MXGP #97 SEPTEMBER 2021_ by MXGP MAG

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TCH A C CING A R P. 16

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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 #97 September 2021

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AME F F O ORN

The articles published in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of Infront Moto Racing.

L A I R O T I D E

David Luongo CEO of Infront Moto Racing

Dear MXGP Friends, We just passed the half way stage of the season and what a season it has been so far. Coming back from Turkey we were able to watch fantastic races during the double Grand Prix in Afyon. This year the MXGP class is closer than ever! The top 5 are only within 40 points after 9 Grand Prix. Tim Gajser, Romain Febvre, Antonio Cairoli, Jeffrey Herlings and Jorge Prado are showing race after race that they are all on the chase for the World Title. No mistake is permitted to have a chance.

IT IS THE FIRST TIME THAT A BLOCKCHAIN COMPANY IS JOINING THE MXGP COMMUNITY

Regarding the calendar, we also had to release some changes last week concerning the second part of the season. Unfortunately, the MXGP World Championship won’t be able to reach overseas countries for the second year in a row because of the hit of the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficulties of traveling and restrictions In MX2, Maxime Renaux imposed by the different came back from Turkey with a comfortable gap of 49 points with governments. Argentina and Indonesia will come back to the Mattia Guadagnini but it is still a long way to go until the last Grand calendar in 2022. We replaced those Grand Prix’s with double Prix in Mantova. It is also very and triple GP in Arco di Trento good to see Tom Vialle coming and Mantova. Despite the fact back to winning ways after his the vaccination campaigns injury. are going on, it is still a very Turkey also crowned the 2021 EMX challenging year for all of us. I Open European Champion, Davide can tell you that all the Infront Moto Racing team, together with De Bortoli. the FIM and the organizers, we do our best to deliver the most The upcoming weeks will bring complete and most exciting the MXGP back to Germany and championship possible. France after one year off, but also for the first time in Sardegna, in The Monster Energy FIM Riola Sardo. Motocross of Nations will take

place in Mantova next week and it is very exciting to have the most popular off-road event in the world back! It will probably be more open than ever. Even if Team Netherlands and the home team Italy look to be the favorites with the participation of all their top riders, The MXoN is well known to always bring surprises! I guess you heard about the new comer in the MXGP family of partners, Bitci.com and the launch of the MXGP Fan Token during the Grand Prix of Turkey. It is the first time that a blockchain company is joining the MXGP community and it has been a great success so far. I would like to use this opportunity to thank again all the partners of the MXGP World Championship that despite the challenging times continue to be united in our sport! Finally, I would like to thank the FIM, the FIM Europe and all the organizers for their great support to our favorite sport! Don’t forget that you can follow the whole MXGP season on MXGP-TV.com! See you in Sardegna!

S T O H S L COO

T O H S E L O H X FO

RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING RULE THE STARTS IN AFYON! 18

THE TURKISH DOUBLEHEADER CONCLUDED JUST A FEW DAYS AGO AND IT’S FAIR TO SAY THAT THE RACING IN BOTH MXGP AND MX2 DELIVERED MORE THAN WE EXPECTED!

Just like with any circuit on the 2021 MXGP calendar, the starts were crucial during the past two events with Time Practice becoming more important than ever for the inside gate pick.

second step of the podium after a 2-3 result in the races. The next races were a tad unlucky for him, as a crash in the opening race cost him the chance of fighting for the podium once again.

During the Turkish Grand Prix’s of Bitci MXGP of Turkey and Bitci MXGP of Afyon, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado completely dominated the starts in MXGP, going on to claim four out of four Fox Holeshot’s!

Now Prado edges out in the Fox Holeshot competition with nine points, with Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre his closest rival with five points. Meanwhile, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings has two Fox Holeshots to his name this season so far.

However, the young Spaniard failed to hold on to the top spot on all four occasions but did score some important championship points and even got himself on the podium during the Bitci MXGP of Turkey where he mounted the

In MX2, it was an almost perfect score for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle, who secured three out of four Fox Holeshot’s over the two Grand Prix’s on his way to two consecutive overall victories in Afyon.

The only other rider to challenge Vialle for the starts was the current MX2 Championship leader, Maxime Renaux of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing, who managed to get out of the gate and in to the first corner ahead of the rest of the group in the second race during the Bitci MXGP of Turkey. The Fox Holeshot competition is much closer in MX2, with Vialle leading the way with five points ahead of his teammate Mattia Guadagnini who has three points together with Maxime Renaux. The Fox Holeshot action will return in Riola Sardo for the MXGP of Sardegna in just a few days’ time where we will see if the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing squad can repeat their start success or whether the other riders have been doing their homework. 19

WATCH THE VIDEO

MX2 TABLE

MXGP TABLE

Tom Vialle

Jorge Prado

Matti Guadagnini

Romain Febvre

Maxime Renaux

Jeffrey Herlings

Simon Längenfelder

Glenn Coldenhoff

Jago Geer

Thibault Benistant

P U G H N ATC I C A C R

M R A H C E H T E C I TW Y E K R U T IN

THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IS CURRENTLY IN THE SWING OF THINGS, WITH NON-STOP RACING FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS WHICH WILL NO DOUBT TEST THE STARTS OF MXGP AND MX2. BUT BEFORE WE GET TOOK AHEAD OF OURSELVES THINKING OF THE RACES AHEAD, LET’S TAKE A LOOK BACK ON WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE BITCI MXGP OF TURKEY AND AFYON WHICH WE WITNESSED NOT TOO LONG AGO!

WATCH THE VIDEO

Here’s a spoiler for you… Red Bull KTM Factory Racing dominated the top step of the podium, and much of the podium as Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle were undefeated, with the pair going on to claim two consecutive Grand Prix victories each. The racing was close, and the winner’s circle was tight as we had only four different race winners, that’s two in each class. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Maxime Renaux and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle were the only riders to win a race in MX2. And we saw something very similar in MXGP as Jeffrey Herlings of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Team

HRC’s Tim Gajser were the only riders to secure a win during the two GP’s. Though that’s not to say that the four race winners were not challenged, because they certainly were. Especially in MXGP, the level of competition was incredible and really put into perspective how strong and just how tough this championship will be to decide this season.

Herlings was able to switch it up a gear and get around Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre and a few laps later, Prado. The Bullet went on to win the first race. Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass surprised once again with another strong race to finish inside the top three, though a crash in race two ruined his chances of going for a podium.

QUICK RACE RECAP: BITCI MXGP OF TURKEY

In the second heat it was once again Prado with the Fox Holeshot as he led the race once again while Febvre, Gajser, Jonass and Cairoli followed behind, all while Herlings struggled further down the field. This time around we were treated to a battle between Prado and Gajser, as the Slovenian was clear with his intentions of going for the win – and he did just that!

