E R A WE 51

Tim Mathys is the team owner and manager. Balancing his time with his construction company of the same name, for him it was only a matter of time before he immersed himself in the world of motocross:

STANDING CONSTRUCT KTM MAY BE ONE OF THE YOUNGER TEAMS IN THE MXGP PADDOCK, BUT ONE THAT’S GROWING QUICKLY IN JUST ITS 2ND YEAR IN THE TOP CLASS. WITH GLENN COLDENHOFF, MAX ANSTIE AND IVO MONTICELLI ON BOARD FOR 2019, THEY BOAST A RIDER LINEUP THAT’S THE ENVY OF MANY OF THE TEAMS AROUND THEM. WITH THE TEAM FRESH FROM THEIR INDONESIAN ODYSSEY, WE SAT DOWN WITH THE TEAM ON THE EVE OF THE MXGP OF CZECH REPUBLIC TO SEE HOW THINGS HAVE BEEN SHAPING UP THIS SEASON.

“Motocross was my passion since I was a kid. I rode myself when I was young, and then I started a construction company and worked literally day and night. Then at a certain moment Damon Graulus, (French MX2 champion in 2014 and also a former rider with Kemea Yamaha) who is the son of a good friend of mine, started doing well. He rode in the EMX65 and 85 championships and he was pretty good. So, I started the team with him, we developed and we became an 53

MX2 team, and now an MXGP team for the last 2 years.” Tim puts his life and soul into the team, but isn’t afraid to delegate where necessary. He’s surrounded with people that he can trust to get the job done: “What kind of team manager am I? Well, I’m the kind of manager that expects that all the people that are working or riding for him do their job, just like I do my job in the construction company, earning money for the team. I have some very capable people working with me in the team and I have 100% confidence in them. Just like I have confidence in my riders.” The riders, the life and soul of any team lining up behind the gate. Kevin Strijbos and Valentin Guillod wore the Standing construct colours in 2018, but 2019 has seen an all-new set of talent at the team’s disposal. Glenn Coldenhoff arrived from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, while Ivo Monticelli spent last year on the I-Fly JK Yamaha team. And then there’s Max Anstie, who was at a loose end at the end of his contract with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing. “I decided to take Glenn and originally Ivo,” says Mathys; “firstly because I knew Glenn from before and the kind of guy he is. I knew he was at the end of his contact at KTM, and the biggest advantage with Glenn is that he’s always giving it 100%. During the weeks it’s how he’s living, how he’s riding, so for me Glenn was absolutely someone that I wanted to have. I saw a few things last year with Ivo that really surprised me, too. For example, here in Loket, he rode on what was almost a stock bike in 6th place for a long time, so I saw that he had a lot within himself, and that’s why I took Ivo.” “The original idea was to have a 2-rider team, like we had in previous years, but Max won the

MXoN at the end of 2017, had some podiums in 2018 and then I heard he was still without a ride. So, I thought that was my chance to get a rider like Max in the team.” Max becoming available, with 2 race seats already filled, did pose an awkward question for the team. But Tim was sure he could make it work with 3 riders, instead of the usual 2. However, this has led to some logistical problems, and a lot more work for the team to keep 3 guys up at the sharp end of MXGP. “Having 3 riders instead of 2 is a lot more work, not just the mechanical side of things with 3 bikes instead of 2. There’s going overseas with 3 riders instead of 2, so you’re taking more crates for example. It’s a lot more work to have 3 instead of 2. Looking to the future, together with KTM, we’re thinking about what we do next year - either 3 or 2 riders for sure, 3 riders is a lot!” However, the riders themselves appear to be completely unfazed by the whole thing. The extra rider is no distraction for them, all they need to care about is their relationship with the technical staff and their beloved bikes. Some things never change. Coldenhoff: “I thought it would be easy” Glenn Coldenhoff arrived at the team on the back of a solid 2018 season which saw the Dutchman finish 7th in the championship. But his contract at Red Bull was not renewed with Pauls Jonass moving up from MX2. By the time the 2017 MX2 world champion announced that he was jumping for Max’s old seat with Husky, Glenn had already signed for a move to Standing Construct. “The change from Red Bull KTM to Standing Construct has been tough,” says Coldenhoff; “Especially in the beginning because of the injury. It was very hard to come back from that, 55

