MXGP Mag #15 December 2014

#15_DECEMBER 2014

SIDI Present, past and Future

Vito

Ippolito

AT THE HEAD OF THE FIELD Wilvo Forkrent KTM: Privateer or Pirateer?

RACING CATCH UP

TEAM OF THE MONTH Wilvo Forkrent KTM

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INDEX

COOL SHOT

MONSTER GIRLS

HALL OF FAME Guennady Moisseev

MXGP MAG: Chief Editor: Marionna Leiva Photos: Youthstream YOUTHSTREAM Media World Trade Center II Rte de Pré-Bois 29 1215 Geneva 15 Airport Switzerland MXGP Mag #15 December 2014 The articles published in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of Youthstream.

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

The copying of articles and photos even partially is forbidden unless permission has ben requested from Youthstream in advance and reference is made to the source (©Youthstream).

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EDITORIAL Giuseppe Luongo President of Youthstream Group Dear MXGP Friends, Some important things happened over the last couple of months: Ryan Villopoto began with his new World Championship team, a meeting between FIM, Youthstream and the manufacturers/teams took place in Switzerland, the FIM Gala celebrated the 2014 World Champions in Jerez and there were the FIM Presidential and Board elections.

When I saw Ryan in Jerez I saw an extremely happy man; he is delighted with his new bike, his new team and his new life.

His feeling will be essential for his performance next season.

It was pleasant to spend some time with him and Antonio, and the photo we made together is the prelude of a fantastic 2015 season awaiting us, we are living a historical moment and we all want to savor every moment.

The biannual meeting between FIM, Youthstream, manufacturers / teams in Switzerland was held near to the FIM Headquarters in Switzerland, and it was followed by the MXGP Commission meeting. Amongst many of the topics discussed were: the future of the Motocross market worldwide and the strategy

to affront this, how to bring the sound level down at National and local races and practice tracks, to educate riders about the necessity of body protection and naturally the changes to the 2015 Motocross Regulations which the most significant is that the MXGP class will return to 40 riders on the starting gate.

The FIM Gala in Jerez was well organized by the FIM and as every year it was great seeing all the two wheel World Champions all together in a relaxed atmosphere. There was the record number of National Motorcycle Federations present, 104; really representing the entire world.

Motorcycling has grown incredibly over the last years, and with new Federations becoming affiliated to the FIM every year our sports are developing worldwide.

It was great to see 2 new Federations (Madagascar and Kyrgyzstan) presenting their countries motorcycling activities and where they showed on a video that their main sport is MX, they organize races for children from 10 years old until 50. After talking with many Federation Presidents, especially from Asia and Latin America, they all confirmed that Motocross is growing rapidly es-

pecially in countries where there are a lot of farms and where the children can easily practice on the back yard of their farms. I have the feeling what is happening in these countries is what happened in USA between the ‘70s and the ‘80s; this is a great hospice for the future of our sport.

On the same weekend as the FIM Gala there were the elections for the FIM President and 3 members of the FIM Board of Directors.

During these few days it great to see the FIM moving more and more in the direction to develop the sport. Mr. Vito Ippolito has been reconfirmed as President for his third mandate. For the Executive Board Mr. Nasser Khalifa Al Attiya was elected as Deputy President, Dr. Wolfgang Srb as representative of the CONUs (Continental Unions) and Juan Moreta as Vice-President.

Mr. Andrzej Witkowski and Mr. Jacques Bolle were both elected on the Board of Directors. Youthstream and the entire Motocross world wish them all and their colleagues good luck for their future responsibilities and we hope they continue working on developing our sports.

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RACING CATCH UP

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SET YOUR SIGHTS ON 2015

It has now been a couple of months since the pinnacle race of the year, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, an event which for most confirms the end of a long draining season. Although in previous years as soon as MXoN was wrapped up it was already common knowledge as to who was going where and which team was doing what, this year the teams took longer to make their final rider choices and the announcements have only come out in recent weeks. Here is all the info that you may have missed.

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Let’s start with the most dominant team in the paddock, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and their new recruit and third factory MXGP rider Tommy Searle. The Englishman has joined the Italian based squad to ride the 350 SX-F alongside Cairoli and Ken De Dycker, and it’s a return to orange for Searle after four years riding Kawasakis.

“It has been very easy for me to go back as I have spent a lot of years before here at KTM, this time I’m in Rome a lot more but it has been good.

I have been riding quite a lot down here with Tony and Ken, just a few weeks testing with the new bike and it is great, we have made a lot of progress”

For Searle it could be a make or break season, jumping on the championship winning bike brings its own added pressure: “I will be aiming for the podium and I just want to be healthy coming into the season and I feel it will be a great year for me and one I need! I feel I’m in the best position I can be in here with Claudio and the rest of the team to do just that” Ken De Dycker struggled with his wrist injury and a problem with the fixing plate that gave the bone support throughout 2014, a lone podium in Lommel was both the highpoint and also the end of his season as the big Belgian opted for surgery to remove

the plate before the championship was over.

“Straight after the Lommel GP I took the plate out and now it’s better. Riding is going good and I’m training hard to come back onto the podium.”

