MXGP #95 JULY 2021 by MXGP MAG

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MXGP MAG Chief Editor: Marionna Leiva Photos: MXGP INFRONT MOTO RACING MEDIA World Trade Center II Rte de Pré-Bois 29 1215 Geneva 15 Airport Switzerland MXGP Mag #95 July 2021

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Then content of this publication is based on the best knowledge and information available at the time the articles were written.

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L A I R O T I D E

David Luongo CEO of Infront Moto Racing

Dear MXGP Friends, Already three Grand Prix have taken place since our last month edition of the magazine. It is a IT IS A FANTASTIC fantastic feeling of being back on FEELING OF BEING the track. From the Black Sea to the very typical hills of Maggiora, BACK ON THE TRACK. the MXGP World Championship presented some very exciting racing to the fans that were able again a great example of our to be onsite and to all our TV pyramid system, coming from viewers worldwide at home. the European Championship with 1 Title in EMX125cc and In MXGP we had three different second last year in EMX250cc. winners; Tim Gajser started It looks to be very open with 8 perfectly the season in Russia, Tony Cairoli proved to everybody riders within 50 points. that he is still a contender for Those three Grand Prix the 2021 season in the UK, and events highlighted again Jeffrey Herlings won his first the difficulties we are still GP since his injury last year in experiencing for hosting the Italy. The World Championship public onsite. The situation classification is very tight as 8 is very different country by riders are within 42 points, with country, in Russia we got a Gajser leading! full attendance when in UK, it was capped to 4.000 people In MX2 Tom Vialle was showing a great rhythm to defend his title and Italy unfortunately up to 1.000 attendance. The fact to after Russia, but unfortunately, put in place the green pass he got injured during a training throughout Europe with the session before the Grand Prix vaccination campaign will of Great Britain. He has already help us to increase the global missed 2 GP’s but he should attendance in the upcoming be back for Oss. In MX2, like in weeks, but it is still very MXGP, we got three different GP challenging for all of us. winners, and the rookie of the class, Guadagnini won on home From the very beginning of soil last week and took the read plate of the championship. He is the pandemic, we did our

best with the organizers, the federations and the FIM to facilitate the access of the public to the events and to adapt ourselves to the national and international regulations concerning the Covid-19 restrictions. On the digital area, the feedback from the fans on MXGP-TV.com our platform of Live Streaming is very positive. The quality of the service and the fact that fans can watch 100% of the qualifications and the races whenever they want and wherever they are is still very appreciated by the MXGP fans. From the beginning of the season, we also launched a TikTok platform to complete our offer of content on the most popular Social Networks. Finally, I would like to thank the FIM, the FIM Europe and all the partners of MXGP for their support to our favorite sport! Don’t forget that you can follow the whole MXGP season on MXGP-TV.com! See you in Oss!

S T O H S L COO

T O H S E L O H X FO

FOX HOLESHOT: THE FIGHT FOR THE TOP SPOT! 16

THIS SEASON WE CONTINUE THE FOX HOLESHOT COMPETITION FOR THE SEVENTH YEAR RUNNING SINCE THE CONTEST STARTED BACK IN 2014. THERE HAVE BEEN VARIOUS WINNERS BUT IN RECENT YEARS THE COMPETITION HAS BEEN DOMINATED BY RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING WITH ANTONIO CAIROLI, JORGE PRADO AND TOM VIALLE AS THE MOST RECENT WINNERS.

This season the Fox Holeshot award has been upgraded to be even better than before! A brandnew look for our social media graphics, as well as the new Fox Holeshot Films that are shared on our YouTube channel after the race weekend gives an even better look for our fans to see how these starts are achieved! We are just three Grand Prix’s into the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship and the competition is still very much open and for the taking. While many may have expected for Prado to pick up right where he left off in 2020 winning the

award with 16 holeshots, this season so far there have been opportunities for other riders to get their shot at picking up the black Fox Holeshot plate, too. Romain Febvre currently sits joint first in the award standings with the Spaniard, while Jeffrey Herlings and Glenn Coldenhoff have been making their own start success, too.

a hard charging Tim Gajser was keen to apply the pressure for the race victory, the Frenchman did make it happen at the Monster Energy MXGP of Italy to win his first race of the season. The second race was much tougher for the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team rider, who failed to finish inside the top 10 and missed out on a podium spot.

As always starts are very important, especially during races like Maggiora, when the weather conditions can be a huge obstacle, and a good start can make a big difference between a race win and a top 5 results, or worse.

Meanwhile for Coldenhoff, his holeshot in MXGP race 2 in Maggiora set him up perfectly for a podium finish, very close to a Grand Prix victory, too! This was exactly what the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory rider needed after a slow start to the season in Orlyonok and Matterley Basin.

In Matterley Basin and Maggiora, the good starts for Romain Febvre were crucial for two strong results. While he didn’t quite hold on to the win in Great Britain as

In MX2, the fight for the Fox Holeshot competition is even more open, with six Fox holeshot winners so far out of six races! Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s 17

Tom Vialle and Rene Hofer dominated the starts during the MXGP of Russia, while in Great Britain it was Maxime Renaux and Simon Längenfelder. For Längenfelder this was his first ever Fox Holeshot and aided him to a top 10 finish in the heat. In Maggiora, the MX2 starts were a Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing affair, as Thibault Benistant and Jago Geerts secured their first Fox Holeshots of the season. For Benistant the start put him in the driving seat for the rest of the opening race, as he comfortably led every lap and took a race victory solidifying himself as one of the threats in the category on his rookie season. While for Geerts his strong start was just what he needed to get himself back onto the podium after a tough start to the year due to injury. There’s still plenty of races to go ahead with 15 Grand Prix’s remaining, so it will be interesting to see whether KTM will start to dominate once again, or whether this season we will see someone new winning the award at the end of the year. Check out the Fox Holeshot standings!

WATCH THE VIDEO

MX2 TABLE Tom Vialle

Jago Geer

Maxime Renaux

Simon Längenfelder

Thibault Benistant

Rene Hofer

MXGP TABLE Jorge Prado

Romain Febvre

Jeffrey Herlings

Glenn Coldenhoff

P U G H N ATC I C A C R

S D N U O R E E ! R O G TH O T 5 1 , N I

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s re-cap what’s happened so far to get a better idea of where this championship could be headed… MXGP OF RUSSIA WE ARE JUST THREE ROUNDS INTO THE 2021 SEASON OF THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AND ALREADY THE MXGP AND MX2 GUYS ARE KEEPING US GUESSING! IT’S EXACTLY HOW WE ALL WANT TO BE THIS EARLY IN THE SERIES BECAUSE IT MAKES FOR EVEN BETTER RACING AND FROM WHAT WE HAVE SEEN SO FAR, THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THIS SEASON IS GOING TO BE A WILD ONE.