but I feel like the team has done an amazing job. They work hard and I’m a guy that’s quite picky with bike setup. So, it took some time, which is normal, and I think that at the moment we are pretty solid. I feel good with the bike, and you can also see that in the results lately.” That injury was a nasty one. A spill in mid-December on the hallowed sand of Lommel resulting in 3 compressed vertebrae and a broken wrist: “After the injury I thought it would be easier. I only broke my back and my wrist. Usually you might think just 1 month, maybe 2, but it kept following me for quite a long time. It’s only in the last few weeks that I’ve stopped having pain, and if I have a really heavy day I can still feel it in my back. It took about 4 months to recover, and I expected it to take only 2 months.” With the recovery process in place the big question was; when do I come back? The choice was between taking more time to get back to full fitness and missing the start of the season, or lining up at the start of the season despite a chronic lack of riding time. Glenn chose the former: “I felt like I had to be in Argentina and I don’t regret that. If I look at the championship now, I’m just outside the top-5, with a chance of breaking into the top-5 positions. In the end we can all be happy that we went to Argentina, and we had a slow start, but we’ve done great. The really good results still need to come. I haven’t been on the podium yet, but I feel like we are getting close. Still 6 more GPs to go, and 6 more chances to get on the box.” “I’m getting closer to the podium, that’s for sure,” Glen continues. “Physically I’m quite fit at the moment, and also riding-wise I feel good on the bike. A podium is definitely getting close, but what I need is to take holeshots. That would make things easier for myself. Recently the starts on Sunday have not been as good as 57

on Saturday. If we can improve that a little bit, and just stay in front, then a podium is coming soon.” The #259 with some great showings in qualifying, especially out in Indonesia, but still yet to taste glory on a Sunday. However, it’s surely only a matter of time before that first visit to the podium is made into reality. The bike is getting better all the time, and so is its rider. Anstie – Red Heat Max Anstie’s future appeared up in the air after the usual end of season game of musical chairs which left the Briton without a race seat for 2019. However, fortune was on his side as Standing Construct decided to make room for the #99, a stroke of luck he’s determined to make the most of: “The transition from last year to this year has been smooth. Many guys would think it’s really similar, you just take your settings from one to the other, but it took a lot of work. I started with my set up from last year and tried to make that work. But, actually, I found that I had to start from a complete blank piece of paper and build it myself. This bike is my bike. We’re constantly improving and looking for more. I think every team up there is doing the same. You think you’ve taken a great step and you’re in a good place, and then suddenly the other guys step up and you’re thinking you now have to find something else. But I’m very grateful to the guys, and things have gone about as smoothly as they could.” Anstie obviously with pace right from the start, although a little inconsistent. But at the 3rd round of the season, on the sand of Valkenswaard, Max came into his own after a cracking start to Race 1: “Valkenswaard, that was crazy. I got a good start, I was out there and got into the lead, and was

just clicking off the laps, and that was good. But I just stepped on the brake a little bit too heavily over a single, and I stalled it. As I went over the bars, somehow the foot peg got stuck in my trousers, and I couldn’t get out. I was literally fine, but I couldn’t move. It was really weird.” Max would end up 16th in that first race, having to make up places after that tangle with his peg, and then placing 9th in Race 2. Niggling injuries and a couple of slices of bad luck saw him take points in only 1 of the following 8 races before making a low-key comeback in Russia and Latvia. However, since then a string of 8 top-10’s in a row has been a reward for all the hard work it’s taken to get back to full fitness: “I am 100% now with my body. I’ve got the time back that I missed. I was doing really well, but after that time off after Arco (a 5-week break after the 4th round of the season) things went a little bit pear-shaped for one reason or another. The season’s so long that you’re not always going to be at the top of your form at fitness. I feel like I’m coming into a good part of the year for myself now.” Nowhere was that more obvious than in MXGP’s first ever visit to Palembang for the MXGP of Indonesia. Lesser mortals cowered in the shade wherever possible, with temperatures permanently over 30°C and humidity over 80%, but not Max. Showing genuine pace on the Saturday and then taking 2nd in the opening race on Sunday, only a slip early in race 2 when making a move into 2nd place early on, got in the way of the team’s first podium of the season. “In Palembang I did like the track, and I like the heat, I don’t know why. Yes, I’m ginger. Most gingers say they struggle with the heat, I guess for me it’s something that I work well in. I honestly just felt good. We had

a good setup all weekend, and it worked well.” This coming from a man that looks pale next to a sheet of paper. Decades of medical science being thrown out of the window every time he lines up under the full strength of the summer sun. “I’ve got red hair. I’m ginger. I don’t really tan that well. I don’t know why I seem to do so well in the heat. I used to live in the USA when I was 14, and my dad used to make me train in the sun all the time, cycling outside with snakes and things, running up massive hills.” Running up those hills obviously of benefit to the now 26-year-old. But what about that goals he set for the season? “My goals for the season were to be on the podium and in the top5, and to be fighting for the top-5 in the championship. Obviously, it hasn’t all gone to plan. The consistency hasn’t all been there, but the potential is there. I feel like the speed is there, and the strength is there too, just not every time. “There are also 12 or 15 guys that are also in very good teams, and with very good bikes, and a lot of information and a good group of people around them. It’s tough if you’re 1 or 2% off. It’s very easy to be 12th, or you could be top-3. I’ve not met my goals yet but there’s still 6 races left, so let’s go get on the podium for these last few.” Monticelli: “Now is a good time” Last, but by no means least, in the Standing Construct lineup is Ivo Monticelli. The Italian making his MXGP debut in 2018 on pretty much a stock Yamaha bike, but still turning heads with some of his performances, after hardly setting the world alight with Marchetti in MX2 before his move up to the 450’s. “The transition to a new team and new bike was really good. I felt really good with the team because 61