As for the eight-time FIM Motocross World Champion, Antonio Cairoli, his winter mission is apparently top secret but we know that he is back riding after his hectic schedule promoting Tony Cairoli the movie around Europe and a run out in a rally car at the Monza rally at the end of November, you can be sure he will be ready and raring to go in the new year.

Red Bull KTM’s MX2 star Jeffrey Herlings is not yet

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back on the bike, however the Dutch sensation was recently spotted at Europe’s biggest supercross event in Lille where he was making an appearance for Alpinestars. He confirmed that he has not yet been back on the bike since his awe-inspiring attempt to clinch his third FIM MX2 World Championship; instead he has been focusing on his rehabilitation at the Red Bull Training Facility in Austria where they will ensure he is back to 100% before throwing his healed femur back over a bike.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team are the team generating the most buzz at

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the moment with the arrival of their latest recruit, multi-time American motocross and supercross champion Ryan Villopoto who will be teamed along side the 2008 FIM MX2 World Champion Tyla Rattray. They have been out trying to test their green machines incognito in sunny Spain but when a rumor begins that Villopoto is training in Europe the crowds soon flock to watch. The team has said both riders are extremely happy with their bikes and when asked how Ryan is coping with the European style tracks their response was “his ability to adapt is very impressive!” As of right now, the duo of Villopoto and Rattray are on their way

back to the U.S where they will spend a couple of months training with world-renowned trainer Aldon Baker before returning to Europe in January next year where they will begin their European based mission.

The MX2 Kawasaki riders have already been busy, recently crowned FIM MX2 World Champion Jordi Tixier, who will be running the target number one plate, had his first race at the recent Lille Supercross where he was joined by fellow Frenchman and last year’s opening race winner Dylan Ferrandis, a rider who is looking and feeling extremely confident. And

let’s not forget about the “other” American who will be trying to get out of the shadow of RV2, Thomas Covington. After showing some glimpses of promise this year, it will be interesting to see what the ‘T-Cov’ can do now he has a full season of racing under his belt.

After a vibrant year Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MXGP has re-signed their pair of Belgians Clement Desalle and Kevin Strijbos.

Desalle has been more or less off the radar since the MXGP of Finland which took place in mid-July after he needed surgery for a broken scaphoid.

The MX Panda was finally given the all clear from the doctors at the beginning of November and after only two weeks back on the bike Desalle dove into the deep end by racing an endurance race at the famous deep sand circuit of Loon-Plage in France, and unsurprisingly he won.

“It’s the first time I have done a long distant race like this and it wasn’t so easy. I felt good and rode as hard as I could the first two hours, but the last half-hour was really difficult. I started to feel every muscle and had pain everywhere.”

For ‘The Kid’, Kevin Strijbos, he ended the year super

strong with a series of solid results, once more really finding his feet as the season wound down. Although he didn’t get a Grand Prix win this year, he came close on a couple of occasions, most notably in the Czech Republic, and there is no doubt he is hungry for it next year. There is one more 450cc Suzuki on the line in MXGP for 2015 as Dutchman Glenn Coldenhoff has been seen hauling at the local Dutch tracks and could be one to shake things up.

One rider no-one will overlook next year is Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek. The Yamaha boys have been laying low as they continue to develop the potent

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YZ450 FM with championship runner up Van Horebeek and MXGP rookie Romain Febvre who was confirmed as the second MXGP rider recently after signing on the dotted line before the fly away GPs.

his leg and hip, Todd Waters remained in Europe utilizing the Red Bull Training Facility in Austria for his re-hab. Since being back on the bike the chirpy Australian has returned back home to train and prepare for next season in the summer sun Over in the Red Bull IceOne while the teams rookie Brit NaHusqvarna Factory Racing than Watson has been training camp, the star of the team with along side his MXGP hero Nagl plenty of MXGP success already and will head to Austria next tucked under his belt, Max Nagl week where he will start trainhas said he is happy with his ing and testing at the Red Bull winter preparation so far. The Training Facility. bike and testing in Italy after a German star is already feeling couple of seasons riddled with very at home on the bike which After a memorable MXoN perinjury and will be looking to fiis in many ways similar to the formance, the star that stole nally bank a full season of points KTM machines he has successthe show Gautier Paulin will be while Paulin is riding and trainfully manned over previous riding red for Team HRC with ing at his base in France. Honyears. Meanwhile after a chaotic a rider who couldn’t be more da has informed us that the year recovering from a freak familiar with the team, Evgeny next official HRC test will take accident which saw him break Bobryshev. Bobby is back on the place in January in Sardinia.

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MXGP SOCIAL

TWITTER, FACEB IN THE WORLD OF #MXGP @MXHARD75‬ ‬‬ Gnarly Jump of Ryan Villopoto ! ☛ http://bit.ly/1yg17vZ #motocross @ryan_villopoto2 #mxgp @KawasakiOnline

carliemcadam ‬ It makes someone 100000 times more attractive if they race motocross

@offroadireland‬ ‬‬ So JMB is the new riding coach for HRC Honda in MXGP! Can he help Paulin to win the title against AC & RV? #mxgp‪

Chesno_Marieee ‬‬‬‬‬ Friday cant get here fast enough. A month of no motocross has really sucked.

