MXGP #108 August 2022

#108 AUGUST 2022

: R E S J A E V G I F M F I O T

S Y E L R T O I T T S D E L TH WOR

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MXGP MAG Chief Editor: Marionna Leiva Photos: MXGP INFRONT MOTO RACING MEDIA World Trade Center II Rte de Pré-Bois 29 1215 Geneva 15 Airport Switzerland MXGP Mag #108 August 2022

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AME F F O

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

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L A I R O T I D E

David Luongo CEO of Infront Moto Racing

Dear MXGP Friends, Here we are! The last Grand Prix of the season will take place this week in Afyon, Turkiye!

In August the MXGP went back to historical venues. Sweden was missing in the calendar since the COVID-19 pandemic, and our come back to Finland was also expected by all the Scandinavian fans for a long time as the last Grand Prix in Hyvinkää took place in 2014! And it was in Finland where Tim Gajser secured his fifth world title after a fantastic season.

He has been the only rider in the MXGP class to hold the red plate and he has led 184 laps in total this year. This season is probably the most accomplished for him. Tim is a fantastic ambassador for our sport. His personal story is probably one of the best examples for the kids that want to succeed in sport.

He went through all the European classes from the EMX65cc, EMX85cc, EMX125cc with great success before winning the MX2 and MXGP categories. At 25 years old, he is definitely one of best talents of the History of our sport, and he still has a lot of chapters to write in the upcoming years!

While in MXGP the title has been decided, the MX2 class has been breathtaking during the whole season. The battle between Tom Vialle and Jago Geerts started from the very first round of the

TIM IS A FANTASTIC AMBASSADOR FOR OUR SPORT

championship. After some rollercoaster moments, we will arrive in Turkiye with an all or nothing race for both of them. With only two points difference for the leader Geerts, it is sure that this final Grand Prix will be one of the most exciting of the history.

Last weekend took place the Junior World Championship in the city of Vantaa, Finland. More than 160 young riders coming from 26 different countries came together to try to win the 65cc, 85cc and 125cc titles. In the end it was Lucas Leok from Estonia, and the two Dutch riders Gyan Doensen and Ivano Van Erp who proved to be the bests over the weekend in their respective classes. The JWC has always been a platform for future champions and we have no doubt that the next Gajser was present during last weekend!

On a separate note we would like to welcome RAM in the MXGP family.

This partnership is a great sign for motocross and MXGP, as a global

and iconic car brand is joining the championship to support our sport.

Finally in three weeks’ time, the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations will be back in USA, on the fantastic track of Red Bud! We cannot wait to be there for what will be considered as one of the biggest events in the History.

Some of the favorite nations have already announced their line up and the quality of the riders present is impressive. Will USA bring back the Chamberlain Trophy on their home soil with Eli Tomac, Justin Cooper and Chase Sexton? Will Italy keep it with Antonio Cairoli, Mattia Guadagnini and Andrea Adamo?

Some outsiders are also coming with very strong teams like Australia, Spain, France, The Netherlands and Japan. It will be for sure as usual unpredictable and exciting until the last lap!

For those who will not be able to come and live the moment onsite, you will be able to follow the whole weekend on www.

MXGP-TV.com from Friday with the famous riders’ parade on Friday, the ballot and all the actions on Saturday and Sunday.

I would like to thank FIM, FIM Europe, all our organizers, the MXGP partners, the teams and the riders, for their collaboration.

I wish you a good summer and see you in Turkiye!

S T O H S L COO

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FOLLOW YOUR TEAM ON

REDBUD - USA 23-24-25 SEPTEMBER 2022

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T O H S E L O H X FO

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN…

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WE’RE ALMOST AT THE END OF THE 2022 SEASON OF THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AND WITH JUST ONE ROUND REMAINING, THE 2022 FOX HOLESHOT COMPETITION IS ALMOST AT ITS END!

Before we take a look at the overall standings heading into the final Grand Prix of this season, let’s catch-up on who were the Fox Holeshot winners at the last few rounds…

MXGP OF SWEDEN During the Swedish Grand Prix, we saw four different Fox Holeshot winners, one of which was a brand-new entry to the competition! In the first MXGP race, the Fox Holeshot went to iXS Hostettler MXGP Team’s Valentin Guillod, who secured his very first black plate of the year. Guillod was looking strong in the race as he ran inside the top five for much of the race before making a mistake and ending up ninth.