they are really hard working, and gave 100% to me. So, I can also give 100% to the team. I think this is a good combination. I think I’m more competitive on the 450cc because I really like the bike, and also because it’s better for my riding style. I usually use a high gear to ride smoothly, and on a 450cc this is much easier to do. The 450cc fits my riding style much better.” Nowhere was his progress better illustrated than on home dirt in Trentino. There the Italian was in the zone all weekend long. “I was really good in Arco. I got 5th and 6th for 5th overall. I did not expect this result, because last year by best result was 10th position in one race. It was a really good improvement for me. Now is a good time, and I’m really fit. So, I can come back like in Arco with a good result. In Mantova I was really unlucky, because I had a problem and also broke my shoulder. Just a little fracture so I didn’t lose a lot of time. But with all the other riders are really close, so it’s difficult to make the good results again.” It’s the little things that can make all the difference in MXGP. Ivo was running in a strong 3rd place in Race 1 in Mantova, before his bike let him down, and that injury was nothing to be sniffed at either. Any time lost in training and riding gives an advantage to the rest of the paddock, but it’s not all been doom and gloom. Those targets we all set such store by at the start of the year, have already been met by the 24-year old. “The goal at the start of the season was to be close to the top-10 by the end of the season. We’ve already hit those goals because we’ve already had many races in the top-10. But every time you hit an objective you have to make a new one. So, now my new objective is to be in the top-10 as much as possible.”

The last word on targets should perhaps be left to the Team Manager himself: “The target for this year? What concerns me is that the guys always give it 100%. If I see that, then I’m happy. Of course, I like to see my riders on the podium or in the top-5, and I think in recent weeks, Max and Glenn, and also Ivo before that, have proven that they were worth my confidence by riding in the top5. I think they will do even better in the next part of the season. I’m satisfied for now, but it can only get better.” Nations Glory? This is also the time of year where the FIM Motocross of Nations starts to feature heavily in conversation around the paddock. For some there’s the hope of a first call-up, but other riders, who already know all about the very special atmosphere created by these events, will even now be looking ahead to what looks like being an incredible weekend’s racing at the end of September in Assen. Glenn Coldenhoff finished off 2018 in a blaze of glory, winning both his races in last year’s event at Red Bud, USA, helping his Dutch team take the 2nd step of the podium yet again. Can they go one better this time around? “After finishing 2nd 3 times in a row, I feel like we need to make it happen. At our home country it’s going to be really special. It’s a lot of pressure after what we did last year. With only 2 guys to finish 2nd is quite special to me. It’s going to be a hard weekend, with a lot of pressure. We really feel like we need to take it home this time.” Coldenhoff’s form at the end of last season stunned the motocross world. He’s not the first rider to untap his potential in format, while struggling to do so in the world championship, and surely not the last.

“I do sometimes feel that same feeling I had that day. It’s probably the best day in my career so far, and I’m definitely looking forward to having more days like that.” However, you sense, when walking around the paddock, that focus is already starting to shift, for some more than others. For Glenn, and the rest of the Dutch team, this MXoN is going to be quite the experience. “It’s always special, even if it isn’t in Holland. I’m a very proud Dutch guy, and when you ride for your country you always feel like there’s a little extra. It’s a different format in a team, and you always have that team feeling. It’s already special, but having that race in Holland is going to be something huge.” Another man whose focus will already be firmly on Assen is Jeffrey Herlings. The 4-time world champion has had a season to forget, with his year not even starting until a belated first appearance Russia for the 9th round of the season due to a broken ankle. There was then the high-point of a race when not yet fully fit in Latvia. But a spill in the sighting lap for that race resulted in another broken bone in the same ankle, and more time on the sidelines. But the Bullet’s season isn’t over yet, and Glenn is keeping in touch. “I spoke to him last weekend, and it’s definitely getting better. It looks like he’s getting back on his bike next week. I hope he takes it easy. Even 80% fit would be good as well. I feel like we need him, and think that Jeffrey, with this event coming in the Netherlands, he doesn’t want to miss it. Another man desperate not to miss the season finale is Max Anstie. He also has history in the event, having also won both his races at the 2017 event, held on home turf at Matterley Basin. Describing it as “really weird. Things just clicked and went really well for me. The starts were good, and I was solid in every session.” 65

on a show now. Let’s go and show them what we’re made of.”

