MXGP #73 September 2019

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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

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L A I R O T I D E

Giuseppe Luongo President of Youthstream Group

Dear MXGP fans, The MX world has two new great Champions; Gajser for MXGP and Prado for MX2.

Both are very young for the classes they compete in, and they both come from the pyramid system created by Youthstream with FIM-Europe and FIM. Both riders have dominated their classes during the whole year and they really deserve their titles. There have been some talks about the injuries in MXGP favouring the Gajser’s win, but this doesn’t put a damper on his victory at all because he was able to be the fastest and stay injury free for the whole season.

Things will be even more exciting next season with Gajser and Prado together in the MXGP class lining up beside with Herlings, Cairoli, Febvre, Seewer and we will probably see some nice surprises from Tonus and other new arrivals from MX2. And the MX2 class will be exciting as well with the departure of Prado and some other top guns moving up into

BOTH ARE VERY YOUNG FOR THE CLASSES THEY COMPETE IN, AND THEY BOTH COME FROM THE PYRAMID SYSTEM CREATED BY YOUTHSTREAM WITH FIM-EUROPE AND FIM. MXGP, and with the arrival of the fastest riders in the EMX250, the level of MX2 will be more balanced and for sure we will assist fantastic MX2 World Championship with many possible winners at each Grand Prix event.

Also the European 125cc and European 250cc championships have finished giving us 2 very promising Champions; in EMX125 Guadagnini winning after a long and very interesting challenge with Guyon, and in the EMX250 class Van De

Moosdijk after a great battle with Rubini and Forato as the championship leader changed several times between these 3 riders through the season.

We will see all these riders moving up into the next level bringing fresh young blood to the competition respecting the successful pyramid system.

We have 2 exotic MXGP events coming up; the first in Turkey then for the first time in history in China, Shanghai, just before the grand finale with the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in Assen, Holland. Looking at the big investments and work of preparation of the local organisers and Youthstream, we believe all will be very successful and will be spectacular for the fans on site and also for the fans who will follow via MXGP-TV.com.

Wishing you all a great September of MXGP and MXoN excitement!

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T O H S E L O H X  FO

FOX HOLESHOT AUGUST 14

AUGUST SAW JORGE PRADO CONTINUE HIS DOMINATION OF THE FOX HOLESHOT IN THE MX2 CLASS. WITH THE END OF SEASON AWARD ALREADY GUARANTEED THE SPANIARD WAS ON FAMILIAR TERRITORY FOR THE MXGP OF BELGIUM, AND THE DEEP SAND OF LOMMEL.

In race 1 we were treated to possibly his greatest start of the year.

Popping a huge wheelie down most of the start straight and through the first corner to take his 18th holeshot of the season, and with his biggest margin yet. The #61 not quite so dominant off the line in race 2, but still comfortably fast enough to put a 19th black plate in his pocket. Oh, and he also won both races to make it a hat-trick of GP wins in Lommel.

After a 1 week break the boys were back in action at the legendary Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola for the 2nd successive year. In the opening race Jorge made it 5 holeshots in a row, but only just, and had to wait until the 2nd lap before taking the lead from Darian Saneyai. The streak ended at 5 in race 2, as Jago

Geerts somehow took his first holeshot of the season for Kemea Yamaha. Getting out of the gate has largely been a big weakness for the Belgian in 2019, but even with that dream start he was powerless to prevent Prado taking the lead in the opening corners and wrapping up his 12th 1-1 of the season.

With the Red Bull KTM rider with one eye on the title a week later in Sweden, there was a chance for his team-mate to shine off the line. Tom Vialle with his 6th Fox Holeshot of the season in race 1, by the skin of his teeth, although Prado had taken the lead before they reached the next corner, going on to clinch his 2nd consecutive MX2 title.

After some emotional post-race scenes is was back to business less than 2 hours later for race 2.

This time Vialle was again the best man through the 1st corner to take a 7th black plate of the season.

Now it was his turn to make the pace at the front, although he ultimately handed the race win to Calvin Vlaanderen with a late spill, while Prado struggled to 4th on a bike with no clutch after an early tumble.

With just 2 rounds left of the 2019 season Prado leads the standings with a stunning 20 Fox Holeshots, against team-mate Vialle’s 7.

However, he can no longer match his total of 26 holeshots last year, although there were 4 extra races in 2018. Nobody else has managed to claim more than a single black plate this season, with Geerts now joining Henry Jacobi, Thomas Kjer Olsen, Darian Saneyai and Roan Van der Moosdijk on that number.

In MXGP the destination of the 2019 Fox Holeshot award remains in question as we head to Turkey and then Shanghai for the season climax. At the start of the month Tim Gajser was not only closing in on a 3rd world title, but also Tony Cairoli at the top of the holeshot standings. Trailing by just 2 with 10 races remaining.

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Out of the gate in Lommel it was Glenn Coldenhoff who took his 2nd black plate of the year, just ahead of the in-form Romain Febvre, who would go on to win his 3rd race in a row. However, it was Gajser that showed a return to form at the start of race 2 for his 7th holeshot of the season, and to close to within 1 of Uncle Tony at the top of the standings. No race wins for the Slovenian in Belgium, but he did take the GP victory, and can now tick that item off his bucket list.

Onto Imola for a 3rd visit of the season to Italy and the HRC rider had his eyes on the bigger picture, and not on Arnaud Tonus, as he took his Wilvo Yamaha to a 4th Fox holeshot of the season. Gajser jittery, but able to make sure of the MXGP title he so craved with a 5th place finish. But Glenn Coldenhoff, who was the dominant force over the weekend, took his 3rd black plate of the season in race 2 on his way to the first 1-1 of his career in the premier class.

At the end of the month in Uddevalla all eyes were on the returning Jeffrey Herlings in his 2nd injury comeback of the season. The 2018 world champion restricted to just 3 race starts before this point. A pair in Russia, and the 1st race in Latvia, where he took the holeshot and the win despite fracturing a bone in his right ankle on the sighting lap.

In race 1 in Sweden it was as if ‘The Bullet’ had never been away, living up to his name out the gate to claim, arguably, his 2nd consecutive black plate for Red Bull KTM. Herlings couldn’t last the pace though, fading badly after 25 minutes and eventually crashing out. Jeffrey was certainly more measured off the start in race 2 though, while Febvre pounced out of the gate, and into the early lead.

The 2015 MXGP champion unable to claim his 3rd Fox Holeshot award after the race though, after a late crash while trying to reclaim the race lead from Gajser resulted in a broken femur bringing about a premature end to his season.

With just 4 Black Plates up for grabs it’s still Tony Cairoli that leads the standings in MXGP with Gajser just 1 behind. Tim is now the only man that can overtake the Sicilian before the end of the season, with Arnaud Tonus the best of the rest. However, even if he takes the last 4 holeshots in a row, the Swiss rider would still only be able to equal Cairoli’s total, not surpass it.

Febvre is joined on 3 black plates in 2019 by Glenn Coldenhoff and Jeremy Seewer. Jeffrey Herlings and Julien Lieber making up the numbers with 2 apiece as we head to the 17th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Turkey in early September.

MXGP TABLE Antonio Cairoli

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Tim Gajser

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Arnaud Tonus

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Romain Febvre

3

Glen Coldenhoff

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Jeremy Seewer

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Jeffrey Herlings

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Julien Lieber

2

MX2 TABLE Jorge Prado

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Tom Vialle

7

Jago Geerts

1

Henry Jacobi

1

Thomas Kjer Olsen

1

Darian Sanayei

1

Roan Van De Moosdijk

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WATCH THE VIDEO

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P U G H N ATC I C A C R

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L L A S E V I F H G I H UND RO 19

HOW TIME FLY’S! IT HARDLY SEEMS LIKE 5 MINUTES AGO THAT WE WERE EMBARKING ON A NEW SEASON, AND WHILST IT SEEMED TO TAKE AN ETERNITY TO CLEAR THE FINAL RUN OF 3-IN-A-ROW OF RUSSIA, LATVIA AND GERMANY, IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE WE ARE ALMOST DONE! IN THIS ISSUE OF MXGP MAGAZINE WE WILL TAKE A LOOK BACK AT WHAT HAPPENED IN BELGIUM, ITALY AND SWEDEN WHERE CHAMPIONS WERE CROWNED, RANDOM RESULTS SCORED, USUAL RULES APPLIED AND MXON TEAMS RE-SHUFFLED! TO SAY IT WAS AN INTERESTING MONTH WOULD BE CONSIDERED QUITE AN UNDERSTATEMENT, SO SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE COFFEE AS WE RE-LIVE THE LAST 3 GP’S! 20

Leading into Belgium, temperatures all over Europe had been reaching record highs, with Czech Republic, Belgium and France all reaching 40˚C, and with the toughest circuit in the world lying-in-wait for MXGP, the one thing we did not need was a hot GP in Belgium. Fortunately, though for the riders, things had cooled down considerably by the time we arrived on Thursday. On Friday our MXGP-TV crew caught up with Jorge Prado at a nearby ice cream shop which you can see on the link below and it’s a place that has always been special for him and his family since they arrived in Belgium from Spain whilst racing mini bikes. He even served

ice cream to the locals whilst he was there and was clearly in a very relaxed mood ahead of his ‘home’ GP.