After posting the fastest lap time in Time Practice, Jorge Prado started the first race with the Fox Holeshot, he then led the field for the majority of the heat before

With a 1-2 result, Jeffrey Herlings was back on the top step, while Jorge Prado was forced to settle for second and Tim Gajser joining the pair in third.

The top five riders in the series standings were the same riders who were neck-in-neck for the win during both Grand Prix’s.

In the first MX2 race of the day, it was Tom Vialle who grabbed the Fox Holeshot, while Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing MX2’s Maxime Renaux was further down the field in around eighth position. Renaux managed to fight his way through the field, though it was Vialle who was victorious. In race two it was Renaux with a flying start that time around, as he took the second Fox Holeshot of the day and led the way with Beaton second and Vialle third. As Renaux stretched out his lead to 2.490 seconds, Vialle managed to get himself into second and begin the fight for the win. With just a couple of laps from the finish, Vialle went down as he was focused on passing Renaux which handed the Yamaha rider a victory, while Vialle was able to get back on his bike quickly and hold on to second. With a 1-2 result, Tom Vialle was on the top step of the podium while Maxime Renaux was forced to settle for second ahead of Jed Beaton in third, as he secured his second podium of 2021. 25

QUICK RACE RE-CAP: BITCI MXGP AFYON During the Bitci MXGP of Afyon the MXGP class delivered some of the most intense racing that we have seen this season so far. The top protagonists of the championship were all within a couple of seconds of one another in both races, with a winner hard to predict. After making some changes to the bike, Herlings topped the charts in Time Practice to take pole position which set him up nicely for the races. Though as the gate dropped for race one, it was once again Prado who dominated the start. Gajser started the race in eight but made some quick passes in the first few laps to climb up the order. Prado then crashed big out of the lead and took a while to get going again, re-joining the race quite far behind the rest of the field, which made it tough for the Spaniard to score any points as he finished the race in 21st. Febvre was then the new race leader, and it was game one for the top three. Febvre then looked to stretch out his lead and as the race progressed things got more interesting as Febvre, Herlings and Gajser were just within less than two seconds of one another. With one lap to go, Herlings was pushing to pass Febvre and was being pushed by Gajser who had Cairoli applying the pressure. Febvre did a good job to defend his position until he made a small mistake and crashed with less than half a lap to go. Then it was Herlings in the driving seat as Gajser looked to keep close and make a move for the win though got caught out by a hard charging Cairoli who stole second from the Slovenian. Herlings was the race winner. In race two, it was Prado again with the Fox Holeshot as Herlings followed closely behind in second ahead of Gajser. Herlings was looking to strike early. As the race went on, the top three remained close, just as they did in race one, with just 0.959 seconds in between them.

Gajser was searching for every opportunity to get past Herlings and on lap six was finally able to do it. Then it was game on for the win. Three laps later, Gajser was the new race leader as the top three were bunched up and within less than a second of each other, which meant that the race was far from over. In the end Gajser, the birthday boy, won the second heat with a 5.947 seconds advantage to Herlings, with Cairoli taking third from his teammate as we were treated to another Cairoli vs Prado battle. In terms of the podium, it was Herlings with the overall victory ahead of Gajser and Cairoli. Tim Gajser continues to lead the championship with a 28-point advantage over Romain Febvre and Antonio Cairoli. Meanwhile Jeffrey Herlings moves up to fourth in the standings, just 34 points off the series leader. In MX2, all eyes were on the battle between Vialle and Renaux. In the opening heat, it was Vialle with the Fox Holeshot ahead of F&H Kawasaki Racing’s Mathys Boisrame and Renaux. Vialle and Renaux kept things close for a few laps as Renaux started to push, setting fastest laps of the race. And there was nothing Vialle could do as by the end of lap three, Renaux was the new race leader. Renaux then pretty much dominated the race, going almost two seconds a lap faster than Vialle on one occasion. By the end he won the race 17.288 seconds ahead of Vialle and Guadagnini who was third. In race two, it was Vialle once again with the Fox Holeshot as Renaux followed closely behind. The pair traded fast laps as the gap stayed under two seconds for most of the race. The lead then began to slip away from Renaux as Vialle edged out. In the end, it was Vialle who was victorious with Renaux forced to settle for second and Beaton securing a top three finish. With Vialle going 2-1 in the races, this handed him the advantage for the

overall win, with Renaux second overall and Guadagnini managing a top three finish. Maxime Renaux extends his series lead to 361 points, with Mattia Guadagnini still in second a further 49 points behind and Jago Geerts third. MORE THAN RACING… The Turkish double-header delivered on more than just the racing, the MXGP was able to enjoy the amazing atmosphere of having fans once again onsite. MotoFest Afyon rocked MXGP throughout the eight days that we were there. This was the first Grand Prix event that seemed to give everyone in the paddock a glimpse of ‘normality’ as the entire paddock enjoyed the festival and the opening ceremony in front of a huge crowd of enthusiastic fans who welcomed MXGP with open arms. The festival included performances from Turkey’s top artists and performers, along with many other sporting activities and more! The two races in Afyon also welcomed a brand-new partnership between MXGP and Bitci, the newest partner the MXGP family. Bitci is Turkey’s leading blockchain technology company that has helped to launch the MXGP Fan Token that will see the FIM Motocross World championship enter the cryptocurrency world and providing fans with a whole new experience! COMING UP NEXT… Next up the FIM Motocross world Championship heads to the beautiful Italian island of Sardinia for the tenth round of the series. Riola Sardo will be the host of the MXGP of Sardegna, a popular venue that many of the riders are very familiar with because they spend much of their wintertime training there. Sardinia is known as the ‘Island of Sport’ with the local authorities working hard to promote sports in all of the regions and are excited to welcome MXGP!

FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

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

MX2 CHAMP. STANDINGS 355 p. 327 p. 326 p. 321 p. 315 p. 249 p. 231 p. 212 p. 182 p. 143 p.

1. M. Renaux (FRA, YAM) 2. M. Guadagnini (ITA, KTM) 3. J. Geerts (BEL, YAM 4. J. Beaton (AUS, HUS) 5. T. Benisitant /FRA, YAM) ) 6. R. Fernandez (SPA, HON) 7. R. Hofer (AUT, KTM) 8. K. DeWolf (NED, HUS) 9. T. Vialle (FRA, KTM) 10. M. Boisrame (FRA, KAW)

MXGP MANUFACTURERS

MX2 MANUFACTURERS

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

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

423 p. 356 p. 332 p. 287 p. 261 p. 166 p.

361 p. 312 p. 290 p. 266 p. 261 p. 251 p. 244 p. 237 p. 227 p. 216 p.

402 p. 386 p. 300 p. 280 p. 259 p. 206 p.

