On-Track Off-Road issue 203

#GETD BEAST MODE ENGAGED 2020 KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE R The NAKED rulebook has been re-written. The KTM 1290 SUPER DUKE R is now leaner, meaner and even more menacing than ever before. Sporting an all-new chassis and suspension setup, the flagship LC8 V-Twin 1301 cc boasting brutal forward thrust, blinding acceleration and an advanced electronics package, the NEW BEAST is locked and loaded for battle.

Photo: R. Schedl

DUKED Please make no attempt to imitate the illustrated riding scenes, always wear protective clothing and observe the applicable provisions of the road traffic regulations!

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MX

THE FIRST ON THE WAY TO FIRST? Jeremy Seewer became the fifth different winner in nine Grands Prix this year and the second rookie victor in 2020.

The Monster Energy Yamaha leader is also the first rider on a non-Austrian motorcycle to have laid his hands on an MXGP garland. It might not have been in the way that the Swiss wanted (even if he did ace the first moto in Mantova, Italy) but Seewer is right in the game and just 16 points behind Tim Gajser in the championship Photo by Ray Archer

AMA-SX

THE END OF THE ROAD? Zach Osborne wins, again, in the contracted 2020 Lucas Oil AMA Pro Nationals and the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna rider nears his first premier class title with success in Florida and round seven of nine. Will the former GP racer again enter the record books? It all wraps by October 10th after visits to Colorado – defending #1 Eli Tomac’s home track – and California Photo by Simon Cudby/Husqvarna

MOTOGP

GETTING RASH IN THE GRAVEL...

The best unemployed (for 2021) rider in MotoGP sees his Catalan GP last all of ten seconds with a swift exit from turn 2 at Barcelona and a major dent to his bid to leave the Ducatitisti with a world championship. Dovi is 4th and 24 points adrift of the young upstarts with six left to run Photo by Polarity Photo

MXGP

GRANDS PRIX OF LOMBARDIA TAZIO NUVOLARI MANTOVA

SEPTEMBER 27th WINNERS MXGP: JEREMY SEEWER, YAMAHA MX2: THOMAS KJER OLSEN, HUSQVARNA

SW

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WITCHAROUND

By Adam Wheeler

Photos by Ray Archer

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TITULAR TITULAR DON’T LOOK BACK IN ANGER There was an unsavoury taste filtering out of the events and comments from the latest opening episode of an MXGP triple header.

It was already unusual to see a post-race MXGP change of results (confusingly it wasn’t immediately communicated outside of the circuit, only the official website results reflected the new Lombardia GP standings) but it led to a sense of injustice at Red Bull KTM. Jorge Prado should have taken his second victory of a rookie season with another 2-2 scorecard, but, then he should not have jumped on waved yellow flags at mid-race distance during the second moto. Of course, there were mitigating factors. Prado was using every ounce of energy and technique to remain ahead of a rampant Romain Febvre and naturally claimed not to see the flags.

The same demotion punishment was handed to Febvre and Gautier Paulin, therefore easing the accusation that Prado made the leap for time or positional gain.

After publication of the revised classification, Prado was disappointed more in what he felt were unsporting actions by Yamaha than in any unfairness around the castigation of his infraction. The other side of the coin is that the Japanese correctly identified an infringement. Perhaps Prado had a case to make in terms of the marshal positions and visibility of the flags. Instead he preferred to query the integrity of his rivals.

“We are all athletes. We all work hard, and athletes and teams have to respect each other,” he said. “Everybody tries to train the best they can to come to the track and win.

You win on the track, not off it.

That’s very important. Sportsmanship: I think it touched me a bit today. I worked so hard today to get a win. They cannot take away my win because

other teams haven’t done it.

They don’t know the honest feeling of winning.”

Prado is young, sensitive and emotional. On more than one occasion tears have dropped on the podium during what has been a three-and-a-half GP career to-date and includes two superb MX2 world championships. It is also not an exaggeration to label the Spaniard as one of the best race starters the sport has seen.

Prado is endearing, happy-golucky and seemingly breezes his way through a Grand Prix.

In the rare moments of being able to peek behind the scenes when the smile has gone then I’ve seen gestures and words that reveal punishingly high self-standards (he was berating himself for a top ten finish earlier in the season, in spite of all his off-season injury woe) and a freakish level of

CREATED THANKS TO

BY ADAM WHEELER

BY ADAM WHEELER determination and drive – perhaps even ruthlessness. Prado has had more than one Red Bull KTM teammate commenting on the harsh rub of an ‘atall-costs’ mentality.

For all his humility and awareness Prado is also a child-star long raised as the next great light in Spanish motocross.

He probably conducted more interviews and TV features before his fifteenth birthday than many of his more experienced peers. He has been hyped and carried hopes and was already his country’s best-ever MX racer, well before he turned 19.

Jorge’s reaction in Mantova was one of restrained rage and self-orientated principle. The benefactor of his punishment, Jeremy Seewer, is another that somehow mixes the ability to be down-to-earth and approachable but also fiercely adaptive and single-minded in a race scenario. If Prado’s loss was tough then the prize

could not have gone to a more similar and deserving rival.

Seewer is more than five years Prado’s senior but is emerging as his closest challenger at the moment, with Tim Gasjer also looming large. Seewer has impressed once again: MXGP rookie in 2018, 2nd in

“WHILE GRAND PRIX TRACKS ARE ARGUABLY BETTER PREPPED THAN THEY HAVE BEEN IN THE LAST TEN YEARS THE TRULY BRUTAL NATURE OF MOTOCROSS CANNOT BE REIGNED INWARDS.” the world and podium challenger in 2019 and now winning motos and GPs in 2020.

It’s a text-book career path where constant progress has been more evident than erratic silverware grabbing. Seewer, who raced his first two years in Grand Prix while completing

his engineering studies, also has a lot of intelligence and perception. “Everybody dreams of winning an MXGP, especially at the level we are racing at now,” he said. “I got a bit lucky from that second moto, but I’m happy.”

One of Jeremy’s first reactions after the hasty swapping of trophies was of concern for his former Suzuki teammate and friend Arminas Jasikonis.

Apparently, any potential for further fuss over the results on Sunday afternoon at Mantova was quelled by worry for the stricken Lithuanian, whose crash required the second use of a medical airlift in the space of three weeks.

In contrast to the remarkable escape by Evgeny Bobryshev – only some spiritual intervention must have helped the Russian walk away uninjured from his massive over-jump – Jasikonis’ accident prompted real fear due to the level of

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trackside attention and when a Husqvarna press release confirmed a ‘traumatic brain injury’ the news was ominously grim. After the shock of Jeffrey Herlings’ latest drama and the wicked impact and amount of whiplash from a fairly tame landing, MXGP was rocked again by the blow to the 23 year old who had pushed into the top five of the world championship standings and was finally boosting his all-action attacking riding with added maturity. Jasikonis’ development and potential had been such that the factory Rockstar team decided to sign him for 2021 over current teammate, former world champion and 2019 Rookie of the Year Pauls Jonass.

in the best or fastest way possible. If one athlete is going to push limits like Herlings did in 2018 to win 17 of 19 GPs then the others need to follow, or stay at home, or make contracts that award 2nd and 3rd position: good luck asking a rider to slow down or avoid pushing their own boundaries if a bigger prize is a few metres ahead on the track. Mantova is also not to blame. The track and surface is well known in the world championship.

Riders have to measure the risk: someone will always get away with it, but it’s a perilous way to live. Mantova has claimed careers: Steven Frossard swapped out in 2015. But then so have tracks like Kegums, Sevlievo and Lommel.

The paddock will wait and hope for some positive news from the hospital in Cremona where #27 lays in an induced coma. As a natural consequence the safety of the series will come under the microscope, with Tony Cairoli crashing and breaking his nose, Arnaud Tonus suffering a concussion and moments like Bobryshev’s ‘take-off’ skirting further disaster.

Like a Moto3 race in MotoGP (how on earth do they avoid frequent and frightening pile-ups?) I’m surprised there are not even more accidents in motocross sometimes. Ben Watson and Jed Beaton were going hammer-and-tongs for that very first MX2 moto chequered flag on Sunday.

It was both brilliant and scary to watch.

While Grand Prix tracks are arguably better prepped than they have been in the last ten years the truly brutal nature of motocross cannot be reigned inwards, especially with the advancement of suspension and performance of the motorcycles and fitness, reactions and technique of the riders. Each track is a palette for racers to mix-up and express themselves

The condense natured of racing in 2020 means that the gate - and spirits - will be raised in only a few hours. The strength to forget and deny and to hold your way-oflife in your hands again so quickly when one of your peers lies in a hospital bed means that any win or championship this autumn should carry extra merit, not less.

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THE FIRST

A HISTORIC RACING FOOTNOTE TEN YEARS ON ON APRIL 11th 2010 THE INNOVATIVE AND SPECULATIVE KTM 350 SX-F WON THE GRAND PRIX OF LOMBARDIA IN THE HANDS OF TONY CAIROLI.

BY THE END OF THE SEASON THE DUO WOULD DELIVER THE FACTORY’S FIRST PREMIER CLASS FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – THE BEGINNING OF A SEVEN-YEAR KTM VICTORY SPREE THROUGH THE REST OF THE DECADE. WHY WAS MANTOVA SUCH A MILESTONE? The FIM Motocross World Championship changed dramatically in 2004. The old 125, 250 and 500cc categories had evaporated, and been replaced by ‘MX1’ and ‘MX2’ (to acknowledge the new predominant production bike engine platforms. ‘MX1’ would be re-branded as ‘MXGP’ in 2014. KTM stole a march in MX2 with the 250 SX-F: claiming the first title with Ben Townley and owning a further eleven with eight different riders.

However, in the premier class it was a different story. Athletes like Townley and David Philippaerts would score occasional GP wins but the 450 SX-F was adapted from an enduro bike and was unwieldy. At the time 450cc motocross motorcycles were beginning to embrace fuel injection and their power and handling made them hard to wrestle for a brace of 40 minute motos.

Yamaha and Suzuki were the protagonists of the age: taking championships from 20042009. KTM invested in youth (Townley, Steve Ramon, Kenneth Gundersen, Jonathan Barragan, Max Nagl) and then attempted to cherry-pick the cream of racing talent but their expensive recruitment of former world champions Mickael Pichon and Sebastian Tortelli in 2006 did not work. Towards the end of the ‘00s the 450 SX-F had a reputation for speed and fantastic torque but was still not posting the desired results.

The will of KTM Motorsports Director Pit Beirer, the status and clout of then-Red Bull KTM Motocross Team Manager Stefan Everts and the open-mindedness of senior KTM management and R&D, led to the creation of the KTM 350 SX-F in 2009, adopting a link suspension

Then, midway through 2009, a unique opportunity emerged. Claudio De Carli and his long-term Yamaha operation including the electric Tony Cairoli – a double MX2 world champion and leading the MX1 standings as a rookie in the category – were ready to switch brands after Yamaha Motor Europe were forced to cut their racing budget and end their support of De Carli’s set-up.

Beirer saw an ideal conduit for the 350 SX-F and for KTM. “In October 2009, thanks to the excellent synergy with the company, we started working on the 450 and 350 which was a completely new bike, practically a prototype to be developed,” De Carli remembers now. “From my experience I believed a lot in a slightly reduced engine capacity compared to the 450, mainly for its potential and riding characteristics. However, we also worked on the 450 and we were free to decide between the two bikes. Perhaps today, knowing the results, it seemed an easy choice but at that moment was not obvious and making a mistake in our first year with KTM, after winning the MX1 title in 2009, would have been a big disappointment. The rider himself had to be convinced.”

The La Favorita hotel in the scenic town of Mantova, north of Bologna, was very busy with media representatives and guests on the eve of the Starcross pre-season International race in February 2010. The FIM World Championship would visit the town and the citycentre circuit for the second round of 15 less than two months afterwards but the Starcross represented a shakedown ‘test’ outing for GP riders.

KTM held a large press conference to not only unveil the new MX1 World Champion and his team in orange but also the gleaming KTM 350 SX-F. Promising youngster Mike Alessi would ride the motorcycle in AMA competition while Cairoli was joined in the Grand Prix team by Max Nagl and Rui Gonçalves.

The event carried the kind of fanfare that the innovative machine deserved. The following day, across the Italian sand, would come the first validation of the 350/Cairoli/De Carli formula.