In MX2, the honours went to F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo, who added a third Fox Holeshot Award to his season tally, with his previous ones coming from Agueda and Kegums.

In the second heats, the Fox Holeshot’s were won by Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer, who went on to win the second race and the overall Grand Prix, while in MX2, it was Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Simon Längenfelder who led much of the race before he dropped to third.

MXGP OF FINLAND A week later we returned to Finland for the very first time since 2014 as Hyvinkää made its comeback to the MXGP calendar.

Once again, we saw a new entry

to the list with Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre taking the Fox Holeshot in the opening race. The Frenchman led the race before crashing and eventually dropping back to fifth.

In race two, it was the overall Grand Prix winner Glenn Coldenhoff of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing who was the fastest rider into the first corner and across the Fox Holeshot line. In MX2, nobody could match the starts of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jago Geerts who dominated the Fox Holeshot Awards that weekend!

MXGP OF CHARENTE MARITIME The MXGP of Charente Maritime rounded out our three on the bounce weekends of racing – and it was a good one! Once again, there were four different Fox Holeshot winners which made for some very interesting racing.

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In the opening races, the starts were won by Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer in MXGP and SM Action Racing Team YUASA Battery’s Andrea Adamo, with Adamo claiming his first ever Fox Holeshot award. While in the second races, the black plates went to Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado in MXGP and Team VRT KTM VERITISE rider Tom Guyon in MX2. A strong start put Prado on the box for the first time since Indonesia, while Guyon secured his best race finish, as he placed third behind Vialle and Thibault Benistant in the second heat – making it a French 1-2-3.

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Heading into the final round of the 2022 season at the BitCi MXGP of Turkey, Prado is way ahead of the competition with 16 points, while in MX2 Vialle leads with 9 points, just two ahead of Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Simon Längenfelder who still has a chance to go for the Fox Holeshot title!

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Jaggo Geerts

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Thibault Benistant

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Kevin Horgmo

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MXGP

The Fox Holeshot Competition will conclude at the Bitci MXGP of Turkey where we will officially crown the champions of 2022!

MX2 Tom Vialle

Simon Lanfenfelder

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Jorge Prado

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Tim Gajser

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Jeremy Seewer

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Henry Jacobi

3

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P U G H N ATC I C A C R

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M T U B D E N W O L R L C A C S N O O T I P E S M O A L C CH O O T L L I ST 23

WITH THE END OF THE 2022 FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP NOW IN SIGHT, LET’S TAKE A RECAP OF WHAT HAPPENED IN SWEDEN, FINLAND AND CHARENTE MARITIME, WHERE CHAMPIONS WERE CROWNED, AND THE RACING WAS INTENSE.

Sweden - Round 15 After a historic MXGP of Flanders where we witnessed an all-Dutch podium for the first time in MXGP, our travels continued north to the MXGP of Sweden and Uddevalla, a venue we hadn’t visited since 2019. On that occasion, Jorge Prado wrapped up his second MX2 world title, Roan Van De Moosdijk was crowned EMX250 champion and Tim Gajser graced the top step of the podium in the MXGP class.

Coming into Round 15, Jago Geerts held a 23-point lead over Tom Vialle and with that in mind, it was clear that this was going to be another crucial stage in the fight for the MX2 world title. It also meant that with four rounds remaining, if Vialle won all the remaining eight races and Geerts took 2nd in

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all eight, the title would belong to Vialle by just one point.

After taking his sixth qualifying race win of the campaign, Geerts would line up on pole position with Vialle alongside him. F&H Kawasaki’s Kevin Horgmo was first to the Fox holeshot line with Simon Laengenfelder and Tom Vialle next in line. Geerts was 6th, but by turn three had advanced to 4th. At the same time, Vialle had eased past Laengenfelder for 2nd and by the end of the opening lap, the Red Bull KTM rider led the way. Two laps later, Geerts was past Horgmo, but on lap 5, the Monster Energy Yamaha rider lost control in turn two, spun around a full 360˚, handing 2nd back to Horgmo. The two positions were reversed two laps later but by then, Vialle was too far gone to be challenged for the lead, and in the end, it was Vialle who went on to record his thirteenth race win of the season, from the Belgian, who’s lead was cut back three points to

twenty. The good news for the travelling Scandinavian fans was that Horgmo (Norway) and Haarup (Denmark) placed 3rd and 5th respectively.