2021 MXGP-TV IN NUMBERS 2021 MXGP-TV in Numbers Number of Visits: 1.049.097 Unique Visitors: 322.441 Page Views: 5.140.884 Direct Traffic: 128.026 Organic Traffic: 103.619 Referral Traffic: 89.950 Social Traffic: 35.628 Date range: 1st January 2021 – 31st August 2021

L A I C O S P G X M Cairoli vs. Prado | MXGP Race 1 | Bitci MXGP of Turkey 2021: Re-Live this epic battle between the RedBull KTM Factory Racing Teammates Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado! @jcjillcairoli I will forever be your biggest fan..I’m sure you will continue to amaze us! We love you @antoniocairoli 🧡 #team222 #RACRfamily @hanisdamon New one done • #jeremy #seewer #js91 #mxgp

@PatStott #motocross #mxgp #summer

GoPro Lap | Bitci MXGP of Turkey: Jump onboard with Jeremy Seewer and his Factory Yamaha YZ450FM to take a closer look of the Afyon Track!

@demeter.metis93 Haberim yokken çekilen (ciddiyim 😅) bu tatlış fotoğraf için TrtSpor kameramanı Kaan Kutlu’ya çok teşekkürler 😌

@kokinecka Turkey 💚 #mxgp #monsterenergy #monsterenergygirls

@mxgpstore_official It’s a new week! 🤩 Let’s get it started with our MXGP girls and stay tuned for the MXGP of Afyon! 🇹🇷 🔜

@greenlandmx_shop @jorgeprado61 se mete de lleno en la lucha por el título en @mxgp, tras una segunda y tercera posición este fin de semana en #Afyonkarahisar, logrando ese segundo puesto en el mundial y a tan sólo 13 puntos del líder @tiga243 👏

@viculuslabs Young @maximegrau20 has been pretty impressive in his first year racing for @nestaan_mx . His style definetly stands out!

@jkracingmx Proud to announce that @ AlvinOstlund161 has been selected to be part of Team Sweden 🇸🇪 in MXGP class at the 2021 Motocross Of Nations in Mantova 🇮🇹

Bitci MXGP of Turkey: Don’t miss all the emotions of the Bitci MXGP of Turkey Opening Ceremony!

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

@cibegen cısıyla tatlısıyla ömür boyu hafızamda yer edecek bir organizasyon olan MXGP bu hafta sonu 🇹🇷 Afyonkarahisar’da gerçekleştiriliyor. 🏍

R E S T L S R I N G MO

H T N RE MO E D I RF TH O

Photo: Yamaha Racing

E V ’ I L E T

O T Y R O T S A E L T T I O T G E … LL

Like most racers that have graced the FIM Motocross World Championship, Jed Beaton’s first introduction to two wheels came at a very early age; so young in fact, he can’t even remember it: ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING’S JED BEATON IS A NAME WE ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH IN MXGP, BUT WHAT DO WE ACTUALLY KNOW ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN WHO HAILS FROM TASMANIA OFF THE SOUTHERN TIP OF AUSTRALIA, WHO FIRST CAME HERE AS A WIDE-EYED TEENAGER IN 2016? MXGP MAGAZINE RECENTLY CAUGHT UP WITH THE CURRENT WORLD NUMBER 4, ON THE EVE OF THE BITCI MXGP OF AFYON IN TURKEY, AND DOES THIS KID HAVE A STORY TO TELL OR WHAT? ACTUALLY, HE HAS SEVERAL. INTRIGUED? THEN READ ON.

‘I got into racing and riding bikes because of my brother Ross, who is 7 years older than me. My dad bought him his first bike when he was 7, and when I came along apparently, he would ride it around the front yard, but he could never have a ride without putting me on the tank and taking me around with him, so I think it all started from there. And then, when I was 3 my dad bought me a PW50; it wasn’t a brand-new bike but of a chopshop job, and he started me off on that, on a flat paddock.’

Presumably then, Beaton grew up on some kind of farm or small holding? ‘So, it’s a funny story that; my dad lived with one of his best mates on a big 300-acre farm, and his friend ended up getting a wife, so dad said ‘two’s good, three’s a crowd’ and he ended up moving out, but his mate gave him 5 acres, and so dad ended up building his own house on that bit of land and the farmer actually let us build a track on the main farm. So, we were living on 300 acres, but dad just had 5 acres for his house. He built it himself and we had a generator for power and no flushing toilet and stuff like that; it’s pretty cool to see when I go back home now and I check it all out, like, I actually enjoy going back home and staying with my dad, it reminds me of the old days.’

From humble beginnings, it wasn’t long before 4-year-old Jed and his ancient chop-shop PW50 were heading out to local races, and as you’d expect from starting so young, memories of that period of his life are few and far between, and when you’re thrown in at the deep end for your first race, whilst there might not be any nerves to speak of, as a new rider, you don’t really know what to do, or how ‘racing’ works and there’s certainly no thought of any kind of race craft. Instead, it’s all about having fun, and that was no different for Jed: ‘I started riding when I was 3 and raced the year after when I was 4 and did my first club race on the PW50. I still remember racing them little races now; it was a long time ago but some of the things I remember, like the guy who used to beat me all the time; he’d go across the finish line and I’d be close behind him, and as he crossed the line, he would always fist pump, so I’d just fist pump behind him too (laughing)

because I’d seen him do it. So, they’re just the funny things I remember from times like that. But, from the actual racing side of things, I don’t remember too much.’ Moving On … After ten years of racing locally 14-year-old Jed was still based in Tasmania, and whilst he won races, championships were relatively few, and far between, but that was about to change when he moved to Melbourne with older brother Ross, and this is where things started to click and the racing side of things got a little more serious, as Jed recalls: ‘Yeah, it’s quite weird that; I’d say through my junior career from quite a young age to maybe 14 or 15, I was actually not a very good junior racer and didn’t really win anything. I won one year on an 85cc, like a Victoria State championship, and that was about the most I’d won. When I moved to Melbourne with my brother, I got a little bit more serious about it and he’d 43

get stuck into me, saying that if I wanted to do it properly, then I need to start taking it a little bit more serious. So, at 14, I started getting a little bit better and started riding more and training a little bit and stuff like that, and at 15, I won my first 125cc Australian title and was 2nd in the 250cc class.’ ‘The following year I got the opportunity to step up into the Under-19 class and in that off-season, I’d say I got way more serious about everything. I was actually leading that championship until the last 2 rounds; they were back-to-back and I broke my leg the week before them and so I missed out on that title.’ By now, Beaton was much more aware of what was going on in the racing world and would avidly follow everything that was happening in Europe and America, from Stefan Everts to Ricky Carmichael and whilst he dreamed of the possibility of racing overseas at some point in the future, what he didn’t know was whether he wanted to head Stateside or to Europe: ‘I enjoyed looking at both and just wished that I could make it to that level. From that side, I didn’t really have any ambitions to go anywhere until I’d won the Australian title in 2016 in MX2; I then got selected to do the MXoN, but before that, I was also a little bit interested to come over (to Europe), and earlier that year I actually raced the EMX250 round in Switzerland. After that, I really wanted to come to Europe so bad, because I saw how it was all set up and how professional it was compared to back home, and it was kind of what I was missing out on, you know?’ Euro Traveller … By now, we know Jed eventually ended up in Europe, and whilst his Swiss experience may not have gone to plan, how did that first visit come about and what or who was the catalyst behind it?