“Tony’s feeling with the bike was excellent,” his team manager and mentor recalls. “I remember we decided to go with the 350 only a few days before the Starcross International while Max Nagl remained with the 450 because he had already used it the previous years. The response on the track was fantastic and Tony won the Starcross with very promising lap times.”

It was a resounding preview.

When the Grand Prix season started a few weeks later with the Grand Prix of Bulgaria around the steep hills and fast layout of Sevlievo, Cairoli (foregoing the #1 plate for his distinctive #222) was limping into action. “I had a knee injury in Bulgaria but the result was not too bad”. Nagl – who was a rapid starter and harnessed the best traits of the KTM 450 SX-F to make it work for his style – had been world #2 in 2009 and leapt out of the gate in more ways than one. “Both bikes were competitive,” says De Carli “at the first GP in Bulgaria Max won race one and Tony won race two, and they both got the podium: Max first and Tony second. For me it was immediately a great satisfaction.”

Rain in the build-up of the Grand Prix of Lombardia meant the Mantova sand – reworked slightly for the FIM series compared to the Starcross – was deeper, softer and rougher.

Cairoli started poorly and lost the first moto to Belgian Clement Desalle, but the champion and darling of the home crowd triumphed in the second and earned overall victory, rising

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chassis compared to the traditional PDS system long advocated by KTM. The philosophy behind the bike was clear: compact handling, less power and more corner speed permitting faster laps for longer. It was a bold and radical move, coming at the time of the financial crisis and when KTM’s GP rivals were unwilling to take a likewise advance in a fresh technical direction.

MXGP to the top of the standings in the process. He would concede ownership of the red plate only once for the rest of the thirteen GPs that term.

“I think this is one of the best GPs of my career or maybe at least one of the most memorable,” Cairoli said at the time. “To win in front of the fans on the 350 in only our second GP with KTM is something special.

We are starting to know the bike better and it was perfect today. I felt the positive points of the 350 in my second moto win when the track was at its bumpiest with a lot of lines.

I really enjoyed riding it and I am really happy.”

Cairoli smiles at the memory now when his words are read back to him. “It was definitely very important and pretty emotional,” he reflects. “My first race on Italian soil with a KTM and being not that far from Austria there were also a lot of KTM people there that day. It was one of the best memories I have from that year and our story together.

The 350 was definitely the perfect bike for that track at the time; it was very light and it gets very rough there. The 450s were not easy bikes to race and the 350 helped me keep the speed up for the forty-minute motos.”

“We always worked to try and improve the package but from the beginning the frame meant the bike was very comfortable for me, so we kept it like that for quite some time after,” he adds.

Cairoli was no stranger to victory at Mantova, having won there in MX2 and he would triumph again in subsequent years. He would also succeed at other Italian venues like Arco di Trento, and Ottobiano. Nagl, showing the positive evolution of the KTM 450 SX-F was also on the podium at Mantova. The German would finish third in the 2010 series. “Max

also was third that day: it was an incredible moment after all the winter work,” says De Carli. “Still, I can only thank KTM, and Tony, for the great trust they have placed in the project because we largely dominated the season. The title arrived with two GPs to go and I also remember that in Lierop [Grand Prix of Benelux and the penultimate race of 2010] we nearly had all three riders on the podium with Tony first, Max second and Rui Goncalves (who had been injured in the first part of the season and was riding the 350 also) second in race two and fourth overall.”

“2010 is for sure the year that me and my group will never forget,” he continues. “It was the year which immediately put us in a position to work with great purpose with the KTM racing department and for this I will always thank the company and in particular Pit Beirer.”

“THE KTM PRESS CONFERENCE CARRIED THE KIND OF FANFARE THAT THE INNOVATIVE MACHINE DESERVED. THE FOLLOWING DAY, WOULD COME THE FIRST VALIDATION OF THE 350/ CAIROLI/DE CARLI FORMULA...”

Mantova [which, incidentally, saw Jeffrey Herlings take his very first GP trophy for second place overall in MX2 with the KTM 250 SX-F, and at 15 years of age for what was just his second world championship appearance] kickstarted an era. Cairoli would blossom further with the KTM 350 SX-F and rule the division until injury midway during 2015 forced an end to his remarkable run of consistency.

“With five world titles in a row the KTM 350 SX-F proved to be unbeatable in Tony’s hands and I think it was also a point of reference for the work of our ‘rivals’,” De Carli assesses.

Crucially the KTM 350 SX-F influenced the followed generation of the KTM 450 SX-F. Upon the 450’s introduction in 2015 it became a new reference for the category in both motocross and supercross and also the motorcycle market. Cairoli would be world champion again with those extra 100ccs in 2017. Herlings would assemble one of the most dominant seasons on record with his 2018 campaign. The 350 SX-F had long made its mark and helped usher in a new epoch.

“MXGP; is a different time now compared to 2010,” Cairoli muses. “The guys then were very fast but now it is more ‘sprint’ racing.

The motos were a bit longer ten years ago [MXGP is currently 30 minutes and 2 laps compared to the old format of 35 minutes and 2] and everybody was trying to control each other in the beginning: those with the best level of preparation could make it payoff and win. Now the motos are almost seven minutes less and everybody goes flat-out from the first lap, so it is different racing.”

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“The 350 SX-F is still a highly appreciated product of the KTM line; it’s a bike with which many riders can express themselves best.”

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CIRCUIT DE BARCELONACATALUNYA

SEPTEMBER 27th WINNERS MotoGP: FABIO QUARTARARO, YAMAHA Moto2: LUCA MARINI, KALEX Moto3: DARRYN BINDER, KTM

Photos by CormacGP/Polarity Photo

JUST FAB

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MR CONSISTENCY The 1999 125cc championship was a hard-fought affair.

Masao Azuma dominated the first half of the season, claiming five of the first eight races, and taking a commanding lead. Marco Melandri seized control of the second half, copying Azuma’s feat of five wins from eight races.

Roberto Locatelli took a couple of victories, as did Gianluigi Scalvini.

None of them ended up taking the title, however. It was Emilio Alzamora who lifted the 1990 125 crown, despite not owning a single race that season. He came close a handful of times, but never managed to walking the top step of the rostrum.

How did Alzamora pull it off? By finishing on the podium in ten races and only failing to score once. In the races he didn’t finish in the champange, Alzamora was in the top six on every occasion bar one. Habitual winners Azuma and Melandri had three and four zeroes to their names respectively, and Azuma compounded that by regularly dropping points.

Alzamora won the title through sheer consistency.

The 2020 MotoGP championship bears more than a passing resemblance to the 125cc title chase back in 1999. There is a voracious victor: Fabio Quartararo has taken three wins from the first eight races. Maverick Viñales has one and a couple of seconds, in Jerez behind Quartararo. Andrea Dovizioso has a victory and a podium, and a host of points-scoring finishes. But there have also been six winners from eight so far, and thirteen different riders have been on the podium. It has been hard to discern a pattern.

As in 1999, there is one rider who has a strong claim to the title without having won a single race.

Suzuki Ecstar’s Joan Mir is currently second in the standings, 8 points behind leader Fabio Quartararo. Perhaps not coincidentally, also the order the two finished on Sunday in Barcelona as well.

Thinking about it, the Barcelona race was a pretty good metaphor for the different ways the two riders have ended up where they are in the championship. Quartararo got a strong start and quickly made his way forward to the front, fading late but with enough in hand to retain the lead. Mir got off to a slower start, took longer to get up to speed, but once he did, started rapidly hunting down the Frenchman in the final laps.

So it has been in the championship as well. Quartararo leapt out to an early lead, winning the first two races at Jerez. Mir crashed out of the first race, finished fifth in the second, then got taken out

by Iker Lecuona at Brno. Three races into the 2020 championship, Quartararo led with 59 points, while Joan Mir was a lowly fourteenth on 11 points.

Since then, Mir has been a veritable steamroller. At the Red Bull Ring, he scored his first podium in the first race, then finishing fourth in the second, though he was robbed of an almost certain victory when the race was red flagged. Since then, he hasn’t been off the rostrum. After scoring just 11 points in the first three races, he has racked up 89 points in the last five.

He has vastly outscored his rivals. In the last five races, he banked 34 points more than Jack Miller, the next highest.

Over the last four he outperforms second-placed Franco Morbidelli by 23 points. In fact, take away the first GP of the season, and Joan Mir would be leading the championship by 17 points.

Going by the numbers, Mir has to be the favourite for the title.

He is the only rider to be able to finish inside the top five every race he finishes. He is showing the kind of consistency which earned Emilio Alzamora a championship.

Can Mir go one better and actually win a GP? Austria 2 suggested he could, before the race had to be restarted. Mir’s problem is that the Suzuki GSX-RR has been designed to get the most out of its tyres over full race distance, meaning that Mir and teammate Alex Rins always have something extra at the end of the race.

All motorcycle design is a compromise, however. The Suzuki spares its tyres by not placing too much load through the tyre at an particular point. That advantage comes at a price: you can’t load the tyres to extract maximum performance from them when chasing a fast lap.

The Suzukis qualify poorly, especially when grip is high, and that leaves Mir and Rins with work to do. Fortunately, being gentle on rubber makes that work of cutting through the field a good deal easier. Put this together and you get a bike which qualifies badly but races well, making podiums easy but victories very hard to come by. Does Joan Mir regard himself as the favourite for the title? “It’s too early to say now,” he said on Sunday. “Of course

we are the most constant riders on the grid and for sure on the classification we are really close.

I think there’s a lot of championship in front of us, a lot of points to give and a lot of riders that are really, really strong.”

Joan Mir has a point. But it is hard not to draw the conclusion that Mir is the strongest of them all.

CREATED THANKS TO Moto3’S NEWEST RACING TEAM

BY DAVID EMMETT

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STILL GOT IT It can always turn on a moment. 15 laps had passed in Sunday’s Catalan Grand Prix, and the outcome could have gone either way. This was shaping up to be another curio between racing’s latest young pretender and the past master.

We’d all pay to watch Fabio Quartararo and Valentino Rossi face-off in racing conditions. The Frenchman showed himself to have superior speed. But at what cost around a track with such a pronounced drop off in tyre performance? Meanwhile the 41-year old hadn’t looked this competitive over a full weekend in quite some time. Could the old cunning carry him past Quartararo when the grip had really gone?

Sadly, as it pans out, we’ll never know. Rossi certainly suggested as much when speaking after

that cruel front end wash-out at turn two, the first-time riders use the left side of their tyre in 40 seconds, a crucial factor in the coolest track conditions of the year. “Quartararo lose very much in the last laps,” he said. “We will never know because I crashed, but if I was able to slow down less, because maybe I was a bit better in the last laps, I can also win.”

Coulda, woulda shoulda. Cynics may be inclined to point to Rossi’s recent victory charges following a similar pattern. They have a point. Yes, he crashed out of the lead at Sepang two years ago just as Marc Marquez was really turning the screw. And, yes, he was unable to resist Alex Rins’ advances in Austin last April when the stars aligned and Marc Marquez handed him a surprise lead giftwrapped by the gods.

The decisiveness with which Rossi operated in last lap fights during his prime was always one thing that stood out. Be it Biaggi, Gibernau, Capirossi, Lorenzo or Pedrosa in the 2000s, you’d

have placed a mortgage on the outcome swinging in his favour.

Nine times out of ten you’d be right.

Sure, that has deserted him in the past few years. Recently he came off second best in late fights against Maverick Viñales in Jerez and Joan Mir at Misano.

But it’s probably worth revisiting the situation Rossi found himself in July 2019, when it really felt as though it was all coming to an end.

To see him simply pull aside mid-race to allow Marc Marquez – in the midst of his latest immortalizing fightback – through was to contradict pretty much everything we had previously seen in his career. He owned up to it, too. “He was very strong and with a great pace,” Rossi said. “I was very slow and didn’t want to create problems. It didn’t make sense to keep him behind me.” I can’t recall another time like it. His issues with the Yamaha M1 in ‘19 were well-known.

He struggled for optimum feel in fast corners and was incapable of managing the rear tyre for

a full race distance. The difference between this and other low points in his career was the speed of Quartararo and Viñales.

Both were regularly on the front row and podium while Rossi languished.

By the first round of 2020, the nine-time champ’s fight appeared to have been decimated.