WATCH THE VIDEO

The Qualifying Races on Saturday pretty much went to plan with Prado taking his tenth Pole Position of the season in MX2 and it was a resurgent Max Anstie who stole the show in the MXGP category; it was the Brits first ‘Pole’ in MXGP since the final GP of 2017 at Villars sous Ecot. With the home fans in full voice, at 20:00 they headed over to the ‘party tent’ in the main camping area where Team Belgium was announced for the upcoming Monster Energy

FIM MXoN where this year’s team comprises of Jeremy Van Horebeek, Jago Geerts and Kevin Strijbos.

As for the races on Sunday, Prado stole the show once again with an immaculate performance to register his eleventh 1-1 of the season, and netted himself another two Fox Holeshots in the process, taking his tally to nineteen; with three rounds to go JP61 had already secured the Fox Award for the third successive year. In fact, it’s fair to say that Prado had already secured the Fox Award after his Holeshot in MX2 Race One in Palembang, Indoensia, Round Eleven!

Joining Prado on the podium was Team HRC rider Calvin Vlaanderen with a 7-2, the second visit to the ‘box’ in three GP’s after his third overall at Semarang. It was a bittersweet moment for Monster Energy Kemea Yamaha though as Ben

Watson took to the third step at the expense of his teammate Jago Geerts; the Belgian fell at the first turn in Race One before climbing back to 2nd for what was a very impressive performance, and the fans loved every minute of it. Race Two saw Geerts exit the race with a technical issue whilst guaranteed 2nd overall, handing the place to Watson who finished 3rd in the race. Talk about highs and lows!

In MXGP, the Pole man Anstie crashed out hard on the way in to the first turn and was so beaten up that he could not re-join the race. His injuries would have consequences one week later in Italy as you will soon discover.

Glenn Coldenhoff raced to his second Fox Holeshot of the campaign but was quickly passed

by Tim Gajser and Romain Febvre, but by Lap 2, the Yamaha rider took over from Gajser and went on to win, but it was a hard grind for the Frenchman. ‘Tiga’ was 2nd whilst Coldenhoff was 3rd for the second time this season.

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Race Two saw a defiant Anstie take his place on the grid, damaged shoulder and all; this time he stayed upright to emerge inside the top five as Gajser took his seventh Fox Holeshot of the season. But all the ‘noise’ was coming from Anstie, who clearly had a point to prove after winning the ‘Quali’ Race’ on Saturday, and on Lap 4, the Standing Construct KTM was out in front and pulling away to the delight of the travelling British fans.

Seven laps later, BOOM! Lommel hit back and threw Anstie to the deck, hard! After slowly getting back to his feet, he re-joined the race but by now Gajser was out on his own up front, and looked set to take the race win. Miraculously, the ‘99’ found extra strength, dug deep, clawed his way back to the rear wheel of Gajser and re-gained the lead with two laps to go, crossing the line as the eventual race winner. As for the overall, Gajser stood atop the Lommel podium (2-2) for the first time in his career showing that consistency pays off at the highest level. Febvre took 2nd overall with his 1-4 with The Hoff filling out the third step with a 3-3; this was Glenn’s first podium since Lommel 2017, so it was a long time coming. It was also well deserved and hard-earned after what was a difficult off-season for the Dutchman.

Also on the bill in Belgium was the EMX125 class presented by FMF Racing and EMX250. With a round to go in Sweden there was plenty of opportunity to either make or lose a lot of points. In the 125cc class, WZ Racing’s Simon Laengenfelder took the overall with a 2-1, with the win in Race Two being the German’s first ever race victory. Championship leader Mattia Guadagnini guided his Maddii Racing Husqvarna to 2nd whilst Tom Guyon found the third step for VRT KTM. This meant that by the time they left Belgium, Guadagnini held a slender 20-point advantage over Guyon heading into the final round.

In EMX250 we saw a change of ownership of the Red Plate; Stephen Rubini had led Alby Forato by 10 points leading in to 22

the event, with Van De Moosdijk 3 more adrift, but when all was said and done, after 28 gruelling laps, 2 races and 2 wins by Roan Van De Moosdijk, the F&H Kawasaki rider was the new leader of the championship by 11. It was also the first time ‘RVDM’ had ever held a Red Plate in EMX competition.

Kevin Horgmo banged in a couple of 3rd place finishes to find the second step of the box for the first time this year for Creymert Racing as Mikkel Haarup, back in EMX25O to rebuild some confidence took 3rd overall with 2-8 finishes for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna.

More History At Imola A week later we headed south to the MXGP of Italy at Imola and the Enzo e Dino Ferrari race circuit.

This place has witnessed a lifetime of history since it opened in 1953, and not all of it good! When MXGP first visited in 2018, Jorge Prado and Kiara Fontanesi were both crowned world champions, whilst Brad Anderson collected the EMX300 championship in a real nail-biter of an event.

On Friday, the Media Opportunity took place at a nearby water park, otherwise known as Villaggio della Salute where riders from MXGP, MX2, WMX and EMX2T took a tour of the park before signing autographs for an abundance of locals. Italian riders Alessandro Lupino and Ivo Monticelli were joined by Brian Bogers, Michele Cervellin, Tom Vialle, Maxime Renaux, Courtney Duncan, Larissa Papenmeier and Lynn Valk. Even BIKE It DRT Kawasaki boss Steve Dixon tagged along to this one; when there is water and a pool he is there and he even came prepared with his swimming attire, making the most of the situation in an effort to cool down on what was a scorching hot day and weekend.

In the evening at the circuit, the Media Centre hosted an announcement by Yamaha Europe that outlined the 2020 Racing Strategy for its Factory effort.

Michele Rinaldi who has been at the helm for the past 27 years will be stepping down as the Factory

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Racing boss but will continue to develop the hard parts in order for the team to continue to race at the highest level; the only difference is that the current Wilvo Yamaha team, led by Louis Vosters, will take over the reins. As of 2020, the official Yamaha teams in MXGP and MX2 will be known as Monster Energy Yamaha MXGP and Monster Energy Yamaha MX2, with the latter being run by Hans Corvers, currently the team owner at Kemea. The MXGP side will field Jeremy Seewer, Gautier Paulin and Arnaud Tonus, whilst Jago Geerts and Ben Watson continue in MX2.

Both teams will receive full factory support from Yamaha.

The biggest shock of the weekend came in the MXGP class where we had a new winner in the series; Glenn Coldenhoff rode spectacularly well to net his first ever 1-1 to win his first GP since Latvia 2015. The win was his second with the Standing Construct team – his first came at Matterley Basin in MX2, 2013 and owner Tim Mathys was absolutely ecstatic. The low-light of the weekend was Max Anstie’s departure from the GP after putting in a solid performance in the Qualifying Race. Shortly after he’d cross the finish line, he was admitted to hospital where it was diagnosed he had a partially collapsed lung, sustained in his crash at Lommel a week earlier. He also dislocated his collarbone in the fall but rode on through the pain barrier, thinking it was just a knock to the shoulder. At the moment it is unclear when he will return to action, but it has put a dent in to the 2019 MXoN plans for Team Great Britain, that’s for sure.

Another low point was the injury to Ben Watson, sustained in Warm Up on Sunday morning where it was reported that he had broken the Radius bone in his arm. He, like Anstie, had just been announced as two-thirds of Team GBR, but Watson will definitely be out for the season and will miss the opportunity to represent his country for the second time in his career.

All of that was somewhat overshadowed though as all eyes were on Tim Gajser and Team HRC. With a good start in Race One he opted to push for the race victory to seal the deal in style, but a big get-off mid-race put paid to that. In the end, he settled for 5th which was enough to clinch his third title, his second in MXGP, thus becoming only the fifth rider in history to win three titles for Team HRC/Honda after André Malherbe, David Thorpe, Eric Geboers and Georges Jobé. After what was a difficult year in 2018 where he underwent reconstructive surgery on his face after his pre-season crash at Mantova, winning in Italy seemed all the more sweeter, especially since the team is mostly Italian and owned by one as well.

In MX2 Prado was dominant once again with his 13th GP win in a row! As for TKO, the Dane bounced back to the second step of the podium after what was a difficult GP in Belgium and his 2-2 means he is almost home and dry for that silver medal. As for the third step, it was a career first for Maxime Renaux; the Yamaha SM Action – M.C. Migliori rider came close twice in the Asian rounds but a solid 3-4 ensured he edged out Jago Geerts, who moved up to 3rd in the points after Tom Vialle failed to finish a race due to crashes, falling from 3rd to 5th in the process.