‘It’s a super-funny story; I went to New Zealand to race earlier that year (2016) and Josh Coppins said to me that if I ever wanted to go to Europe, then Courtney Duncan will have a spare bike, and if you bring your own parts and all that, you can just build a bike up and race that. I was like ‘sweet’, and so I kept that in the back of my mind for a little bit, and then we ended up getting a 3-week break in our series back home.’ ‘I raced in Victoria on the Sunday, drove to the airport and flew out that night and arrived Monday, rang Josh and told him we were going but he didn’t really expect me to go. He still had the bike and everything, but we were still trying to set up the entry for the race in Switzerland.’ ‘Because it was the last round, you had to have already done a round of the championship and/or scored points or something like that, so I actually wasn’t meant to race it. But everything was booked anyway, we jumped on the ‘plane and said we are either going for a race or just to go and look and see how it all works.’ ‘We landed in Amsterdam and I received an email saying I could race, and then (laughing), two minutes later I got an email saying I’d been selected to race the MXoN for Australia, so it was a pretty good day that one … we were pretty stoked; we had an engine in our gear bag, drove from the airport, met up with Courtney’s mechanic, we put together a bike, got in his camper and drove to Switzerland.’ Sadly, the end result never materialised, a combination of jetlag, no time on the bike prior to the race, and a first lap crash in race two where ‘somebody ran over my head, and I ended up pulling out because I couldn’t see the ruts or anything. We were a bit bummed about that because we’d flown all the way over, and to end it like that was pretty crap!’ However, getting to Switzerland, turned out to be a lot more fun and something of a real eye opener,

as Beaton remembers with enthusiasm: ‘Yeah, that was pretty crazy for us because we’d never seen anything out of Australia, which is all pretty similar. And when we came here, we flew into Amsterdam and the main thing to start with was driving on the right side of the road instead of the left, so we were struggling with that! There were three of us in the car and we were all trying to remind each other to stay on the right side, stay on the right side!’ ‘As we were driving through Holland we were thinking, ‘there’s not a single hill to be seen in this place, not one hill,’ and at home there’s just big hills everywhere, so then we were laughing about that for a bit.’ ‘Then we get into Belgium; same thing! We just thought it was crazy. The difference between Holland and Belgium was the roads, and you’d notice it straight away. One minute it was nice and smooth, the next it was dunk-a-dunk-a-dunka-dunk, on the cobbled streets, just smashing the car to bits; we didn’t know what was going on! All the houses looked the same and we were surprised at how all the houses were pretty much jammed together, like house on house on house, whereas at home, a lot of people live on a little bit of land or have space in between their houses, so we couldn’t really believe that so much either. <So, then we left Belgium and I think we must have been driving through Germany and then we hit the autobahn. We had pretty nice hire cars and we’d be driving at 200km/h, and we’d have Porsche’s blowing past us, our car would be shaking; it was so crazy. So, we were laughing at that for a while as well because at home you can’t go over 100km/h. We pretty much used the whole tank of fuel in Germany really quick, and you could watch the fuel gauge go down.’

‘And then we got to Switzerland, and obviously there were just hills and stuff everywhere and amazing views. I think it was just surreal for us, you know? You go through so many different things, hear so many different languages, and every country we went to, no-one would speak the same language and so we thought that was crazy as well, but after being here for five years now, it’s all pretty normal, but back then it was crazy.’ Here to Stay … One thing that did stand out in Switzerland was the paddock and the teams that were housed in there, and it certainly had a lasting impression on the 18-year-old: ‘You just don’t realise until you actually get here. All the factory bikes, factory parts and all that sort of stuff – you don’t really get to see that so much in Australia and I think I was pretty shellshocked when I walked through the paddock in Switzerland. It was a bit of an eye-opener, but after that I really wanted to be here.’ Unfortunately, Beaton never got to race the ‘Nations that year in Italy due to injury, but he did manage to catch the eye of a few of the smaller teams in the paddock, who were more than keen to bring him on board, and so for 2017, Beaton would be based in Europe fulltime, contesting the EMX250 championship with Car Glass Honda. Whilst the deal left a lot to be desired, and his patience severely tested, Jed did get an opportunity to race the factory Honda HRC250 after Japanese rider Chihiro Notsuka picked up an injury. The first ride came in Loket in the MX2 class, as Beaton recalls: ‘That’s also a crazy story! I think I’m just coming out with fullcrazy stories now but yeah, I did that year (2017) in EMX250, I guess I was promised a lot of stuff and it didn’t get delivered, so it was a pretty tough year but

I feel like, if I didn’t grow up the way I did then, I think I would have packed up and went back home way earlier. But I stuck it out, and when the Japanese rider got injured, there were a lot of fill-in riders that got to ride his bike, and my name kind of got thrown in there as well.’ ‘I went to Italy, tested the bike, loved it obviously; it was just a whole new level for me, I’d never ridden anything like that before, but I really enjoyed it. I actually broke my collarbone two weeks before the test in Ottobiano at the EMX round, but I got it plated, went to the test and they (HRC) were pretty sketchy about me testing because I’d literally just had surgery; anyway, I got to ride it, we then went to Loket and I had my first GP in MX2, riding for HRC on a factory bike. I honestly think I surprised a few people there and I even surprised myself a little bit, too; I’m pretty sure I finished inside the top ten in a race (*Jed went 14-9 for 12th overall), so I was pretty happy with that.’ After two more appearances for HRC at Assen and Lommel, there was one final chance to race the bike at the final round in France at Villars, and by the time ‘mud fest’ was over, the Aussie found himself standing on the 3rd step of the podium: ‘It rained a lot the night before, but I like riding in the mud; I feel quite comfortable in those conditions. I also surprised myself and I think it opened up some opportunities for the year afterwards; I’d say in the end, it saved my career a little bit, but yeah, France was a good one.’ Breaking Point … With a podium in the books, Beaton caught the eye of F&H Kawasaki and lined up in green for 2018, but after some promising performances, the Aussie crashed out of the championship at the British GP, resulting in a double leg fracture. Whilst his season may have been over, his journey in MX2 was not, and he’d once again caught the eye of managers who were keen to sign him, and for 2019 Beaton would line

up as a factory rider for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna. ‘It was pretty hard for me to tell F&H I was leaving, and it was difficult for me to make that decision at the time, but I thought I had an opportunity to be on a factory bike, it was a two-year deal, and I could try and prove myself a little bit more, so I ended up taking that option and I’m still here three years later.’ Beaton’s first year at Husqvarna was a tough one and was hampered before the start of the season, but unbeknown to him and the team, it was just the start of the nightmare. ‘It was a difficult year; I had a lot of injuries and I’d say it was pretty much a waste of a year for me. I showed some potential, but I was pretty much riding injured the whole year. I was coming back from my leg’s injury, and then training at Lommel before bootcamp in Spain, I smashed my thigh muscle on the handlebar. I went to Spain but it was too painful and when I flew back to Belgium, I had an ultrasound and that’s when they found the 11cm tear in there, and it wasn’t healing. I had to have one month off. When I started riding again, I picked up a couple of other injuries – it was just a whole heap of s*** that year with injuries – but what put the cherry on the cake was when I cracked my sternum before the Lommel GP. That’s when we made a decision to not race anymore that year, I’d been hurt enough.’ On the Rise … Jed was sent home to recuperate in Australia and when he returned, he felt brand-new and couldn’t wait to get stuck in once more. ‘I tested for one month, got supercomfy on the bike, changed triple clamps and I really like the triple clamps that we changed to; it made the bike feel completely different for me and after that, I started feeling really good on the bike and I’d say that from then on, it’s been really good.’ 52