Anstie also at his best in 2018, despite struggling during the regular season. So there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic ahead of this year’s event, despite Team GB not yet being set in stone. “I am looking forward to the MXoN this year in Assen. I tell you what, that’s going to be an atmosphere in there. That’s going to be pretty cool, and I do think that’s going to be a great race, and we’ve got good sand riders. I haven’t spoken to (team captain) Mark Chamberlain yet about anything. I’m sure that next week in Lommel is going to be the biggest test for most of the guys that most of the teams are going to choose. I’m good in the sand, and I’m feeling good. So, I’m going to put on a show 66

and do my best. I think whatever team we have we’re going to be strong and fighting for that podium.” A strong British team, with Max playing a full part, have taken the bottom step of the box for the last 2 years, and will be hopeful of more of the same in 2019. You could say it’s become a highlight of his season. “From my experience over the last few years I feel that whenever I put on that Team GB shirt that I’m going to excel, definitely at Matterley Basin and at Red Bud last year. It was awesome, and I do enjoy representing my country. When you’re on the start line for the MXoN, in one way you can think that you’ve got the weight of your country. But in another way, you’re thinking let’s go put

The likes of Coldenhoff and Anstie are exactly the type of riders that make the MXoN so special. Men that can rise above their usual level of performance in that particular atmosphere, and take the rest of their team with them. Maybe this year, one of them will find a way of knocking 5-time defending champions France out of their stride. In the meantime, there’s the small matter of the remaining 5 rounds (at the time of writing) of the FIM Motocross World Championship to be negotiated. Between them, that’s 15 shots at getting Standing Construct on the podium before the season’s end, and it would be hard to bet against them doing exactly that.

WATCH THE VIDEO

E L R A U I T C A E E SP F

A N I S â&#x20AC;&#x2122; T A H W BER? M U N

OVER TIME RIDERS CAN BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH THE NUMBER ON THEIR BIKE. KEEP HOLD OF IT LONG ENOUGH AND IT BECOMES YOUR CALLING CARD, EVEN A TRADEMARK. THE DADDY OF THEM ALL, OF COURSE, IS TC222, BUT THERE ARE MANY MORE AND WE’VE SPENT THE SEASON NOSING AROUND THE PADDOCK LOOKING FOR THE STORY BEHIND THESE SIMPLE DIGITS.

The best known, as already mentioned, the #222 that Antonio Cairoli has carried on his bike since many in the paddock were still in short pants. The 9-time world champion originally used the number by simply adding a ‘2’ to team-mate Claudio Federici’s #22, but a few years later the Sicilian made a stunning discovery:

number. I’ve kept it for many years now, and yeah, that’s my favourite number.”

“I restored my old first bike, the number of the bike was 222. I saw this on the frame and so after that I thought it was a sign. I kept using this number forever, because it’s especially important to me.”

Also keeping it in the family is his 114 team-mate Mitchell Evans. The Australian has burst onto the MX2 scene in 2019, sensationally hitting the podium on debut in Patagonia. The number on the front on his Honda is a very personal thing:

Fate had thrown Tony and his #222 together, and there was no going back for TC222. Not everyone can point to such cosmic coincidence before settling on their number though. Zachary Pichon, plying his trade with Honda 114 Motorsport, has only ever used one number and with good reason: “I’ve kept this number since I was in the 65cc class. That was the number for my Dad when he was 125cc champion in US Supercross, so I like this

His father the same Mickaël Pichon that won 2 titles stateside, before coming back to Europe in 1999 to compete in the old MX1 class. The elder Pichon going on to claim world titles in both 2001 and 2002 for Suzuki.

“My number 43 is very special to me. My Mum’s Dad was born in 1943 and he passed away 9 years before I was born. So, I run it in remembrance of him and I have it tattooed on my foot, and so does my brother.” Just to be precise, that’s on the Queenslander’s left foot. Everything he does starts with the left, be that putting on his race gear left foot before right, left glove before right, and so on, and so forth.

There are also lucky numbers. 7 is regarded as a lucky number in many cultures, and Bos Factory’s Evgeny Bobryshev has taken that to heart: “Triple numbers in Russian mean power. So, that’s why I chose the triple-7. At the start of my motocross career as a kid, my number was 7 for a long time. Then, when I was racing the Dutch championship I had #77 and then I was missing one 7, so I put the extra 7 there. I’m really happy with this number, and I like the way it looks.” The Russian will need all his power to get through this summer. Side-lined with a fractured tibia picked up in front of his home fans in Orlyonok, having already decided to stop for surgery on his long-standing wrist injury after that weekend. Tommy Searle started the season with Bobryshev at BOS, but now finds himself at the factory Kawasaki outfit following a rash of injuries for the green team. The Briton in the wars himself after a bruising Race 2 in Loket, but happy to see his #100 back on the track having been a ‘number nomad’ in his early career: “Max Anstie had #99 and he had a friend of his whose son passed away, who used to use #100. So, he asked me ‘can you be number 100 to sponsor a friend of mine, and it would be a nice gesture’. When I came back from America I didn’t have a number, so I used the 100, and I’ve stuck with it ever since.” Arnaud Tonus’ #4 not seen on the track in 2018 but looming large this season, with the Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha rider enjoying his best ever run of form. A gradual return to fitness has seen the Swiss finally show just why team boss Louis Vosters showed such faith in him through the injuries. A certain aggression now allied to that silky technique: 73