@JDubya381 @MilestoneItaly #MXGP is the best video game of all time. Can’t put it down.‬ @BradLong39 ‬‬ ‬‬ Dylan Ferrandis is so talented #mxgp ‬‬ @MrStickers208 ‬‬ ‬‬ #MXGP is pretty amazing. ‬‬ @mattcfox My baby is due April 18th. @ britmxgrandprix at matterley basin is may 24th. Never too young for their first GP......right??! #mxgp ‬

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@Antoniocairoli · ‬‬ ‪Back from this morning training... Was though after almost 2 month of recovery for my knee injury!…

Follow MXGP Advent Race Calendar on MXGP Facebook. Every day this month visit MXGP Facebook and find videos of the most exciting motocross races in the 2014 Season. Get ready to enjoy exciting race videos up to the Christmas Day.

The video that every motocross fan must watch.

52 minutes of the best and most exciting moments from the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship and the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. Click here to watch it now.

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@joanmanuel_22 #MXGP #xbox360 @antoniocairoli @menshealthmag ancora per poco in edicola #november Ah anche su #GQ di #novembre gran bella intervista non perdeteveli!

@kiarafontanesi All fixed up. Let’s start the show! Tutto pronto. Facciamo partire lo show!

@RyanVillopoto Check out the ‘News’ section at RV2.com for another update from my trip to Europe a few weeks ago. #gopro @gopro @monsterenergy

@JordiTixier Press conférence with @ ryanvillopoto @antoniocairoli big boys next to me !!! Awesome #Fimgala2014

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TEAM OF THE MONTH

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Privateer or Pirateer?

If you chose to look past the biggest nanes, past the full factory awnings and brightly coloured brands that dominate in MXGP, you will find a select and dedicated group of teams that take the the fight to the top 10 week in week out on smaller budgets and with streamlined operations. 3 years ago those ranks were swelled by the arrival of a man and his team from Lancashire, making the step up from national racing to Grand Prix.

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Since then Steve Turner Racing KTM has evolved into one of the strongest privateer teams in the form of Wilvo Forkrent KTM. Despite a tough and injury hit year in 2014 the team is already raring to go for next season and with a rider who is shooting for the top 5 in Jake Nicholls and a proven winner in new recruit Steven Frossard they are ready to steal more than just a few points from the big hitters.

MXGP Mag: Last year you spent half the year with only one MXGP rider under the awning, what does that do to the team’s atmosphere?

Steve Turner: “Not much to be fair, you just concentrate the same but you are concentrating on one guy instead of two, the biggest difference is if the one guy had a bad race you only have that one chance to have success so that’s the biggest difference but to be fair it wasn’t that bad because we didn’t have that many races where Matiss had a particularly bad time so it wasn’t a major

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issue. But I do remember on one occasion sending a text to Jake saying “wish you were here” and that’s probably just because we had a bad day and didn’t have anything to fall back on, do you know what I mean?”

MXGP Mag: Let’s talk about Jake, how did his injury and recovery affect the choice to work together again in 2015.

ST: “It was a pretty slow recovery from what people might see as a relatively minor injury, but as a lot of riders have found out a finger injury can be worse than breaking a leg as it just takes so long, for Jake it has been a complete time of tedium, he was desperate to ride, desperate to race, it has made him hungry again as he has been out so long which is a good thing, he has a lot of hunger to get back on that line and race.”

MXGP Mag: And what do you expect for 2015?

ST: “I think we have unfinished with him and he can do a good job for us, and it’s awful when a rider loses half a season espe-

cially as he was pushing Shaun Simpson in the British championship and then bang it just falls away. He had a couple of good results in GPs and we were starting to make headway and I do feel like he can be competitive, the line up in MXGP now is just unbelievable so it’s very difficult for everybody but I feel he can run top 10 and that’s what I want to see from him.”

For Nicholls, the finger injury sustained at a British championship event was the nail in his season’s coffin, having spent the first 4 GPs riding into fitness after breaking his back in preseason the former MX2 podium finisher was already nursing a damaged left hand after the Grand Prix of Italy at Maggiora. His last race of 2014 would be at round 11 in Germany, since then he has kept his distance from the GP paddock as he began the healing process.

MXGP Mag: Jake, first of all, how is your finger?

Jake Nicholls: “It’s good, obvi-

ously it was a serious injury and I am very limited now, I actually have no movement in the finger itself but obviously the knuckle joint works as it would normally but pretty much I’ve got a little finger that’s just fused into position but that bends from the knuckle and to be honest with riding and everything like that it’s absolutely fine, the only time I struggle to be honest is shaking people’s hands and in the cold it hurts a bit but otherwise it’s absolutely fine.”

ly happened to it, why won’t it bend (Readers be advised, this is quite a graphic description!).

JN: “Basically I crashed and my throttle hand was still on the handlebars and it went in to someone’s wheel and luckily it must have just touched the spokes on the wheel and I must have reacted very quick because I’m sure it would have done a lot more damage otherwise. I compound fractured the bottom of the finger, the knuckle basically and it was all completely open and on both parts MXGP Mag: So you’ll have to be of the main bone either side of a left handed hand shaker? the knuckle, I actually lost a lot JN: “I’m just being careful but of bone so the finger is probato be honest with you I have to bly like nearly an inch shorter do the whole “Bro” handshake than the other one. It just came thing where you turn your hand out basically and where it came out it obviously tore through up and it’s not a normal handshake, you know what I mean? all the tendons and ligaments And I don’t like doing it because along the side of the finger and just caused mayhem. The tenI like to think that I’m a proper Englishman who shakes hands dons have slowly grown back over the bone but either side of normally but it just hurts so much that I can’t and I end up the knuckle has gone so there having to do that but it’s better is not a smooth joint and the break was so traumatic that I than nothing.” had to have it fixed with a cage.