2020 turned out to be Beaton’s best season to date where he placed inside the top three in nine races and finished inside the top five overall on nine occasions as well, on his way to fourth overall in the championship standings. There was also a maiden race win at Mantova but crucially, it was the first time Jed had completed a full season in MX2. ‘Last year was quite a good one for me, I was 4th in the championship; it was a real solid year and something for me to build off for this year. I feel like the last two years I’ve made way bigger steps than I did the first year. The win in Mantova was pretty cool; I’d been working really hard for three, four years to 54

get that race win. I feel like a lot of pressure was lifted off at that moment, and a few emotions were let out because it’s been such a long time here without doing anything. After clicking off some thirds in some races, some seconds and then the win, it was probably one of the best moments for sure.’ With MXGP now in full-swing as we embark on the second half of the season, Beaton sits 4th in the championship standings, twenty-four points adrift of 3rd placed Jago Geerts. He has already notched up the same amount (9) top five finishes as last year, has five top five overall’s as well as two podiums, so how does he see the second half of the campaign panning out and is a top three overall finish within reach?

‘It’s possible; my plan is to just ride consistent and try to get two solid races in every weekend, because I feel the first half of the year, I’d do one solid race and then a really s*** race, so I feel that’s how I’ve lost a lot of points. I don’t count myself as being really out of it at the moment, but I know that I need to be super-consistent from here (Afyon) to the end to even have a chance of being in it.’ ‘I feel good at the moment, we are back into the second half of the season now and I’m looking forward to it; I feel good, and I feel quite confident that I can get some good results from here on out.’ Round 10 of the FIM Motocross World Championship is in the sand of Riola Sardo, Sardinia, so be sure to watch Jed and the rest of the riders on www. mxgp-tv.com either LIVE or On Demand.

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

E H T F O O T P G G N I X D M AD ORY: T S I H NCE! A R F

SINCE THE VERY FIRST EDITIONS OF THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, FRANCE HAS ALWAYS WELCOMED THE GRAND PRIX SPECTACLE, WITH 1971 AND 2020 BEING THE ONLY EXCEPTIONS. FOR THE 2021 SEASON, THE MXGP OF FRANCE WILL HEAD TO A NEW VENUE, WITH LACAPELLE MARIVAL HAVING THE HONOUR OF HOSTING A GRAND PRIX RACE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

Yet Lacapelle Marival is not completely unfamiliar to the paddock, as the majority of the riders have all had a chance to line-up at the French circuit for the well-known pre-season international race ‘Masters of Motocross’. But while this will be the first time that an official MXGP and MX2 World Championship race will take place there, it has previously hosted the MX3 and Women’s Motocross World Championship rounds back in 2009 and 2011.

Figeac, also offer plenty more for visitors to see and enjoy.

Now ten years later, Lacapelle will make its debut in what promises to be another exciting Grand Prix as the MXGP and MX2 championships remain tight knit. What’s more the action will also include rounds of the EMX250 and EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing which will be a real treat for the fans who will be able to gather around the circuit.

From day one, Lacapelle Marival quickly grew a passion for sidecars, with numerous world championship rounds of the sidecar events also taking place there.

LACAPELLE MARIVAL FACT FILE: Founded: September 15, 1954 Presidents: Georges Filhol (19541976); Bernard Arlet (1977-1980); Jacques Jauliac (1981-1988); Alain Balat (1990-2002); Robert Valery (2003-2006); Jean-Claude Landes (2007-2020); Vincent Ayroles (2020-present) GPS coordinates: 44 ° 44 “1.79” N - 1 ° 55 “25.21” E Association: Moto Club Lacapelle Marival Website: www.motoclublacapelle.com ABOUT THE VENUE Lacapelle Marival is a wonderful location and is known for more than just the racing venue. It is a favourite place among tourists thanks to its charming castles and medieval alleyways that had previously won it a very prestigious prize of being known as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Neighbouring cities Rocamadour, Padirac and 58

The circuit itself is among many popular venues in France but remains one of the strongholds in the Midi-Pyrénées. The history of the track dates back to as early as the 1950’s, with the first ever racing event to be held on August 15 of 1953. And as motocross became more popular, so did the venue, attracting visitors from all over the world.

The hardpack track itself is completely natural, nestled around a football field which is quite unique in itself. The name of the venue comes from its first ever President, Georges Filhol who ran the club from 1954 to 1976. In more recent years the club has been headed by Vincent Ayroles, who will bring MXGP to Lacapelle Marival in 2021! Lacapelle Marival is not so new to the FIM Motocross World Championship. As already mentioned, the track has previously hosted the MX3 World Championship races in 2009 and 2011 which were wont by Pierre Renet (2009) and Julien Bill (2011), while in 2011 the Women’s Motocross World Championship stage was also held alongside the MX3 races, with Kiara Fontanesi victorious that time around. Now ten years later the venue will write themselves even further into the motocross history as we will see somebody from MXGP and MX2 win at the hardpack circuit for the first time. HISTORY OF MOTOCROSS IN FRANCE France is an important nation in the motocross world. A country that has always brought innovation to the sport and

have been trend-setters in more recent years, thanks to the program set out by the French Motorcycle Federation, who focus on nurturing young talent and giving them the tools needed to become top-level riders. And this program has certainly paid off over the years as the country has produced many title contenders and has over 14 world champions across all categories, including the Women’s Motocross World Championship (see list below). Not only that but the country has six Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations titles, five of which were consecutive victories from 2014 to 2018. French World Champions: Jacky Vimond 250cc 1986 Jean-Michel Bayle 125cc 1988 Jean-Michel Bayle 250cc 1989 Sebastien Tortelli 125cc 1996 Sebastien Tortelli 250cc 1998 Frederic Bolley 250cc 1999 Frederic Bolley 250cc 2000 Mickael Pichon 250cc 2001 Mickael Pichon 250cc 2002 Mickael Maschio 125cc 2002 Yves Demaria MX3 2004 Christophe Pourcel MX2 2006 Yves Demaria MX3 2006 Yves Demaria MX3 2007 Livia Lancelot WMX 2008 Marvin Musquin MX2 2009 Pierre Alexandre Renet MX3 2009 Marvin Musquin MX2 2010 Jordi Tixier MX2 2014 Romain Febvre MXGP 2015