It was approaching that time none of us wanted to witness: when, pretty much to the penny, onlookers watch on, faces scrunched up, knowing deep down it was probably time for him to call it a day.

No one was more aware of this than Rossi himself. “Was very bad for everybody in my side because after the races like [Jerez 1], we look in our faces and we don’t have the words. We said maybe it’s time to stay at home.

We already take the decision to race next year, I was also a little bit worried because I don’t enjoy.

I don’t have fun when I ride the bike. It’s very frustrating because I have the same problem for a long time”

Yet the following weekend he challenged Yamaha’s Japanese engineers to change the bike to his liking, rather than go off Viñales and Quartararo’s preferred setting. “They needed to support me,” he said after his podium at the Andalusian Grand Prix, 465 days after his last. “I am here in the factory team and next year I will race with Petronas, so they have to trust in me.

We push hard on the Japanese engineers, with David (Muñoz, crew chief), with all the crew.”

The upturn since then has been nothing short of remarkable.

Against the youngest and brightest the sport has to offer, Rossi is holding his own once more.

A shot at the title has passed him for another year, but he’s competitive and is enjoying racing once more. He overcame a near-death experience in the Austrian Grand Prix to place as top Yamaha the following week.

There was a variation of just 0.6s in all but two of his laps during the San Marino Grand Prix, a ride of real class even if he just missed out on a podium.

CREATED THANKS TO Moto3’S NEWEST RACING TEAM

BY NEIL MORRISON

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He looked like the Rossi of old fighting at the front in Barcelona. Most remarkable of all, he finally confirmed the Petronas SRT Yamaha move when there was still time to make a u-turn. If current rumours are to be believed, he doesn’t intend to stop at the close of 2021 either.

It’s just another occasion in which Rossi has come back from the brink when most (myself included) were writing him off. When he senses there is a chance, he can lift his levels toward the best in class. Yes, he fell short once again on Sunday.

But with races coming up where the weather could play its part, would you put it past him scoring a first win since 2017?

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LEATT

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Leatt are turning heads as well as saving them with a brand-new crash helmet. The 9.5 Carbon represents some fine protective and practical ideas by the South Africans in a far more attractive form. Leatt’s previous attempts at a lid featured some curious tech, like their 360 Turbine ‘absorption’’ system and a much smaller shell but the shape and design was odd, and the graphics were not enticing. The neck brace pioneers have worked diligently for the 9.5 Carbon (and the 8.5 version that is made from a composite shell) and having held the product in my hands I can say that Leatt have raised their game.

The carbon construction means very low weight and the form of the helmet has a more attractive rounder profile. The peak is noticeable different. It’s made from a light and very flexible plastic that clips rigidly into three holes. Marketing and Athlete Manager Dave King explained that the component is impressively resistant and few of them break.

Bending the material back and forth like a credit card supports his claim. A good yank on a Fox V3 magnetic system will detach the visor but the Leatt is even harder to budge, snapping the little plugs in the event of a crash will be the only way to have to order another one.

Looking around the 9.5 there is a lot of mesh and vents. The intake and exhaust system was one of the strongest facets of the company’s older helmets – particularly when riding at low speed - and that has been

retained and refined “we worked really hard on ventilation again,” says King. A quick look inside the shell reveals the complex series of grooves and channels that will push air around the lid. It seems that the 9.5 could be tricky for cleaning, due to so much mesh but it’s nothing that some compressed air or a thick brush won’t fix.

In terms of safety then the Turbine ‘network’ in the shell fights against concussion. The shell has four densities of impact foam in five different sectors. Leatt claim it is a significant step in performance. In fact, the 9.5 will pass new incoming safety standards and the FIM protocol, meaning it is one of the more advanced models on the shelf with robust protection all around the shell and not only in the two-three zones applicable to the tests.

Quick release pads are the norm and the inners are made of 3D shaped, moisture-wicking material that are contoured to the face.

LEATT 9.5 CARBON

Leatt have a low ‘striking platform’ at the back of the helmet to ensure prime compatibility with their neck braces and the hydration tube port is also located towards the rear, far less fiddly. “We started from scratch with the 9.5,” says King.

“We know what we wanted the helmet to include but the design and for it to be more appealing was also high on the brief. Our last shell was five years old. We’ve invested a lot in terms of R&D, tooling and moulds.” Development on the racetrack has come from the input of Justin Hill in the U.S. and feedback from Enduro star Jonny Walker in Europe.

It would be remiss not to mention the packaging. Leatt have included a pair of their 6.5 Velocity goggles (worth more than 100 euros) with every helmet. The pre-curved, wide, bulletproof, anti-fog lens quickly clicks into the dual density frame thanks to two outrigger clips.

Next to Scott’s Prospect we liked the quality and the simplicity of the 6.5 Velocity. Bagging a pair with the helmet is a great touch. Leatt have also inserted a transparent tinted peak extension that easily slots into place and offers valuable aid against dipping (or rising) sun.

At 549 euros the 9.5 Carbon carries a premium price (the 8.5 is a hundred euros less) but at last Leatt have a premium helmet. This should lift them several notches upwards when it comes to anybody’s consideration for their next offroad lid purchase. It’s available from early October.

LEATT 9.5 CARBON

Fit has been a priority for Leatt. Their ‘Pro Fit’ liner is an interesting addition. It stretches and ‘moulds’ to the shape of the rider’s head. It would appear that even the eggiest of craniums will fill snug in the flexible ‘cap’.

FEATURE

CRADLES:

THE MOVING WORLD OF MOTOCROSS CHASSIS AND FRAMES AND WHAT GOES INTO THIS COMPLICATED TECH

ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETAENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA ENTRADETA

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer/KTM

By Adam Wheeler Photos by Ray Archer JP Acevedo

FEATURE

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aunches of new dirtbikes will talk about all the fancy fresh specs. Manufacturers will entice interest with descriptions of chassis and frame development and talk of centralisation, positioning, mass and revitalised degrees of flex and rigidity to have achieved a new level of handling. Unless a customer is placing hundreds and hundreds of hard hours into his riding then the full complexities of frame construction can be hard to understand or grasp. Why have more flex in one area and less in another? Why do the factories spend vast amounts in labour, R&D and resources for this progression? Also, what role do factory racers play in the process and how demanding are they? If there is one sect of dirtbike user that can really appreciate the

nuances of a frame’s behaviour then it is the riders that are separated by tenths of a second at FIM World Championship level.

Red Bull KTM’s Tony Cairoli is a man who has raced and won with Yamaha YZ250F and YZ450F production technology and KTM 350 and 450 SX-Fs full-factory material in a career of 250 Grand Prix appearances stretching back to 2003. The Sicilian is unequivocal on the evolution made by the brands.

“It is just my opinion, but I think the bikes are at such a high level now and everybody is so fast,” he reckons. “If you see a couple of years ago the guys who were fast at GPs were using technique and they were fit. Now with

Frames and feeling have a lot to play, but, at the same time revered Grand Prix technicians like Steve Dixon believe that the chassis is the best and easiest way to make even more in-roads in terms of performance. Electronics have reached a general standard of efficiency where even more gain requires even more investment, suspension is now at a fantastic and

WHO WE SPOKE TO: JEFFREY DE VRIES, MOTOCROSS TECHNICAL SUPERVISOR, YAMAHA MOTOR EUROPE DIRK GRUEBEL, RED BULL KTM TEAM MANAGER AND TECHNICAL CO-ORDINATOR WIM VAN HOOF, CHIEF MECHANIC, STANDING CONSTRUCT GASGAS FACTORY RACING GLENN COLDENHOFF, STANDING CONSTRUCT GASGAS FACTORY RACING MITCH EVANS, TEAM HRC TIM GAJSER, TEAM HRC SHAUN SIMPSON, SS24 KTM MXGP

forgiving level and engine tech means 450s are more customisable and workable than ever. The cradle for the whole package is even more under the microscope as manufacturers strive to use their already copious experiences and ideas in this sector for progression.

To understand a bit more about why and how we zoned into a few people in the MXGP paddock; representatives from KTM with their steel frame approach (even applied to MotoGP) and Yamaha for the Japanese angle as well as some of the riders...

More than a lump of shiny coloured metal Van Hoof: You can have the best engine in the world but if the chassis doesn’t work then you’re nothing. By the same token you might not have the fastest engine but if the chassis gives the right feel then you can still make good results, especially with the most technical tracks.

Gruebel: The Japanese use aluminium frames with completely different behaviour compared to us at KTM because we still believe and rely on steel. We have a good and safe process building our frames but so do they with ‘alu’.

If we switched to alu now we’d have to make a big investment and would face a steep learning curve against them. I think the Japanese started with aluminium in the late 60s. You cannot match that experience in just a couple of years. When you compared both then there is a give-and-take. Their frames work better on some tracks whereas ours work better on others. I think it is very hard to say: ‘this is the best bike or the best frame or the best material’. Everything has pros and cons.

MX CHASSIS

bike development if you watch regional or national races people are doing things that ten or fifteen years you wouldn’t even think about. I think it will get faster and faster because of the development of the bikes. I would not say for everybody…but a lot of people can go faster now than they could before when technique or training [made the difference].”

FEATURE

Coldenhoff: We need a bike that is stable and that’s a lot to do with the chassis. I have tested some in the past that make the bike feel very aggressive. Each chassis has a certain amount of hours [of life], and we do quite a lot with that. If you watch a slow-motion video then you can see how much the bike moves. We have head cases of carbon and I really feel that stability in corners: it’s just a small detail but I feel it.

Gruebel: The stiffer the chassis the more you ask from your suspension. If you have a frame with a certain amount of flex to help you then it will assist with compensation. If you find a bump and you are braking and the suspension is already on half travel then the frame will take the force instead of pushing the suspension to compress further: you might come to a point where it is really harsh.

De Vries: Suspension is already so good, so if you want to make a big step then you have to get it from the chassis. The traction, the impact from landing, the feedback the rider has from tyres and other aspects is super-important. If you want to do it then you can make a step. Look at Tim Gajser’s new Honda: they have made a huge step compared to last year where they were one of the worst. You could see how the bike would buck and he’d be off it.

They really improved.

Gajser: It’s hard to list all the small stuff but it is a totally new package. As you can probably see from the outside it looks smaller. Honda also made a big step forward with the engine.

Evans: I have to have the front end of the bike feeling good. I’m not the greatest at setting the rear but, to be honest, as long as the front has good hold that’s enough. If we make a change for the race I can feel it on the Sighting Lap. It’s front end feel and power for me.

YAMAHA: “YOU STILL HAVE MANY POSSIBILITIES TO PLAY WITH FRAME RIGIDITY. WE ALSO HAVE TO LOOK AT COST: HOW DO WE MAKE SOMETHING THAT IS GOOD BUT ALSO AFFORDABLE? IT’S THE STORY NOW IN MOTOCROSS. IT’S THE SAME FOR ELECTRONICS: HOW FAR CAN YOU GO?”

De Vries: There is no difference for development between road racing and motocross. Of

course stiffness and rigidity are completely different because of the impacts in motocross but the testing results and how you change and modify things is the same. It’s an ongoing process. In Yamaha – more-or-less – every two/three years we have a new chassis. It never stops. We, like Honda, use the same chassis for the 250 and the 450.

Gruebel: We had small oval frames, big oval frames, round frames. From 2005 until now we’ve had it all. Now it is still oval in some spots but we had huge frames at one point, huge frame diameters, and now we back to more ‘normal’ ones. It evolves over the years and can perhaps become too stiff so you go back to small diameters. It is a process…and reflecting how the Grand Prix tracks develop.

De Vries: The last couple of years we have been very focused on mass centralisation and the weight is a big thing. KTM use steel and they are lighter so we are trying to go as light as possible but still keep the advantages of aluminium.

Van Hoof: You’d think an aluminium frame would be lighter, there is not much difference at all with ours.

Simpson: I’ve ridden for Japanese brands and also KTM, and won GPs with both. The steel frame is much more rigid. I felt the Yamaha aluminium frame tended to flex and wallow a bit more, which I don’t like so much and it made it a bit more difficult for me to set up the suspension. With the steel frame I had a better feel for what the suspension was doing. I could also tell when it had quite a few hours on it. I remember doing a lot of winter testing with suspension on an older bike and then took those settings onto my new racebike for the season, that had maybe five hours on it, and the suspension felt very different. I didn’t really enjoy the fact that I had to keep tabs on the hours on the frame in relation

MX CHASSIS

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Simpson: It’s something people don’t think about much. People like to test engines; where it is quite easy to feel the character and an initial change. Suspension is another one where it is easy to feel a big change when it comes to springs, oil or shim stacks. It’s in the small stuff where you can sometimes get lost.