The first stop on the busy MXGP calendar was Orlyonok for the MXGP of Russia. It was the first time that Orlyonok had the honour of hosting the opening round of the FIM Motocross World Championship and they really put on a spectacular show right from the moment that get go. The race weekend kicked-off with a unique and very colourful opening ceremony which featured a traditional dance performance by the Orlyonok children’s centre

along with a special welcome, where the officials Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo, FIM President Jorge Viegas and the Organizer of the MXGP of Russia and MFR President Alexander Dzheus took part to a typical moment called ‘Bread & Salt’. There were also some photo opportunities with riders, as well as our Class of 2021 ‘Family Photo’, but with all the media side of things done, it was time for racing and let’s just say that the MXGP of Russia delivered! Like after any off-season, as we enter the new year for the riders the first round is always the first real opportunity to see where they match up with their rivals and in this instance, there was no match for the two defending World Champions, Tim Gajser and Tom Vialle, as the pair completely dominated the rest of the field. Both going 1-1 in incredible fashion, nobody could get close to

the pace and level that Gajser and Vialle were at. Even with Gajser’s start misfortunate in race two, he still managed to come back from virtually dead last to win the race, and it’s not like he had easy riders to pass, as he battled with the strongest riders in the world, but at that point they were no match for the very confident and very strong Slovenian. While Gajser and Vialle comfortably dominated in MXGP and MX2, that doesn’t mean to say that the rest of the racing was boring, because really it was far from it. While the defending World Champions were busy picking up exactly where they left off at the end of 2020, the rest of the guys were also busy making their own mark for 2021. In MXGP, some stand out riders included the likes of Romain Febvre, who of course was a podium finisher in Orlyonok as he climbed the third step of the podium. Then there was Pauls Jonass, who we hadn’t seen racing in a while since his neck injury before the Latvian

triple header last year, so to see him back and running well inside the top 5 and securing P3 in race two was an incredible achievement and gave us a glimpse of what can be expected from the Latvian and his new Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing team. But one of the most talked about performances has got to be that of Alessandro Lupino. Lupino is no stranger to the FIM Motocross World Championship though we are yet to see the Italian celebrate an MXGP podium, though he did get really close to doing so in Orlyonok. A 5th in race one and a 4th in race two put Lupino 4th overall, just three points shy of a podium spot! While he might have not got the podium, to be running comfortably inside the top 5 and defending his position from Jeffrey Herlings for the majority of race one was a big achievement and a huge confidence boost for the MRT Racing Team KTM rider. And while one Italian celebrated a top result another was left very disappointed. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli was on track for a podium finish at the 23

MXGP of Russia, though an incident in the second race cost Cairoli valuable championship points as he was forced to DNF the race. A crash on the finish jump left the 9-time World Champions bike with too much damage to carry on meaning Cairoli would not score points in race two. And then there was Herlings. After taking time out last season due to injury, many expected Herlings to come back and dominate, though this was not entirely the case. First of all, Herlings is a sand man, so expecting him to do very well on a track like Orlyonok may be naive. Nonetheless Herlings finished the race 4-2 for second overall though in the post-race press conference was clear that he needed time to get back to race pace and be able to run a 30-minute race. In MX2 there was also some surprises, one in the form of Honda 114 Motorsports rider Ruben Fernandez. Fernandez rode two very strong races, that saw him applying the pressure onto Vialle as well as having some close battles with Rene Hofer and Mathys Boisrame, but in the end the Spaniard managed a 2-3 result to bag himself his first ever MX2 podium! Finishing alongside him on the box was F&H Kawasaki Racing’s Mathys Boisrame. For Boisrame a podium finish in Orlyonok was expected as he is one of the strongest hard pack riders in the class thanks to his French roots. Boisrame as well as his teammate Roan Van De Moosdijk were right up there in the mix with the leaders in both races, with Moosdijk finishing race one in P3 and Boisrame 4th. The second race though is what helped Boisrame to climb the podium as he was able to get around Hofer and Fernandez for second, which put him third overall. A lot happened in Russia, much of which we probably failed to mention but that’s exactly why the opening round was so exciting, because there was plenty going out throughout the field. MXGP OF GREAT BRITAIN

Then we returned to Europe and set our sights on returning to Matterley Basin, one of the rider’s favourite tracks on the MXGP racing calendar. Probably one of the biggest talking points as we entered the British Grand Prix was whether we would see Tom Vialle line up for the races, following a crash during the week which resulted in injury. By Sunday we knew the answer and that was that Vialle would miss the races in Matterley Basin and instead would focus on keeping safe and getting back up to strength. With Vialle out, this left the door wide open for a new victor and for somebody new to take the red plate… And so, the battle commenced! In the opening race it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Maxime Renaux who grabbed the Fox Holeshot and continued the rest of the race by leading every single lap to take the race win. And while there was no real battle for the win, things got very interesting for the second-place spot. Mathys Boisrame got a strong start in the opening heat and was comfortably in second for pretty much the entire race, but that was until a hard charging Fernandez made his way up the order from 5th and that’s when the real fun began. Fernandez got caught up in a nice battle with MX2 rookie Mattia Guadagnini which eventually pushed him onto the back wheel of Boisrame. The two then went head-to-head until the chequered flag with Fernandez stealing P2 from the Frenchman on the final corner for the perfect photo finish. In the second race we saw a new winner in the form of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s youngest recruit, Mattia Guadagnini. The Italian wasted no time as he sensed an opportunity to get into the lead as the gate dropped, and then easily led the entire race from gate drop to flag. This was a special moment for Guadagnini, who not only secured his first race win in the Motocross World Championship, but also locked in his first podium finish too, to place second overall!