“At one point Georges Jobé was my mentor and he had number 4 for a long time. I have great memories with George and he helped me a lot during my career. He was always telling me I was not aggressive enough, that I needed to fight harder for him. He really taught me that. I think number 4 fits really well with that mentality.” Tonus on the podium in 6 of the last 8 GPs to put himself firmly in the scrap for 2nd place in the 2019 MXGP championship, although he has a big fight on his hands with team-mate Gautier Paulin jostling for position, along with Jeremy Seewer on the factory Yamaha. Jeremy Van Horebeek definitely not on a factory bike this season. Swiftly putting Team Honda SR Motoblouz together as last-minute entry to the championship, promptly wowing the crowds with a spot on the box in Argentina. The Belgian’s #89 very much part of his life: “I’m using the number 89 as I’m born in that year. So, I’ve used for a long time already, since my first year in GP,

which is 13 years now. So, it’s quite special to me, and I love it.” That same logic being used by F&H Racing’s Henry Jacobi: “I was growing up with Ken Roczen, and he has the #94 because he was born in 1994. I also wanted something with my birthday. My birthday is 29th of October and it’s the #29 because of my birthday.” Germany’s finest indulging in a bit of hero-worship to come up with his number, but we’ll leave the final word to someone who holds a different type of hero close to his heart. Tim Gajser appears to be rampaging his way to a 3rd world title this season, but #243 has been emblazoned on his bike for the last 10 years. This is a deeply family affair: “I’ve been using #243 since 2009 and it means a lot to me and my family. It’s the birthday of my brother, who passed away, so it’s an honour that I can be the guy who wears that number. I know that always, when I win, we both win. I know that he’s always next to me.”

L L A H

E M A F F O

DAVID “DP19” PHILIPPAERTS IN THE LONG AND RICH HISTORY OF MOTOCROSS, DAVID PHILIPPAERTS IS THE THIRD ITALIAN TO EVER WIN A WORLD TITLE AFTER ALESSANDRO PUZAR (250CC WORLD CHAMPION IN 1990) AND ANDREA BARTOLINI (500CC WORLD CHAMPION IN 1999). BUT HE HAS BEEN THE FIRST ONE TO CONQUER THE TITLE IN THE ‘MAIN CLASS’ AS THE MX1 WAS THE PINNACLE OF THE SPORT IN 2008.

David Philippaerts was born on 7th December 1983 in Italy, as his father moved from Belgium to Toscana when he was younger. Motorsports have always been part of David’s family; his grandfather was Belgian champion twice and his father was a motocross racer and later a professional motocross mechanic! David was only three years old when he received his first bike, but it was just for fun at that time. In fact, he was already ten years old when he entered his first races in Romagna, Italy. Minicross vice champion in 1995 and fourth two years later in the Cadet championship, he reached the podium of the 125cc European championship in 2002 and joined the KTM Errevi team to enter the World Championship. During three consecutive seasons he was the Italian champion and he gradually improved his GP results until he got a factory ride during the 2005 season when KTM was looking for a rider to replace injured Tyla Rattray. It was a kind of dream for David,

who won his first GP’s that season (France and South Africa) and finished fourth in the champinoship standings. Confirmed by KTM for 2006 as factory rider, he won four GP’s that season and battled for the title with Christophe Pourcel and Antonio Cairoli; he finished third in the standings and he decided to move to the MX1 class when he turned twenty-three. Following the pieces of advice of Georges Jobe, he made an astonishing debut in the main class in 2007 wining one heat in Portugal and his first 450cc GP in Germany on his factory KTM. That year he finished sixth in the series and he was again approached by Michele Rinaldi and signed for Yamaha and reached his dream to race in an Italian team with factory bikes! David missed the podium in the opening round of the series in the Netherlands, but he was second in the one-race GP in Spain and tight in the points with Seb Pourcel in Portugal, so he left Agueda with the red plate in his luggage, just a few points ahead of Steve Ramon. The Belgian, his team mate Ken 77