In WMX there was another masterful display from Courtney Duncan, although the ‘Kiwi Girl’ rode too conservatively in the beginning of both races to the point where she fell, handing the advantage to her closest rivals, Nancy Van Den Ven and Larissa Papenmeier. With the goal of trying to extend her points lead, she found herself in 4th for half of Race Two before she re-gained her rhythm, and made her way back to the front for a third consecutive 1-1. Joining her on the podium was Larissa Papenmeier (2-2) and Van Den Ven (3-4) and with the final rounds taking place in Turkey, Duncan now has a lead of 23 points over Papenmeier, who in turn is 3 points ahead of Van 27

Den Ven. No matter what happens in Turkey, neither one of these girls has ever won a world title so it will be a real test of their nerves and emotions as they line up for arguably the biggest race of their lives.

After a one-month break, the EMX2T Championship, presented

by FMF Racing was back on the programme, with Mike Kras as the new championship leader, by just 2 points over Brad Anderson. Race One saw a first ever win for JK Racing’s Manuel Iacopi with fellow Italian Gianluca Deghi in 2nd and Kras in 3rd. Anderson could only muster up a 5th after falling early in the race, and saw his gap to Kras widened by another 4 points.

However, that all changed after Race Two, as this time, it was Kras who fell on Lap 1, whilst Ando led the way.

Eventually, the Brit was passed for the lead by a very in-form Iacopi who claimed a double victory and his first ever overall win. Ando grabbed 2nd from Deghi but it was the Italian who took to the second step of the podium, for the first time in his career. With Kras finishing in 5th, the championship was tied at the top with both Kras and Ando sitting on 235 points each, with the final round set to take place in Turkey, but it’s Anderson who holds the Red Plate due to having scored more race wins (4) than Kras (3).

Also in Imola we witnessed the first ever FIM E-X Bike World Cup featuring E- Bikes that performed around the GP circuit for a race duration of 25 minutes plus one lap. A couple of big names made it to the event in the form of World Superbike racer Marco Melandri and ex MXGP star, Davide Guarneri. With 4 different categories, comprising of 2 men’s and 2 women’s classes, the fans were treated to a great display and something unique. The EXBGP Class was won by the very fast Anze Svetek of Slovenia, with a best lap time of 3:06.986, completing the race in 8 laps. The EXBGPW class was won by the French lady, Caroline Duchene and she 28

completed 7 laps. The EXB2 Class was the most subscribed and the win eventually went to Roberto Fabbri, beating Guarneri into the top spot by 28 seconds; Melandri was 6th. Finally, in the EXB2W, it was Niki Makk who rode off into the sunset with the FIM gold medal, gold plate and trophy for her hard efforts.

The Inevitable Heading into Sweden, Prado could wrap up the title with a 3rd in Race One if Olsen took the win and a quick glance at the championship standings reminded us that Prado had won every race he’d entered apart from two, where he placed 2nd, so the omens were already stacked in his favour.

The first Fox Holeshot belonged to Tom Vialle, albeit by the smallest of margins from his teammate; either way it was his 6th of the season. By the second corner though, Prado was already in front with Olsen buried outside the top fifteen. In essence, that was the title decided right there, and when TKO could only climb as high as 8th by the end of the race, the Red Bull KTM team were already getting ready to celebrate the arrival of their two-time champion, who looked like he was just going through the motions, only because he could not shake off his teammate Vialle for the entire race. With the race won, Prado was declared champion for the second successive time, only this time he earned it out on the track and not via a telephone call before the final round, as was the case in 2018, so the celebrations were all the more gratifying. Oh, by the way, the race win that took him there was win number 27 for the season. And just for the record, Henry Jacobi came home in 3rd.

Race Two, and with the title decided we expected the shackles to be unlocked so that Prado could cruise to another easy win, right? WRONG! Instead, JP61 fell from 3rd on Lap 2, and with his clutch lever bent upwards, he found it tough to ride in his usual fluid style, eventually finishing in

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4th! FOURTH! He had only ever previously placed no lower than 2nd in two races all season long.

With a 1-4, Prado took the same points as Vlaanderen, who went 4-1 for his first race win of the year, but it was CV10 who took to the second step of the podium, one step higher than Prado. So, if they were 2nd and 3rd, who won the GP? Step up to the top step Mr. Tom Vialle! His two second places earned the eighteen year-old his first ever MX2 GP victory and the coolest thing about this win is this:

Clearly not, and it was the 84 that rocketed to the Fox Holeshot in MXGP Race 1. However, the effects of the Quali’ Race soon took its toll and by half distance he had The Hoff, Febvre, Tim and PJ41 breathing down his neck and within a lap, Herlings was eased back into 5th. With forearms the size of Popeye’s he then fell into the clutches of Arnaud Tonus and when Jeff tipped over in a turn on Lap 15, ‘AT4’ was unable to avoid the KTM, and he too was sent sprawling to the deck.

FACT: Tom Vialle’s win on August 25th 2019 came 22 years, one week and one day after his father Frédéric won his third and final GP at Neeroeteren, Belgium, August 17th 1997. Fred’s best ever place in the world championship was 3rd overall in 1996 and it looks like his son Ton will emulate that in his rookie season. Congratulations to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for the MX2 world championship and also for the first GP win of Tom Vialle.

With a damaged bike Herlings retired from the race but up front Febvre was beginning to turn the screw as he homed in on Coldenhoff. With Gajser back in 3rd after an earlier fall from 2nd, the Slovenian was unable to reel in the leader’s, but despite several attempts Febvre was unable to shift the 259 from the top spot, and the Standing Construct KTM rider was able to clinch his 3rd successive race win!

The Golden Child After his impressive double moto victory one week earlier in Italy Glenn Coldenhoff had about as much chance of being struck by lightning than picking up backto-back wins in Sweden! Why? On the basis that Gajser was already crowned champion and Jeffrey Herlings was back behind the gate one GP ahead of schedule, or that a trio of Yamaha riders were relishing the hard pack conditions, The Hoff certainly appeared to have his work cut out; on paper at least. Add to that, his three GP wins were scored in 2014, 2015 and 2019!

Herlings set the pace by winning the MXGP Qualifying Race but with chronic arm-pump setting in before the end of the 25-minute outing, it was always going to be an uphill task to come away with a race win like he did in Latvia on his original comeback. But ‘The Bullet’ is not one to let something like that get in the way, is he?

Race 2 was equally as intense only this time it was Febvre who crossed the line to record his 3rd Fox Holeshot of the year and he remained up front for 13 laps.

Fed up of eating roost off the rear wheel of RF461 Gajser decided to up the ante, and after one or two daring attempts, Gajser’s persistence paid off and on Lap 14 we had a new leader! As Febvre plotted his revenge, the Yamaha rider fell awkwardly from his machine as he switched lines due to lapped traffic, resulting in a trip to hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken left femur, and just as he did not deserve to get hurt in Patagonia, the same applied in Sweden and it put a dampener on what was otherwise a thrilling GP. Race 1 winner ‘The Hoff’ suffered a poor start and it appeared that a visit to the podium was compromised as a result, but the 259 kept plugging away. Before Febvre fell, GC had capitalised on a mistake from Tonus, but with Febvre out of contention, the win was on, but he needed to catch and pass Jonass to make it 31

happen, and that’s exactly what he did, with a firm but fair pass into turn 3 where he had to force the Latvian wide … on the FINAL lap!

Gajser crossed the line to win for the 16th time but it was ‘Goldenhoff’ that took the top step of the podium, exactly 5 years to the day after taking his maiden MX2 GP win in MX2 at Matterley Basin with the same Standing Construct team. Gajser took 2nd whilst Jonass returned to the podium for the second time this season with a 4-3 scorecard.

EMX Titles Decided Elsewhere, the EMX125 championship, presented by FMF Racing and EMX250 series were in town for their final rounds. In the 125 class, Mattia Guadagnini arrived in Sweden with a 20-point lead over Tom Guyon, and mathematically, they were the only two riders left in the title hunt. Race One was dominated

by Simon Laengenfelder and WZ Racing KTM, making it backto-back race wins for the young German. Guyon eventually got the better of Guadagnini to close the gap by two points as they crossed the line 2nd and 3rd respectively.

