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FIM WORLD MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP
AND NOW THE BIG THREE STORY GEOFF MEYER IMAGES ARCHER AND ACEVEDO
When the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championships began in Doha, Qatar a couple of months ago the whole world was watching to see what would happen with the big four, defending champion Antonio Cairoli, American champion Ryan Villopoto, and the two outsiders Clement Desalle and Gautier Paulin, both without major titles in their careers, but both very fast.
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What has happened in the last two months is pretty clear. Husqvarna Factory rider Max Nagl has put himself into the big picture and Gautier Paulin of the HRC Factory team and Ryan Villopoto (Monster Energy Kawasaki) have fallen by the way. Both have nearly impossible tastes to catch Desalle, Cairoli and Nagl in the point’s race, even with a massive amount of rounds remaining. Last weekend was a telling round of the 2015 series as Max Nagl secures the top step of the podium, Antonio Cairoli and Clement Desalle joined him, but the remaining two of the big five struggled. Villopoto DNFing the second moto after a huge crash and Paulin not looking anywhere near the guy who should have gone 1-1 at the circuit in 2014. For Nagl the fun is just beginning as he rides the series of his career. The Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna rider is just on a level all to himself at the moment and his second moto domination gives many the feeling he could very easily to 1-1 in Valkenswaard this weekend. “It was a great weekend but honestly that win in Italy is the result of yet another big team effort. Everyone in the team has the same goal, we work so well together. My relationship with Antti (his team-manager) is perfect, it is like we are the same person sometimes. During qualification we made a lot of progress with the setup of the bike, and I felt much more comfortable on the track. On the Sunday Nagl was doing everything he had to do to beat his opposition, riding smooth and smart. “My start was good for race one and I was second behind Antonio for the whole race. We were having a great battle – I did feel faster in places – but I didn’t want to take the risk necessary to make
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the pass stick. I was happy with second. When I got the holeshot in race two I decided it was my time to go. I gave it 100 per cent for the first 10 minutes and pulled a gap to win. I love riding at the minute and the team are working so hard for me – I can’t thank them enough. It was also special to have my son here watch me race for the first time. Italy was perfect.” As for the others, Cairoli and Desalle scored enough points to make the MXGP championship remain interesting, but as previously mentioned, Villopoto and Paulin are now realistically out of the picture. In the MX2 class it was 19 year old Tim Gajser who shocked the world by beating the unbeatable in Jeffrey Herlings. The Honda rider scoring 2-1 results compared to Herlings 1-2, the Slovenian getting the victory due to his stronger second moto.
He scrambled back onto his KTM 250 SX-F and crossed the line in second. Grand Prix of Trentino - Results MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:01.846; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:00.900; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:01.597; 4. Ryan Villopoto (USA, Kawasaki), +0:04.118; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:11.219; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:16.093; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:27.399; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:43.842; 9. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:46.520; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:47.263 MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), 34:09.426; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:09.091; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:09.612; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:25.068; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:26.912; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:28.030; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:50.778; 8. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:53.748; 9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +0:57.020; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:57.366.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Gajser smiled after his win. “It was tough, it was a long way to here, but I am thankful to everyone who helped me get here, from my father to sacrifice his life to help me get here, train me, we did everything together and I am so happy about that. I also want to thank all Honda crew, HRC, Gariboldi crew, my family and just MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 47 everybody. points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Earlier in the day Herlings rode a KTM), 47 p.; 3. Clement Desalle spectacular opening MX2 moto (BEL, SUZ), 38 p.; 4. Romain and crossed the line 15 seconds Febvre (FRA, YAM), 34 p.; 5. ahead of his nearest rival. But Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 32 he missed the start in his second p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, race letting Slovenian Tim Gajser HON), 28 p.; 7. Ken de Dycker escape at the front. He was (BEL, KTM), 26 p.; 8. Davide already in podium contention Guarneri (ITA, TM), 22 p.; 9. David after a handful of laps and Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 21 p.; 10. steadily trimmed the time deficit Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 20 p. over the rest of the race. Herlings put himself in contention to make MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. the pass in the final lap but cross- Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 171 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, rutted in part of the course that was half shade and half sunlight. HUS), 170 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli
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(ITA, KTM), 170 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 129 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 128 p.; 6. Ryan Villopoto (USA, KAW), 124 p.; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 100 p.; 8. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 78 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 75 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 70 p. MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:14.247; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:15.868; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.967; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:21.346; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:29.219; 6. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:31.955; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:45.882; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:48.126; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:55.332; 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:59.371. MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:27.396; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:16.199; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:35.041; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:44.825; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:45.962; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:53.212; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:58.979; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +1:03.117; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:09.210; 10. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +1:12.304. MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 47 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 47 p.; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 40 p.; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 34 p.; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 32 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 29 p.; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 21 p.; 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 21 p. MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 172 points; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 159 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 133 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 126 p.; 5. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 101 p.; 6. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 101 p.; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 99 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 95 p.; 9. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 86 p.; 10. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 75 p.