De Dycker and Josh Coppins were his main rivals that season but thanks to his consistency DP19 was always in the battle for the title. The Italian led most of the season, just giving temporary the red plate to Ramon after the Belgian GP in Lommel. However, David reacted successfully as he won the following round in Loket and got back the series leadership. That season he showed how strong he was mentally when he beat his Belgian rivals in Lierop, one of the toughest sandy tracks of the series! In fact, he arrived in Lierop five points ahead of Ramon in the standings and he left the penultimate round of the series with a fourteen points advantage before the final round in Faenza. Racing a home GP is not always the easiest thing, but the support of the tifosis gave wings to David to claim the MX1 World title on his native soil! David Philippaerts would never have again the possibility to fight for a world title, as several injuries (broken finger in 2009, twisted knee in 2010, broken wrists in 2011 and again in 2012) affected his potential, but as always he never gave up and kept the confidence of his team during those seasons. Winner of a GP every year from 2009 to 2011, he finally joined a Honda team in 2013 and got his best result that season at the Motocross of Nations where team Italy finished third behind Belgium and USA. With no other strong options for 2014 than racing as a privateer, David created his own ‘Team DP19’ with the support of Yamaha and learned a new job while he continued to race during three seasons. Helping young riders inside his team to become more professional, he finally retired from racing GP’s at the end of 2016, but continued his involvement with young riders, as his team became the official Yamaha squad for the European 250 class. Text & Photos: P. Haudiquert 78

2002:

3rd in the 125 European Championship (Suzuki)

2003:

22nd in the 125 World Championship (KTM)

2004:

19th in the MX2 World Championship (KTM)

2005:

4th in the MX2 World Championship (KTM). Winner of 2 GP’s

2006:

3rd in the MX2 World Championship (KTM). Winner of 4 GP’s

2007:

6th in the MX1 World Championship (KTM). Winner of 1 GP

2008:

MX1 World Champion (Yamaha). Winner of 2 GP’s

2009:

4th in the MX1 World Championship (Yamaha). Winner of 1 GP

2010:

3rd in the MX1 World Championship (Yamaha). Winner of 1 GP

2011:

9th in the MX1 World Championship (Yamaha). Winner of 1 GP

2012:

15th in the MX1 World Championship (Yamaha)

2013:

11th in the MX1 World Championship (Honda)

3rd at the MX of Nations with Team Italia

2014:

10th in the MXGP World Championship (Yamaha)

2015:

15th in the MXGP World Championship (Yamaha)

2016:

33rd in the MXGP World Championship (Yamaha)

S K L A T K C O D PAD

Traditional summer party at Loket hosted by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.

2 The best EMX65 and EMX85 riders gathered together in Loket to claim the title. 3 The MXGP Academy riders visited Paul and Lisa at the studio show. 4 Ice1Racing team received a very special visit by Yoko management. 5 Top view from the hotel swimming pool at Palembang. 6 The medical team ready in Indonesia. 7 Traditional opening ceremony in Indonesia hosted by Youthstream CEO David Luongo, FIM/CMS Director Antonio Portela, IMI President Sadikin Aksa, South Sumatra Governor Herman Deru SH MM, Pangdam II Sriwijaya Major General TNI and Military Chief of South Sumatra M. Irwan, Chief Police of South Sumatra Inspector General Pol.

E L R A U I T C A E E SP F

ERIC GEBOERS 1983 SUZUKI RA83

AS WE ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK ON THE MXGP OF BELGIUM WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FITTING TO FEATURE A BIKE FROM A BELGIAN RIDER WHO DID SO MUCH TO ELEVATE THE SPORT OF MOTOCROSS; NOT JUST IN BELGIUM BUT ALSO IN THE WIDER WORLD. ERIC GEBOERS WAS A FIVETIME WORLD CHAMPION AND ALSO A PROMOTER OF THE BELGIAN GP IN HIS LATER YEARS. HIS FIRST TITLE CAME IN 1982 RACING FOR SUZUKI ABOARD THE RA82, BUT ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HIS 1983 TITLE-WINNING RA83 THAT WE WILL FEATURE IN THIS ISSUE OF MXGP MAGAZINE.

of motocross but dominated almost from the off!

Despite the 500cc category being considered as the premier class in the FIM Motocross World Championship, Suzuki’s testing ground was actually the 125cc class, and anything from R&D that could be seen as a benefit to either the 250cc or 500cc classes was developed there; not just in the factory but more crucially, out on track. And whilst the 1970’s heralded the arrival of newer technologies and the introduction of the 125cc class in 1975, a major shift was starting to occur; Japan had not only entered the world

It was 1969 when Suzuki finished 3rd in the 250cc class at it’s first real attempt with Olle Petterson, but just one year later, Belgium’s Joel Robert became the first rider to win a title on a Japanese bike when he won the 250cc class for the fourth time. Fellow Belgian Roger De Coster took the 500cc title in 1971 at the first attempt on a Suzuki and by the end of the 1980 season, Suzuki had won no less than fifteen world championship titles across all three classes. For Suzuki, 1981 marked another major landmark shift when it introduced the first water-cooled bike in the 125cc class. Harry Everts had

won the 125cc title in 1980 on the air-cooled machine and followed this up by winning again in 1981 on the all-new water-cooled RA81. Not only that, the RA81 came equipped with the radical ‘Full Floater’ suspension system, a singleshock system which used a floating linkage at both the bottom and the top of the shock with a set of pull-rods connecting the system to the swingarm. To say it was a complicated system was a massive understatement, but as far as suspension goes, it was a huge improvement to the overall handling of the bike. As the defending champion in the class the focus was on Eric to do well, but in case of any problems or injuries, Suzuki hired an Italian by the name of Michele Rinaldi to be his teammate. Rinaldi had just come from Gilera where he’d 83