Chassis is something where you really need the resources and it is where factory teams can get right into the details.

FEATURE to the suspension. It can be confusing when you get really detailed. The state of the frame is something that riders at our level really notice.

Coping with the complexity De Vries: Our riders, and I think many generally, hate a new chassis because it is stiff and doesn’t have the flex they are looking for. During the week they are always on the training bikes and most of the time those chassis’ are four GPs old or more - we use ours for four GPs and then it goes onto the training bike – and then they come to the race and they have a frame that might only have a few hours or nothing at all. They hate it because it’s not what they are used to. With Romain Febvre we even used a spare rider to run-in the frame. It’s a component made of material that moves. It needs a certain amount of flex or a way to be used.

Gruebel: The technology changes. In the past everything was done from sheet metal or tubing. Now we get a lot of forged and casted parts and the future will involve printing. The options all have different stiffness and behaviour. Metal processing changes. Also, fabrication processes that were not possible twenty years ago through

the welding or forged construction, whereas now you can just print. You can go wild.

De Vries: A prototype frame is hand built but then you move to production and that’s the next story. It’s tough. It’s a complex thing.

Gruebel: We started printing for the chassis two-three years ago. At the moment we are still using it lightly but there is a lot going on behind the scenes for development and things like endurance testing. You can’t just print something and build the bike from that. You have to go through the steps and make sure everything is safe. You need to get experience with it.

Van Hoof: I visited the factory in Austria before Christmas and they showed me the new rig with advanced camera analysis. It is at a very high level to make some progression. All our feedback goes to WP – who are taking care of this area – and if it matches some of the data found with the R&D then these points can be worked on.

Gruebel: Subframes and the use of carbon is interesting but you should not forget thata

Van Hoof: It is not easy to find the mix but the factory’s advantage is the amount of experience they have, this means they minimise problems and know how to provide the right handling. The current frame on the GasGas is so good that it is hard to imagine how it can get getter but a new one is coming, and it looks similar so the changes must be with thicker or thinner plates or other materials.

Gruebel: Road racing is not 100% my field but from talking with my MotoGP colleagues it was clear we were going to stick with steel there. We believe in it because we’ve had a lot of success in motocross with it. Of course, we have tested other chassis – even in offroad – but it is not something done from today to tomorrow. It takes a big investment. We sell bikes for the street with a steel frame. If you just make a pure prototype in another direction then it is also hard for the customer to identify with what is being raced and promoted and what is being sold. What race they sell…kind of!

De Vries: Some chassis are becoming more compact but our engine always has the downdraft air intake so we need space in the front area of the bike to have airbox volume. So, it is always a battle in the development room: the need for volume for good power while riders always want the slimmest bike possible. The bikes are getting more and more compact but there is a limit. Look at MXGP now and some of the riders are very tall and strong and the bikes are getting smaller.

Coldenhoff: The balance of the bike is everything. If I feel it a little bit high in the rear then I cannot do anything.

Van Hoof: When we test or ride a new frame then Glenn is happy. If it has 15-20 hours then he is complaining a bit about it. I know already that someone like Jeffrey [Herlings] likes an old frame with many hours.

Evans: Normally when you ride a brand-new bike - after previously riding something that might have thirty-forty hours - then you definitely feel the stiffness and extra rigidity. You end up riding a bit tighter because the bike is that way.

MX CHASSIS

composite structure with almost no flex on a chassis that has flex means more stiffness! So, there’s a difference if you have an aluminium subframe, titanium or composite. It all has an influence on frame behaviour.

FEATURE Being on a factory team the difference between the race bike and the practice bike is not much at all and hard to notice. I don’t like the feeling of a stiff frame. If I had it my way then I’d put ten hours on it before we race it.

Sometimes that’s not achievable or realistic.

In general, the bike feels tighter and doesn’t move or flex in the way you are used to. If I had a frame that had a hundred hours I’d still prefer it to a brand new one. That comes just from riding the bikes until they broke in Australia. It makes sense that you are going to feel more comfortable on a bike with more hours on the frame.

Simpson: I like a stiffer bike myself, the feeling of a fresh new frame or within ten hours at least. We don’t want to be using one with much more time for racing, the old one then goes onto the practice bike. Engine mounts can be a strange thing to test and you think ‘how can that ever affect the handling?’ but it’s amazing how some stiffer or softer engine braces work and create a much different feel.

With softer ones you can really feel the back end tracking the ground better and giving you more flex. The stiffer ones give rigidity and can get the power down quicker but make the ride a bit jerkier. My eyes were opened when I tested that. The linkage is on the back of the chas-

sis and goes along with the suspension but rake angles and triple clamps come into it and there are many areas. For me it was about the frame stiffness, the frame age and the engine mounts. I use a standard frame and standard mounts at the moment…but it is something we plan to test this winter and going into 2021 with the resources that we have.

The testing hours Evans: Whenever we get on a new bike or we go testing the first thing I like to focus on is the feeling I want from the front. As soon as I have that then we can work on the rest of the bike. Back in Australia we worked on having a base setting that we didn’t really change that much but over here in GPs I notice that each track produces a different feeling.

De Vries: In road racing you can go to one track and test. It’s always the same. In motocross each track, each lap, can be so different: you need a frame that works everywhere, like on sand or hard-pack or slightly softer tracks with hard bumps. It is a complex system but we have test riders for this. Yamaha has huge experience with frame development and if you start a new frame development cycle for a new

MX CHASSIS model then it is a long process. It is almost two years with swing arms and different stiffness of frames, thickness of framing, shafts with different thickness, steering stems with different diameters and material and the direction of tubing. The evolution towards the best does not stop.

Gruebel: Chassis testing is a lot of work. The factory riders have a different chassis each, let’s say. Some like more flex, others like less.

Then there are other components like engine mounts and so on where you can still have influence or wall thickness or axel diameters.

Every guy is different and at this level you need to test with all of them.

Coldenhoff: We were able to test different frames, even this first year with the GasGas. You can really feel the difference. I’m not sure of the small technical details but we’ll have two bikes ready with the two frames. I have a good base setting with the WP Suspension and I’ve had it for three years now so I understand it very well and it allows me to see and feel the difference in frames.

Gruebel: Normally during the racing season we won’t bring in something new. Sometimes there are mid-season tests but it won’t end up in the race bike that quickly. Basically, we take the production base and refine it for our

FEATURE racers. If we feel there is another step to be made then we go the full yard and maybe make our own chassis to the specification of what we can get beyond the stock chassis.

That has happened sometimes but lately the bikes get better and better and the quality of the stock chassis is really high: it’s a great base to work with.

Gajser: We test a lot! We will try two-three frames before settling on one for the season.

We test almost every part on the race bike but also some for production models. I don’t know if Mitch has the same chassis, but Honda can make whatever we want when it comes to angles and position of the front wheel. HRC enable us to adjust the bike as we want.

Casting the future Gruebel: In our case it will not be huge steps but baby ones. We have a few different things compared to our competitors, for example, we have a casted swing arm since 2005 and all

the others still have a billed swing arm, partly cast but also partly through tubing construction and welding. Our is all cast. It is something unique. I don’t know where it will go next. Why do we cast? The advantages include less stress zones because you don’t weld. In the beginning I wouldn’t say it was cheaper but now I think it is because the process has evolved and matured over the years and got safer as well as less time-consuming. It was an investment that you benefit from later on.

De Vries: I think that everybody who knows a bit about motocross can see that the factory Honda frame is the next level. We know we have a good chassis, but we also know we can improve it. We are making production bikes, not one-off race bikes so we have to look how we can make it work for 450 and 250, which are completely different engines. They both have to be good. In our case the 450 comes first - and has done since 2014. The 450 frame is moved to the 250 two years later because you have to play with things like engine mounting, shafts and so on: the frame is the

Gruebel: We still believe you are more flexible for faster changes with a steel chassis because it gives you more areas to improve without big processes. We don’t need heat treatments or stuff like that after welding. It’s easier. That’s our philosophy and I think we’ll stick with it in the future. The steel industry also doesn’t sleep; they come out with new types and different strengths with crazy-thin wall-thicknesses that were not possible ten-fifteen years ago.

It’s a changing industry that opens new doors.

MX CHASSIS

same but the feeling has to be different. You still have many possibilities to play with frame rigidity. We also have to look at cost: how do we make something that is good but also affordable? It’s the story now in motocross. It’s the same for electronics: how far can you go?

If we start building motocross bikes that are 15,000 euros then I don’t think they’d sell.

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ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING

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THE EYES HAVE IT

SCOTT, OAKLEY AND OTHERS HAVE EVOLVED GOGGLE-WEAR TO THE POINT WHERE THE PRODUCTS ARE NOW HIGHLY ADVANCED AND EXTREMELY WELL-DESIGNED. WE ASKED MXGP RIDERS TO TALK ABOUT THE BIGGEST STEPS (AND SOME OF THEIR RACEPREP HABITS) OF THE LAST FIVE YEARS…

By Adam Wheeler Photos by Ray Archer/ JP Acevedo

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rices may have edged up but so has the quality and performance. Goggles have never been bigger, more ventilated, offered a stronger (even self-tinting) lens and absorbed more moisture. It was only a few years ago that the majority of Grand Prix racers were sticking sanitary towels to their face foam to avoid droplets falling into view.

Bloodied eyes from rocksmashed perspex was another semi-frequent sight that is – thankfully - much rarer (products like Leatt’s militarytested grade plastic doing a fine job). MXGP introduced the ‘Goggle Lane’ in 2019 but the demand for the facility has diminished with the improved laminates and progression in roll-off tech. The size of the canisters and the effectiveness of the tape is an ongoing field of development.

Scott’s Prospect and Oakley’s Airbrake have led the way with fresh benchmarks, but the general level among the market specialists has been climbing.

Don’t take our word for it…

PREFERENCE Tom Vialle, Red Bull KTM: I’ve ridden most of my life with Scott. I’ve used the

Hustle and I really liked the roll-off system and since I’ve started to use the Prospect the tear-offs are fantastic, although I’d still prefer the roll-off for that model to be a bit closer to the lens. It seems like that is coming with the Super WFS. The field of vision is really good.

Jeffrey Herlings, Red Bull KTM: I’ve been with Oakley since I started in the world championship, so eleven years now. I like that they are

model I still had a few struggles in really loose sand with it coming inside and we solved it with a little bit of grease…but the new model is unbelievable and they are working on a roll-off system Glenn Coldenhoff, GasGas that will blow the whole Standing Construct Factory market. They have thought Racing: For me the technology about everything. I’ll be able of the new 100% Armega gog- to have a big and wide roll gle is unreal. With the old with tear-offs on the front with

GOGGLES

really exclusive. They don’t have many riders. The Airbrake has a wide field of vision but it is also really safe. They also look great! The quality and the looks are the strong points.

SHAUN SIMPSON: “PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR DURABILITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE PRODUCT BUT ALSO THE MINIMUM HASSLE OR HINT OF A PROBLEM DURING A RACE SO EVEN THE SMALLEST DETAILS HAVE BEEN THOUGHT OF.” glue so [the rain] won’t come in. I’ll easily be ready for another Motocross of Nations at Assen and have goggles for the whole moto!

Shaun Simpson, SS24 MXGP KTM: I’ve been with Scott since 2014 and it is interesting to see what they have done in that amount of time. Riders are always talking about field of vision. I’ve filled in so many test reports with Scott with different lenses when they were building the Prospect and now they have the Fury, which has the same amount of vision but with a smaller frame and that helps for some helmets. The bigger you build a frame and the tighter the fit in the helmet then there might be less airflow, which makes you sweat more and soaks the foam. There is a major balance between the fit, the

right amount of airflow and the correct foam.

Jago Geerts, Monster Energy Yamaha MX2: In 2014 and 2017 I used Fox goggles but for the rest I’ve always been with ProGrip. The goggles haven’t really changed that much but for sure the foam has become a bit better and the shape of the goggle also.