MXGP Mag: That’s horrible but That was supposed to be on for also hilarious, so what actual4 weeks so I didn’t move too

much, but I got infection after infection and ended up having to have the cage on for 7 weeks.

I lost all possible movement and also it was never going to work as the bones had such sharp edges that it’s just mangled into one bit of bone basically. It was better than when I went into the hospital straight away when they said we are going to have to cut the finger off and I just begged and begged and I had a couple of people form Harris and Ross Physiotherapy who were at the race helping Red Bull for a while and they were just there begging them saying “he can’t lose his finger”.

So we waited for a surgeon to come in the next day who was a micro surgeon and luckily they saved it, but it was a bit of a scary one.”

MXGP Mag: If you had lost the finger, what would that have meant, was it ever something you considered?

JN: “It did cross my mind but there is a local guy round here who used to race motocross and speedway, he’s 70 odd and he did a similar thing. The prob-

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lem was the break was so low on my finger, it was pretty much at my knuckle and this old guy, he did it and they took his finger out and they took the whole 4th metacarpus out, so his hand lost almost 2 inches in width as well so I wasn’t sure if that was the case or not. However, even if they just lopped the whole finger off if you look at the calluses on our hands from the wear on the grip, a rider’s major callus on the hand is under the little finger and under the third finger, they are the main ones because most of us ride with our index finger and middle finger on the levers, so theoretically it’s our thumb, little finger and ring finger that are doing the holding, so for me I was really worried about it, it was a threat to my career really.”

MXGP Mag: From the outside it seems like a natural thing for you to be back in the Wilvo Forkrent team, is that how it worked out?

JN: “Steve was honest to himself and said I was improving

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and I suit that class better than MX2 I believe that it was the sensible thing to do, I mean I like the team and got on great and thanks to him for still believing in me and not forgetting me because unfortunately in sport people forget very quickly about riders and athletes in general. So it was a sensible thing to do in my eyes but obviously he could have said “I lost half a year with you, you didn’t have the greatest start to the season so see you later” but thankfully he didn’t!”

did you wait for others to make the first steps?

Steve Turner: “You’ve got to wait until it all falls into place with the realm top runners, there is no other way of doing it for a team like ours unless we walk in with a ginormous budget. It’s just not going to happen as there is a pecking order basically, once you see where the likes of Paulin and Nagl are going and fill the spaces, that’s when people become available that you can seriously focus on rather than dream about.”

Once the deal with Nicholls was in place the team turned its attention to the rest of the lineup, Adam Sterry will continue for two more years riding in EMX250 with some MX2 wildcards, but there was a space that needed to be filled in the MXGP side of things and that meant getting into the paddock silly season.

MXGP Mag: So that was all panning out as the European season ended, when did you get in contact with Steven Frossard?

ST: “Lommel, at the GP when we first started to speak.”

MXGP Mag: As one of the bigger private teams did you start to make moves quite early or

MXGP Mag: You were still waiting there a bit were you not as it was a delicate situation with him and his team at that time.

ST: “He had a good Nations that turned his season around a

little bit but he ended up without a factory ride so then his manager said we need to look at everybody in the paddock and we had put ourselves in a good position to be considered as a viable option for him.”

close, there was a sense that despite some decent rides he had been pushed out of the Kawasaki squad in favour of new riders. For a rider who tries to keep to himself it was a tough time as the paddock rumour mill went into overdrive with speculation rife as to where he would find a home for 2015, but it seems as if he has managed to internalise that dissatisfaction and channel it into this new challenge.

MXGP Mag: You must be happy to now have a rider who comes in as a Motocross of Nations winner?

ST: “Yes and it all creates its own extra pressure in a way, we have to perform at a higher Steven Frossard: “I am pretty level than we have previously, happy with my 2014 season. we have done a good job anyMy goal was to take part in the way but you are dealing with a rider who expects to be going to most GPs possible and score the line on the best equipment some strong results; which I did. Winning the Nations on top and that’s what we have got to do, that’s our challenge, dealing was a great feeling. Only a few with a rider at that level is total- people have bet on me for next ly different from how we started year and Steve Turner is one of off a few years ago and it’s a them. I will give it my best and prove that with a unified team learning curve which is good we can overshadow the factory because it challenges you.” teams.”

It’s fair to say that Steven Frossard was not a totally At this point a comparison has to be drawn with another happy rider as 2014 drew to a

Photo: ROMAIN BLANCHON

long time factory rider – Kevin Strijbos – who found himself out of the works shuffle back at the end of 2011.. He too went for a UK based KTM option with the HM Plant team and took an apparent risk in using the 350 SX-F after a career on bigger bikes. For Strijbos it paid off and his performances put him back on the shopping list of the factory teams for the following season and you can’t help but think that this move by Frossard is somehow aping that career path as at 27 he still has a lot of riding ahead of him and a lot that he can bring to this team.