Photo: RacerX

Photo: RacerX finished 3rd behind Eric and Corrado Maddii, his teammate. Both Eric’s and Michele’s bikes started out the same but in November ’82, both riders had the chance to fine-tune their machines for the following season with a test programme carried out in Japan. According to Team Manager Sylvain Geboers, the RA82 and RA83 were very similar in that they were water-cooled with reed valves and ran the Full Floater suspension system, but there had been many

improvements to fine-tune the handling and other areas that may have been ‘weak’ during the ’82 season. Areas that could have been improved by each rider included the power, by altering the timing of the exhaust port, the exhaust chamber, compression ratio or crankshaft inertia. From the chassis side they could adjust the front and rear suspension, alter the off-set of the steering bracket or maybe even the rear tyre, which could be changed from 17” to 18” for better stability. Of course, it goes without saying that the RA83 was a complete factory bike like any RA, RH or RN bikes that were raced in the world championship at that time.

The RM125cc Suzuki was still not massively produced and so trying to compare the RA with the RM was pointless. All internal engine parts were factory; the piston was machined, the cylinder was steel-lined, the exhaust and silencer were created inhouse. Even the Nippondenso ignition was made specifically for this bike. The carburettor was a Mikuni 36mm with the flath cut away. The gearbox contained six gears but the ratio and material was ‘special’. The engine cases and wheel hubs were crafted from Magnesium for weight saving purposes. Handlebars were also made in-house from steel and for the 45-minute races, the fuel tank was larger and made from aluminium. The frame was chrome molybdenum but the swingarm and Full Floater system was produced from aluminuim. The swingarm in particular was longer than the production version for better stability. At the rear, the Full 85

Floater system operated with an Ohlins RCU spring whilst the front was suspended by 43mm conventional KYB forks. As for performance numbers, Sylvain Geboers says there are no official numbers for output but according to Michele Rinaldi, he recalled that the Suzuki was maybe not as powerful as his ‘82 Gilera for instance. So, if that was the case, then how come the Suzuki was so good? With both riders using very similar settings, Rinaldi offered up this snippet of information: ‘The Gilera chassis was not as good as the Suzuki but the Suzuki chassis, handling and bottom-mid power was really smooth, although the power was much less than Gilera; we were not even 30bhp and the Gilera was more than 3233bhp, the year before. But, with Suzuki, it was the whole package, because probably, with a little bit less power for the engine at that time, with those frames, with the linkage, it was helping the bike to go smoother and quicker. I remember the traction was very good, suspension was very good so it really was a great bike and great package, resulting from engine combination character, with big inertia which was helping a lot for traction, and on the bumps always making you in control.’

Photo: Laporte Private Collection

Sylvain echoed some of those thoughts: ‘With power delivery, the option was available and to be decided by both riders, raceby-race. The power band was very useable from bottom to top and compared to their rivals, our riders used a lot less clutch out of the corners because the ‘pick-up’ was easier. The RA was a better bike; it was powerful, reliable and handled well. The clutch and gearshift was smooth and the brake performance was strong and the suspension never failed in any of the 45-minute races.’ 87

should go to his teammate Michele though.

During the 1983 season, Suzuki won 20/24 races that year with Eric winning 15 of them. And of the 12 GP’s, Suzuki won 9, with Eric winning 6. He also won five of the first six GP’s with a 1-1 score and he won the title with one round remaining at Salo in Finland with two 4th place finishes. He won the final round at Holice in style with another 1-1, the perfect way to leave his 125cc chapter behind. Having won the title in 1982 it was a successful title defence and from there he never looked back, winning three more titles along the way. Perhaps the final words 88

HAVING WON THE TITLE IN 1982 IT WAS A SUCCESSFUL TITLE DEFENCE AND FROM THERE HE NEVER LOOKED BACK, WINNING THREE MORE TITLES ALONG THE WAY. ‘Eric was great! As a teammate he was faster, not everywhere but almost everywhere, and there was never one fight, never one problem, nothing

to say. He was a great rider. From 1983, I learned to look at someone coming up from behind, being faster, especially in the sand, so I was really curious and I was looking at his way of training, what to do and where, because I knew he was the new generation after me. I think he was 4 years younger. But the way for him to live in Belgium, living in the sand, started riding with the bigger machine; I started on a 50cc, so it was completely different when I was 14, so then I learned a lot. He was a great champion, and he won many times,’ Michele Rinaldi remembers.

E L R A U I T C A E E SP F

E H T , S F S O O Y R R C O O HIST T O M E M PLETE ! M T O R C O P S R U O

WHO WON THE 1959 MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP? WHERE WAS THE 1973 FRENCH GRAND PRIX ORGANISED? HOW MANY RIDERS SCORED POINTS IN THE 2000 MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS? HOW MANY GPS HARRY EVERTS WON?