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GAUTIER PAULIN
MORE TO REVEAL Story Geoff Meyer images Bavo
Sometimes change is a good thing and sometimes it can unsettle to the point of feeling like you’re starting all over again. When Gautier Paulin signed with the HRC Factory team and called in Jean Michele Bayle to help him out everyone in the GP paddock felt it was the right move.
If there was something missing in the Paulin make-up it was his lack of putting together a full season, and let’s face it against a rider like Antonio Cairoli you pretty much need to finish on the podium each and every week.
So far in 2015 he has gone 4-3-7-6-6-75-5, compare that to his 2014 opening four rounds of 3-1-4-9-6-2-1-DNF and it’s a big difference. Even more so when you consider the DNF should have been another moto victory.
There was no better rider in the sports history for being sensible and riding within his limit than J.M.Bayle and HRC was in terms of budget and motivation the second best team in the paddock behind the allmighty Red Bull KTM Factory team.
Going into Valkenswaard in 2014 everyone was looking at Paulin as the guy who would trouble defending champion Antonio Cairoli the most. Paulin might not have had the sand skills of the Italian, but he was looking mighty dangerous.
Unfortunately though Paulin hasn’t had the start to his season he might have hoped for. Fifth in the MXGP series points and until this point not looking likely to battle for a GP victory. With 128 points compared to 171 points by series leader Clement Desalle just isn’t good enough for the Frenchman. A poor showing in the next round or two and the 2015 season is more or less over for the friendly Frenchman.
Of course in Valkenswaard the Frenchman crashed and from then on the story-line was all about Cairoli. Can Paulin turn it around and begin to make inroads into the points lead of Desalle, or is he destined to have another season of what should or could have been. Here is how the season has gone until now for Paulin and his opinion of those results. Round four, Italy 5-5 “The track was really tricky – rough and hard like concrete and difficult to pass on so the starts were really important. Yesterday I had a really good feel and a good start – into fourth and good rhythm to fight for the lead, but today I had two bad starts so we need really to keep working on that. If you don’t have a good start you pay for it so today wasn’t easy. Two top five, but I’m fighting at the start with riders I’m not normally fighting with so then you lose time. Because everyone is in the same second, the overall result from the first lap is pretty similar to the finish line. I had really good lap time but it’s not enough without the start so it was tough today.” Round three, Argentina 6-7 “It had been a difficult day, and I wasn’t
able to get the starts I wanted so then was fighting in the midfield, but we come away from everything with fifth overall in the GP and we’re fifth in the championship and still fighting. Now we look to Italy and continue to work hard on the whole package.” Round two, Thailand 7-6 “I have two comments from today: I’m really sad because of my crash, but I’m really happy because of my riding. I think I’m the only one who was doing so many big passes. In the second moto I crashed on the third corner but it wasn’t my fault as I got hit by another rider. I was on the ground and another rider rode over me but I managed to get back to sixth, with a shorter moto. I think I would have been fourth with my pace. Round one, Qatar 4-3 “In the first moto, I had two crashes. I landed on Rattray when he changed line and I was already in the air, and the second was my fault. But I’m happy with my riding after the crashes; with the way I was riding to get back and the lines I was choosing to make these passes. On paper it’s not bad, but we’re just looking forward to the next GP now. It’s the first race in the World Championship for me with Team HRC so I’m really happy to start the season like this, and it’s always good to be on the box. We’re not at the top, but the season is long so it’s already good to be in third place. For sure you always want better but it’s been a very smooth first grand prix. I’m really happy to work with my crew. We improve every time I go on the bike so we’re in good shape.”