Livia Lancelot WMX 2016 Tom Vialle MX2 2020 The Frenchies have a rich history when it comes to motocross, much of which we wouldn’t have enough pages in this magazine to cover and one person who knows a lot about that is Pascal Haudiquert. Born in a village of motocross, it was impossible for Pascal not to be involved in the sport. With over 40 years of experience working in journalism, media, photography… you name it, he’s done it and with a memory of steel, Pascal is the perfect person to teach you about the history of the sport as he has more than 500 Grand Prix’s under his belt, a milestone he celebrated back in 2017 in Villars-sous-Écot. Most recently, Pascal collaborated with the French Motorcycle Federation to create something very unique, a book called ‘Les circuits de légende’ featuring 48 of the French motocross venues, all of which have been a part of the FIM Motocross World Championship throughout the years, including the greats such as Ernée, Saint-Jean-d’Angély and Villars-sous-Écot. While writing such a book in the detail that Pascal has gone into, has taken him two years to do, it was probably made a little easier by the fact that he has visited more than half of them during his working career! Pascal Haudiquert has visited 35 of the 48 venues and has worked for 23 local organisers of the clubs for the Grand Prix’s that have taken place – so really he was the perfect person to bring this book to life. “The idea came from the former president of the French Federation Mr Bolle, because he is very interested in the past. At the moment everyone looks to the future and nobody looks back and since we have such a long history we must put it on paper,” shared Pascal about the inspiration for the book.

“At first, I said yes, but then I didn’t realise how difficult it would be… There are 48 tracks that have welcomed the world championship races and there are tracks that are still okay and you can go visit them but there are a few that have disappeared totally and that was the most difficult part, to find the story of the club,” he added. While this book may have taken two years to complete, Pascal and the FFM have already another exciting idea up their sleeve, but we won’t spoil the surprise! In 154 pages, ‘Les circuits de légende’ will take you through a journey of over 60 years of history. You can learn more about venues such as Ernée, which has hosted one of the most unforgettable editions of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations back in 2015 that saw Team France top the podium for the second consecutive time in front of a fiery crowd of supporters, or the 2011 Monster Energy MXoN edition in SaintJean-d’Angély, along with final round of the 2017 FIM Motocross World Championship which concluded in Villars-sous-Écot that saw Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli claim his 9th World Championship, while in MX2 it was Pauls Jonass who picked him his gold FIM medal for winning the MX2 World title. Here is the list of all 48 tracks included in the book: AHUN AMBERIEU EN BUGEY ARBIS BAUGE BEAUCAIRE BELLEME BERCHERES LES PIERRE BLARGIES BOURG BRUCHE BROU CASSEL CASTELNAU DE LEVIS CHÂTEAU DU LOIR CHAUMONT COGNAC CORSEUL

CUSSAC ERNEE GAILLEFONTAINE GIMONT GUEUGNON IFFENDIC JONZAC LA FARE LES OLIVIERS LACAPELLE MARIVAL LAGUEPIE LAVAUR MAYENNE METZ MONTREUIL NIORT PERNES LES FONTAINE PLOMION REMALARD SAINT JEAN D’ANGELY SAINT QUENTIN SALINDRES SOURDEVAL SUCE SUR ERDRE TARARE THOMER LA SOGNE THOUARS VANNES VERDUN VERNEUIL SUR AVRE VESOUL VILLARS SOUS ECOT VITROLLES The book is available for purchase via the French Motorcycle Federation website HERE and is worth the trip through the history of motocross venues in France, though its worthy to note that the book is in French! A NEW VENUE ADDED TO THE ROOSTER Adding another French venue to the FIM Motocross World Championship rooster is a big

step for France who have already provided the world series with some of the most epic racing venues. The decision to hold the event in Lacapelle Marival comes from a passionate group of people who are proud to bring MXGP to Lacapelle. Not only is the president of the circuit, Vincent Ayroles, excited about this occasion, but also the local authorities, including the Mayor Pascal Lewicki who have been heavily involved when it comes to the organisation of the event. “It is obviously fundamental for the FFM to have a French Motocross Grand Prix in its calendar, it is an expectation of the French public. We are lucky to have very good French riders and it is also important for our champions to ride in front of their fans” shared the French Motorcycle Federation. For the French fans and all those involved in organising the event, it will be a special moment as they will finally get to celebrate MX2 World Champion Tom Vialle, something they missed out on last season. Additionally, this time will be even more spectacular as they have two French riders to support in MX2, with the current championship leader Maxime Renaux looking like the favourite for this year’s gold plate in the 250cc category, as well as Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre who currently sits second in the MXGP standings and is chasing his second MXGP World title – so plenty for the French fans to celebrate and cheer for! “I am really looking forward to racing in France in front of my home crowd. It’s exciting and also giving a boost to have fans and friends around the track so that will be a nice event. For sure having the red plate at your home GP is also something special, so I’m going try to keep it till there and also try to get that national anthem ringing at this Grand Prix,” shared Maxime Renaux. “I’m definitely happy to be racing in France, we missed last year because of the Corona virus, so it’s good to go

back again and especially on my position know, I’m fighting for the championship,” added Romain Febvre. But from the French Motorcycle Federations point of view, as well as the organisers, having the French Grand Prix back is more exciting than ever.

understand that it will be great opportunity to promote our region which has many touristic points of interest,” Moto Club Lacapelle Marival shared.

“When the French Federation ask us if we would be interested earlier this year, we took time to check if we were able to organize an MXGP event. In the past we organized a “It’s really exciting for us to couple of GP’s (Sidecar, MX3) but organise the French round of the the sport is much bigger now and World Championship. It’s an honor we had to be sure that our track for all he volunteers, but also a big and also our facilities could face an responsibility as the French GP’s MXGP event,” they added. have always been successful on other tracks. And following some visit from We are lucky that the political authorities (city, department, region) are behind us, they all

Infront Moto Racing’s staff, the track and its facilities are more than fit to host the FIM Motocross World Championship, with everything

ready and set to go for another amazing Grand Prix in France. “We have worked of course on the track, which remains similar to the usual one, but we also worked on the paddock area and facilities. Since June there’s always people or companies working on the site, for example to be able to put the pit lane or the skybox in place, but also to enlarge the paddock. And to welcome the public in good conditions, we will build grandstands,” the club added Things will get interesting, so make sure you are there to witness it all in person! Ticket sales for the MXGP of France in Lacapelle Marival are available now. Get your hands on them HERE!