Meanwhile Fernandez and Boisrame had a much tougher second race with both finishing 6th and 7th, but despite that Fernandez still managed to get himself on the podium and not only that, but he also became the championship leader with just 5 points separating him and Renaux, with Boisrame tied on points with his fellow Frenchman. That was the round-up of what happened in MX2, while in MXGP we were also treated to something similar with two different race winners! Following Gajser’s dominance in Russia, many would have put him at the top of their list to take the overall victory in Great Britain, too, especially because Matterley Basin had always been such a big favourite for the Slovenian, a track that he based his very own home circuit on. Ultimately this was not the case as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli stormed to victory in the opening race, surprising many at his comeback after an unlucky day in Orlyonok. As the gate dropped for race two, we saw Romain Febvre for the first time this season lead a race on his way to what looked like a promising race victory, though that was not the case. Gajser rode the second race smart, keeping Febvre close by but taking his time to learn how the Frenchman was riding and which lines he was taking. Cairoli was nearby too, and at one point it looked like he was going to challenge both for another win but that was not the case as he settled for third. With just a few laps to go Gajser started to knuckle down on Febvre and with just two laps to go was able to find a way through on the Kawasaki rider to secure his third race win of the season. For Febvre finishing second was disappointing to say the least as he also failed to make it onto the podium. With a 1-3 result in the races, Cairoli was confirmed as the overall Grand Prix winner in Matterley Basin for the sixth time in his career. Gajser was 26

third with Jeffrey Herlings keeping his podium record at 100% and continuing to make progress to getting back to the top with third overall, following to solid race results of a 3rd and a 4th. MONSTER ENERGY MXGP OF ITALY Next up was the Monster Energy MXGP of Italy, which returned to the legendary Maggiora circuit for the first time since the 2016 edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. It had been 5 years since we saw the hillside track on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar, a place that holds special memories for quite a few of the riders, especially Gajser and Febvre, who were victorious last time in 2015 during the GP there, as well for Febvre the Monster Energy FIM MXoN, which he won with Team France. As we entered round three of the MX2 and MXGP World Championships one of the main talking points was the two red plates held by Honda in the two main world championship classes, with Gajser leading the way in MXGP and Ruben Fernandez holding the red plate in MX2. It was the first time in the modern racing era that Honda led both major championships in motocross. Before Sunday’s race action kicked-off another exciting GP, fans were treated to a unique parade lap featured FIM Motocross World Championship rider and 12-time Grand Prix winner Gautier Paulin, 5-time World Champion Joel Smets and 2-time World Champion Alessandro Puzar. Smets and Puzar completed the lap of Maggiora riding on bikes with replica decals, while Paulin took part on the latest Yamaha YZ450FM model, bringing together the modern and vintage eras together. Present at the opening parade were also the FIM President Jorge Viegas, MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso and multi-time Italian Motocross Champion Emilio Ostorero, as well as the organiser of the Monster Energy MXGP of Italy, Stefano Avandero. Following the legend’s parade lap, it was time to focus on the races starting off with MX2. Just like in Great Britain, this time around in Maggiora was just as exciting as once again we witnessed two different race winners. 29

The opening heat was won by former EMX250 Champion and MX2 rookie, Thibault Benistant, who grabbed the Fox Holeshot and put in a masterclass of a race to finish almost 10 seconds ahead of Mattia Guadagnini. As the pair had broken away from the rest of the field, things did get close in the battle for third between Fernandez, Jago Geerts, Jed Beaton and Maxime Renaux, with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay De Wolf having a great ride to finish 7th. Race two another factory Yamaha out in front, as this time Jago Geerts got the Fox Holeshot, though Guadagnini was quick to jump into the driving seat. Much like Benistant in race one, Guadagnini broke away from the rest of the field with Maxime Renaux following in two, while the rest of the riders fought hard for the third spot with Roan Van De Moosdijk securing himself a top three finish after some close fights with his teammate Boisrame, as well as Geerts, Hofer and Beaton. The big talking point though was Mattia Guadagnini, who with a second and a race win, locked in his first ever Grand Prix victory and to make it even more special he did it at home in Italy. Renaux placed second on the podium, as Jago Geerts finally made his return to the box after a tough start to the year with injury, with his first podium of the season to finish third. There was also plenty to discuss in MXGP with two interesting races and an extremely close fight for the GP win. In the first race it was Febvre who took, what can only be described as an emotional race victory. For the second time this season we saw Jorge Prado finish the race second ahead of Cairoli who was third. Meanwhile Tim Gajser didn’t have the easiest of races and neither did Herlings with the pair 5th and 6th behind Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff. For Coldenhoff, the Monster Energy MXGP of Italy was the best weekend he had had this season so far with two strong race finishes inside the top 5, something that we had not seen from the Dutchman this season just yet. After finishing 4th in race 31

one, Coldenhoff lined-up for a very muddy second race, which was made much easier for him thanks to his Fox Holeshot! After getting out in front early in the race, Coldenhoff proceeded to lead the race for an impressive 11 laps, before he was ultimately caught and passed by fellow Dutchman Jeffrey Herlings. Much like Gajser in Britain, Herlings took his time to get around Coldenhoff which was a new and more patient side that we had not seen from the Bullet before. Further down the field JM Honda Racing’s Henry Jacobi was putting in a stellar performance after getting out of the gate in third. The German maintained the third-place position until three laps from the end, when Cairoli was finally able to find his way around the Honda rider. This pass put Cairoli tied on points with Herlings and Coldenhoff for the overall victory, but with Herlings taking the race win, he was declared the Grand Prix winner for the first time this season, solidifying his return to the top! Coldenhoff place second ahead of Cairoli, while Febvre missed out on a podium once again after a tough second race. WHAT’S NEXT? Next on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar is the MXGP of the Netherlands in Oss! Oss is a new host of the Dutch GP for 2021, though not an entirely new circuit as it had previously hosted a motocross Grand Prix in 1985, 1989 and 1998. Now 23 years later we will return to the sandy circuit and there’s no doubt that home riders Glenn Coldenhoff, who is an Oss local, and Jeffrey Herlings, along with Calvin Vlaanderen, Brian Bogers, Roan Van De Moosdijk, Kay De Wolf, will be looking to put on their best performance on home soil. Though whatever happens, from what we have witnessed this season so far, it’s clear that predicating a clear winner is a hard task and with racing anything can happen, so it will be interesting to see what Oss has in store for us! 32

FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

RESULTS MXGP CHAMP. STANDINGS 1. T. Gajser (SLO, HON) 2. J. Herlings (NED, KTM) 3. R. Febvre (FRA, KAW) 4. A. Cairoli (ITA, KTM) ) 5. J. Prado (SPA, KTM 6. J. Seewer (SUI, YAM) 7. G. Coldenhoff (NED, KTM) 8. P. Jonass (LAT,GAS) 9. A. Lupino (ITA, KTM) 10. J. Van Horebeek (BEL, HON)

MX2 CHAMP. STANDINGS 124 p. 118 p. 107 p. 105 p. 97 p. 86 p. 82 p. 82 p. 69 p. 60 p.