Race two saw Laengenfelder take his seventh Fox Holeshot of the season, from Horgmo, Thibault Benistant, Vialle and Geerts. When Benistant fell on lap three, Vialle accepted 2nd position with open arms, whilst simultaneously, Geerts had advanced past Horgmo into 4th, and then 3rd when he passed his stricken teammate. This time though it was Vialle’s turn to faulter, and on lap five, and in the same turn where Geerts made his mistake in race one, the Frenchman lost 2nd position.

Geerts capitalised on his rival’s misfortune and set about Laengenfelder, and just after half distance, the Yamaha rider was past the GASGAS and into the lead. Needing just one lap to pass the Red Bull GASGAS rider 2nd when he caught him, Vialle then charged at Geerts and for the last seven laps the two rivals

here inseparable, but it was Geerts who crossed the line for his eleventh race win of the season. Crucially for him though, his 23-point lead remained intact heading into Finland.

Geerts won the grand prix from Vialle and Laengenfelder, as Horgmo and Haarup filled the next two positions.

For the first time in his career, Team HRC’s Mitch Evans won the qualifying race, which also meant he would line up on pole for the first time, but when it came to the first gate drop of the day, both he and his teammate Tim Gajser were slow off the mark, emerging through turn one just inside the top ten. However, the Fox Holeshot was awarded to Valentin Guillod on the iXS Hostettler Yamaha, but after running wide the door was left open for Monster Energy Yamaha’s rookie Maxime Renaux to take over the lead. By turn three, Renaux was pursued by his teammates Jeremy Seewer and Glenn Coldenhoff as Guillod slipped to 4th, with Romain Febvre 5th.

Evans fell on the opening lap and 25

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recovered from 33rd to 10th by the time the chequered flag fell, in what was a great display of riding around the tricky Uddevalla race track.

At the start of lap 2, Gajser had guided his Honda to 4th but couldn’t do anything about the trio of Yamaha’s ahead of him and was forced to settle for 4th, one place ahead of Jorge Prado. If the racing up front was a bit processional, there was drama on the final lap when Valentin Guillod refused to be passed

by Febvre for 6th, and as the Swiss fought back, he overshot the turn three corners from the finish and dropped from 6th to 9th, but the former MX2 grand prix winner had shown glimpses of his old self in the first outing.

As Guillod crossed the line, the Monster Energy Yamaha Team was celebrating its first 1-2-3 which had never happened in the MXGP class for the blue corner of Japan, where three riders from the same team had occupied the top three race finishes, with Renaux heading home Seewer and Coldenhoff respectively.

In race two, as Jeremy Seewer was busy crossing the Fox Holeshot line for the third time this season, Red Bull GASGAS rider Mattia Guadagnini was shunted off line rapidly, and before the Italian had time to react, the ‘101’ was in the catch fencing. Fortunately, he was able to walk away unscathed and re-join the race, but a terrifying moment for him nonetheless.

Two corners later, and this time it was race one winner Renaux who went down, on the first big jump on the track; replays showed he tangled with Pauls Jonass on the approach to the take-off point and somehow ‘scrubbed’ his way over the crest, landing in the path of the rest of the pack. Ben Watson ran over him, and others narrowly avoided him, but with a damaged bike, Renaux was unable to continue and was forced to retire at the end of the opening lap.

Before the first lap was over, Gajser managed to move from 5th to 2nd but despite his efforts was not able to advance past Seewer, who held the lead from the opening lap. Gajser crossed the line 2nd, with Febvre, Evans and Coldenhoff rounding out the top five,

and with his 2-1 results, it was Seewer who stood on the top step of the podium, with Gajser (4-2) and Coldenhoff (3-5) joining him ‘on the box’.

As we left for Finland, Tim Gajser held a 115-point lead over Seewer, which meant the MXGP title could be decided in Hyvinkää, all things being well!

Finland - Round 16 The last time MXGP visitied Hyvinkää was back in 2014, and on that day, it was Jeffrey Herlings (MX2) and Antonio Cairoli (MXGP) who dominated, both riders going 1-1 in the process.

Also, on the bill that weekend was the 65cc and 85cc EMX Championship, where a certain Jago Geerts claimed the 85cc class by going 1-1. Also there that day was Tom Vialle, the Frenchman went 11-9 to claim 8th overall, so it was going to be an interesting return to the sandy circuit close to Helsinki.

Geerts had the upper hand after winning the qualifying race for the seventh time this year, which was also back-to-back pole positions for the Belgian, but it was an eventful ‘quali’ race for Vialle, who fell at turn two and again later in the race to eventually come home in 9th.