It was already a really good goggle before and there was no need to change much because their roll-off is already one of the best you can get.

Tim Gajser, Team HRC: Three years with Fox now and ProGrip before and the construction of the lens is something that has really improved. Not only are they bigger but they seem to be much tougher, almost bulletproof. The laminates now are also so good, just two years

FEATURE

JEFFREY HERLINGS: “A NEW GOGGLE IS LIKE A NEW TOWEL: THE FIRST TIME YOU USE IT THEN IT DOESN’T TAKE THE WATER SO WELL. I’LL ALWAYS ‘RUN-IN’ A NEW GOGGLE DURING PRACTICE SO WHEN IT COMES TO RACING AND I’M SWEATING MORE THEN I DON’T HAVE ANY ISSUES. I LIKE TO WEAR OR USE THE SAME PAIR OVER AND OVER...”

or-so ago we did not have the glue around them, and water came through. Now they stick together. I don’t think they can improve much more with lenses. We already have tinting technology.

Ben Watson, Monster Energy Yamaha MX2: I use clear lenses with Oakley even when it’s sunny but the Prizm lens is something I’m still trying in training

to see if there is a gain I can use for the race. I’ve never had a problem with the clear lens but the Prizm is beneficial for keeping your vision consistent. We get changes in light conditions, especially at tracks in Belgium where you might be going through shadows caused by trees. I was always steered away from tinted lenses because conditions could change in the middle of a race and I just grew up with that.

Even when I try a tinted now then I don’t notice a gain. But if we’re doing a photoshoot then I’ll put some tints in because the designs Oakley have now are unbelievable. You can change a lens in seconds thanks to the two clips.

Jeremy Seewer, Monster Energy Yamaha MXGP: The frames used to be soft and smaller. I remember the lenses clicking out or just failing

GOGGLES with a lot of roost that would get inside. The lenses are much harder and tougher now and pre-bent whereas before they were thinner and more flexible. There’s more protection and that has only been widespread in the last twothree years.

Tom Vialle, Red Bull KTM: I always use a clear lens, never tinted. I don’t know why.

When I was small I didn’t have

many choices when it came to lenses and since then I always wanted clear. If it’s sunny I’d prefer to extend the peak of the helmet rather than change the lens. I still have to try the adaptive light lens.

Jeffrey Herlings, Red Bull KTM: Always dark grey lenses in the summer when the light is sharp but I will use clear ones in the winter time quite a lot. You learn and you get

experience. When we’re racing somewhere like Italy and there is a lot of sun then the dark lens just gives your eyes a bit of a break. Oakley has a great anti-fog lens – it’s kinda like a double lens and it’s ideal for rainy conditions.

Glenn Coldenhoff, GasGas Standing Construct Factory Racing: During training I like to use a normal lens and then just wipe it. I like having tear-

FEATURE offs that give you a complete new view.

Jeremy Seewer, Monster Energy Yamaha MXGP: Since I’m in the business – around ten years now - I really started to use laminates a lot more and pay more attention to goggle prep. The product has really improved a lot, and I’ve used a couple of brands now.

PERSPIRATION Jeffrey Herlings, Red Bull KTM: I’ve never struggled with sweat coming into the goggles – and I’m a sweaty guy!

- but, what I will say, is that a new goggle is like a new towel: the first time you use it then it doesn’t take the water so well. I’ll always ‘run-in’ a new goggle during practice so when it comes to racing and I’m sweating more then I don’t have any issues. I like to wear or use the same pair over and over.

Tim Gajser, Team HRC: I like soft-medium foam because I like a tight fit with the goggles. The foam has also improved with the amount of sweat they can hold.

Ben Watson, Monster Energy Yamaha MX2: I never had a problem with sweat coming through the goggles. It was a big change for me when I went with Oakley and the Air-

brake: the lens was so big and the frame was very thin. The increase in vision was massive, and their laminate goes right to the edge of the frame, so pulling that tear-off made everything clear. The foam was not that chunky but it was triple layer.

Shaun Simpson, SS24 MXGP KTM: I reckon I am one of the sweatiest guys in the paddock! A rider like Jeremy, with pretty long hair, can get off his bike and his hair isn’t even wet, whereas I’m drenched afterwards. I can wring my socks out. Ten years ago foam was just foam and the goal

Jeremy Seewer, Monster Energy Yamaha MXGP: You get a lot of shit in the face but I’d say it is only once or twice a year where you get a big rock hitting the whole goggle that shakes your whole head!

was to make it more comfortable, now with the three layers one is for comfort, one is for absorption and the other is the seal. There have been a lot of tests and a lot of feedback given to make sure that sweat isn’t an issue and it swells up quite strangely.

There might be very rare occasions - when you case a

jump badly and your head hits the bars – that it might splosh out, but, for the most part it keeps your vision clean. The last thing you want is a bit dollop of sweat on the inside of a goggle as you are riding around.

PREPARATION

Jeffrey Herlings, Red Bull KTM: I do everything myself. I like to have control. If something messes-up then it’s down to me. Oakley give me the material and I go from there and I always prep them the day before and look at the weather forecast or the situation that we’re in, such as being in Indonesia when the light dips or being at a Dutch track in March that is likely to be rainy. I’m exactly the same at home. Everything has its place and there is a right time for everything. I don’t know if that’s good or bad!

Tom Vialle, Red Bull KTM: My dad helps clean the goggles sometimes but I always do the roll-off myself. I like to

GOGGLES

Shaun Simpson, SS24 MXGP KTM: The quality of the product now means you can unclick the lens, throw the goggle in the washing machine and it’s good to go. The glue and other build characteristics are heat resistant and very tough. I can wash a set of goggles up to fifty times and not have any issue with it for practicing.

FEATURE take special care of that preparation. Scott’s race service is great for the tear-offs but I’m fussy with the roll-off. I’m always preparing the goggles the night before and in good time. It can make such a difference in a race if you can keep the same set on all the time.

Jeffrey Herlings, Red Bull KTM: Normally we’re racing from March to October and the weather is usually good.

The Oakley tear-offs work so well that normally I’m not using roll-offs. Last year at Assen [a very wet Motocross of Nations] I was one of the only ones still running tear-offs and my goggle was in perfect shape.

Shaun Simpson, SS24 MXGP KTM: The sealing tape on the laminates is another improvement in the last few years.

It used to be the lens with a laminate on top but you could get grit, sand or small droplets down the first set and, then, it doesn’t matter if you have a full pack of 28 you won’t have clean vision until you’re down to the last one.

So, the sealing tape sticks to the lens and between each set of seven laminates. It makes them indestructible in my opinion and even if it’s pouring with rain then it’s still the No.1 option. The Scott rolloffs are phenomenal though.

Large cannisters and very wide tape. Again, compared to ten years ago when we had a little 20mm slit it’s like having tear-offs.

Ben Watson, Monster Energy Yamaha MX2: With the way things are going it will reach the point where tear-offs are banned outright. In Holland and Belgium we cannot use them when we’re training; for GPs in those countries we still can. I think roll-offs will eventually be the norm but then again technology is advancing quickly, and the brands are listening to what the riders want.

Shaun Simpson, SS24 MXGP KTM: The biggest hassle is roll-off but if the conditions are so bad to warrant that then the extra prep is also worthwhile. If you have to make a change or two on the bikes to cope with the conditions then it should be the same for your kit. I spend the extra time necessary, and I am confident I can start and finish any race with the same set of goggles. It would have to be something pretty seriously wrong for me to enter the Goggle Lane. When it’s cold, s****y and muddy I feel like I have an advantage, even if applying the Goggle Lane has cut that down because people can spin in and out in ten seconds now for a fresh set. But good prep and

experience has taught me that valuable time can be saved.

PROGRESSION Jeffrey Herlings, Red Bull KTM: Quality is so good now it’s hard to see how it can improve. Perhaps by making the roll-off even more efficient?

I’m super-happy with how the goggle is now. Over the years I was able to make some comments to Oakley and I’m glad I was able to give that advice and they did something with it.

Shaun Simpson, SS24 MXGP KTM: People are looking for durability and performance of the product but also the minimum hassle or hint of a problem during a race so even the smallest details have been thought of. If you look around the paddock then different people are trying different things, like different types of cannister. Someone like Oakley for example; who have a really nice looking system but the cannisters seem a little too small and it seems difficult to reach the end of the race with just one roll. Maybe the Scott WFS is bulkier but I think it’s bulletproof.

Glenn Coldenhoff, GasGas Standing Construct Factory Racing: For me it is about comfort and protection, so

Jago Geerts, Monster Energy Yamaha MX2: It’s difficult to say. Sometimes we still have problems with the roll-off when something breaks off because of a stone. It’s difficult to design something that will resist those kinds of impact.

a harder lens and pre-curved, which makes a big difference.

100% look closely at things like ventilation and foam and fit.

Everything. I went to their place last year in San Diego and they showed me how they have a reason for every single little thing on the goggle. It was impressive.

Ben Watson, Monster Energy Yamaha MX2: It’s hard to say how they can improve.

I cannot imagine having a better goggle. You hear quite a few complaints about rolloffs and people like one brand better than the other but it’s all personal preference. I look through the top of the goggle and the Oakley roll-off is pretty big, the vision field is almost as big as the laminate under the mud flap and that’s rare to find. The Oakley is quite low on the nose and that

Jeremy Seewer, Monster Energy Yamaha MXGP: There have been steps but there are still improvements to be made, like roll-offs. They are better and bigger now but there are often problems: I think that is just to do with mass manufacturing and costs. It is a price/ value kind of thing. But for us GP riders it has to be tougher and better and when tear-offs are banned it will be tricky for the manufacturers to really provide us with what we need.

They could make a laminate system with biodegradable plastic or have a scheme like ProGrip; they have a patent for a device which is like a string that just collects them once they are torn away. It means they are flapping by the side of your helmet but that’s not a big deal because you are focussed on the track and what you are doing anyway. There will be more innovation ahead I think.

GOGGLES

allowed the Airbrake to have that large vision.

PRODUCTS

SCOTT SPORTS Following fast on the launch of their 2021 collection, Scott Sports are pushing the Prospect ‘Super’ WPS system as a major upgrade in roll-off tech for their premium goggle. What’s the difference? Well, the double Works lens boasts ‘anti-stick’ dots, as well as a mud flap with sealing tape. Scott have targeted full function and performance and have also strived to make preparation less of a laborious process. This has been achieved with two cannisters that click directly onto the lens, saving time and limiting the chance of imprecision with installation and alignment.

www.scott-sports.com

The Super WPS is clearly aimed at riders of a decent level and those putting in the hours in the saddle – or dirtbikers that live in consistently challenging climates! In line with our small article in this issue on how goggles have advanced, Scott have upped the stakes for wide, efficient roll-offs to be an easier and more dependable choice. The fact that it works with arguably the best goggle on the market makes it even more appealing. The Prospect Super WPS set-up will cost just under 170 euros and extra material can be found directly through the website.

ULTIMATE PROTECTIO

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L E AT T. C O M

AMA MX

ON THE WW WWAY WW RANCH NATIONAL WW RANCH JACKSONVILLE FLORIDA

SEPTEMBER 26th WINNERS 450MX: ZACH OSBORNE, HUSQVARNA 250MX: DYLAN FERRANDIS, YAMAHA

Photos by Simon Cubdy/KTM/Husqvarna/Kawasaki www.yamaha-racing.com

AMA MX WW NATIONAL

AMA MX

AMA NATIONAL AMA MX MX LL WW NATIONAL

AMA MX

AMA AMAMX MX WW WWNATIONAL NATIONAL

MX BLOG

ALL THE WAY BACK UP Although this past weekends race at WW Ranch in Florida didn’t go the way that Monster Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo wanted, he’s still authoring a success story over here in the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships.

Coming-in off two wins in a row, AC had closed to within 15 points of the leader Zach Osborne but a collision with Marvin Musquin in moto two combined with a late pass by Osborne in moto one left him with a sour taste in his mouth for this race but hey, you can’t win ’em all.

It’s surprising to some that Adam has found this new gear in his rookie 450 season and, yeah, I get that but there’s also something to be said about his resilience, and that started last year. Just two weeks after the most devastating loss of his professional career in Las Vegas when he crashed out while in position to win the 250SX west title, Adam put it all together to win the 2019 250MX title.