Jake Nicholls: “For me though it’s exciting because of how good he is as a racer and for me to be able to learn from him, be it from bike set up or at the races, it’s just good to be around someone that’s better than you because for me that’s an awesome thing. I have grown up racing with him since I was 15, we did the junior world championships togeth-

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er and he has always been a couple of steps above me to be honest, we are a similar age though. He has been one of those people I’ve never had a run in with on the track, I’ve put my hand up and said hello at the track or at an airport but that’s as far as it’s gone really.”

MXGP Mag: So Steve, what about the bikes? This year you split the riders with Matiss Karro on the 350cc and Jake on the 450cc, what’s the story for 2015 are they both on the 450cc?

Steve Turner: “No, both riding 350s, they tested both bikes back to back and chose the 350cc.”

we are working hard to make it more and more competitive with a lot of help from the factory and we feel we have got a competitive bike and if we can get it off the line, then the bike is good and we are doing a good job for them and that hopefully gives them a good chance. It’s almost as if from my point of view that it feels like an underdog mentality, because when you get a 350cc off the line against all those 450s, factory 450s, how good does that feel!”

Jake Nicholls: “It was a strange thing really but I didn’t actually try that bike coming into the 2014 season, I tried a standard one but I was unsure as I’d come off the 250cc and I MXGP Mag: That seems to really liked the power difference make some sense as the 350cc between the 250cc and the for you guys has been a bit of 450cc. It felt like a beast and I a weapon off the start, is that loved it, being a bit of a bigger quite a consideration for these guy it suited me a bit better but guys as well? then I couldn’t get it out of the ST: “They like it out of the start, start this year and it was like we had too much power and they like the feel of it, they like the power of the engine and I couldn’t control it out of the

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start. So when I was injured we talked about it and on my first day back I tried the 350cc back to back with the 450cc and I just loved it, I was like “ this is unbelievable” and I felt like I had never been off the bike on that but when I was on the 450cc early in the day I felt as rusty as it gets. Since then we have tested and developed the 2015 bike and that’s pretty much done now and I am so happy with it, I hope race wise it’s a good decision but riding wise it feels really good.”

With Nicholls training 6 days a week at home in Sussex with at least 2 of those on the bike and Frossard testing hard in France, so hard in fact he was absent from a French federation press conference as he had to train and ride, the team is looking poised to make a big impact in 2015, so expect to see a lot more of these two riders at the sharp end when things kick off in February.

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At the head of the field The annual FIM gala spectacular is more than just a chance to celebrate the achievements and successes of riders across the whole spectrum of 2 wheeled motorsport it also acts as a focal point for the FIM to gather as one organisation, a place where representatives from the 111 national motorcycle federations can come together for the FIM symposium to discuss ideas and directly move to shape the future of motorsport.

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This year the symposium had a bit of extra spice with votes being cast to elect or indeed re-elect the FIM president. Two candidates were in the running this year and it is with great pleasure that we can confirm that the incumbent and 2 term president Vito Ippolito will continue in his role for 4 more years.

Speaking immediately after learning of his re-election, Mr Ippolito said “I am extremely pleased to have been given the opportunity to continue in my role as FIM President and would like to personally thank all those who have given me their loyal support, not only today but over the past eight years.”

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“I feel the FIM has achieved much in recent times, but we still have work to do and I am delighted that I will be able to steer and assist the FIM as we look towards the future and the many challenges that we still have to meet over the next four years.”

Vito Ippolito is a name most readers will have heard and most fans would probably be able to recognise him from his appearances at MXGP rounds where he is often found in attendance checking the pulse of the world’s premier off road motorcycle championship. A few days after his re-election MXGP mag sat down with Mr Ip-

polito to find out a bit more about what he has been up to as the head of the FIM. How important is it to have gained re-election for another term?

“What was most Important for me is to continue with our strategic plan and to put in place our governing principals, it’s a never ending job but it is important to stabilise the way we can work in order to achieve the objectives of the strategic plan.”

What does that mean in terms of how the FIM is looking at the global motorcycle sport situation?

“We need to reach a closer relationship with our national federations, there

are a lot of plans or objectives or projects that they have and I think that the FIM must work closer with them, this can insure a better future for the FIM, another important point is in the investment and promotion of the youth, we need in all our sports more youth competition because they represent the future of our sport. Besides the youth we need to increase and stimulate the participation of women, not only in races but also at official levels as stewards or clerk of the course and so on.

On the top of our priority list is safety, the safety at the circuit in favour of the riders and I want to repeat that it is the top priority. One other issue is the cost, the cost of our sport,

of course cost depends on the manufacturers because they build the motorcycles, then we need, if possible, bikes that are more accessible to the riders and together with the cost of the bikes themselves is the question of the participation of the riders at all levels from youth to world championship. We need to allow the riders around the world to participate with lower costs and with lower costs we can allow more people into motorcycle sport.”

“With the manufacturers we have a good relationship, of course the manufactures have their own markets with different needs and interests but in any case our relation-

ship is very good and it’s one of our goals to keep improving this relationship, particularly trying to have regular meetings with them to share and discus the problems in our sport because they need to know the problems and we need to know the issues that they have.”