Race 2 was a slightly different story as Guyon took to the front early with the intention of winning the race and therefore the overall. Laengenfelder was on his wheel and did his best to pass the ‘27’ but after one or two costly mistakes, Guyon was free and Laengenfelder had to settle for 2nd. Meanwhile, Guadagnini was back in 3rd praying and hoping that his Maddii Husky would get over the line one last time in order to seal the deal, and after 15 mentally tortuous laps, the 101 made it, to add the EMX125 title to his FIM Junior title earlier in the year. He will move into EMX250 in 2020 having collected eleven podiums in his 125 career: six wins, three-second places and two-third places. It was cool to see the first three in the final standings of ‘Guada’, Guyon 32

and Laengenfelder on the final podium of the season as well, although in a slightly different order, with Guyon taking the win. Congratulations to Mattia and the whole of Maddii Racing Husqvarna on a successful 125cc career.

EMX250 was a little more entertaining and with three riders still capable of winning the title, all eyes were what would happen next. Roan Van De Moosdijk arrived in Uddevalla as the Red Plate holder for the first time in his career, and with an 11-point lead over Stephen Rubini. Alby Forato was two more points further back. After starting 5th, RVDM methodically moved his way to an eventual 2nd whilst behind him, Rubini was doing his best to keep all of us on our toes; he was up and down the leader board like a yoyo, falling, crashing, banging ‘bars midair … he was all over the place.

Eventually he got his act together to make five passes in five laps to claim 3rd. Forato wasn’t much better and when he crossed the line in 7th, his chances of the title were all but over.

In Race Two, both Forato and Rubini did what they should have done in Race One, by coming home 1st and 2nd respectively!

But they had to do that to put RVDM under pressure, even more so than he was after a poor start.

He also knew that going into the final race with a 13-point advantage is better than going in 13-points down, so at least he was able to ease his way into the race as opposed to rushing in and making mistakes. Forato won the race from Rubini but Roan Van De Moosdijk was crowned EMX250 Champion with a 2-6 to win by 6 points from Rubini.

Like Guadagnini in 125, RVDM will vacate the class to MX2 and in the four years that he spent in the class he amassed 11 podiums, despite missing the 2017 season through injury: four wins, onesecond place and six, third place finishes. Congratulations to Roan and all the F&H Racing Team on your success in 2019.

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Before we go, team news is coming in thick and fast ahead of the MXoN and so far, there have already been some major changes required for some of THE fancied teams France, will replace Romain Febvre with Jordi Tixier after RF461 broke his Femur in Sweden, Gautier Paulin and Tom Vialle are the other two riders.

The Netherlands, so far so good for the home nation, with Herlings, Coldenhoff, Vlaanderen and Van De Moosdijk all making the shortlist.

Great Britain, Anstie hopes to be fit, Watson needs to be replaced, Simpson is still in. But, who do you replace Anstie and Watson with? Mark Chamberlain has some tough decisions to make.

Australia, Several riders to choose from, including Todd Waters, Dean Ferris, Mitch Evans and Hunter Lawrence, although Lawrence will miss Assen after a knee injury recently.

Team USA, at present is Jason Anderson, Zach Osborne and Justin Cooper. A solid team that will arrive in Europe early to prepare for the Assen sand.

Belgium, At Lommel, the team was announced as Kevin Strijbos, Jeremy Van Horebeek and Jago Geerts.

Spain, just announced before we published this issue, with Jorge Prado opting for MXGP on a 450cc. He will be joined by Iker LarraĂąaga and Carlos Campano.

Switzerland, have also announced Arnaud Tonus, Jeremy Seewer and Valentin Guillod.

Italy, with no Cairoli the team manager has gone with Ivo Monticelli, Alberto Forato and Alessandro Lupino.

Stay tuned to www.mxgp.com as well as our Social Media channels as more teams are announced.

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FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

STANDINGS MXGP CHAMP. STANDINGS 1. T. Gajser (SLO, HON) 2. J. Seewer (SUI, YAM), 3. G. Paulin (FRA, YAM), 4. G. Coldenhoff (NED, KTM) , 5. A. Tonus (SUI, HUS), 6. A. Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 7. P. Jonass (LAT, HUS), 8. R. Febvre (FRA, YAM) ,, 9. J. Van Horebeek (BEL, HON) 10. A. Cairoli (ITA, KTM)

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

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

Lifetime numbers of fans for each platform Facebook: 2.8M Page Likes Twitter: 70K Followers Instagram: 851K Followers Youtube: 193K Subscribers

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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. M. Renaux (FRA, YAM) 8. C. Vlaanderen (NED, HON) 9. B. Watson (GBR, YAM) 10. M. Boisrame (FRA, HON)

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L A I C O S P G X M

@herrfrederik The Slovenians know how to celebrate đ&#x;‡¸đ&#x;‡Ž !! #timgajser#worldchampion #mxgp #tifosi#mxgpitaly @pirellimotonz Work hard, win big! After another great performance at the #MXGPItaly @tiga243 can finally celebrate his 2nd MXGP World Championship with Pirelli! Congrats Tim, we’re always proud of riding by your side!

@Budda Intermission between first and last two races.

25°C, almost no wind and no shade (which is unusual to us Swedes) makes for a real feel around 40°C. Lovely atmosphere though!

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Standing Construct KTM’Ivo Monticelli was the local hero in Imola. Watch the circuit of Imola lap from a GoPro 360° point of view

@youngtimer_classic_cars Fantastic show at #mxgp #imola

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Watch the best moments from the 13th stop of the 2019 FIM Motocross world Champonship, the MXGP of Czech Republic!!

@jerommekeonline My Sons are spoiled again after a weekend #mxgpbelgiumwith @ marcelhermans63 and his girlfriend. Thanks @ jorgeprado61 for signing the shirts��. I hope to see you

@tomsmxworld @sally_robbie_ Had so much fun In Belgium today watching the motor cross it was scorching hot, but such a good experience. Another thing ticked off the list ✔️✌️

a great weekend in Loket and many thanks @ brianbogers @mikidoro @ angelvdberk @foxracing

@chbarra Spectacular day at #MXGPBelgium in #Lommel include a short meet & greet with double world champ and driver of the day @TimGajser243 ! #MXGP #TimGajser

@domiaegerter77

@jcjillcairoli

@kevin_lindberg03 Thank you very much @ mxgpuddevalla for a lot of braaap moments, and getting to meet and see the world champions!

Good Day Riding Motocross with the PRO @valentinguillod92 @ alainschafer66

This is how we roll #DUTCHstyle #MXGPimola

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 39

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THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLES HAVE BEEN DECIDED FOR ANOTHER YEAR, AND FIM DIRECTOR ANTONIO ALIA PORTELA HAS BEEN CALLED UPON TO DO HIS DUTY AND HAND OUT THE SACRED GOLD PLATES IN BOTH MXGP AND MX2 WITH THE SUN STILL HIGH IN THE SUMMER SKY. IN THE PREMIER CLASS IT WASN’T A CASE OF WHO, BUT RATHER OF WHEN, TIM GAJSER WOULD CLAIM THE 3RD WORLD TITLE OF HIS CAREER. THAT TURNED OUT TO BE AFTER THE 1ST RACE IN IMOLA. THE HRC HONDA MAN, NOT AT HIS VINTAGE BEST, BUT AN UNDERSTANDABLY JITTERY DISPLAY WAS ENOUGH FOR A 5TH PLACE FINISH, LEAVING JEREMY SEEWER 181 POINTS BEHIND IN 2ND PLACE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP WITH ONLY 175 POINTS LEFT TO RIDE FOR.

Gajser, previously a world champion in MX2 in 2015 and the year after in MXGP, went through two seasons full frustration the following years.

A sharp start to the 2017 season was blunted by injury, and after the dominance of Jeffrey Herlings throughout 2018, Gajser came into the start of this season without a GP victory since Uddevalla nearly 2 years ago.

Something had to change, but the early signs were not promising. Gajser has always ridden close to the edge and crashes were more common than he and his team would have liked. His Honda was showing great pace, but hamstrung by the mistakes that 49

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were turning possible wins into podium finishes.

Francois Lemariey, the Team Manager over at Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing concedes that: “Tim had some luck, because of the crashes we all remember, like in Matterley.” Ah yes, the MXGP of Great Britain, few that saw it will never forget the Slovenian’s crash in race 1 in Matterley Basin back in March. A spectacular off at high speed resulting in the smoothest roll and spring back onto the bike you’re ever likely to see. Tim seemed none the worse for his little escapade, although the same couldn’t be said of the bike.

“He stood up after some big crashes,” says MXGP rival Gautier Paulin, “sometimes you don’t stand up.”

Tim Mathys, the Team Manager and owner at Standing Contruct KTM explains: “one of the advantages Tim has is that he has a very strong body, because with some of the crashes he’s had, if it had been another rider, one crash like that and their season would have been over.”

While all this was happening 9-time world champion Tony Cairoli was quietly going about his business, starting the season with 3 consecutive 1-1’s.

Gajser even had time to chin himself with his handlebars in Valkenswaard before the paddock moved on to Arco for the 4th round of the championship in the Trentino Valley. What happened next is the stuff of legend.