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BUILDING CHARACTER JEFFREY HERLINGS
STORY GEOFF MEYER IMAGES RAY ARCHER
Luck isn’t always something you want in your life, and for sure Red Bull KTM rider Jeffrey Herlings would probably prefer the type of luck he has had in recent years to leave him alone. You see, Herlings has more or less only had bad luck. He will admit it himself, he hasn’t always been a good boy, problems with riders in the past or the media or whatever, as a young kid he wasn’t always easy to deal with. I will admit, I have always found him to be a good kid and never had a single problem with him. While flying back from the Italian GP last weekend I sat with Herlings and he mentioned how much he has matured since those days of swearing on television and generally being a spoilt brat. Now though, in 2015 it’s a very different young man. Wiser, older and for sure more experienced Herlings is the perfect professional. His on track celebration with unexpected GP winner Tim Gajser was part of the learning process and it was very good to see. Being a good sportsman is as much about winning as losing. We sat down with the King of the MX2 class and asked him about his Italian adventure. Motocross Illustrated: Jeffrey, while you might not have won in Italy last weekend your gesture to celebrate with Tim Gajser was pretty impressive. Was that something you felt you should have done or did it just happen? Herlings: I mean, nothing was planned.
For sure I was attacking him for that second moto and trying to get the GP win, then I went down. He won the moto and the overall and I could see how happy he was and I totally understand that, and I have known him for a long time.
Motocross Illustrated: Still it really showed how much you have matured as a person and a rider. Herlings: Everybody is trying to beat me, and everyone has tried that for a long time, and he is the guy who pretty much beat me straight up and he was so happy, but at that moment you should be a sportsman and you should be able to congratulate the guy and that is what I did. He did a great job, he rode fantastic, and it is part of life to get beaten. Motocross Illustrated: But in saying that you looked pretty pissed off on the podium. It must be hard to get beaten when you win so much? Herlings: Obviously happy was a
different word to us for Sunday on the podium. He started up front and I was like 10th and he was leading when I was struggling to pass guys and it was a really slick track and I was having a tough time with the track and passing guys, and he was having the GP of his life probably, at least so far. I closed the gap from 10 or 12 seconds and it was tough to pass everyone to get there. Motocross Illustrated: You mentioned you know him a long time, is he a rider who could take your place when you move to the MXGP class? Herlings: Possible he could be the next guy. He needs to get more consistency in his races, he has some good results but also some bad results. He has the speed to become world champion when I move to MXGP or even while I am still in the MX2 class. He has some great speed and he is a great rider and he has a lot of talent, and a lot of things he can improve. I think he is like 19 year old or something. He will stay at MX2 for several years I think. He will be around there on top, but that consistency comes with experiences. It took me a few years to get to where I am now. Motocross Illustrated: And this weekend Valkenswaard!! Going for six straight GP victories at the same circuit. I don’t think anyone has ever done that. DeCoster won seven times at Namur, but that was in eight years as Heikki Mikkola beat him there once. Excited? Herlings: From my side now we have to look forward to this weekend, another GP. It is something amazing, not sure anyone did that winning a GP six times in a row at the same track. Many people expected me to win in Argentina but then I got jumped on and didn’t finish a moto. I mean Valkenswaard is my home GP, I love that track and I have ridden maybe 1000’s laps there, but it isn’t over until the flag falls. The race has to be ridden, but if I can stay out of trouble I should win it, but it isn’t over until it’s over. Motocross Illustrated: I haven’t really taken much notice this year, but how have your lap times been compared to the MXGP guys? Herlings: You know everyone has been talking about MXGP, but everyone underestimates our lap times. Last weekend in that second MXGP moto Max Nagl was really fast and his best lap was a 1.45.9 and I clocked a 1.46.3 so there was