The FIM can sometimes seem to be a sprawling entity, how does the role of president work in keeping that all together?

“The FIM has two main missions, sport and the advocacy of Motorcycling itself, The FIM is a governing body and at the head is the president, the president manages the board who makes the policy of the FIM on all decisions.

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There are many policies to consider, and the role of the president tis to take care of the decisions taken by the board and in addition the president has to maintain relationships with the promoters, the media with manufacturers and the first among these relationship is the constant permanent contact with the national federations, if you think that we have 111 federations around the world you can see how important it is as to how the FIM reaches all of these federations, the president has a fundamental role there.”

How closely do you pay attention to MXGP and the work that Youthstream is putting into the championship?

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“The relationship with Youthstream is very good, they are one of our main promoters and they have in their hands maybe the most popular discipline of motorcycle sport and what YS has done since the beginning is something very good for our sport because the quality of the events are very professional. We work together all the time, we share our problems and share our thoughts and finally take the best decisions for motocross. Part of the policy of the FIM is to have more and more rounds of the world championship around the world, by that I mean on other continents like Latin America, Asia, North America, and Africa, and what is happening is that every

year we do have more races on those continents and this helps a lot towards the fusion of our sport and is a great accomplishment of one of our main goals, to have a real world championship with rounds around the whole planet.”

As the FIM President moves into his next 4 year term we can be confident that the long term plans put in place in previous years will be seen to their conclusion and that the guidance that has helped steer motorcycle racing through some very tough economic times is still in control and looking ever towards a cohesive and global the future for motorcyclist and their sport.

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Paving a path to

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MXGP ACADEMY

success

Over the years since its inception in 1988 the European Championship has developed step by step into the most prestigious amateur motocross series in Europe. It took one of its most significant steps in 2010 when it became a part of the paddock of MXGP and the series is now providing the future stars of motocross with first hand experience, knowledge and exposure, things that are of real benefit to a rider setting out on the journey to becoming a motocross professional.

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In 2014 we had 6 classes of European championship racing, from the one off 65cc and 85cc events, through the 5 or 6 round series of EMX150 and 125cc up to the top level of the EMX250 and new 2 stroke EMX300 class. Riders from any of those classes now get the chance to race on the same weekend on the same track in the same conditions as the professional riders who are racing the in the MX2 and MXGP championships. What that means is, the riders of the European Championships receive maximum exposure, not only to teams but also to some

of the biggest industry names, sponsors and best of all, the fans.

Being in the paddock of MXGP allows riders the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the most important faces. They are also made easily accessible for teams who may be interested in putting a support system in place or offering a sponsorship package.

Thanks to live TV coverage of every race on Sunday a wider audience is also reached, fans that are not able to go to the event can watch the hope-

fuls compete and can start to choose their favourites and who they think is going to crack the big time.

It’s not always easy to come off a race with a worse than expected result or even off a win and deal with a LIVE interview for television but now the EMX riders need to do that, regardless of age or nationality, the expectation is on them to perform for the public and speak clearly about their race, a valuable lesson for any young rider just look up EMX150 race winner Jere Haavisto for some spectacular proof.

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But there is more to it than simply exposure. Winning races and championships in the EMX classes is a sure fire way to get your name to the front of the shopping list for MX2 teams, Romain Febvre, Valentin Guillod, Jeremy Seewer and Dylan Ferrandis are all riders who have emerged from the European scene recently and all have made their mark on the world championship. They are proof that the hard work and talent of these young riders will now get noticed and rewarded with race seats at established GP teams.

The new for 2014 EMX300 series proved to be a way for Samuele Bernadini to revitalize a career that had stalled after his EMX125 days. It gave him a place to rediscover his love of racing and winning, and has

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set him up with a possible ride in MX2 with TM for 2015. And let’s not forget that the golden prize for the winner of the EMX150 championship, a ride with the Gariboldi Honda MX2 factory team, that is definitely a carrot that has drawn in a whole new group of 4 stroke

riding racers to the EMX scene.

So there you have it, the proof is in the pudding. For all the youngsters out there looking to pave their way to MXGP stardom, look no further than the European Championships.

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Past, Present an

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nd Future

SPECIAL FEATURE

Boots! They might not be something that grabs the headlines too often in motocross but every now and then even the most humble of footwear can surprise. I call as a witness the Sidi Crossfire SRS boots that lit up the night at the 2014 season opener in Qatar on the feet of Antonio Cairoli, boots that sported LED lights emblazoning the Sidi logo across the shin protectors.

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SPECIAL FEATURE

It was something pretty unique and typified the strong relationship that the MXGP world champion has with his long time footwear supplier. Cairoli has worn the Italian boots since he first moved to the De Carli run squad that has helped him to all of the world championship titles and for Cairoli it has been a match made in heaven.

“They are the best boots out there! I’m really close to Rosella Signori and Stefano Scagliarini at Sidi and they bring all my special ideas to reality. I like doing special, outstanding things with my looks and they always support me on that! Like my idea of the neon yellow boots in 2012 and the boots with lights for the

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MXGP of Qatar in 2014!”

Sidi Motorsport Representative Stefano Scagliarini echoes Cairoli’s enthusiasm. “It is very easy to work with Tony and he has mentioned several times that the Sidi boots are just perfect as they are. At Sidi we like playing with the colours and making special editions and so does Tony, so we are the perfect combination I would say.”