Turning Point The Tim and Tony Show stretched across both races that weekend. Everyone else a mere footnote after the race as the front two pushed each other harder and harder - Paulin was 3rd in both races, more than 50 seconds off the pace. Gajser stalked TC222 before making the decisive move to take the win in race 1, but found himself hunted, rather than the hunter in race 2. But it was

Cairoli that cracked first, biting the dirt after being re-taken for the lead.

Giacomo Gariboldi, the Team Manager at Tim’s own HRC team knew Gajser was close to something special: “After 2 years of bad injuries, Tim needed to get his confidence back. This year he was healthy all winter and did some great training. He was just missing that feeling of winning again. At the beginning of the championship he just needed to be 100% sure of his potential, because he knew he could for the title again this year.”

Gariboldi continued by saying: “I said to everybody that the day he would win a GP, this would be the click for him in his head to go for the title. I think the big day was in Arco this year.

When he won there, he knew he could beat Tony Cairoli in the championship. I think that was the day.”

Pauls Jonass, MX2 champion in 2017 and a rookie in MXGP this year, agreed; “For me, the turning point was in Arco, when he was battling with Tony. Tony crashed there when he tried to beat him. I think that was the point at which Tony lost some confidence, while Tim gained.”

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It wasn’t all plain sailing from here though. 10th and 6th in the muddy madness of Mantova in the next round didn’t bode well, but that cloud had a silver lining, according to Jonass; “Tim made many mistakes in Mantova, but he learned from that, and afterwards was at a different pace. He did many 1-1’s and won many GPs after that.” A sentiment Seewer agrees with; “He had one really dark weekend in Mantova, but somehow that weekend changed him.”

Next up was the MXGP of Portugal the following weekend.

Cairoli now held a 40-point lead 51

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in the championship standings, but lessons were learned, and fast. Gajser was about to embark on a 6-race winning streak that would define this year’s title fight.

That Sunday in Arco still fresh in the mind. “At the start of the season Tony was racing without other riders in the races, and he was doing it so comfortably,” remembers Gariboldi; “When Tim started to put the pressure on him, we saw for the first time Tony making mistakes. But when Tony started to make mistakes, he started to feel more pressure. Meanwhile, Tim was more and more confident that he could beat him in every race.”

Jago Geerts has been busy making a name for himself in MX2 this year, but still had time to admire Gajser’s progression; “Tim’s been working really hard for the last few years but it didn’t always work out very well. But this year he really stepped it up. He was already really strong at the beginning of the season, but he made a few too many mistakes. But after a few rounds he was riding really well, and no longer making the mistakes. After that he was the fastest guy in MXGP.” 40-points adrift after 5 rounds of the championship, victories in Portugal, France and Russia put Gajser into a 13-point lead as the paddock headed to Kegums in Latvia for the 9th round of the year.

Tony had been having problems of his own; untidy in France, his cause not helped by problems at the start of race 2. Then an innocuous crash in the Qualifying Race in Russia that would come back to haunt him a week later.

By now Cairoli was not at 100%, starkly illustrated by the incident in race 2 at Kegums that would ultimately end his season. His already damaged shoulder leaving him with no power with which to prevent a big wobble becoming something worse. That shoulder being dislocated as a result, with surgery the eventual route taken.

The pressure being applied by Gajser, through his sheer speed 53

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over the previous 2 months, had final made its mark on the championship, according to Seewer: “Of course, Tony got injured, but you have to force that. If he was comfortable in the first place, he wouldn’t have to push himself to get injured. Tim forced him to do that because he started winning.”

“Tim raised the bar, and Tony had to go with him,” continued Tim Mathys. “Tony is so talented, and has so much experience, that for Tony it was just bad luck.

It was not Tim pushing him too far. Tony is a multiple world champion, he has seen even stronger contenders than Tim, which he beat. I think it was just bad luck for Tony.”

Gajser now on his way to winning a stunning 7 GPs in a row, until an inspired Romain Febvre went 1-1 in Loket, but by that stage he already had one hand on that coveted gold Plate.

Solid, occasionally conservative, riding saw the #243 sew up that title in the hallowed atmosphere of Imola.

Davide de Carli is now Co-Team Manager at Red Bull KTM, and was left to wonder what might have been: “at the start of the season you’d have said Tony would win this championship because he was really fast compared to the other guys. But things happened; the knee, the crash in Russia, the gate in France … We lost a lot of points. Tony was not lucky this year, but he will be motivated next year to win the 10th world title.”

On the other side of the Red Bull awning, Jeffrey Herlings’ title defence never got off the ground after an ankle injury in winter training saw him miss the opening 7 rounds of the championship, making a cautious return in Russia. ‘The Bullet’ living up to his name by winning race 1 a week later in Kegums, but was later found to have fractured bone in his previously injured ankle in an uncharacteristic spill on the sighting lap for that race. The

3-time world champion would not be seen again until the 16th round of the season in Uddevalla: “Part of winning a championship is not getting injured; I got injured, twice, Tony got injured, Desalle got injured, Tim survived the whole season, and that’s part of why he’s the champion. He did a great job, and definitely deserved it, and throughout the whole year he was the best.”

“To get the title back is one thing.

But to hopefully stay injury-free, that’s the most important thing.”

“Of course, there were injuries to other riders, but every year it’s the same. I wouldn’t say he was lucky,” says the 2-time WMX champion and now Team Manager at 114 Honda Motorsports Livia Lancelot. “He was there at the right moment.

He was able to slow down at the right moment, and he didn’t get injured this year. He’s been the best guy out there.”

Louis Vosters will be heading up the new Yamaha Factory team in 2020, as the result of a reshuffle that has seen his Wilvo squad take on full factory status: “In my opinion Tim is mentally really, really strong, physically, too, but mentally as well. He has a lot of confidence and believes in himself. When the results came, he was strong, and had confidence, and that’s what gave him the title.”

Prado: “A very special talent” While all that was happening, Jorge Prado came into the 2019 season as the outstanding favourite to retain his MX2 title.

The now 18-year-old Spaniard emerged as the dominant force through the 2nd half of 2018, and with Pauls Jonass now in the MXGP ranks, only Thomas Kjer Olsen’s Husqvarna seemed capable of mounting a serious challenge to his supremacy.

That seemed to be borne out in the opening round of the season in beautiful Patagonia. Olsen winning the qualifying race, but 55

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when the chips were down on the Sunday Prado established himself from the start. His KTM leading every lap of both races, leaving the Dane charging back through the field to 2nd after relatively poor starts. By the time he’d dealt with everyone else Prado was already away and clear.

However, a practice crash just after returning from Argentina resulted in an excruciatingly painful shoulder injury, forcing his withdrawl from the 2nd round of the season at Matterley Basin.

This was Olsen’s chance and he took it with both hands. A first 1-1 of his career a fair reflection of his dominance over the weekend. But could he continue that form with Prado back in the pack?

The answer was an emphatic “no”; Two Fox Holeshots, two race wins effortlessly controlled from the front, despite the lingering effects of that shoulder problem. Jeremy Seewer reckons this set the pattern for the rest of the season: “for Olsen there was one round where Jorge was missing, and he could win the GP, and go ahead by 44 points.

But after that he couldn’t make it happen. He could never beat him man to man.”

The rest of the 2019 calendar has seen a display of controlled dominance rarely seen at this level.

By the time that Prado clinched the title in race 1 in Sweden, he’d won 27 of 29 races he’d started in, and finished 2nd in the other two.

Jago Geerts produced an epic turn of pace in France to come through the pack and claim a maiden race victory, but came up just short of repeating the trick in race 2, leaving Jorge on top of the box. While Olsen finally beat him to the line in the second race in Palembang, but only after a clearly exhausted Prado emptied the tank in recovering from his first race crash of the season to pip KTM stable-mate Tom Vialle, himself exceeding all expectations in his debut season, to the line in race 1.

Antti Pyrhonen heads the Ice1 Husqvarna operation and reckons: 57

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“He’s a level above everybody else. He’s faster, and has superior technique. His starts are always on point. You can see in the races that he doesn’t need to push 100%. It’s good enough for him to be a little bit below that and still win races, and that’s why he hardly makes even a single mistake.”

While Jorge himself insists he’s trying just as hard as everyone else his poise on the bike suggests otherwise. Even on the rare occasions where he’s had to push, it’s been done in style.

Pauls Jonass was his closest rival for 2 years: “He’s riding very easy. He’s making time for himself. Choosing different lines to everyone else. That really sets him apart. I had to push so hard to beat him, or sometimes stay close to him. But he looked like he was riding easy and just cruising around. That’s just his style. He’s so talented. He’s often riding in a higher gear to everyone else, which helps a lot on the more difficult tracks.”

HRC team manager Giacomo Gariboldi is also a keen admirer: “His technique is fantastic. He reminds me of Marvin Musquin and the way he used to ride.”