It was an impressive season where he battled with Yama-

ha’s Dylan Ferrandis and ended with the number one plate.

This year, as we mentioned, he’s won two rounds and got pretty close to the points lead. Adam Cianciarulo, outdoor warrior is not something anyone would’ve said at the start of his career when he collected three wins and two runner-ups in the first five SX races he ever contested.

Also, let’s remember that Adam also has those two 450MX career wins and zero 450SX wins (although he came pretty close!). There’s no doubt Adam has some indoor wins coming, let’s not be foolish but looking at the start of his career Adam’s indoor results were much stronger than his outdoor ones.

So, what’s changed? Well, in talking to AC over the last little while it’s really just a coincidence that he’s done so well in motocross since that night in Vegas. For a kid that did nothing but win in amateurs, his multiple surgeries and heartbreaks just served to get him to where he’s at now. Throwing away a title made more than a few critics just nod that the Golden Child (early on in his days at Pro Circuit, the guys in the shop called him “Baby Jesus” because Kawasaki and Mitch Payton seemed to do anything and everything he needed, much to the chagrin of other riders on the team) would never be what he was projected to be.

That dropping of the ball in Vegas changed everything and has set the course that

CREATED THANKS TO

BY ADAM WHEELER

BY STEVE MATTHES he’s on right now. It was almost that the fear of failure for Adam had gone away because he had hit a new low with the crash in Vegas.

After all, what else, after the injuries and after having to bin the Vegas title-winning t-shirts, could possibly go wrong for Cianciarulo? Add a refreshed and resigned attitude with Adam’s skills and speed on a dirt bike and you have a winner.

There were some changes in Adam’s personal life also as he broke free from his dad and had to grow up fast. With the help of coach/ mentor Nick Wey, the two deserve full props for putting the crash aside and getting ready to win the outdoors in 2019. Having won one career national and missing the entire 2018 250MX series with an injury definitely didn’t make him anyone’s favorite, but Adam won the opener and then never let the red plate go the rest of

the way. Speaking of Vegas, you would’ve gotten a lot of money had you bet on Adam Cianciarulo’s first professional championship being an outdoor one.

So now we’re here, with Adam being talked about as a title winner in 2021 in both classes, he’s signed a new two-year deal with the Monster Kawasaki and things are looking up for one of the most popular riders in the sport. I remember talking to Adam after his crash in Geneva SX years ago when he did one of his shoulders for the second or third time and I said that although it seems impossible to think about now, no one will remember this stuff when he’s on top of the box.

Yes it’s taken a little while longer than many would have predicted but he’s here and it’s a breath of fresh air. For Adam Cianciarulo to succeed at the highest end of MX/

SX, he just had to touch rock bottom first.

MAKE YOUR DREAM COME TRUE RANGE 2020

FEATURE

HO CH W ON PA AMP EAR SS ION TH ING SH D A K IP R ID T TM ID OM ‘SE ER VIA LEC TO A LLE TIO WO RIS E N’ TE RLD FRO ST CH M WA AM BE S T PIO ING HE NS A M FIR HIP ID DL ST L E ST AD ING EP ER EU TO IN RO ST 18 PE AR DO MON AN M. TH ..

S? !

TH 20 E S 20 TO MX RY GP OF

By Adam Wheeler Photos by Ray Archer

FEATURE

I

n the summer of 2018 Tom Vialle was known for being a small, occasionally fast rider in the EMX250 European Championship: the feeder series to the FIM Motocross World Championship and the MX2 class. In fact, he was better known for being the son of former Grand Prix winner Frederic Vialle. The teenager had potential however and had veered onto KTM’s radar.

When Red Bull KTM’s Jorge Prado claimed the first of two MX2 world titles in 2018 his factory teammate, and 2017 winner, Pauls Jonass elected to move into the MXGP category. A space opened up in the factory MX2 line-up.

KTM already had one of the best riders in the division on their KTM 250 SX-F with the Spaniard, so it was time to look around for the next new talent to plug into the pipeline. There were two issues.

Firstly, there was no outstand-

ing and obvious candidates, and secondly, being a Red Bull KTM athlete meant stepping into the pressure cooker: since 2004 and the invention of MX2 from the old 125cc class Red Bull KTM had won all but four years. That’s 12 championships with 8 different riders.

KTM decided to have a ‘trial’ of sorts. KTM Motocross Factory Racing Sports Manager Joel Smets and KTM VP of Offroad Motorsports Robert

“I think it was two weeks later that I went to Belgium with my Dad. We rode one day on hard-pack and one day in the sand at Lommel. Joel was really cool. There was not so much stress. He told me just to ride and practice and he’d watch. I saw him trackside sometimes, sometimes not!

He was just observing. On the third day we did some physical training: running and some tests. When we finished we had a little discussion. The Motocross of Nations was coming up and it was already late to have something conVIALLE: “JAGO [GEERTS] WOULD ALWAYS BEAT ME IN EVERY JUNIOR RACE, IN FACT I’M SURE HE DIDN’T KNOW WHO I WAS. NOW WE ARE FIGHTING TOGETHER FOR GP WINS...”

firmed for 2019, although Robert had told me in Assen that KTM would like to keep me and would help with an arrangement for 2019 if I wasn’t in Red Bull KTM. We were happy that the factory wanted to follow us…but there were not many teams and places around. We were a bit worried.”

Smets was impressed by Vialle’s technique and his attitude, even if he did recognize that the rider needed to work on his conditioning.

“The motos were shorter for me in 2018, so it meant I had never trained so much!” Tom says. “My Dad didn’t encourage me to train – this was only four years ago! – because he said when I would arrive to GPs then I’d have to do it very hard. I was doing some cycling but nothing more. The minimum. I never did a strict program or worked with a trainer.”

Smets believed Vialle was worth the investment of time, energy, tuition as well as a contract. “The Nations passed and I think it was on the Monday or the Tuesday after that we had an email, early evening, saying ‘after a lot of thought we decided to choose you’,” Vialle smiles now at the memory. “We went out to a restaurant to celebrate! At the time you don’t fully realize what it means: to join this team and be the teammate of Jeffrey, Tony and Jorge. It was a bit crazy.”

“I think part of the contract was to move to Belgium and start training with Joel,” he adds. “To be based in Lommel where the training set-up would be. It was easy to do that, and it all moved quite fast. I tried the bike on November 1st, we started to train and then went practicing for some time in Red Sands in Spain.”

TOM VIALLE

Jonas drew up a shortlist and Vialle’s name was in the reckoning. “At Assen [the Dutch GP in September 2018] we talked a little bit; Robert said they were interested in me but there was a list of three-four riders and I wasn’t alone and it would be good to do a test with Joel Smets in Belgium,” Vialle recalls now. It was first taste of factory-level anticipation as the youngster rode with several other hopefuls.

FEATURE Vialle’s impact was swift. His rapid education bore fruit as his stature and technique suited the power of the factory bike and he was soon lapping with Prado, and (again) installing two orange bikes near the front of MX2. He had a virulent penchant for holeshots, captured two podiums (of a final total of seven for the year) in the first four rounds, won the Grand Prix of Sweden and finished 4th in the world. The rise of #28 was not the story of a cocky eighteen-year old full of belief. In fact, his modesty makes the ascension to the top even more remarkable. “In 2018 I was watching Jorge and Pauls Jonass fighting for the championship while thinking ‘they are going so fast’,” he says. “I never thought I could ride like that, actually. I knew I was good…but I never thought I could be as fast and get near their level.”

So how did he do it? With Smets’ input Vialle started to live, work and breathe like a world champion in the making.

“He would have made progress with whoever he worked with… but his training was not structured,” Smets offers. “Tom is not a lazy boy but riders from the south – in my experience – have always seem to have the speed but not the work ethic or the knowledge to put in the right amount of work.”

“So, we put structure and content into his training, even if that wasn’t the main priority from the beginning,” the former five-times

“Training: I’ve never done so much,” Vialle evaluates. “I do it with the timetable for a fulltime job, but it is not really a ‘job’ to have to wake-up and go running. I do it six-days a week morning and afternoon with only one day rest. When you do one year like then you feel the difference. You feel strong.”

“Joel was actually my first official trainer,” he explains.

“We were working together almost every day the previous winter and I had a good feeling with him after a few days.

He always has a positive attitude. He is not one of these trainers that highlights all the bad things you have done in a race. Even if you finish 15th then he’ll find something. That approach is important to me and I really like to work in that way. My Dad never pushed me. In fact, I can only remember him being angry once after a race. I didn’t understand why because it was the first time in ten years that he came back to the paddock like that!

Joel has a lot of experience and is super-professional. It’s a good relationship.”

TOM VIALLE

world champion says. “It was more about bringing a system into his life and living as a top athlete. It wasn’t easy. I don’t want to overstate my own role but one strength I had in my career was being able to analyze situations and find solutions. We did that with Tom and we actually took it quite easy in the beginning in terms of volume and intensity. He soon had a routine, got used to it and then we made a step for 2020. He looks like he has dealt with it quite well.”

FEATURE

“VIALLE’S STARTING PROWESS IS QUITE STAGGERING. IT HASN’T YET TOUCHED THE PHENOMENAL LEVELS OF PRADO, BUT HE IS REACHING A SIMILAR LEVEL OF FREQUENCY WHEN IT COMES TO HOLESHOTS.”

The calming influence of Tom’s family also has to be credited.

Frederic hovered on the periphery of the team and was never an overbearing presence around his son (often an issue for teenage athletes in MXGP). His knowledge of how the paddock works helped with the Vialles’ integration at Red Bull KTM. “He has quite a lot of experience,” Tom explains.

“He helped me quite a lot last year. In the beginning we were working with WP with the fork

because it was quite hard. We didn’t quite have the right setting for a few races and in Germany on Saturday he told me ‘we need to change the fork, try something else’. We talked with WP and Joel and we switched it, went a bit softer on Sunday and I finished 2nd overall. After that day I was at the front for most of the races.

So, he’d helped me.”

Vialle is now having to deal with expectation from all

sides: the brand, the sponsors, the fans. He’s on social media but claims not to “live on it”. He narrowly missed a career-defining selection for the 2019 Motocross of Nations team. In 2020 he has already

Physically fitter, more experienced, more in-tune with the dynamic of a factory team:

Vialle is becoming a very potent package indeed. He still faces a big hurdle and that’s handling the mental stress of carrying Red Bull KTM’s championship hopes. It is a role he has assumed so quick-

ly that it’s hard to believe it is such an easy responsibility to bear. It must have been dauting for 2020. Prado’s elevation to MXGP meant the transferal of weight onto Vialle’s slender shoulders. The incoming Rene Hofer was another rookie; one with arguably less immediate technical ability as Vialle but the Austrian – who is roughly the same age – had the right attitude and fortitude. “We are two ‘quite new’ riders because Rene is in his first year and wouldn’t be fighting for the championship, so I quite alone in that respect of being the one for the championship,” Vialle says. #28’s calmness and grounded personality seemed to be another of his asset.

KTM had a relatively ‘low maintenance’ MX2 line-up.

Two riders who were both well aware of where they are and where they had come from.

“Since I was small I was always in the pack, near the back,” he says. “When I raced

in the European 85s I couldn’t follow riders like Jago [Geerts, principal rival for 2020] or Jorge for more than three corners! I was finishing 8th, 9th, 10th while they were always in the top three. I was seconds behind them in Timed Practice. They were really a big step ahead. So now I’ve moved forward really quickly to be with them. Jago would always beat me in every race, in fact I’m sure he didn’t know who I was. Now we are fighting together for GP wins.”

“When I signed for KTM I knew I would have to work and train a lot, and after a few races went well I thought ‘I’m actually not that far’,” he remembers. “My goal was to run as close to the front of MX2 this year but to already be leading the championship so early in the season was never in my agenda!”

“He is realistic and honest, and he was an average European Championship rider who signed that factory deal and realized right away that it meant the start of the hard work,” underlines Smets.

“That approach is a big part of his ‘secret’ or his success so far. He approaches that red number plate in the same way. When we started riding after the lockdown he had that plate on his training bike and I thought ‘maybe we should take it off’ but the kid doesn’t

TOM VIALLE

won two from five Grands Prix and has held the red plate as series leader since round two. “Character-wise, Tom is not a daydreamer,” comments Smets. “Since he’s had the red plate, he is not a person who thinks ‘I’ve done it’. We’ve seen examples of riders who have won a GP or fought with the reigning champion and become ‘lost’. For some reason, maybe some results or a factory contract, they think they have made it and slip away. It almost scares me how confident and relaxed he is.