As well as working with Cairoli and before him 10 time world champion Stefan Everts, Sidi have been long term sponsors and partners with Youthstream, and that partnership has just been happily extended in a new multi year deal that will see Sidi once more present at MXGP

events and continuing to grow their presence alongside the ever evolving MXGP brand.

Motocross is a major part of the history of the Sidi brand that goes back to the very early days of the company in the 1960’s when a motocross fan from Veneto in Italy asked the company’s founder Dino Signori if he could use his experience to produce a boot for him to ride in and perhaps sell to other enthusiasts. While Mr Signori was an expert in footwear for hiking and mountain sports he had no experience in motorcycle sport and so very sensibly he contacted two of the best Italian motocross racers of the time, Giuseppe Cavallero and Emilio Ostorero, to help him come up

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SPECIAL FEATURE

with a practical and ergonomic solution to his new venture. It was with their help and feedback that Signori designed and made the first ever Sidi off road boot, boots that would be worn and won in by MX legend Joel Robert.

The company still runs in the family and is directed and run by family members to keep alive the traditions and passions that were instilled in it from the beginning by Dino Signori. Far from sitting on their laurels the marque has gone from strength to strength both in road racing and motocross, with 2007 standing out as a land mark year for the brand with the opening of the architecturally stunning new manufacturing facility in the north of Italy. As well as modernising the companies production capabilities the expansive new building pays homage to its location with the

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wide sweeping roof designed to reflect and resemble the Colli Asolani mountains that lie opposite the site.

It’s this level of passion and attention to detail that sets Sidi out in the highly competitive motorcycle footwear market and is part of the reason why so many riders will wear their products in the 2015 MXGP season. As well as Cairoli, all the riders under the Red Bull KTM MXGP factory team will wear the boots, Ken De Dycker and Tommy Searle as the two EMX125 riders. Across the spectrum the sports top riders will once again turn to Sid with WMX champion Kiara Fontanesi and Factory Husqvarna MX2 rider Alexandr Tonkov both choosing Sidi and in MXGP Steven Frossard, Jake Nicholls, Alessandro Lupino and Rui Gonçalves as well as Dean Ferris will all run the latest version of the Sidi Crossfire SRS,

meaning that nearly 1 third of the MXGP starting gate will be looking to the Italian brand for protection, performance and comfort.

With a history of innovation in all their products from road racing, through motocross and cycling, where they were the first to provide adjustable fixings for the shoe bracket that revolutionised comfort and efficiency for riders, Sidi is always looking towards the next innovation for MX. Using the advice of their top level racers they are continuing to develop the products that make it to the shop floor for the public but as and when they do make breakthroughs they like play the cards close to their chest and despite MXGP mag pestering them for some inside info they will only let the next generation of secrets out when they are totally ready for the grand unveiling.

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HALL OF FAME

Moisseev:

The leader of the ‘Red Army’

Way back in the 1970’s Motocross was one of the sports in which men from the former eastern block were highly successful, riders from Czechoslovakia or Russia brought a high level of determination to the sport with their first World Champion, the Russian Victor Arbekov, laying the ground work for the rest with his 1965 250cc world title. He will always be recorded as the first to win but at the same time he will be remembered in the shadow of the most successful Russian racer, Guennady Moisseev, who’s three 250 World titles in 1974, 1977 and 1978 set him apart from all the others who came before and after.

It was in the 1960s that Motorsport began is rise in popularity in Russia, shortly after the creation of the Auto and Moto sports departments in government. At a time when politics ruled the country it was decided that no bikes other than CZ or Jawa were allowed for the riders as relations between the East and West of Europe were minimal at best. However that was not much of a problem

in the 1960s as CZ was one of the dominant brands in Motocross, claiming GP wins and World titles thanks to Belgian Joel Robert and East German Paul Friedrichs.

Born in Leningrad on the 3rd of February 1948, Guennady Moisseev entered the World Championship in 1969 as a member of the official Russian team, which was in fact a military squad with an officer as the team manager. Moisseev was a strong and calm sportsman who learned a lot during his first GP attempts and used that knowledge to claim his first major title back at home with a Russian national crown in 1972. The GPs were not an immediate success for the Russian riders, who were bystanders in the 1968 war between their country and Czechoslovakia.

A by-product was that the CZ machinery of the 1970s was no longer the best bike, and as Japanese and European factories made huge progress the Czech company struggled to develop their bikes.

For Moisseev the turning point came mid 72, when bikes from the

Russian team were stolen during the season; they were lucky to be able to race as a fledgling Austrian manufacturer by the name of KTM was able to provide them bikes.

The representative of the Russian delegation lost his Communist party membership and his position in the team that day, but it was a major step for Moisseev in his career as he got a podium result; and from then on the Russian team used both KTM (for their best riders, Moisseev and famous team mate Kavinov) and CZ machinery.

Moving up in the standings from 11th to 5th in the 1973 World Championship, Guennady Moisseev was to become one of the main protagonists of the 250 series the following season, coming to the last round of the series close to the Czech points leader Jaroslav Falta, ironically riding a CZ. Fate was not in charge that day however and it remains a sour memory in the history of the sport, as political interests and machinations took precedence over the sporting side to finally offer the world title to the

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Russian, who had around him a strong and dedicated team.