nothing in that. The speed of the MX2 class is pretty good this year. I mean I understand it, everyone is looking at the MXGP class because of Ryan Villopoto and Antonio Cairoli finally getting together. I still think we have a lot of talent in the MX2 class and not just me, but guys like Ferrandis, myself, Gajser, Tixier. Motocross Illustrated: But you understand why everyone is looking at MXGP and not MX2? Herlings: Definitely with Cairoli being an eight times world champ and Villopoto coming from America I understand the interest for the MXGP class. Maybe now with Villopoto more than 50 points behind we might get some love in the MX2 class again. On the other hand many people want to still see Villopoto race because it will be their only chance, and with Desalle just one point ahead of Cairoli and Nagl the class is still very hyped. That people forget about the MX2 class because the MXGP class is so hyped is a little unfair, but the best riders are in MXGP, so I understand. Motocross Illustrated: Watching the type of racing we are getting in the MXGP class, as a racer, do you feel like running that class sometimes? Herlings: This year was perfect that I stayed in MX2 because of my injury from last year. When you go MXGP you need to perfect off-season preparation and the perfect team, everything has to work. I think when I have the perfect preparation and with the new bike I think I will be competitive, I am not saying I will dominate or anything like that, but I think I can be competitive in that class. KTM have a great 450 and a great 350 so that is nice and I can pick from those two bikes. If I look at my lap times compared to the MXGP guys then I have the speed. Of course racing against them is different than racing the MX2 guys, but I think for sure at places like Valkenswaard I can be racing up front and battling for the win. When
I am in perfect shape I can run up front for sure. Motocross Illustrated: You are obviously still the man in the MX2 class, but how tough is it to get motivated sometimes when you know most tracks you will win easy? Herlings: From my side, all the guys in MX2 had an okay winter, so I don’t think they will get much better as the season gets older. I had a terrible winter, crash in Argentina, Italy bad preparation because of the minor injury from Argentina. I didn’t really get time for solid preparation for testing and stuff. I am still like 70% so I should only get better and I think it gives me more motivation to win. For some reason I can’t stay out of trouble. If you look at Cairoli he gets the starts and stays out of trouble. In my second moto I was mid-pack and then you get yourself into trouble. Motocross Illustrated: I still get the feeling you are pushing these guys to another level. Are you proud of that fact? Herlings: I am at the top of the ladder and they are working hard to kick me off the ladder. I know when Roczen was winning I was working so hard to beat him and to improve. I am already on top for three or four years and they are coming closer and I need to continue to improve. Just because Roczen and Searle are no longer in the class doesn’t mean the competition isn’t good, because they are, they are always improving. Look how fast Gajser was last weekend, he was really strong. Motocross Illustrated: What will it take to make 2015 a success story? Herlings: For me to be world champion I need to stay out of trouble and not get injured. I mean despite my injury at the start of the year I have still won six of eight moto’s and had that bad luck in Argentina, I am still on the top of the championship and with Valkenswaard coming up I want to increase that points lead.
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THE WAITING
ZONE
STORY GEOFFF MEYER IMAGES RAY ARCHER
The twists and turns of the 2015 MXGP season for Ryan Villopoto. It has to be one of the most dramatic seasons of his career when it comes to mixed results. Injuries have played a part in his career before and when I wrote a piece about RV in February about what might be his most difficult contest I was in many ways just guessing. I felt the GP guys might have too much for him due to their domination of the AMA riders in the last three MXoN events. I figured he might also be a little in retirement mode.