Jorge and his family moved to Belgium in order to further his motocross career when he was still very young. A move that has paid off handsomely. The family trophy cabinet already bulging before his ascent to the summit of the MX2 mountain. Prado on his way to being the benchmark for his generation according to Valentina Ragni, the Team Coordinator at the other end of the tent: “Jorge has a very special talent which is not so easy to find.

Not many are born with that sort of talent. A talent like this appears maybe once every 10 years. He’s a very special rider. He’s very passionate, and loves what he does. He gives everything. He’s also a very smart boy. He listens a lot to what Claudio and the technicians tell him to do. He learns very fast as well. The talent is a natural gift.”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing know how to nurture that talent, too. Apart from Tim Gajser on a Honda in 2015, the last time they didn’t win the MX2 title was when Tony Cairoli won his 2nd Gold Plate in that class, on a Yamaha back in 2007.

With Prado in the saddle it’s a winning combination, says Bike It DRT’s Steve Dixon, a man with 30 years of experience in the MXGP paddock; “Prado’s come into a good structure and taken full advantage of it. You have to give credit to him, because not every rider has done that. There have been many riders coming through the KTM program that have not taken full advantage of it. Fair play to him. I admire what he’s done, and his technique.”

Livia Lancelot, meanwhile, is happy to admire that technique from afar next season: “He’s good at everything. He starts at the front, his fitness is perfect, the technique is perfect and even his interviews. It’s like he has the full package. He’s just been dominating, and everyone in MX2 can be thankful that he’s moving to MXGP.” Moving Up This all sets up a rather tantalising prospect for 2020. In June of this year KTM announced that Prado had committed his future with them, and with MXGP, through to the end of 2023. His ascent to the premier class now set in stone.

But how will he fare moving from his trusty 250cc to a 450cc?

A first public display on the bigger bike should come as he represents Spain at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations at the end of September in Assen.

After that it’s into the off-season, where he and Antonio Cairoli can spur each other on in their preparations.

“It was a good decision to train together with Tony. He has so much experience, and knows what it takes to be fit to ride a 450cc. For Tony it was good to have a young lion like Jorge next 59

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to him. Claudio di Carli has so much experience on how the guys have to train, both on and off the bike, so they know what it takes to be fit for MXGP.” Steve Dixon reckons Prado is made for the bigger bike: “His technique suits the 450cc, gone are the days of needing to be big as the 450cc and 250cc chassis are almost the same.

They use technique to ride now, not brute strength. The way he rides and grips with his knees, and is just so fluid on the bike, that’ll carry over to MXGP beautifully.”

“He is a talented and gifted rider, and he has a special technique,” adds Jeffrey Herlings. “I definitely think he can be at the front. He’s not the tallest guy, just 18, so he should still gain some power. I expect to see him up front next year. I’m not going to say he’s going to win the championship in his first year, but he will definitely be fighting up front. Also, he’s a great starter, so that will also really help.”

Mr Holeshot is an expert out of the gate and has 20 holeshots out of 30 ahead of the MXGPs of Turkey and China. The extra power in MXGP does tend to even out the start, but Prado will still expect to be well placed going into turn 1 in 2020. A smooth start to the season will be of paramount importance says Davide Di Carli: “We will need to start the season calmly, and make no mistakes.

The top-10 riders are really fast.

Ride smoothly. Take what we can take. The winter preparation will be important, along with Tony.

Tony will need Jorge, and Jorge will need Tony. They will see each other every day, which is good for them.”

Once the gate drops on the opening race of the season there could be a pack full of championship intent. Gajser will want to exert his authority as reigning MXGP champion, but will have to expect the return of Jeffrey Herlings, looking to remind everyone that he’s the man. There’s also the matter of Tony Cairoli

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winding himself up for what may be a final shot at his ‘decimo’.

Kawasaki will hope that Clement Desalle is well rested after breaking his leg in Russia earlier this year. While a Yamaha triumvirate of Jeremy Seewer, Gautier Paulin and Arnaud Tonus will be expected to challenge for top honours. Glenn Coldenhoff has also rediscovered his mesmerising form from last year’s Nations, and will want to carry that mindset into the new year. For Pauls Jonass and Arminas Jasikonis it should be a year where podiums are expected at Husqvarna, rather than hoped for.

Add Jorge to this maelstrom and it could be a whirlwind start 62

to the season. Not least under a Red Bull awning stocked with 3 genuine title contenders.

Valentina Ragni believes that Prado, Herlings and Cairoli will have a common goal: “We’re all wondering how we can have all 3 riders in MXGP under the same tent. It will be quite interesting.

All 3 are very professional, and all 3 will ride for the win. As long as they are fair to each other, doing their best without disturbing the other riders, the best will win. We want to bring the title back to the orange tent.”

Lips are being licked throughout the motocross world. Louis Vosters can hardly wait to see how Jorge gets on. “Jorge Prado is a great rider, his technical skills are unbelievable. Moving up to MXGP class is good for the sport.

I’d really like to see him on a 450cc.”

Giacomo Gariboldi will be in charge of Honda’s defence of the MXGP title, and is also excited to see what happens with Jorge added to the mix: “I think Prado is on another planet at the moment. But I also think he’s going to be very tough to beat on a 450cc next year, he could do the same as Tim did in his first year in MXGP, and go for the title. He will be very strong, because he’s coming with big confidence from this year.

Jeffrey Herlings would like to show that he’s still the best and Tony wants to win a 10th title.

There will be some very nice battles next year.”

Even before the 2019 season draws to a close, 2020 is already shaping up to be a classic.

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

D E G R A H C S E K I B X A E L O M I R O F

THERE WAS A REAL TREAT FOR THE FANS THAT HAD HUNG AROUND AFTER SATURDAY’S QUALIFYING RACES AT THE MXGP OF ITALY, SET IN THE HISTORIC SURROUNDINGS OF THE AUTODROMO INTERNAZIONALE ENZO E DINO FERRARI AT IMOLA. FOR THE FIRST TIME E-X BYCICLES WERE ABOUT TO BE LET LOOSE ON THE FULL MOTOCROSS TRACK BUILT SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT WEEKEND, IN THE INAUGURAL FIM E-XBIKE WORLD CUP.

It was an event opened for anyone with a valid licence from the FIM and an electrically assisted bicycle.

The bikes themselves were separated into 2 categories.

EXBGP (or EXBGPW for the women) was the premier class here, with the bikes limited to a maximum continuous power output of 450 Watts, and a maximum assisted speed of 45 km/h. That means that if a rider wanted to go over 45 km/h at any point, it would have to be under their own steam.

The smaller bikes of the EXB2 (or EXB2W) category were further restricted to an assisted speed of 25 km/h, and a maximum continuous power output of 250 Watts. Resulting in a more exacting experience round this track for the riders.

The entry was restricted to those between 14 and 55 years of age and an FIM-approved helmet was a requirement.

Other items of safety gear such as body protectors and various pads were left as optional.

The event itself comprised of a single race of 25 minutes plus 1 lap, with riders from all classes taking to the line

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together. Winners were to be decided along the lines of class and gender, with a total of 4 World Cup winners to be decided on the day.

The weather that Saturday was perfect for the event.

The heat of the day starting to drop in the bright evening sunshine by the time 18 riders took to the gate.

There were some familiar names on the start line too, with former motocross star Davide Guarneri, a winner of 2 GPs in the MX2 class, and now a world class Enduro rider. Fellow Italian Marco Melandri was also there, in a change of pace from his usual Superbikes, although a confessed motocross nut in his youth.

The EXBGP bikes immediately made their extra power felt as they surged off the line. Mark Scheu took the holeshot, but only held on to the lead for a matter of moments before Anze Svetek surged round the outside. The Slovenian effectively in a class of his own for the rest of the race.

Svetek perched on top of a Qulbix for this event, an E-Bike looking more like a dirt

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bike than a traditional mountain bike. The battery a colossal thing hung under the crossbar, where you might otherwise expect to find a petrol tank. The rear suspension system also looking more like something you see behind the gate on a Sunday afternoon. The power assistance was also massively toned down for this event, and is usually capable of helping the rider up to speeds of over 80 km/h.

The Qulbix rather heavier than a normal B-Bike, weighing in at over 50 kg. But that was all made up by the way it delivered its power, leaving Svetek pedalling nonchalantly throughout, while those around him flailed away with much lower gearing. With the current pace of research and development in this emerging market, we can expect this type of approach to E-Bikes become more commonplace, and accessible, in the near future.

It’s also worth taking a moment to consider the lap times delivered by these bikes. The Slovenian set a best time of 3 minutes 6 seconds, just after an MXGP race in which winner and compatriot Tim Gajser managed a lap of 1 minute 37 seconds.

Considering that estimates ahead of the event had most people guessing anything between 4 and 6 minutes, it’s fair to say that these bikes exceeded all expectations in regards to performance.