My next task will be to watch over that and see that he stays focused.”

FEATURE seem to be worried about it.

He knows the plate means nothing at all. It’s just another color. He understands that leading the championship now doesn’t mean anything if you are not doing it at the end of the year.”

As the 2020 MX2 story engagingly swings between Vialle and Geerts, KTM and Yamaha Smets knows he has to add another dynamic to his highly effective work with the youngster. “It almost scares me how confident and relaxed he is. My next task will be to watch over that and see that he stays focussed,” stresses the Belgian. “Character-wise, Tom is not a daydreamer.

Since he had the red plate he is not a person who thinks ‘I’ve done it’. We’ve seen examples of riders who have won a GP or fought with the reigning champion and become ‘lost’. For some reason, maybe some results or a factory contract, they think they have made it.”

“The mentality is just to enjoy [the job],” Vialle concludes. “If you can take the starts, and enjoy the riding then this can only help…thinking too much won’t.”

Vialle’s starting prowess is quite staggering. It hasn’t yet touched the phenomenal levels of Prado, but he is reaching a similar level of

frequency when it comes to holeshots. It is a tremendous trait in these days of closer and closer lap-times and the limited nature of the few circuits on the 2020 slate.

“Jorge was so good at starts in MX2 and I think about him still even now,” Vialle reveals.

“Even when I don’t make a good start and I still have a holeshot I know that if Jorge was there then he would have beaten me. That happened in the second moto in Valkenswaard this year. It’s quite interesting actually. I knew I had to be perfect to start ahead of him in 2019. I had eight or nine that season but if you miss just a little bit of the timing or feeling with the clutch then it was Jorge’s holeshot.

I still keep that goal to ‘beat him’.”

If there is another stark example of Vialle’s ability to learn and excel then it’s with his level of English. He conducts a twenty-minute interview with confidence and enthusiasm. It’s a startling change from the shy rookie who could barely manage a few heavilyaccented words in 2019. “I never opened one book,” he smiles. “Last year I knew ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’, ‘good’ and ‘not good’ some s****y things! I didn’t make so much progress in the first winter because I was talking with Joel in French. I didn’t talk much with Jeffrey because I couldn’t. When I arrived at the

first GP and my mechanic can only talk in English – wow, it was really difficult. My Dad’s English was also not great.

With Joel and Vale [Ragni, Team Co-Ordinator] I made some progress and then with my girlfriend, Celia, I made another big step because we only spoke in English and she’d help me out with any translation of words from French. And Netflix of course!”

On this current trajectory Tom Vialle will be prompting some essential binge viewing in MXGP for quite some time yet.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE OFFICIAL KTM BLOG. FIND MORE MXGP AND OTHER RACING STORIES AT: WWW.BLOG.KTM.COM

PRODUCTS

FOX RACING Fox are leading their 2021 offerings with a ‘rider first’ mentality. The company’s new wares are usually a benchmark for the rest of the industry, particularly for apparel and riding gear and occasionally with cool new ideas/design such as the Instinct boot and a progressive helmet. For ’21 actually the company have decided to apply the MIPS safety insert across the range – good news for those riders looking at different price points across the V3, V2, V1 and Youth lids.

Body protection is augmented with smart materials provided by a company called D30 that supply a host of other sports with impact solutions. In terms of their excellent riding attire then Fox still have their light FlexAir as the standard but are continually evolving their versatile Legion collection (more offroad and Enduro based but easily adequate for any use). Fox says: ‘The line includes the Legion packable waterproof jacket, the ultra-durable and convertible Legion jacket, and the mobile, warm Legion soft-shell jacket. All new for 21 is the TacVest, featuring 9 pockets to evenly distribute weight on your body and to carry hydration, tools and essentials for a long day on the trail.’

PRODUCTS:

www.foxracing.com

FEATURE

GEERTS O

ON GEAR

FEATURE The Monster Energy Yamaha star is now into his third year in MX2 and is engaging fans with his close title run with Tom Vialle. Which of the two riders will stumble first? Or who will take the upperhand?

Geerts won four motos in the Latvian triple header but then Vialle responded with three victories at Faenza.

gold by the time of the last race of the year in Arco di Trento in November then he’ll be the first world champion from his country since 2007; ending the longest dry spell for Belgium in the history of the sport.

Jago is quietly spoken and inhibited. In clichéd style he expresses himself

The 20-year old is one of the few in the class to wear the catchy design work of Troy Lee Designs and also click into place a Leatt neck brace.

We asked about both…

been even comfortable! It’s not like you have a disadvantage. I don’t believe the claims about the collarbones. I broke mine in 2018 and I’m pretty sure it would have happened anyway without the brace.

I’ve broken or damaged the brace a few times and after those moments I’ve thought ‘it helped me there’. I remember one crash last year where the side of the brace was totally snapped. It was reassuring it had done a job.

differently on the motorcycle, with fiercely efficient speed and a hint of aggression toboot. The fact that he makes the occasional mistake only adds to his appeal and indicates he is still on the learning curve in the gargantuan task of being Belgium’s ‘next big thing’. If Geerts can take the red plate and turn it to

I’ve been using a brace for a long time but changed to Leatt in 2017 because I liked the feel...

You really don’t notice it’s there and I like that feeling of extra safety. I want to wear as much protection as possible when I’m racing and one of the things about the Leatt is that the last versions have

I’m not sure why more riders are not wearing braces… but I think it’s maybe because they believe it will bother them when they’re riding…but I bet they haven’t even tried one. For me it is not about budget or the money: it is about the level of protection. I used a Leatt when I was very small and then had an EVS for

What were those problems?

Well, the old shape rested a bit too close to the collarbone for my liking. It was heavier there. But they changed that,

and it fixed the issue immediately for me. It also became a lot more practical and easier to pack. They did a great job with the design of the last few braces. We have plenty of room because of the amount of kit we have to carry to races but for the amateur who needs to pack everything in then that’s another advantage.

I’ve looked at other models and brands in the dealers… but not really in close detail because I believe Leatt is still one step ahead of everyone else.

With Troy Lee we are using their Ultra kit…

It has a great fit and a lot different to the stuff we had last year. It has a lot of style and the material feels very strong and comfortable.

It’s also very stretchy and light. It doesn’t feel like a motocross pant…

The gear takes some punishment and with the amount we ride we notice the wear after a while, but I think that’s pretty normal. I’d say we’re able to use a set for three GPs. In terms of the design I don’t think I could want or

need anything better, and that is the same for the helmet. It fits well also. I have the feeling that it is not too heavy but also not too light and that gives a good feeling for protection. It uses MIPS and having a good helmet is very important to me. It felt comfortable from the first few times I rode with it.

I like the close-fitting gear because it is somehow easier for riding…

I also reckon that it breathes better than some other kit I’ve worn.

GEERTS ON GEAR

a couple of years but I went back to Leatt because they made improvements with the materials and the weight but also the shape of the brace. I found a few small problems with it in the beginning but now the full carbon version is so light.

NO SHORTCUTS

Boasting a massive field of Vision, articulating outriggers, No Sweat face foam, a 50mm strap and SCOTT’s proprietary lens lock system, the Prospect goggle delivers on all fronts. Allow the SCOTT Prospect to Defend Your Vision during your unwavering pursuit of victory.

FAC E F OA M

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PAULS JONASS

WWW.ALPINESTARS.COM

ALPINESTARS Alpinestars have unveiled their 2020 Fall collection of casualwear with a typically wide spread of t-shirts, caps, tops, shorts, shirts and other accessories like belts and keyrings.

Here is a pick of the offerings. The t-shirts in particular have some classy designs and are usually made of decent quality cotton. There is much more to choose from on the website where products can be purchased (if an Alpinestars dealer isn’t close).

TEST

WOULD YOU? TAMING DUCATI’S NEW STREETFIGHTER V4

By Roland Brown Photos by Phil Masters/Ducati

TEST

T

he hyper-naked concept is simple: these riotous roadsters are super-sports models with fairings removed, and flat handlebars instead of clip-ons. The reality is a little more complex, because even class stalwarts like Aprilia’s Tuono V4 1100 and BMW’s S1000R have detuned engines and slightly more relaxed chassis, while KTM’s 1290 Super Duke R has no real super-sports lineage at all.

Ducati’s Streetfighter V4, on the other hand, sticks to the script almost exactly. Its 1103cc V4 engine loses just six of the racy Panigale V4’s maximum of 211 horsepower, and its frame and steering geometry are almost completely unchanged. Regardless of the countless hours spent on its development, the Streetfighter really is close to being the Bologna firm’s super-sports weapon, stripped of its wind protection and with its riding position modified by a raised, one-piece bar.

The Streetfighter even follows the latest Panigales by featuring aerodynamic wings, which Ducati insist are a vital part of the design, aiming cooling air at the engine as well as contributing downforce. But the naked model’s look is all its own: sharp, minimalist and aggressive, highlighted by a V-shaped daytime riding light apparently inspired by the Joker’s evil smile.

Wires poking from the top of the forks confirmed that this V4 S was no ordinary naked motorbike, after I’d thrown a leg over its fairly low and wellpadded seat. There’s a neat, five-inch TFT screen alongside the wide, slightly raised black handlebar. Footrests are lower and fairly rearset, giving a roomy, slightly leant-forward riding position, with scope to shift forward or back on the seat.

“ANY LINGERING THOUGHTS OF NORMALITY WERE BLOWN AWAY WHEN THE ENGINE BOOMED INTO LIFE, ITS LOW-MOUNTED SILENCER EMITTING AN OFFBEAT BARK...”

The main chassis change is at the rear, where a lengthened single-sided swing-arm increases wheelbase slightly.

In Ducati tradition the Streetfighter comes in two versions.

The standard V4 has conventional, fully-adjustable Showa forks and Sachs rear shock, and a Sachs steering damper.

The upmarket V4 S (which at £19,759 in the UK costs £2200 more) features Öhlins semi-active suspension and steering damper, plus forged Marchesini wheels.

Any lingering thoughts of normality were blown away when the engine boomed into life, its low-mounted silencer emitting an offbeat bark somewhere between typical smooth-burbling V4 and lumpy V-twin. And when I tweaked the even-louder handle, the Streetfighter leapt forward with an instant, stomach-wrenching burst of acceleration that few vehicles could have approached.

STREETFIGHTER V4

Ducati’s uncompromising approach meant they could use the Panigale’s 16-valve, 90-degree desmodromic V4 engine in unchanged form, complete with contra-rotating crankshaft and irregular firing order. Gearing is shortened by ten per cent, cutting top speed to 180mph, or whatever point below that the pilot’s neck muscles give in. Modified ignition and fuel mapping boost torque slightly at low revs while delivering that barely reduced 205bhp at 12,750rpm.

TEST

That said, the Streetfighter matched its aggression with a sophistication and level of control that made it far from some unruly naked brawler.

Fuelling was to Ducati’s normal high standard, with even the most aggressive Race engine map giving fine throttle control. The numerous rider modes were most useful as a way of instantly adjusting features from traction control to ABS and even suspension damping.

Straight-line performance in the main riding modes was phenomenal. There was serious urge from 4000rpm or below in every gear, and by 10,000rpm the smooth-rev-

ving V4 was producing over 160bhp, still with 4000rpm and more than 40 wild horses to come. Not that there was much need to use that topend power, because the motor was so strong lower down, and short-shifting through the quick-shifter enhanced gearbox was so addictively enjoyable.

Ducati say the wings provide 4kg of downforce at 62mph and 14kg at 125mph. Combine that with the contra-rotating crankshaft and lengthened wheelbase, and the result is a bike that wheelied far less readily than I’d expected, even with the anti-wheelie software disabled.

There’s no pretence with the Streetfighter. It’s far more rider-friendly and refined than a 200bhp-plus naked motorbike has any right to be. But it’s as aggressive as its name suggests, and its Panigale lineage meant inheriting a lack of some basic road riding features. Unlike some rivals it has no fuel gauge or cruise control, let alone keyless ignition. And a passenger will need to be brave and strong to occupy the sculpted pillion seat for long.