An early injury early in 1975 saw Moisseev only get back to his best late in the season, winning one race in Finland and 1976 was hardly better and probably one of the toughest seasons for the Russian star. Rising the rank of Major in the army after his world title he battled with Finn Heikki Mikkola throughout the entire season and at that time only half of the results counted towards the final classification and formula that meant Guennady lost the title by one point even though he actually won more heats (8 for him and 7 for Heikki) including the last three of the campaign. Whatever the final points said Moisseev was back to his winning ways and he went on to dominate the next two seasons to become one of the most successful riders in the history of Motocross.

1978 will surely stay in fans memories as the best ever season for Moisseev as he won his third world title and triumphed at the Motocross of Nations with the Russian team which included long time partner Vladimir Kavinov, Valery

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Korneev and Yury Khudyakov. The following season Moisseev could only finish fourth in the World Championship, with a solitary double win during the final GP in Bulgaria. It was the fourteenth and last GP win for the Russian, who also grabbed the overall victory at the Trophy of Nations (at this time there was the Motocross of Nations with 500 bikes, and the Trophy with 250 bikes, both events with four riders per team) in Vantaa, Finland, again with Kavinov, Korneev and Khudyakov.

Unfortunately in 1980 the Russian riders were forced by the government to return to racing on CZs as friction developed between the KTM

factory and the Soviet cycling federation in 1979. “The interest in motocross was still there and the desire, but without new equipment or new parts for the old equipment there was nothing we could do. I won my last Grand Prix in 1979 in Bulgaria, but the trouble started right after that between KTM and the federation,� reminisced the Russian athlete who continued his racing career for a few more years. That 1980 season was to be his last full one in Grand Prix with wildcard appearances dotting the early 80s before his eventual retirement in 1986.

Text and Photos: P-Haudiquert

1969: 10th in the 250 World Championship (CZ) 1970: 15th in the 250 World Championship (CZ) 1971: 15th in the 250 World Championship (CZ) 1972: 11th in the 250 World Championship (CZ/KTM) 1973: 5th in the 250 World Championship (KTM) 1974: 250 World Champion (KTM) 1975: 12th in the 250 World Championship (KTM) 1976: 2nd in the 250 World Championship (KTM) 1977: 250 World Champion (KTM) 1978: 250 World Champion (KTM) 1979: 4th in the 250 World Championship (KTM) 1980: 16th in the 250 World Championship (CZ) 1981: 34th in the 250 World Championship (CZ) 1982: 37th in the 250 World Championship (KTM)

PADDOCK TALKS

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Paddock Talks 01/Clement Desalle had a great time at La Ronde Des Sables endurance race.

02/Rockstar Energy Suzuki team enjoy the off-season skiing indoors at Peer, Belgium.

03/The 38th edition of the Transborgaro race took palce in Borsaro Torinese, Italy, on the 23rd November. All the riders that participated in the event were great legends of the sport and they were divided in the ’70, ’80 and ’90 classes.

04/Kiara Fontanesi went on four wheels and took part in the Monza Rally.

05/The Junior World Champions had an amazing time at the FIM Gala together with all the other FIM World Champions.

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03

05

07

09

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Paddock Talks

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06/Gautier Paulin travelled to Val Thorens in the French Alpes to take some time off while practising skiing.

07/The 8-times Motocross World Champion Antonio Cairoli took part in the Rally of Monza and he finished sixth overall.

08/RV2 & TC222 enjoy the calm before the storm.

09/At the FIM Gala 2014 in Spain we caught up with 7 world champions!

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QUESTIONS TO THE EDITOR

QUESTIONS TO THE EDITOR Hi MXGP, When is the 2015 MXGP-TV Package available to purchase?

Thanks, Alana Brown Hi Alana, The 2015 MXGP-TV Season Package that includes Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations is already available on www.MXGP-TV.com. In fact, hurry up to get it now and grab the 25% early bird discount!

All the best, Youthstream Hello MXGP, Where can I buy tickets to the MXGP of France 2015?

Regards, Thanks, ZZr Quattro Hello MXGP fan, Please find the MXGP of France tickets by clicking here Regards Youthstream

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Dear all, I live in Belgium, and I would like to know where Ryan Villopoto is practicing before the MXGP season starts. I want to bring my son to watch the practice.

Thanks, Mark de Mijk Hi Mark, Thanks for reaching us.

Regarding Ryan Villopoto’s training we’d suggest to follow his and his team’s, Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team, social media where they post most recent updates. Ryan Villopoto Twitter: @Ryan_Villopoto2, Monster Energy Kawaskai Racing Team: @Kawasaki_Racing.

Hope to see you and your son at one of the MXGP weekends this year!

Best Regards Youthstream

Hello MXGP, I am sports photographer based in southeast England, and I would like to work for some motorsport magazines next year, and try myself out there. Can you please help me and tell me where to start.

Thanks, Rob Maws Hello Rob, Thanks for your e-mail.

Glad to hear you’ve decided to try your skills as a photographer in the motocross sport. We would recommend you to first come to one of the MXGP series next year, where you can do some great action shots, and meet necessary contacts within the industry.

Best Regards Youthstream

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