1. M. Guadagnini (ITA, KTM) 113 p. 2. M. Renaux (FRA, YAM) 111 p. 3. R. Fernandez (SPA, HON) 108 p. 4. M. Boisrame (FRA, KAW) 105 p. 5. R. Van De Moosdjik (NED, KAW) 99 p. 6. T. Benisitant /FRA, YAM) 80 p. 7. R. Hofer (AUT, KTM) 79 p. 8. S. Laengenfelder (GER, GAS) 70 p. 9. J. Geerts (BEL, YAM) 67 p. 10. J. Beaton (AUS, HUS) 67 p.

MXGP MANUFACTURERS

MX2 MANUFACTURERS

1. KTM 2. Honda 3. Kawasaki 4. Yamaha 5. Gas Gas 6. Husqvarna

1. KTM 2. Yamaha 3. Kawasaki 4. Honda 5. Gas Gas 6. Husqvarna

134 p. 125 p. 107 p. 103 p. 82 p. 46 p.

BEST RIDER OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY ATHENA This season MXGP and Athena are bringing a very exciting competition to the FIM Motocross World Championship! Throughout the year fans have the opportunity to vote for the ‘Best Rider of the Year Sponsored by Athena’ in the MXGP category, with the votes tallied at every Grand Prix thanks to the support of MXGP Fans who can vote for their favourite riders on the MXGP Facebook page. Average Facebook Insights per GP: Impressions: 108,000 Engagement: 3,000 Average IG Story Impressions: 70K

140 p. 124 p. 113 p. 108 p. 74 p. 73 p.

Views: 17.5 Watch Time (Hours): 1.6M Subscribers: +41.1K in 2020 Lifetime Subscribers: 250K Lifetime Views: 113.9M

L A I C O S P G X M

@marcobenss Un po’ di sole, un po’ di fango, un po’ Maggiora!

Pitlane Reactions of 2020 | MXGP: exciting races always provide the best reactions from the mechanics and team personnel! Take a look at some of those moments captured in pitlane during the 2020 season of the FIM Motocross World Championship!

@chiara_sic58 What a weekend!🔥 MXGP in Maggiora baby! #AM111️

@roxykimjones First time for me at #MXGP & I liiiiked it 🦖

Road to 2021: Episode 8 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | MXGP: Episode 8 of Road to 2021 with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing is here! Watch to find out how Glenn Coldenhoff is finding his move to the factory Yamaha team, while Ben Watson prepares for his MXGP debut and Jeremy Seewer set his sights on the title in 2021.

@saramoletta WE ARE BACK Che emozione tornare a Maggiora

@albgp222 Oggi doppio podio giornata da ricordare per @mattguada101 che ottiene la prima vittoria di GP in carriera e un ennesimo podio per @ antoniocairoli che come sempre ha dimostrato che la costanza paga!

@jenny243_ 📍MXGP in Maggiora | #mxgp #mxgpmaggiora @meg_bonnar Finding my love for motorsports. MXGP

@honda114motorsports NRide on Red x2 @rubenfernandez70 | @ tiga243

@sophiemcginn33 Caption this Getting papped last weekend at Matterley so I’m either really hangry in this photo or it’s sunny how awful!

@sabrinalou28 The comeback is always stronger than the setback…

EP.16 GOPRO Lap: MXGP of Garda Trentino 2020 #MXGP: Here is the final GoPro Lap replay from the 2020 season! Watch as Michele Cervellin takes you around the Trentino circuit in Italy.

P G X M # D OF ORL W E H IN T

R E S T L S R I N G MO

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

Photo: Yamaha Racing

E H T G N I S E L A T I H T C AM E R D

AS THE 2020 MX2 SEASON DREW TO A CLOSE, IT WAS CLEAR TO SEE THERE HAD BEEN SOMETHING OF A SEISMIC SHIFT IN TERMS OF WHICH MANUFACTURER WAS THE DOMINANT FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH. DURING THE FINAL SIX ROUNDS, YAMAHA COLLECTED SEVEN RACE WINS FROM THE TWELVE THAT WERE ON OFFER, RESULTING IN FOUR OVERALL GRAND PRIX VICTORIES ALONG THE WAY, AND AS THE 2021 CAMPAIGN KICKED OFF IN RUSSIA, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN FAIR TO SUGGEST THAT THE MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA FACTORY MX2 TEAM WAS A FIRM FAVOURITE TO MAKE A SERIOUS TILT AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE. MXGP MAGAZINE TAKES A LOOK AT HOW OUR ‘TEAM OF THE MONTH’ IS PROGRESSING SO FAR AFTER THE FIRST THREE ROUNDS IN RUSSIA, GREAT BRITAIN AND ITALY.

Blessed with an exciting trio of riders which consists of Jago Geerts, Maxime Renaux and Thibault Benistant, the goal this year is to go all out, leave nothing on the table and bring home that elusive MX2 World Championship title, which was last won by Yamaha in 2007. Since then, all but one of the world titles won have gone to Austria, but with more investment and a better infrastructure, the last few seasons have seen a very marked improvement from the blue corner of Japan and no-one would be more ecstatic to bring home the victory than the man in charge, Hans Corvers, whose journey to this point has been a long one:

only the support from Yamaha Belgium.’

From the ground up ‘Kemea started up in 1997 in the amateur Belgian federation, with Yamaha; this was also my last season racing. Then in 2010 we went to the FMB but we did only Belgian races, and the following year, 2011, we moved into the EMX250 class with Jens Getteman. In that same year, Marnicq Bervoets came into the team and he advised me that even for EMX you needed the truck, the mechanics and workshop; you need everything almost the same as if you were doing the world championship, so it’s better you move up to the world championship because there is more visibility for sponsors etc … so in 2012 we moved into the world championship with Kenny Vandeuren and Kevin Fors, with

As with all new ventures, success can be difficult to come by, but by 2015 Kemea Yamaha was starting to get noticed as Benoit Paturel placed 9th overall in the MX2 World Championship, whilst over in the EMX125 class, another young French talent by the name of Maxime Renaux was also coming up with the goods. Twice, Renaux held the championship leaders Red Plate and had it not been for a broken collarbone, he might have walked away with the EMX125 title. However, he did wrap up the FIM Junior Motocross World Championship before he got injured. By now, Kemea Yamaha was hot property and when the 2016 season came to a close, Corvers’ star pupil Paturel had placed 3rd overall in MX2 and helped France to another MXoN win at Maggiora. Now, with factory support coming directly from