Then again, Ducati’s focus on style, power and light weight is easy to understand, and right on brand. The Streetfighter V4 S certainly delivers on those, and if it lacks practicality it does at least combine its phenomenal performance with remarkable ease of use.

Of all the recent hyper-nakeds, it’s perhaps the one that comes closest to fitting the class’s traditional strippeddown superbike ethos. And for some riders it’s all the better for that.

STREETFIGHTER V4

Whether that’s an advantage is a moot point, but the downforce helped the Brembo Stylema front brake calipers deliver outstanding stopping ability. Suspension was also sublime, the Öhlins semi-active system having a wondrous ability to combine a compliant ride with a taut, immaculately-controlled feel under hard cornering.

PRODUCTS

GASGAS The 2021 GasGas collection dropped last week and – understandably – the brand has been reactivated and vastly expanded from a Trial and Enduro-only focus to encompass 19 different bikes, largely based on the KTM/ Husqvarna engineering platforms. From junior MX to senior, Trial to electric the full complement is now red. Plastics and looks seem to be the major difference (as was the case with Husqvarna in the first days of the brand’s refresh) even if the PIERER Mobility group have remained respectful to GasGas roots and plug the TXT Trial machines first in their new, bountiful catalogue. GasGas have already moved with a comprehensive accessory and apparel line as well. Flip the page to read how GasGas Standing Construct Factory Racing are developing the company’s tech in MXGP.

www.gasgas.com

GasGas Standing Construct Factory Racing’s lead technician, Wim Van Hoof, explains how the team have worked in MXGP with Glenn Coldenhoff and Ivo Monticelli and moved in their own direction with a new brand, but a familiar motorcycle base. “For sure, in the beginning it started from the base of the KTM, much like the Husqvarna did, but then turned into a new platform,” he says. “The frame is the same but then everything around it is different.”

Could you describe a couple of the ways in which the MC 450F varies?

For the moment the design of the plastics and a new fuel tank means the bike is slimmer and smaller than a Husqvarna, which the riders really like and that was the first feedback from the initial tests we made pre-Covid 19. During the break in racing we had a lot of time. We are a factory team but we still build our own engines. We built three and then the first test we made with Glenn, he tried the first one and felt we’d made a big step again. We had more feedback from our test rider who said it felt like a completely different bike: that was positive for the feeling of the chassis and for the suspension, and this was also Glenn’s feeling. We kept the GP bike from the first two rounds and then this new one and each time Glenn took out the second bike we noticed a difference in lap-times from 1.5 to 2 seconds quicker on each track. The engine was better but reflected the ability of the chassis better. The bike was easier to ride fast and didn’t move so much. It helped him to that GP win in Latvia. For the starts, he was initially struggling with the new setup because the bike pulled so much harder and was lifting. But Glenn worked a lot on his technique and this is one of the great professional things about him.

Any hint as to what you found with the engine?

Normally I don’t have much time to put all my ideas into the engine but the Covid break gave us that chance. We are quite a small team and a small group but we have quite a lot of trust in each other. I was able to test a couple of these ideas in the engine last year and they did not work out. Now I had the time to realise why they didn’t work and what I had to change. It’s a massive internal change and it’s working.

You cannot be wanting more power with the GasGas engine?

The KTM stock bike has more than enough power for amateurs but for MXGP we need more power than production and the important thing is to ‘stretch out’ that power. Glenn is always using 2nd and 3rd gear. That’s one thing he told us when he came to the team “sorry guys, you can make what you want but I am always a 2nd and 3rd gear rider”. Max Anstie the previous season was always in 3rd and 4th and Ivo is always in 3rd and sometimes 4th. It’s a plus-point for us that we can do what we want with the engines and customise them fully. In many teams they are given the engines and they have to do what they can with those engines; if the rider is unhappy then he just has to adapt to the bike. We can make it personal.

Being a factory team for a new brand must mean a close connection for technical development?

I’m always filling in race reports! They know a lot about our engines, so things like the camshafts and compression ratios. They are always moments when you make a gain and you want to keep it for yourself! There is one factory in Austria but with three brands! We know if any rider from those brands are winning then it is good for Austria but we, as teams, want to keep something so we are the ones winning and making ground.

Will a GasGas engine come from the combination of all that feedback between riders then? Or are you more direct with the factory?

We’ll see, because I also don’t know how good the other engines are. As a team you never know if you have the best engine compared to the others. It’s about making the complete pack: the chassis, suspension, engine and mapping has to fit to the rider.

When he’s happy then the results come. One rider might have a less powerful engine but makes better results because of the fit. The rider himself needs to blend with the bike and to be happy with things like starts. On the chassis side we are using a completely stock swing arm and link system and the riders are happy with this material. We tested other components – different links – but we always come back to stock. So, it’s at a good level. With factory bikes there are always some progressions because of the feedback.

We are happy with the frame we have now but there is a possibility that others are coming in the near future.

WorldSBK BLOG

STAYING MOTIVATED Bear with me. More than once this year I have struggled for motivation.

I used to really relish travelling around the world photographing motorcycle racing but in the current-Covid age mobility has become a pain in the arse.

Every trip this year has had some degree of hassle, be it cancelled or re-routed flights, parts of a rental car mysteriously going missing while parked in the paddock, the extra forms to be filled out before and after each trip and of course the constant worry that the person standing next to you in the airport has the dreaded ‘lurgy’. I take a PCR test, at my own expense, before I leave home for every race, which in itself not the most pleasant experience, and by the end of the year I will have shelled out more than £2000.00 for Jamie Morris and I to cover the 2020 WorldSBK season. It’s a requirement of our clients that we be tested before each event and if either of us are unfortunate to contract Covid-19 our ability to

work would be done. Coming home to Scotland, having been in Spain or Portugal so far this year, and France next week, I also have to selfquarantine for 14 days, or until I leave again, each and every time. As I write this blog it is a holiday weekend at home and the weather is quite pleasant. My family has gone to the seaside and I have had to stay at home.

Not much fun.

That said, I have to work and am very fortunate to do the job I do but there are days when I think it would be nice to be able to take a walk on the beach with my kids instead of having to sit in the office rebooking cancelled flights. Again.

It must be something similar being a factory Superbike

rider. It is one of the coolest jobs in the world, you love going to the racetrack and riding, racing, feeling the adrenalin rush, having a team of people dedicated to giving you what you ask for.

And yet, the goal you are trying to achieve; a race win, a podium, or even to be World Champion just keeps on slipping away.

As I headed to Phillip Island in February I was full of enthusiasm. I had some new work and clients, one of whom has a super cool brief, some new kit and a head full of ideas. After that first weekend we saw a right royal dust-up on track between all the Kawasaki, Ducati and Yamaha riders and I was convinced that this is the year the title fight would go down to the wire.

BY ADAM WHEELER

BY GRAEME BROWN Yet here we are, having sat at home for four and half months in lock-down and with only two events left to go we are looking at the ‘when’ and not ‘if’ Jonathan Rea will clinch his sixth world title in a row.

Now the first thing I have to say is fair play to JR and his team. After that first race weekend many scribes were asking questions, and when Scott Redding laid down his marker at Jerez in July, a fair few were drafting their ‘new champion’ stories, but the man from ‘the wee country’ can never be discounted at any time. I talked last time in OTOR #202 about consistency and that is where JR is supreme. Not just being a consistent finisher but consistently winning, being on the podium, and more importantly beating his main rival. In Barcelona last week he was a surprising fourth in Sunday’s race two, but importantly Scott Redding was fifth.

It must make the motivation of the other riders in the paddock difficult to find at times.

Rea himself could have been forgiven for feeling that way last year when Alvaro Bautista went on his unprecedented winning streak but he kept plugging away, always on the podium, and when Bautista made a mistake he was ready to pounce, and title number five was done.

Number six is now within touching distance and whilst nothing is guaranteed in racing the odds are pretty much stacked in JR’s favour. He and his team are masters at managing a weekend and you can be sure he will be fighting to win all three races but with the knowledge of what ‘needs’ to be done stuffed in the back pocket. It feels like we’ve seen it so many times already.

If the motivation of those with genuine championship intentions might sometimes waver it must be even harder when

you run mid-pack every weekend. The races in Aragon and Catalunya offered a reward for some of those who stick at it week in week out trying to get the best result they can.

Whilst no formal announcement has been made, I think we can safely assume that Michael Ruben Rinaldi is now having his bum measured for the second factory Ducati alongside Redding for 2021.

There have been several rumours around the paddock that Chaz Davies will be moving on with the rides at Yamaha and BMW the popular choices amongst whisperers.

His own motivation could be questioned as well. It’s been a year and a half with the V4 Panigale and the Welshman is still struggling to find some consistent form. Then. Boom!

A resounding and hugely impressive victory in Catalunya.

The top step of the podium and the sting of Prosecco in your eyes is all the inspiration you need right there.

WorldSBK BLOG

Davies has also always liked Magny Cours and I suspect we could see him dicing at the front this coming weekend.

Rinaldi scored his first ever win in WorldSBK at Aragon having been a perennial ‘also ran’. It led me to think that the Borgo Panigale factory had released some parts and knowledge to the GoEleven team and Rinaldi made the best possible use of it. That was a huge surprise to me, one that I really never saw coming, and last Sunday there was another.

Garrett Gerloff scored his first podium in WorldSBK, being pipped by Michael van der Mark by less than a tenth of a second, finishing in third place and coming home as the leading independent rider on the GRT Yamaha R1. I was fortunate enough to walk part of the track on Thursday with Garrett and his crew chief Les Pearson and the American was enthusing about how much he loved the course. Confidence is a huge thing in racing but I just wondered with a second seat available in the garage next door had Yamaha sent a special package to GRT to see how the young American would

fair? Either way it was great to see him going toe-to-toe with the factory machine and must have put a gold star at the top of his CV with Yamaha.

With the current upheaval in air travel schedules I have decided to drive to Magny Cours. However, there has been a squeaky suspension bush in my car for months now and I have been unable to find it. Replacing the rear drop links in the summer didn’t work and through this current period of travel and self-quarantine I haven’t been able to get to the dealer for further investigation. With a round trip of 2600kms and the prospect of a squeak induced madness my motivation is starting to dip already. Can someone recommend a very, very long and loud playlist please?

Please make no attempt to imitate the illustrated riding scenes, always wear protective clothing and observe the applicable provisions of the road traffic regulations!

The illustrated vehicles may vary in selected details from the production models and some illustrations feature optional equipment available at additional cost.

V

Photos: R. Schedl, KISKA GmbH

i t p i l e n

401

husqvarna-motorcycles.com

373 cc 44 hp 15 1 k g WP APEX Suspension

Ride your own way.

There are many things about riding that are dictated by habit.

How you twist the throttle, how far you lean and where you go is up to you. The only thing that matters, is that you ride to get there.

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Ray Archer

ON TRACK OFF ROAD

‘On-track Off-road’ is a free, monthly publication for the screen focussed on bringing the latest perspectives on events, blogs and some of the very finest photography from the three worlds of MXGP, the AMA Motocross and Supercross series’, MotoGP, WorldSBK as well as the latest bike tests.

‘On-track Off-road’ will be published online at www.ontrackoffroad.com on the last Wednesday of the month. To receive an email notification that a new issue available with a brief description of each edition’s contents simply enter an address in the box provided on the homepage. All email addresses will be kept strictly confidential and only used for purposes connected with OTOR. Adam Wheeler Editor and MXGP/MotoGP correspondent Ray Archer Photographer Steve Matthes AMA MX and SX correspondent James Lissimore AMA SX Photographer Cormac Ryan-Meenan MotoGP Photographer www.cormacgp.com Rob Gray MotoGP Photographer David Emmett MotoGP Blogger Neil Morrison MotoGP Blogger & Feature writer Graeme Brown WSB Blogger and Photographer Roland Brown Tester/Columnist Núria Garcia Cover Design Gabi Álvarez Web developer Hosting FireThumb7 - www.firethumb7.co.uk Thanks to www.mototribu.com for the share PHOTO CREDITS Ray Archer, CormacGP, Polarity Photo, Simon Cudby, Ducati, KTM, Husqvarna, Yamaha, Mitterbauer, Phil Master Cover shot: Joan Mir by Polarity Photo This publication took a lot of time and effort to put together so please respect it! Nothing in this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the written permission of the editorial team. For more information please visit www.ontrackoffroad.com and click ‘Contact us’.