After cruising to victory in his EXBGP category, and overall, Svetek was keen to play down the apparent ease with which he’d averaged 28.8 km/h throughout the race: “It was not as easy as it looked and I had no idea what to expect today.

But it was just an amazing day. I had Slovenian fans cheering on me at every corner and it was a fantastic feeling”

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Svetek taking that win by nearly 2 minutes from German Marc Scheu’s Rocky Mountain E-X Bike, with Italy’s Gianni Meschini, powered by the more familiar sounding name of KTM, a game 3rd after briefly threatening Scheu’s 2nd place.

Caroline Duchene of France was the winner of the EXBGPW class, with a best time of 3 minutes 49 seconds set on her 3rd lap, on rather unfamiliar territory. However, she was delighted with her performance for Giant: “It’s an honour for me to be here. I normally ride the E-Bike French Championship but the circuits there are very different. The start was the hardest part for me, but I really enjoyed the whole race. It’s such a nice feeling to be a World Cup winner.”

In EXB2W Hungary’s Niki Makk made a late decision to take part, her reward a shiny Gold Plate and winner’s trophy.

That despite being shown the

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dreaded ‘ERR’ message on the battery console as the gate dropped, being left without power assistance for the first half lap: “Unfortunately on the first lap I had an issue with the engine of my bike, but I made it work eventually. It was tough but I’m happy I have done it.

It was such a cool experience and I smiled the whole race. I wish to thank all people who supported me to make this real” While all that was going on the real race within the race came to the boil in the EXB2 category. Roberto Fabbri’s BMC away and clear early doors, leaving a dogfight for 2nd place behind him. Guarneri found himself tagging on the back of that battle, with Eddie Findling, Mattia Arduino and Mattia Folchi.

With time dwindling the pace wound up, Folchi was originally dropped by the other 3. Guarneri turning out to be the strongest of the group,

setting faster and faster lap times throughout to take 2nd, just ahead of an even fasterfinishing Folchi as Findling faded. Marco Melandri was always just behind that battle, ending up 6th in EXB2.

But it was Fabbri that dominated from start to finish.

His fastest effort of 3 minutes 26 set on lap 5, and could well have been improved upon if necessary; “I had a very good race and I did not expect it would be that fun. I trained on my E-bike for just a few days, and I did not expect that it could work so well on a motocross track.”

All 4 winners were presented with a precious Gold Plate, and there were trophies and medals for all of those on the podium.

The event itself a great success in terms of showcasing the capabilities of these bikes, and the FIM E-XBike World Cup will hope to be back again in the future.

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L L A H

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E M A F F O

CHRISTOPHE ‘CP377’ POURCEL CHRISTOPHE POURCEL HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN A MOTOCROSS ENVIRONMENT SINCE HE WAS A SMALL KID AND LOGICALLY HE STARTED RACING FOLLOWING THE FOOTSTEPS OF HIS OLDER BROTHER SÉBASTIEN. CHRISTOPHE WAS CROWNED MX2 WORLD CHAMPION IN 2006 BUT HE WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED A YEAR LATER. HOWEVER, NOTHING STOPPED HIM TO GRAB TWO US TITLES AFTER BEING RECOVERED AND LATER ON COME BACK IN EUROPE TO WIN SOME MORE GP’S IN THE MX1 CLASS. Born on the 16th of August 1988 in Marseille, Christophe got his first bike very early as the family was already involved in the sport with his older brother Sébastien.

After a promising debut in the French minivert, where he grabbed his first trophies and got his first title, Christophe entered for the first time the 80cc European championship when he was twelve years old, and after two podiums in the series he finally got the title in 2003, winning five of the six races that season! Moving to the 125cc in 2004, always with Kawasaki, he made his first Grand Prix appearance during the French GP at Saint Jean d’Angely and scored his first points with his 125cc against the 250 four stroke.

Christophe got some more experience at the Grand Prix, scoring more points including a tenth overall place at Loket, before his first full campaign in 2005.

Even if he didn’t score any points during the opening round in Zolder, that season was successful for Christophe, who enjoyed his

first podium during the British round on the Isle of Wight and later he won his first heat at Loket, where his smooth riding style suited perfectly with the little grip of the Czech track.

Fourth of the series he entered the 2006 season as the main opponent to Antonio Cairoli and in fact both riders dominated the championship from the rest of the riders. They got to the final round of the series at Ernée, France, close in points, but Antonio, who had had two DNF’s that season, couldn’t score the necessary points to stop Christophe from winning the title during his home GP. Antonio got his revenge the following year when he won ten of the fifteen rounds of the series.

Christophe won two of them and was the runner up of the championship when they arrived to the thirteenth round in Ireland.

In fact, it was a dramatic event for the Frenchie, who seriously damaged his back and broke his sacrum after landing on another bike during the warm up.

After spending nearly one year to recover from a partial 73

paralysis, Christophe made his racing come back in the United States of America inside the Pro Circuit squad. Winner of a US Supercross race early in 2007, he was immediately competitive and dominated the 2009 East Coast Supercross championship. With his smooth riding style he also did a strong Motocross season, just missing the title due to a technical problem after a long battle with Ryan Dungey. He was again successful in the 250cc Supercross the following year, and got a back to back titles, but he finished third of the outdoors as he got injured in the last part of the season.

Christophe was looking for a 450cc ride for the 2011 outdoors but just did two races before travelling back in Europe to replace injured Ben Townley in the CLS Team. He raced the last four GP’s and won one heat in each of the last three rounds of the series, and got his first and unique podium at the Motocross of Nations with Team France.

After a busy winter preparation he had a strong 2012 season, fighting all year long for a final podium until being injured in Great Britain. With two GP wins and a total of eight podium finishes, he ended the championship in fourth position and decided to go back to the States to race the outdoors in 2015. Fifth of the championship on the factory Husqvarna he entered for the first time the 450cc Supercross Championship in 2016 but contracted another cervical fracture and didn’t finish the SX series; sixth of the Motocross championship he would not race any more Supercross due to his injuries and would finally retire at the end of 2017 after a last appearance in the Canadian Motocross Championship. Back in France last year, he’s now doing a few selected races and shares his experience with young riders during training camps.

Text & Photos: P. Haudiquert

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1999:

French minivert 60 champion

2000:

2nd in the 80 French championship (Kawasaki)

2001:

3rd in the Junior 80 FIM Cup (Kawasaki)

5th in the 80 European Championship

French 80 champion (Kawasaki)

2002:

2nd in the Junior 80 FIM Cup (Kawasaki)

2nd in the 80 European Championship

French 80 champion and French minivert 80 champion 2003:

2nd in the Junior 85 FIM Cup (Kawasaki)

85 European Champion

French 85 champion

2004:

34th in the MX2 World Championship (Kawasaki)

6th of the 125 European Championship

2005:

5th in the MX2 World Championship (Kawasaki)

French 125 Elite champion

2006: MX2 World Champion (Kawasaki). Winner of 2 GP’s 2007:

3rd in the MX2 World Championship (Kawasaki).

Winner of 2 GP’s

2008: Injured 2009: 250 US Supercross Champion East Coast (Kawasaki)

2nd in the US Motocross championship

2010: 250 US Supercross Champion East Coast (Kawasaki)

3rd in the US Motocross championship

2011:

17th in the MX1 World Championship (Kawasaki).

2nd at the MX of Nations with Team France

2012:

4th in the MX1 World Championship (Kawasaki).

Winner of 2 GP’s

2015: 5th in the US Motocross Championship (Husqvarna) 2016: 6th in the US Motocross Championship (Husqvarna)

15th in the 450 US Supercross Championship

S K L A T K C O D PAD 2

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1

The 2020 Thor collection was presented during the MXGP of Belgium in Lommel.

2 Bihr hosted the 2020 Answer collection presentation at the Belgian MXGP. 3 Fantastic media opportunity at Acquapark during the MXGP of Italy.

4 Charity riding for Road2Recovery.

5 It is always a pleasure receiving the vist of Donny Emler and Danny Laporte from FMF Racing.

6 Monster Ambassador and Dakar driver Gerard Farres enjoyed making some laps in the famous track of Lommel.

7 Former Dakar winner Nani Roma with Joel Smets at the starting gate of the Belgian Grand Prix.

8 Dakar Rally rider Adrien Van Beveren did not want to miss the MXGP of Belgium!

9 Yamaha presented the 2020 motocross structure and strategy during the MXGP of Italy.

10 The Italian media paid tribute to the photographer Adriano Dondi who tragically passed away recently.

11 David Guarneri did not want to miss the MXGP of Italy in Imola.

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

SEBASTIEN TORTELLI’S 1996 KAWASAKI KX125

SEBASTIEN TORTELLI IS A RIDER WHO REALLY NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION, HAVING WON TWO FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, THE FIRST OF WHICH CAME IN 1996 JUST 36 DAYS BEFORE HIS EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY MAKING HIM THE YOUNGEST WORLD CHAMPION IN HISTORY AT THAT TIME.