I remember clearly Tyla Rattray coming over to me in a hotel in Qatar and asking me what I would write when RV smoked the field by 30 seconds, which is pretty much what many people who knew RV expected. I wish I was wrong in my assessment of him, I wish he went to Valkenswaard this weekend and smoked everyone, scored enough points to put himself back in the mix, and go into Spain and England with bag louds of confidence. But now, with an injury, it looks like the goal of being crowned 2015 MXGP champion is not going to be possible, at the very best he has an outside chance. Here are some questions that RV answers for myself, Eric Johnson and Dave Bulmer back in October and February, before this amazing experience got off track. October 2014 Motocross Illustrated: We talk about the huge variety in tracks we have here from sand, to hard-pack to clay, to rock. Will that be difficult to be prepared for that. I mean most American riders are pretty aggressive, and a lot of tracks here need a lot of throttle control. Villopoto: You know obviously a lot of our motocross tracks are not hard pack, but we have a lot of Supercross tracks that are very hard, obviously not with stones in the dirt, but a place like Vegas has one of the hardest dirts we have, you can’t get much harder than Vegas is, blue groove all over the track. I mean I don’t know how anyone could say a track could be harder than that place. For the hard-pack stuff, or the different terrains, I am not worries about that. We might not get the rocks, but we have a fair share of different dirt in the states with Supercross and Motocross. I mean St Jean (MXoN site in 2011) I heard is one of the worst tracks they race on in Europe and I did fine there (won a moto). Motocross Illustrated: Back when you were a kid and racing 80s all over the United States, did you ever really think you’d get to this level? In other words, a level where the entire motocross world is waiting for you to speak? Villopoto: Sitting here with you doing this interview, no, I never thought about getting this big or getting to where I’m at now. To be honest, things might be a lot easier if I wasn’t as big or made it to where I am. There are a lot of things that come along with being in this position that 99% of the people out there will never see. So then you get a backlash at times like, “Why did he do that?” or “Why is he doing this?” Honestly, as a rider or an athlete, you can’t look at that
stuff. We put ourselves at risk every time we climb on the bike. Nor can we care too much about what others think. We’re out there doing this for our own reasons. Those reasons are different for each of the athletes. Motocross Illustrated: How and when did the idea or the opportunity of racing the 2015 World Championship come to the fore? Villopoto: Well, every time we go to Europe for Motocross of Nations or going over in the summertime for Parts Unlimited or Monster, it just amazes me that it’s just such a different world over there. It’s fun. To go to see Europe and see the different places and the architecture and the food is fun for me. Everything is so different. It’s something new and I enjoy that. When we went over for Teutschenthal [MXGP of Germany] we kind of talked about it. We talked to Monster about it. We talked to a lot of my main personal sponsors about it. Everybody seemed to be on board with it. We had to get the ball rolling early because there are a lot of moving parts in this whole thing. It took a long time to get things going. You wouldn’t think it would have been that big of a deal because it it’s Kawasaki and it’s one company, but it was a big battle to pull it all together. February 2015 Motocross Illustrated: Have you been surprised by the reaction of the fans towards your departure and how America’s got behind you? Villopoto: Yes and no. As for the European fans obviously when we come over for Motocross of Nations everybody’s obviously really excited to see us - most, I should say, not all. So I was expecting that. And then also the US side you have your Dungey fans, you have my fans, Chad fans, and all the riders’ different fans. Now that you’ve taken me out of that equation of racing Supercross in the US market, I’m racing here, I have now the Dungey fans and the Chad and the James and all them because now they’re interested in seeing me race over here. Motocross Illustrated: Are you hoping that at Glen Helen, last round of the season, you get a lot of fans supporting you? Villopoto: I don’t know, because I would say that some of the US fans are pretty hard to please. I honestly don’t know what to expect, how many people will be there. I have no idea. It would be cool to see a lot of people come out and support it.hey have a rider
DECADE EUROPE LTD - OfямБcial UK distributor of Alias
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