L L A H

E M A F F O

GERT JAN ‘RAMBO’ VAN DOORN WINNER OF A FEW GP’S IN HIS CAREER AND TWICE ON THE PODIUM OF THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GERT JAN VAN DOORN HAD A VERY LONG CAREER AS HE WAS A GP CONTENDER DURING TWENTY SEASONS! With eleven national titles – mostly in the Netherlands but also in Germany – Gert Jan was one of the best Dutch riders of the 80’s and he also enjoyed a podium at the Motocross of Nations with the Dutch team in 1985. Born on 23rdNovember 1964 in Marlahelde (Veghel) Gert Jan got his first bike when he was five years old but waited five more years before he entered his first race in his native country. With some training experience behind him he was already successful as he won in 1974 his first national race in the 50cc class, but then he had to be patient to collect his first national title in 1982. It was the beginning of his international career, as he entered the 125cc World Championship that season; thirteenth in the standings and fourth of the Cup of Nations with the Dutch team, he moved to the 250cc class the following season. This class was really prolific for him, and after a learning year in 1983 he had the opportunity to enter the ‘GP winners circle’ when he won the second round of the 1984 series in Austria. Missing

some rounds due to injuries he finished the season sixth in the rankings, and signed for the next campaign with team Honda Venko. 1985 was for sure the highlight of his career alongside the charismatic tuner and team manager Jan De Groot; winner of two GP’s and six heats – four of them in the last three rounds of the series! – he lost his chances to become World Champion as he also had five DNF’s that year. But it was anyway a good season for him as he claimed another Dutch championship and finished second at the Motocross of Nations in Germany alongside Kees Van der Ven and Dave Strijbos. His second season on the Honda offered him once more some top results including a double win during the last round in Sweden, but once more his inconsistency cost him any chance to become World Champion as he missed 73

three GP’s due to injury but also retired from four other races. Signing with factory Cagiva for 1987 he suffered a broken hand early that season and was only able to enter the last round; he took his revenge in 1988 as he got another Dutch title, won one GP and just missed the final podium by five points. 1989 was a remake of some previous campaigns, with top results including a race win and four GP podiums but also three DNF’s and four DNS’s that relegate him again in fourth overall. Gert Jan had to be patient to win again a GP, and after four more seasons in the 250cc class he moved to the 500cc; he won the opening round of the season and was the first leader, but as he had missed three rounds by mid-season, he again lost his chances to clinch a gold medal. Scoring top seven rankings during five seasons on private Honda, he moved to a four stroke machinery when he signed with Vertemati and later VOR. The end of his racing career came suddenly during the 2001 World Championship, when he was tested positive for a stimulant during the Swiss Grand Prix in Roggenburg. Text & Photos: Pascal Haudiquert

1982:

13th in the 125cc FIM MX World Champ. (Suzuki)

125 Dutch Champion

1983:

20th in the 250cc FIM MX World Champ. (Suzuki)

1984:

6th in the 250cc FIM MX World Champ. (Suzuki). Winner of 1 GP

250cc Dutch Champion

1985:

3rd in the 250cc FIM MX World Champ. (Honda). Winner of 2 GP’s

2nd at the Motocross of Nations with the Dutch team

250 Dutch Champion

1986:

3rd in the 250cc FIM MX World Champ. (Honda). Winner of 1 GP

250 Dutch Champion

1987:

24th in the 250cc FIM MX World Champ. (Cagiva).

1988:

4th in the 250cc F FIM MX World Champ. (Cagiva). Winner of 1 GP

250 Dutch Champion

1989:

4th in the 250cc FIM MX World Champ. (Cagiva).

250 Dutch Champion

1990:

14th in the 250cc FIM MX World Champ. (KTM).

1991:

15th in the 250cc FIM MX World Champ. (Honda)

250 Dutch Champion

1992:

21th in the 250cc FIM MX World Champ. (Kawasaki)

1993:

18th in the 250cc FIM MX World Champ. (Honda)

250cc German Champion

1994:

4th in the 500cc FIM MX World Champ. (Honda). Winner of 1 GP

1995:

6th in the 500cc FIM MX World Champ. (Honda)

1996:

6th in the 500cc FIM MX World Champ. (Honda)

500 German Champion

1997:

7th in the 500cc FIM MX World Champ. (Honda)

500cc German Champion

1998:

6th in the 500cc FIM MX World Champ. p (Honda)

500cc German Champion

1999:

23rd in the 500cc FIM MX World Champ. p (Vertemati)

2000:

8th in the 500cc FIM MX World Champ. (VOR)

2001:

17th in the 500cc FIM MX World Champ. (VOR)

S K L A T K C O D PAD

3 7

Kiara Fontanesi enjoying her overall victory in Turkey with her family!

2 The MXGP Fan Token is here! Bitci.com CEO Onur Altan Tan and Infront Moto Racing CEO David Luongo launched the new partnership in Afyon. 3 Davide De Bortoli celebrates his EMX Open title! 4 Courtney Duncan celebrates an overall victory in Turkey! 5 The Birthday boy! Tim Gajser enjoying his birthday cake after a race win in Afyon. 6 Team Italy announce strong MXoN team!

7 The Paddock enjoys the opening ceremony at MotoFest Afyon. 8 WMX rider Jamies Astudillo enjoying the local delicacies.

9 F&H Kawasaki riders Mikkel Haarup and Mathys Boisrame plus crew, enjoying the MotoFest festivities. 10 JK Racing’s Alvin Ostlund and Gerard Congost alongside Jan Pancar enjoying a day of sightseeing in Turkey! 11 End of an era! Antonio Cairoli announced his retirement after the end of the 2021 season.

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

SEBASTIEN TORTELLI 1998 KAWASAKI SR250 80

WHEN FRENCH TEENAGE SENSATION SEBASTIEN TORTELLI WON THE FIM 125CC MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1996, THE COMBINATION OF RIDER, MACHINE, RAW TALENT, DETERMINATION AND OUTRIGHT SPEED WERE CLEAR TO SEE.

The rest of the bike though had very few changes, as Sebastien recalls:

When he moved up to the premier class (250cc) the following year, he was deemed an immediate title threat, but inconsistencies and injury left him just outside the medal places. Come 1998, there was no doubt he would once again be a title threat and after what turned out to be one of the most exciting title races in history, when the chequered flag fell at the final round in Greece, Tortelli was crowned world champion for the second time, and it’s his Kawasaki SR250 that we will feature in this issue of MXGP Magazine. Bonding One of the most important relationships a rider will have in his racing career is the one with his mechanic, and after two years and one world title, the relationship

between Sebastien Tortelli and Petri Peuranpää was about to come to an end. Instead, the Frenchman would be paired up with his new spanner man, Marko Decman, who’d just spent the last two seasons with Frederic Bolley at the same JHK Kawasaki team. The first time Seb and Marko worked together was at the end of the 1997 season and as far as pre-season’s go, things couldn’t have gone better from a testing point of view. Whilst there were no technical problems to speak of, the only area for concern during winter tests was with a new electronic rear suspension system from KYB, but after the first couple of pre-season races, the team decided to return to the more traditional rear shock; the electronic system would never see the light of day again.