Yamaha Motor Europe and Yamaha Japan, and with Monster Energy increasing its support to Yamaha’s grand prix effort, the Kemea Yamaha team has since been rebranded as Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 and is now run as an official factory team, and since Benoit Paturel’s 3rd overall in 2016, Hans Corvers’ team has had a rider finish inside the top five in the last five years, with Jago Geerts placing 3rd and 2nd overall in the last two campaigns. Difficult start When you have placed third and second in the last two seasons, the obvious goal is the top step, but as every racer knows, every season is met with new challenges and before the year had even begun, Corvers’ squad was already hit by setbacks, as team manager, Marnicq Bervoets recalls:

‘It started in the pre-season already that Jago hurt his knee, Maxime dislocated his shoulder, 45

and then there was the collarbone of Thibault, so we were a little bit lucky that everything was starting much later. And then we went to Russia and actually it was not good. You have to understand that if you’re 2nd or 3rd in the world championship with Jago Geerts and Maxime Renaux, and European Champion with Thibault Benistant, it was a strange day for us. It was really not good.’ A mixed bag of results meant that when the team returned to Europe the three riders were placed 6th, 11th and 12th in the standings and it was clear they needed to up their games if they were to get back on terms with the runaway winner at Orlyonok, Tom Vialle. Results can be deceiving though, as Corvers points out: ‘With Jago, we thought that normally he couldn’t go to Russia. The doctor told him to rest for a minimum of 10 days but between Jago and the physio, they decided to go. He took 19 points, he didn’t hurt the knee, but we didn’t see the real Jago; 21st in Time Practice and 15th in GB, so he was struggling a little bit and not really clear in the head, in his mind. It’s really important that he didn’t hurt his knee. He is honest and said he has to check the left turns because it’s not 100%, but not once did he hurt his knee, and that’s important.’ As for Maxime Renaux, Corvers believes that this was down to last year’s bronze medalist putting too much emphasis on getting a result at the first round, and maybe his 6-9 results reflect this: ‘Russia, he brought it a little by himself; he was too motivated. In practice he was always faster than his competitors, but in the race, there were too many mistakes. He was too aggressive.’ Hope on the Horizon By the time the series arrived at Matterley Basin for round two, the first-round nerves seemed to have been put to bed, and for Renaux, it was a GP to remember. A start-to46

finish win in race one was just what was needed, and even when the rain started to fall, the French ace looked cool, calm and calculated to record his first win of the season. His second outing was perhaps the most impressive though and after a bad start, the ‘959’ rounded out the race in 2nd which was good enough to wrap up the overall victory. Despite winning a tricky first race where Bervoets says ‘it was really good that in the rain he was not that crazy,’ you get the feeling the Belgian expected more from the second race where he felt Renaux’s pace dropped as soon as he moved into 2nd place. By backing off, Bervoets felt he was putting himself in jeopardy as riders he had just passed were hungry for points, and in that scenario anything can happen. From Renaux’s side though, it was all part of his strategy and something that came into play in Italy a week later. As for Renaux’s team mates, Thibault Benistant showed signs of the kind of potential which bagged him a 2nd and 3rd in two of his MX2 wildcard rides at the end of last year, by posting 5th in the first race at Matterley Basin, and coupled with his 9th in race two, the ‘198’ left England with 7th overall. The same could not be said for Geerts though, and after a promising ride to 7th in race one, the Belgian lost his head in race two, made too many mistakes, suffered too many falls, and as a result, failed to add to his tally, something that left Bervoets somewhat bemused: ‘It was a Jago I never saw before. He made a bad start, came to 14 or 15, crashed again and then he gave up. Most of the time he is really angry and he’s really focussed to be in front,’ but it was also clear to Bervoets where the root of the problem was, and by the time the team arrived in Italy one week later, there were already massive gains to be made. Race wins and podium joy After a six-year hiatus, MXGP returned to the iconic circuit of Maggiora for the Monster Energy

MXGP of Italy and on that visit in 2015, Maxime Renaux won the sixth round of the EMX125 championship, his third win of the season, and walked away with the championship leaders Red Plate for the second time that year. When he rolled into Maggiora this year for round three of MX2, he trailed series leader Ruben Fernandez by 5 points and would have loved nothing more for history to repeat itself, but after posting his first Pole Position of the season, Renaux had to settle for 6th in race one after a small mistake early on. In race two he had a decision to make; chase down the leader Mattia Guadagnini for the race and GP win, or settle for good, solid championship points? He opted for the latter, something that Hans Corvers respected and ultimately saw as a step in the right direction for Renaux’s title aspirations: ‘We didn’t expect his 6-9 in Russia but we had a talk with him about it, and it was nice to hear him in the press conference in Italy where he said he wanted to win but Guadagnini was too fast in that second race, so he said okay, I go for the GP win. This is a good sign and this is what he learned in Russia; you don’t always need to win the GP or to win a world championship, and if he takes this with him, then I am sure that he will always battle for the top three. I am happy that he managed this in Italy.’ With a 6-2 in Italy, Renaux took 2nd overall and remains 2nd overall in the points chase. Joining him on the podium was Jago Geerts, and if anyone needed that kind of break at that particular moment, it was him. After two solid rides (4-5) the Belgian left Italy with his first trophy of the season and much of this result was down to the post-race chat that Geerts had after Matterley with team manager Bervoets: ‘I spoke with him about starts; you need starts in MX2 because all the riders now are so close in times, all the teams are

quite well organised, the riders are physically prepared for 30 minutes plus 2 laps, so we changed something there and we saw in Italy he improved his starts and he was back in the front. He was not fast enough to win or even finish top three, but he was fighting again and this is good for me. Now he is going in a good direction again.’ Corvers could also see the difference in Jago’s performance and was equally pleased to learn that the knee is no longer a problem: ‘In Italy he took the holeshot in the second heat and that gave him a boost, but he is just missing the rhythm; you saw that in the first heat. He had a little bit of arm pump in the first race, but the second one he didn’t have arm pump and he didn’t have pain on the knee, but he had to give the two places in the end to the two Kawa guys. Afterwards he was fair and he said ‘it’s me, it’s not the bike, it’s not the knee, it’s just me. I miss just the rhythm.’ With two of his riders on the podium in 2nd and 3rd overall in Italy, it was easy not to be blinded by the other obvious performance of the day, the race win of Thibault Benistant in the first race. The ‘198’ stormed to his first Fox Holeshot of the campaign and led every single one of the 18 laps on offer to win secure his maiden MX2 race victory by almost ten seconds over Mattia Guadagnini, the rider he went toe-to-toe with for the EMX250 title in 2020. Had it not been for a huge first lap crash at the start of race two, where he eventually recovered to 14th, then who knows, we could have potentially seen all three ‘Kemea’ Monster Energy Yamaha riders on the podium at the end of a day. But were we that surprised, after what we saw from ‘T’Bo’ in his wildcard riders last year? Corvers certainly wasn’t:

‘He surprised everybody, but not really us because he showed already that he can be really fast. But we can say the same for Guadagnini – who would have thought that he would win the second heat in England and now the GP? The young boys, they were one and two in EMX250 last year and now they are one and two in Italy. It’s unbelievable. It’s good from Infront Moto Racing, it shows the set-up is good from EMX to MX2 and it’s nice to see, really nice.’ After 24 years with Yamaha, after the ups and downs, the trials and tribulations of entering a race team at amateur level and taking it to the dizzying heights of the 52

MX2 podium, the only thing missing from Corvers’ trophy cabinet is the MX2 World Championship title. With possibly the most impressive line-up in MX2, if any one of Corvers’ riders were to win the title this year, what would it mean to the former racer? ‘Hoh! I should say ‘finally!’ That we get paid off for all the hard work. If we win it then we reach the goal that we always wanted. But there’s still a long way to go,’ a sentiment that Bervoets also shares: ‘The championship is open I think, and in Italy Jago showed he is coming back step by step. Thibault was amazing in the first heat; the second heat he crashed but you see all the potential of that young rider, and Maxime is

learning and is not so crazy anymore. He can be happy with a 2nd place or a 4th place. This is what we are telling him, that he needs to race for the championship and not day by day. For me we go step by step, we are still there, it’s going the right way and when it’s going the right way, it’s always nice.’ The next phase of the FIM Motocross World Championship resumes on July 18th with the MXGP of The Netherlands at Oss, which begins a run of four GP’s in a row, culminating with the MXGP of Latvia on August 8th. Of course, it goes without saying that the Monster Energy Factory MX2 Team will hope to contest for not only the podium places, but also the championship leaders Red Plate where three of the four GP’s will be held in sandy conditions. You can watch all the action on www. mxgp-tv.com

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

P I H S

! E L C Y C TO

SHIP TO CYCLE! A GAME CHANGER FOR CYCLING ENTHUSIASTS AND MOTOCROSS RIDERS SHIP TO CYCLE IS A BRANDNEW DOOR TO DOOR INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT SERVICE WHICH SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY DELIVERS YOUR BIKE WHEREVER YOU NEED IT! STC IS THE NEWEST SERVICE OFFERED BY SEL, THE LOGISTICS, TRAVEL AND EVENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY THAT IS A LONG-TERM PARTNER OF MXGP.

To learn more about this new business venture, MXGP Magazine caught up with SEL Project Manager Giada La Marca and STC Project Manager Daniele Riccardo to get a better idea of what STC is and what they can offer! Who are SEL? SEL (Sports & Events Logistics) have plenty of experience working in the sports logistics industry and have been helping athletes and teams find customised solutions for many years. #WeMovePassion is the vision of the company, and their work has been aiding athletes and teams on their journey to achieving their goals. SEL have worked with companies and brands including MotoGP, Alpine World Ski Championships, World Touring Car Cup, Pirelli, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Eurosport and of course MXGP. The business is structured by various departments including General Cargo that offers shipping services for promotors, organisers, and teams in the FIM Motocross World Championship, as well as Travel that offers the service of organising all travel for all the personnel within the paddock. Thanks to their passion for motocross, SEL has been very helpful in assisting Infront Moto Racing manage any and all requests, fulfilling the needs of our staff, teams, organisers and promotors. Their passion for the sport is what has helped to keep a strong relationship between SEL and MXGP. “In the last few years SEL has started to offer also more specific shipping services for customers and amateur athletes to improve their services, as well as supporting more and more sporting events,” shared Daniele Riccardo – SEL Project Manager. Ship to Cycle! “The idea of creating STC was born while we were working for the International Federation of Triathlon during a meeting in Losanna” shared Giada La Marca – SEL Project Manager, adding “SEL was already working in this

world and getting more inside we understood how important and difficult bicycle shipping for the athletes is and we realized that this kind of specific service was missing, and we started to think about it”. “We are part of SEL, and our mission is #WeMoveSport, so we started to think about it and how we could offer a specific support to the athletes that want to ship their bicycle for the races all over the world and we decided to create this new service,” explained Daniele. “After some time, the service has become bigger and now is open also to amateur and tourist who want to ship their bicycle safely and efficiently wherever they want for training, vacation or whatever they prefer,” he added. The service STC offers is really simple! Those wishing to have their bicycle shipped, they just need to fill in an online shipping form with all the details of the shipment, including the pickup date most suitable to them. At that point, all they have to do is packing their bike and wait for the courier to collect it directly from their home or any other preferred location. “The bicycle is a fundamental part of the training of professional riders,” shared Alfredo Bevilacqua, Honda Racing Team Manager. “It is used between one GP and another, especially in races where the time spent abroad is long, to maintain performance. Physically, but also after the race, to unload the accumulated muscular effort. For a team like ours that travels eight or nine months a year it is important to find a reliable and efficient partner who knows how to manage the entire shipping cycle of our bicycles in absolute autonomy and speed, guaranteeing precise and punctual delivery anywhere in the world,” he added. Honda Racing Assomotor is one of the teams in the paddock that have partnered with STC, offering their riders Stephen Rubini, Gianluca Facchetti and Emil

Weckman to make the most of this bespoke service. “Cycling is one of the most important part of my training; usually I cycle 5 times per week as training and also as recovery after a training on my CRF250R,” shared Stephen Rubini, Team Honda Racing Assomotor rider. “Cycling helps me a lot to build my physical strength and to keep the heart ready for long performance in the MXGP races. Also using the bicycle is really important also after an injury because it’s a safe way to train and to protect joints, ligaments, bones etc. and of course I enjoy cycling, so STC becomes a necessary support for my training,” he added.

For motocross riders who cycle several times a week, especially during the Grand Prix weekends where they spend a prolonged period abroad, cycling is important to keep the physical and mental fitness throughout the season. That’s why for them the service that STC is offering has become fundamental and the perfect solution to ensure their bicycle is available to them wherever they may be to help them along their training and pre and post-race preparation. SUSTAINABLITY While SEL and STC are committed to offering the best logistical and travel service for its customers, as a company they are also dedicated

to becoming more sustainable, with their 4 main goals: 1. Affordable and clean energy 2.