Do you know a Motocross fan who can answer to these questions as well as many others? We know one crazy guy who spent hours, days and months to get and check carefully all this information to provide for sure one of the best and most exhaustive database: www. memotocross.fr! It’s a long and an amazing story, but it also shows that we have many passionate fans who love so much our sport that are ready to give their time to their passion, even if they have never raced themselves! Gilles Lecoq alias ‘Gilou’ is a French fan who had the chance to leave near Brou, one of the most famous French MX tracks in the 80’s, where he discovered this sport. “I was only seven years old when my father took me to Brou, only a few kilometres from our house, and I was impressed by the noise, the jumps and the atmosphere, so when I was back home I wanted to know more about this sport. I bought some magazines when I had some money and I started to fill in notebooks and write some reports,” he reminds when we talk with him about his native passion. “Later I had a bike to go to work and one day a truck changed his line and hit me when I was 18 years old. My leg was severely broken in the accident; I stayed seven months in a hospital where they finally saved my leg, but still now I struggle to walk when the ground is not flat,” he adds. All his dreams to race motocross one day disappeared, but

the passion for the sport remains in him. From football to motocross Gilles Lecoq used to travel every year around his home town Tours to attend some races and every month he bought some magazines to get the results and information on all the different motocross events, and one day he had the idea to build a website dedicated to his favourite sport: “One day I bought a book called ‘Memofoot’ where I found many results and information about football and it gave me the idea to create Memotocross. On 1s September 2012 I launched the first version of Memotocross after three years of intensive work collecting results and information, but also learning how to create and maintain a web site. I spent so many hours to built that first version, and the final result was not as good as I was expecting … I asked for advice to some people involved in the sport showing them what I was doing and they gave me good feedback, so I was even more motivated to continue and improve the website,” explains Gilou, who spent most of his free time to work on his project. “Thanks to Internet and social media I got the possibility to be in touch with people that a simple fan couldn’t reach before, such as Marc Pétrier at the FIM, Xavier Audouard, editor of French Magazines, Davy Coombs from Racer X or David

Luongo from Youthstream. They all helped me in my research, especially Marc Pétrier who gave me big support; it might seem strange, but many federations don’t keep archives so it’s not easy to double check the results I found in the magazines or on the web. I wanted to double check all what was published on the website, but that’s sometimes difficult as even in the FIM results we can find some mistakes!” Whatever you look Whatever you’re looking for, the result or the location of a track, the complete list of GP winners, the results of a rider during his career, you will find it on Memotocross in one of the 2710 forms available on the website! Of course the results of all the GP’s, Trophies and Motocross of Nations are also available. “We’re still working on the results of some races like the MX of Nations from 53 to 58, but also some GP’s as the rules changed through the seasons. At one period you took in consideration the time of races to determinate the winner, now it’s the second race which is decisive, but at one period points were delivered on the overall classification and not race by race. Fortunately, I have connexions who help me in many countries,” explains Gilou who is now retired and has more time for his passion.

“I spend a minimum of four hours per day to work on the site and my reward is to see that so many people visit the website to find information and sometimes they send us a little message or some remarks which help us to improve the website. I’m not a journalist, I’m just a fan of the sport who visits a few races every year in France; I will never miss a French GP but I have never visited a race outside France, as it’s not easy for me to travel since I had my accident when I was young. But I watch all of them on television thanks to www. mxgp-tv.com as I can follow all the races live,” he concludes, ready to open a new chapter of Memotocross with the results of all the National championship, the Trans Ama, the Masters of Motocross and so on.

S N R O O I T T I S E ED E U QO TH T ❝

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Hi, just wondering if there is anywhere I can view photos taken at the Junior World Motocross Championships recently? Rachel

Hi, if I buy an MXGP live streaming, can I see it from any device? and switch it to another for the next time? as I never know if I can have my IPAD with me, my phone or if I can see it from the computer Edoardo

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Hi Rachel, You can find images of all classes (MXGP, MX2, Junior, European, Women’s, etc.) on mxgp.com/photos. MXGP

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Hi Edoardo you can watch mxgp-tv on any device, not simultaneously, but you can switch from one to another anytimeThanks MXGP

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When will the official calendar for 2020 be announced?? Vincent

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Where and when can I get tickets to the last MXGP of the season in China? Liz

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Hi Liz , Tickets are now available for the MXGP of China on https:// www.247tickets.com/t/mxgpchina/?lang=en Regards MXGP

Dear Vincent, The final calendar will be announced later this year, after the season has finished around October 2019. Best Regards MXGP

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Can you let me know if there will be a special offer to purchase the Monster Energy FIM MXoN? John

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Hi John Mid August a special ‘End of Season’ Offer will go online with a 75% discount Thanks MXGP