‘It was pretty much the same bike as ’97; not many things changed on the bike, the chassis stayed the same, a little bit the engine, suspension was still KYB at the time with a little bit of adjustment, but the base of the bike was the same.’ In Tune Whilst the factory chassis was production-based, albeit re-enforced for strength and durability, the hard parts were full factory, straight out of Kobe, Japan, but the interesting thing when it came to the engines, and perhaps the reason why things worked so well, was because of the relationship between KHI’s engine development team and Jan De Groot as an engine tuner. ‘At the time, Jan was working with Japan all the time; Japan would produce an engine and 81

after that, Jan took over for the final evolution for the season,’ remembered Sebastien. ‘So, basically what Jan was doing was the second evolution, suited to the rider because he was capable of fine-tuning it. Japan always took so long to get the evolution going and so through the season, Jan would develop the engine and then twice during the season he would send the combination of the engine and the pipe to Japan, and like this they would check and make it and try to evolve from there.’ We will re-visit this topic later in the feature. As for the rest of the bike, Tortelli’s 1998 SR250 came with a SPES exhaust and silencer system from Belgium where once again, the relationship between De Groot and Spes owner Pierrot Slegers was second to none. If anything could be improved, if another pipe/silencer combination could match an engine upgrade, then the two ‘tuners’ would work day and night to make it happen. The cylinder, cylinder head and ignition were factory SR items, with the 38/39mm carburettor being supplied by Keihin, and according to Marko Decman, was ‘the magnesium one from the factory.’ The clutch and 5-speed gearbox were also factory, and both the engine and clutch covers were produced from magnesium. By now we know that the bike was suspended by KYB units, with the forks coming in at 48mm and beautifully wrapped in magnesium triple clamps, and as for the linkage, according to mechanic Marko Decman, ‘we never used standard linkage; we always had different pull rods and a different characteristic of the pivot point. It was still aluminium, but it was just a different sizing.’ And as for the suspension itself, ‘it was pretty stiff on the front end, softer on the back end,’ according to Tortelli. A bit of a Stretch The production-based chassis was beefed up with the usual struts and spars, and the swingarm had already been introduced a couple of years prior during Seb’s 125cc days, so by now, this was already a productionbased item, although it came with a

few extra welds and brackets here and there for strength and durability, something which was needed for a rider like Tortelli, who analysed: ‘The chassis was re-enforced and it could last 5 races maximum, before it started to stretch, so the chassis we would change regularly.’ The chassis wasn’t the only thing he was tough on, as Decman points out: ‘Sebastien was really quite tough on the engines, so it was absolutely necessary to open the bike at each GP to check everything; gearbox, bearings, everything. I remember in Poland, he was pushing really, really hard, and he was so strong that he was bending even the TwinWall handlebars, without crashing! Just with hard landing. He’d say ‘please change me the handlebar …’ I’d ask him why, because he didn’t crash. He’d say ‘I jumped too far.’ Whilst talking chassis, Tortelli also had the option to change the position of his footpeg mounts … ‘but we stayed the same. We tried higher, lower, forward and back; we played more the first year with that, but the gravity point changed and it wasn’t as comfortable, so we stayed with the standard position; but we still ran a wider footpeg. We didn’t have any titanium foot pegs or anything like that, it was just the oversize standard ones coming from Japan.’ As for power delivery, what kind of engine did Sebastien prefer? ‘The engine was quite aggressive; I used a lot of clutch, so I didn’t completely use the bottom-bottom, it was more straight to the middle, because the way I was riding was more on the rpm, so I never really completely used the bottom end. It was always mid-range to top-range. It was pretty on-off which was really for my style, really full-on.’ Evolution Evolved As the season unfolded it was clear it was a two-horse race between Tortelli and Stefan Everts, and as the two riders went back-and-forth, there was still no knowing which way the title would fall. However, for Seb, there was a specific turning 84

Photo:

understand, and when the gate dropped, he came out swinging and took the challenge to Everts:

point in the season and it came in Switzerland at Roggenburg at the penultimate round. Remember earlier in the feature where we said we would re-visit the evolution of the engine? Well, here’s what happened next: ‘We had evolution all through the season with Jan de Groot doing the engine, and on top of that, SPES was already doing the evolution of pipes, so as we went through the season the bike evolved a lot power-wise, until two GP’s from the end where we got a new engine. It was Roggenburg where it arrived, and Jan really made a monster; my bike was then very powerful and we made a big step. That new engine for the last two races really helped me a lot. 86

‘The switch for me was there. Everything clicked that day, I felt good, the bike was riding awesome, so everything came together and I was able to … not scare Stefan but I was able to shake him up a little bit. In one long corner I don’t think he was expecting me to arrive on the inside, and he thought I would back off, but I didn’t, so I took him out! And I think the gradual direction to the championship changed at that time.’ The Final Frontier The 250cc world championship came down to a final race decider one week later in Greece. Heading into that final race of the season, Everts held a 3-point advantage over Tortelli, so the mathematics was simple; both riders had to beat each other to win the title. For Tortelli, the equation was easy to

‘The second race, where it was just a matter of who finished in front of the other guy … that was easy! For me, that was simple. At least until Stefan crashed; he crashed because he was beat mentally. I passed him, I passed him aggressively again, put him in the banners and after that I sprinted and he saw the title going away and that crashed him mentally.’ During the season there were no mechanical DNF’s, fifteen race wins, nine 2nd and five 3rd place moto finishes, and Tortelli placed outside the top three on three occasions. He also stood on the podium at fifteen of the sixteen rounds, including seven times as a winner, giving Kawasaki only its third world title since they entered the world championship in 1972. Photos: Pascal Haudiquert

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

Where can I get tickets for MXoN? Anne

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Hi Anne , you can find tickets for the upcoming Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations HERE: https://lombardia.motocrosstickets.com/it/55907-monsterenergy-fim-motocross-ofnations/ Best Regards MXGP

Charlotte

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Dear Charlotte , all WMX races are shown LIVE on MXGP-TV.com. You can also find replays of any previous races you might’ve missed. Best Regards MXGP

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Hello. Will there be spectators in Mantova? Paulo:

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Hi Paulo , Or course. You can get your tickets HERE: https://lombardia. motocross-tickets.com/ it/55907-monster-energy-fimmotocross-of-nations/ Regards MXGP

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Where can I watch the WMX race?

How can I be included in the #MXGP Social Media part of the magazine? Jamie:

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Hello Jamie: We love sharing photos and moments that our followers share from the races. If you ever publish any photos, make sure to tag us and use #MXGP so we can make sure to see your content ;) Thanks MXGP

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Do you show the races on TV? Marcus

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Hi Marcus tOf course. Every Grand Prix we share the TV Coverage news, which indicates where you can watch the races LIVE or Delayed. Check out MXGP.com for more details on our TV partners. But if you’d also like, all the races (including EMX and WMX) are shown LIVE on MXGP-TV :) Thanks MXGP