Responsible consumption and production

Climate action

Partnerships for the goals

Learn more about the service STC offers visit HERE: https://www. shiptocycle.com/content/6-ourservice To book your Ship-to-Cycle service visit: https://www. shiptocycle.com/

L L A H

E M A F F O

GERARD ROND TWICE ON THE PODIUM AT THE MOTOCROSS AND AT THE TROPHY OF NATIONS WITH THE DUTCH TEAM, GERARD ROND WAS ONE OF THE MOST PROMISING TALENTS IN THE 125CC CLASS DURING THE LATE ‘70’S. VICE 125CC WORLD CHAMPION WHEN HE WAS ONLY 20 YEARS OLD, THE DUTCHMAN WAS NEVER SO SUCCESFUL IN THE BIGGER CLASSES BUT REMAINS ONE OF THE BEST EVER DUTCH RIDERS IN THE MX HISTORY. BBorn on the 5th December 1956 Gerard Rond was familiar with motorsport racing from a very young age, as his father Gert was a famous technician who built motocross bikes! Using Sachs engines, Gert produced enduro and motocross bikes in the 60’s and 70’s and of course Gerard had some facilities to start racing! He was just fifteen when he claimed the first one of many national titles, and two years later when he turned seventeen he entered for the first time in 1974 some rounds of the 125cc European championship – the 125cc class was then upgraded as a World Championship in 1975 – and he scored his first points in Germany to finish the season thirtieth on his father’s bike. On 1stJune 1975, Gerard impressed the Motocross community when he scored an amazing second place at the Dutch Grand Prix, with a fourth and a second position behind legendary Gaston Rahier! That year he didn’t

enter all the rounds of the series but scored points at several rounds to finish tenth overall. Moving to the 250cc class in 1976 he wasn’t that successful even he dominated for the second year in a row the class in the Netherlands, and got a silver medal at the Motocross of Nations alongside Toon Karsmakers, Peter Herlings and Frans Sigmans. Back in the 125cc class as a factory Yamaha rider in 1977, he had a great season, winning three Grand Prix’s to finish the season runner up behind the unbeatable Rahier. Considered as the main rival of the Suzuki boys – Rahier and Akira Watanabe – before the first round of the 1978 campaign, Gerard confirmed that status after double wins in Belgium and the Netherlands, and was leading the championship! He lost his position at the following round in France where he could only finish one race, but won the following GP – Yugoslavia – to remain a title contender until the last round in Czechoslovakia. Second of that GP between the winner, 61

Rahier and Watanabe third, Rond finally got the bronze medal, just one point behind Rahier and nineteen behind the first ever Japanese World Champion. As all the best riders, Gerard was dreaming to race in the ‘main class’, the 500cc one! He signed with Suzuki, but his first season in 1979 was not a great one as he just got one podium result in Belgium. Back on a 250cc for the Trophy of Nations, he was the best Dutch representative and got another bronze medal alongside Benny Wilken, Gerrit Wolsink and Kees Van der Ven. His results were better in 1980, but not as good as he could expect as he enjoyed only one podium celebration at his home GP in Valkenswaard to finish the season in sixth position; and once more it was at the Nations that he got his best result. Best member of the Dutch team at the MXoN, he got another silver medal with Wolsink, Karsmakers and Van der Ven as teammates. Moving to the factory KTM team in 1981, he offered the Austrian company two podiums and for the last time in his career he secured a top ten finish with a seventh position. Then he made a few appearances at some GP’s during several seasons, entered four editions of the Dakar Rally, came back as team manager of a Kawasaki GP team in the 90’s and lately created ‘Experience Island’ in the Netherlands, one of the largest outdoor event venues in the Benelux. Text & Photos: Pascal Haudiquert

1982:

30th in the 125 European Championship (Sachs)

1975: 10th in the 125 Motocross World Championship (Yamaha) 1976: 24th in the 250 Motocross World Championship (Yamaha)

2nd at the MX of Nations with team Netherlands

1977:

2nd in the 125 Motocross World Championship (Yamaha). Winner of 3 GP’s

1978:

3rd in the 125 Motocross World Championship (Yamaha). Winner of 4 GP’s

1979: 10th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (Suzuki)

3rd at the Trophy of Nations with team Netherlands

1980: 6th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (Suzuki)

2nd at the MX of Nations with team Netherlands

1981:

7th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (KTM)

3rd at the Trophy of Nations with team Netherlands

1982:

22nd in the 500 Motocross World Championship (KTM)

1983: 12th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (Suzuki) 1985: 12th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (Honda) 1986:

24th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (KTM)

1987: 31st in the 500 Motocross World Championship ( Kawasaki)

S K L A T K C O D PAD

MotoGP star Andrea Dovizioso caught up with Jodi Hutton on MXGP-TV at the Monster Energy MXGP of Italy!

2 It’s all in the details for Romain Febvre… 3 After the British Grand Prix, it was a Honda 1-1 in MXGP and MX2 Championship standings… 4 Team Italy revealed the ‘Maglia azzurra’ for the 2021 MxoN! 5 He’s back! Arminas Jasikonis having his TV moment in Matterley Basin 6 Overall win and the red plate for Mattia Guadagnini in Maggiora! 7 MXGP received a colourful welcome in Russia

8 Legends gathered for a unique parade lap in Maggiora. Featuring Joel Smets, Gautier Paulin and Alex Puzar. 9 Fans, fans, fans! It’s so great to have our fans back!

10 Two Honda Legends, Tim Gajser current Honda World Champion and Graham Noyce, Honda’s first World Champion!

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

FRÉDÉRIC BOLLEY 1999 HRC HONDA RC250 68

FRÉDÉRIC BOLLEY IS A TWOTIME FIM 250CC MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPION FROM FRANCE AND A RIDER WHO RACED DURING A GOLDEN AGE OF FRENCH WORLD CHAMPIONS. BOLLEY STARTED HIS GRAND PRIX CAREER IN 1990 IN THE 125CC CLASS AND PRIOR TO THE 1999 SEASON, THE FRENCHMAN HAD FINISHED ON THE PODIUM NINE TIMES, FIVE OF WHICH CAME IN THE ’98 SEASON DURING HIS FIRST TERM WITH HONDA.