Photo: P. Haudiquert Tortelli raced the Belgian GP at Borgloon; he went 8-4!

‘Seb’ raced for the renowned team of JHK Kawasaki, owned and run by the late, great tuning maestro, Jan de Groot and whilst it was thought the bike that took Tortelli to the 125cc world championship was a full factory SR125, the reality was it started life purely as a ‘stocker’, and it’s this 1996 Kawasaki KX125 that we will feature in this issue of MXGP Magazine.

Right from the very beginning Sebastien Tortelli was a Kawasaki rider, but after a few years of riding green from 65cc and 85cc, he switched to Yamaha for one season in 1994,

his first venture into the 125cc class. However, that all changed in 1995 when he was taken under the wing of Jan de Groot, albeit as a satellite rider, with his own race truck, parents and trainer, a man by the name of Jacky Vimond.

The 1995 season proved to be a great success, in what was his first full season in the 125cc world championship where he finished 3rd overall. He took his first race win at Round Three at Cosquin, Argentina; his first podium (3rd overall) came at Norg, Holland at Round Five, but he had to wait until the penultimate round in Indonesia for his first GP win. In total he took seven podiums and 5 race wins. Prior to ’95, his only other previous experience was in 1994, just nine days after his sixteenth birthday that

During the off-season, there were not many changes to the bike, but the ones that were introduced certainly helped: ‘From ’95 to ’96 there was a bit of evolution on the chassis, they made the bike a little bit more stable, changed the swing arm a little bit, the foot pegs were a little bit bigger than stock, the engine was still tuned

by Jan de Groot and SPES was the one making the pipe. The bike was not a full SR Kawasaki from Japan, it was a bike that Jan de Groot made, but then we had some parts from Kawasaki; not many because the 125cc class was not a class where they were making a lot of evolution at that time. So, the fact is, I was riding for them to do a little bit more evolution on the 125cc and that was really reflected on the production bike the year after.’

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Photo: P. Haudiquert

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year. However, this was not the case with this particular partnership, as Petri recalls:

Seb’s mechanic was Petri Peuranpää from Finland, whose previous GP experience as a mechanic was with riders such as Kurt Ljungqvist in the 500cc class from 1991-1993, Marco Kovalainen in 1994 and Miska Aaltonen in ’95, and usually when a rider or mechanic switches from one team to another, it’s normal practice to start the new working relationship during the offseason in order to gel with each other, in order to gain a better understanding of one another ahead of the first race of the

‘Sebastien was in the USA during the winter and he came straight from there to Beaucaire in France for the pre-season International race. That was actually the first time I met Sebastien, at the race, with the 250cc bike (age 17). After that race we started to test with the 125cc, but working with him was really easy; I liked working with him. He was nice to me and there were never any problems.’

Whilst the bike may not have been a full factory SR125, the chassis was strengthened, the swing arm modified and the engine tuned by Jan de

Groot. There was one element though that was factory, and according to Seb, it was the suspension: ‘The chassis was really good and I loved the suspension; I think the suspension was a big part of the success that year with the setting from the factory Kayaba’s. The Kawi’ is a little bit longer bike so you have to know the bike to ride it well and it probably takes a little bit more commitment than some others. For me, I liked the way the chassis was, even if it was a little bit longer bike, I knew how to handle it so it was natural for me. I didn’t have much issue with it and because it was longer it gave me a bit more stability; I really like the way it handled.’

As for the rest of the bike, we need to turn to the knowledge of Petri Peuranpää.

‘The suspension was Factory Kayaba, with the front forks being 47mm USD, but the triple clamps from Kawasaki were Factory. The front brake disc was bigger but the rear 81

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disc was standard measurement; brakes were by Braking. The rear brake cylinder was also bigger.’

‘The frame was not standard but it was much stronger and was strengthened in some places.

The swing arm was not standard, but it was modified. We also used bigger radiators and wider foot pegs, which were also stronger.

Of course, the engine was tuned

by Jan de Groot but we used a Factory ignition, a 36mm Keihin carburettor and a Factory clutch with Magnesium cases. The exhaust pipe and silencer came from SPES in Belgium. The hubs were Factory and were much lighter than standard.’

Race to the Title Coming into the first GP of the season in Italy Tortelli was considered by many as a title candidate, but that all changed after two problematic races that resulted in 8-0 finishes: ‘The first race I broke the front brake calliper and I had to come into the pits where the mechanic cut the brake line so I could finish the race; the thing just snapped off. There was a problem in the making of it, there was a little defect. Then, the second race the water hose came off and the bike seized. I was really disappointed after the first GP because I felt after that it was gonna be a hard season, a long season especially with what happened, but we went back and did quite a bit of testing after that and we made some good evolution on the bike and that was enough to make it work for the rest of the season.

Even if I didn’t make a good start with the bike, I was able to have good speed which was the main thing.’

If anything, Tortelli’s starts were his weak point and this was down to a couple of reasons: ‘Hmm, I was a little bit heavy for that bike and I believe I was already 78 kilo’s at the time, so I was a pretty big baby for the bike, and the bike didn’t have that 83

much bottom end so we pushed for more middle and top for it to get some speed with it; but it was a trade-off and really hard to get the starts with it.’

With engine tuning, some if it is down to mechanical knowhow but sometimes you just get plain lucky, and there was one such incident that kind of fell into the laps of de Groot and the guys at SPES after a ‘getoff’ that resulted in a damaged pipe: ‘Jan was going over to Pierrot Slegers place at SPES quite a bit and actually we gained a little bit of evolution in the winter, which was good and during the season, actually there was something funny; in Cussac, the French GP (Round 7) I crashed and bent my pipe and actually it was better power!

And this happened in the first moto. When we put the new pipe on for the second race, and 84

they asked ‘how was it?’ I said, ‘actually, it wasn’t as good’ so they took the old, bent pipe and brought it back to SPES to get a diagram on it from the Dyno, and they found I had more horsepower with it like that.’

Despite his problems at the first GP in Italy, Tortelli took control of the series after Switzerland, Round Two, and from there he was never headed. With a total of 16 race wins, the French ace won 10 of the 12 GP’s on offer and was crowned world champion in Slovenia with two rounds remaining, becoming the youngest ever world champion in the process.

And for the man who guided him to it, Seb has nothing but praise: ‘Jan was like family, like my grandfather almost; very protective, very nice, never said a bad world about anyone and always very positive. Even when things weren’t going good, he was the one that started to pull everyone together to make

things go forward. He was a real father figure in the team where he was the one taking care of the mechanics and riders and trying to get the best out of us so, very family oriented.’

And, during such a dominant season there were just two stand-out moments: ‘Actually, it was the race with Paul Malin in Belgium; it’s the one where the most memories are at, when we battled in Nismes.

That was a really good race. I really loved that one. The other one was the MXoN at Jerez.

That track with big up and downhills I really appreciated it.’

After his success in 1996 Sebastien Tortelli moved into the 250cc class, but injury curtailed his season whilst he sat 2nd in the standings with five rounds to go. However, he did go on to win the title in 1998, but that, as they say is a story for another day.

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

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What’s the price for standard camping at the Monster Energy FIM MXoN in Assen? Is it included in the weekend ticket?

Chris Neale

Are the MXGP hats only for the crew of MXGP? Steffen

Hi Steffen you can buy a wide selection of MXGP hats and other apparel at the MXGP Store on events.

MXGP

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Hi Chris, The price for basic camping is €150.00 per vehicle and €40.00 per person for the weekend.

The price does not include the weekend ticket. You can have more info at the link below: https://assen.motocross-tickets. com/en/12091-motocross-ofnations-the-netherlands/ MXGP

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When is Antonio Cairoli will be back on the bike?

Francesco

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Hi Francesco , Antonio Cairoli is actually recovering from its injury at the shoulder, it’s a pity he cannot be back this season but he’ll be back on the bike this winter to be ready for 2020. We wish Antonio all the best for his recovery ;-) Regards MXGP

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can you let me know which content is available to view in streaming from the MXoN?

Karen

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Dear Karen, the program for the Monster Energy FIM MXoN is very busy ;-) We show LIVE the Opening Press conferences, the teams’ presentation on Friday, plus the ballot to decide the starting grid, as well as the qualifying races and all the 3 MXoN races on Sunday. Besides, the 65cc, 85cc and 125cc bLU cRU Superfinale will be also LIVE on MXGP-TV. Best Regards MXGP

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Can I watch MXGP-TV from 1 account from 2 different devices at the same time? Example: Smart tv and smartphone same time?

Mike

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Hi Mike MXGP-TV only allows watching the races on 1 device at a time.

Thanks MXGP

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