The surprising fact in all of this was that he had only ever won one race leading into his title winning year. In this issue of MXGP Magazine we take a closer look at the Honda RC250 that took Bolley to the 1999 250cc world championship title. At the end of the 1997 season Frédéric Bolley moved from JHK Kawasaki to join the L&M Honda effort as a number two team mate to Stefan Everts. As it turned out, that 1998 season had been his most successful to that point, picking up five podiums and nine top three race finishes along with 5th

overall in the campaign. However, for 1999, there would be a new bike from Honda and one that would make a world of difference to the young Frenchman. ‘The new Honda arrived in ’99. The frame was the biggest difference, it was brand new. I remember ’98 it was the original frame of the aluminium chassis and it was pretty strong (rigid) and then in ’99 they changed completely the frame with thinner spars. At this moment I remember the bike was not 100% new but maybe 99%. New frame, new plastics, new swingarm, new front forks, everything was new. The first time I tried the bike was probably September or October

’98. The bike was a prototype, the plastics were carbon fibre, so the first time I tried the bike, it was completely crazy.’ The other significant change for ’99 was the fact Bolley had been promoted to factory status: ‘In ’98 I was not a factory rider. I was the number two rider in the same L&M Team. Of course, I rode with some HRC parts, but I was not really a factory rider, but for ’99 I was.’ When we spoke to Trampas Parker about his HRC experience in 1991, he recalled that turning up at the test track was crazy, where a container of special parts would be ready and waiting to test, and for Bolley, this was exactly the same: 69

‘Exactly the same. I also remember a lot of work, a lot of things to try. When you asked for something, one week later you got it. It was crazy. I could test everything from triple clamps to different handlebar mounts, different foot peg position. I also remember they took my hand measurements; they drew my hand on some paper so they could make some special clutch levers for my hand, specific for me. Factory levers. Crazy.’ This new offering from HRC came with a much-needed chassis upgrade, despite only being a couple of years old at this point. Rider comments from both sides of The Atlantic were the same in that the unique aluminium chassis design was just too rigid, there was not enough flex, and this sent the HRC technicians back to the drawing board to see how the design could be modified. The end result proved to be a total success. ‘Everything was better because in ‘1998 and before that in ’97 the new aluminium frame was a little bit difficult. With HRC, when they want something new, they do it, so they made a brand-new chassis and everything was better; on the corners, on the jumps, high speed, slow speed. It was more easy to use, completely. The best bike I ever raced.’ When it came to dialling in the motor, Bolley was clear in his mind about the kind of power he preferred, and of course, this being HRC, making sure he had the right set-up was never an issue: ‘I always choose the bike with the bottom power. Not really strong but I like the bike with bottom power but smooth; not so strong. My style is pretty smooth and I love it when the bike is like that, and for Honda, it wasn’t difficult to do.’ Armed with 49mm factory Showa forks and factory rear shock the RC250 handled like a dream and coupled with the smooth power delivery, the cornering

capabilities of this bike were clear to see, and in many ways a testament to the trademark smooth, effortless riding style of Bolley. The exhaust pipe and silencer were full factory HRC parts, as was the engine, crank, cranks case, clutch and clutch cover. The carburettor was Kehin and the ignition HRC. The swingarm was close to production and whilst carbon fibre parts were limited, the bike bristled in titanium nuts, bolts and foot pegs, with a little bit of magnesium thrown in for good measure. The 5-speed gearbox was also factory. However, when it came to the start of the season, there was a real threat that Bolley would not even be lining up behind the gate, as he recalls: ‘So, in the pre-season race in Beaucaire, my team mate Stefan Everts broke his knee and at that time the team manager, Dave Grant, wanted to stop the team because Stefan was the leader of the team and I was surprised. I had to say to him not to stop because I worked so much at that time.’ The decision was then made to continue the season with Bolley as the main man, and if there had been any doubts about him coming up with the goods, then those were soon quashed at the opening round of the season at Talavera in Spain where he won both races in fine style: ‘Before Talavera where I won both races, I worked a lot in the winter with Yannig Kervella; he was my coach and I remember I told him, “next year I want to be world champion! So, we must do everything. If I need to eat rice and pasta to do it, or if I need to sleep three days in the week, I do it.” For me, the most important thing was to do everything, so that’s why when I arrived in Talavera, I was really confident. Not confident that I knew I was going to win both races, because that would be crazy to think, but I was really 72

Photo:

inseparable, was he nervous going into that final round? confident, and when I won in Talavera it was important at that time to prove I could do it. That’s maybe why I won that GP, because I wanted to prove I could be world champion. So, Beaucaire was also a turning point for me.’ Despite that explosive start, it was clear that Bolley’s main threat for the title would come from Marnicq Bervoets and Pit Beirer, and the three riders were pretty much intertwined with each other until Bervoets picked up an injury with five rounds remaining. As the season entered its final round at Budds Creek in the USA, Bolley held a 19 points advantage over Beirer, and with the two riders almost 74

‘Of course! Of course. It’s the worst nerves weekend I ever had in my life (laughing). Of course, I remember exactly at the start, that if I finished in front of Beirer, I would win the title and it was the same for him. But we rode exactly the same; we were both nervous.’ When Beirer placed 4th in the first race to Bolley’s 8th, the gap was down to fourteen, and when Bolley crossed the line in 10th in race two, it was enough for him to be crowned world champion for the first time. Of course, this was the best moment of the year but the turning point according to Bolley came in Luxembourg, three rounds prior where he went toe-to-toe with Beirer

and came out on top, winning the GP by 4 points over his rival: ‘I had a big fight with Pit and I was pretty smooth, and he pushed me; he was quite an aggressive rider and he tried to push me in the second moto, but I always kept calm. At that time I said, ok, I think it can be possible, it’s going to be possible.’ When Bolley was crowned world champion, he became the fourth rider from France to achieve that accolade after Jacky Vimond (1986), Jean-Michel Bayle (’88, ’89) and Sebastien Tortelli (’96, ’98) and he would go on to successfully defend the title the following year. Photos: Pascal Haudiquert

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

Can I buy a season pass knowing that the season has already started? Igor:

❞

Hi Igor: , Yes, you can find your season pass on the www.mxgp-tv.com platform to watch the rest of the season live. Best Regards MXGP

❝

I was present at Maggiora, I saw that there was a shop with MXGP clothes, where can I buy them online? Alice

❞

Hi Alice , You can find our clothing and accessories collections on our website www.mxgp-store.com Regards MXGP

❝

A French GP will take place this year? Will

❞

Dear Will , Yes, on the 9th and 10th of October we will go to the mythical circuit of Lacapelle Marival, where we went in 2011 for the last time with MX3 and WMX and it was an incredible event. Best Regards MXGP

❝

I am a big fan of Tim Gasjer, is there anywhere I can see information or even videos about him? Antoine

❞

Hello Antoine Yes indeed, we have recently created pilot pages on our platform www.mxgptv.com. You can find his videos, his personal data and his provisional world championship ranking. Thanks MXGP

❝

Hey MXGP, where can I find the latest issue of the magazine? Marc

❞

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