As for the first race, Geerts took the Fox holeshot with Vialle close behind, but that all changed at the end of the opening lap when the Belgian left the door open and was punished by the KTM rider. As luck would have it, Vialle then made a mistake in the very next turn, allowing Geerts to sneak back by before eventually going on to win the race. With Vialle 2nd, the gap was back out from 23 to 26 points; race two would be a potential make-or-break moment in the championship. Rounding out the top five were the Nestaan Husqvarna duo of Kay De Wolf and Roan Van De Moosdijk, with Benistant behind them.

There was another Fox holeshot for Geerts, but at the start of lap two, the Belgian pushed his front wheel over a berm, went over the ‘bars and somehow managed to pin himself under his motorcycle. As he struggled to wriggle free, Liam Everts took over the lead, but with Vialle now 2nd, the Frenchman made sure he took full advantage of his rival’s mistake, and by the end of the lap, the ‘28’ was the new race

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leader. From there he never looked back. As for Geerts, riding hard meant risking more mistakes, and as he committed to an inside dive on Haarup, he hadn’t anticipated the Dane cutting back in a left turn, and the two collided. Both riders crashed and from there Geerts had to settle for 7th. Suddenly, a gap that could have been extended to 29, was now down to 15. Ouch! Following Vialle over the line were the two Husqvarna’s, with the ‘74’ getting the better of the ‘39’, and as for the podium, the win in Finland belonged to Vialle with De Wolf 2nd - his second podium in three rounds - and Geerts, who pipped Van De Moosdijk by a single point.

In MXGP with 115 points advantage over Jeremy Seewer, and with just two rounds remaining, Tim Gajser was in a very good place, or at least that’s how it seemed from the outside. Either way, the Slovenian had the opportunity to wrap up his fifth world championship. If he won race one, Seewer needed to be 6th or lower.

Romain Febvre may have taken his first Fox Holeshot since his return to action but by the second lap he’d been overhauled by Brian Bogers, and the Standing Construct Husqvarna rider wasted no time in making the pass and pulling away to win by almost ten seconds. Impressive. Gajser sat in 4th, just behind Seewer, but when the ‘91’ and the ‘3’ fell on the same lap in separate incidents, the ‘243’ was promoted to 2nd.

From there it looked like he would have the upper hand, but suddenly, he looked tight and nervous, and by the end of the race he’d been pushed back to 6th. With Seewer 4th, that fifth title was on ice … for now, at least!

The second Fox Holeshot of the day went to Glenn Coldenhoff, but one lap later he was lucky to remain upright when he and Febvre collided mid-air, resulting in the Frenchman going down. He would eventually climb back to 8th. But where was Gajser? Down in 10th, that’s where! For the first five laps he remained static, and nervous, but with five laps remaining, he’d managed to make it to 7th, and with Seewer in 2nd, it would be enough to clinch the title.

Before the end of the race though, the fight for the podium places was being disputed.

Coldenhoff led the race, and with his 2nd in race one, the Dutchman was on course for his first GP win of the season. After Bogers’ win in the first outing, he was on for 2nd overall whilst sitting 4th in race two, but the final podium place was between Seewer and Renaux, who were tied; with Seewer looking at 4-2 (40 points) and Renaux 3-3 (40 points), 30

Seewer would get the nod.

However, when Bogers fell with four laps to go, he was suddenly off the podium in 4th, with the same points as Seewer and Renaux. When the flag went out at the end of 30 mins + 2, it was an all-blue podium with Coldenhoff, Seewer and Renaux; for the second successive GP, the Yamaha trio had taken the first three positions in the race, but now they’d swept the podium as well.

For three Yamaha riders from the same team to do this in the premier class, history was made. The last time it happened for Yamaha was in 2005 in Germany when Andrew McFarlane, Davide Guarneri and Alessio Chiodi swept the MX2 podium for Ricci Racing Yamaha, so celebrations all round.

And then! Tim Gajser crossed the line in 7th, and relieved, rode into the arms of his team as a five-time world champion. In doing so, he joined the short list of five-time legends which includes Roger De Coster, Eric Geboers, Georges Jobé, Joel Smets and Jeffrey Herlings.

Tim Gajser: ‘Unbelievable, you know? To win one title is a lot, but to win already like five with the crew, with HRC and everybody, we are an amazing team. Of course, we were struggling a bit towards the end, I was a bit nervous and everything, but I’m glad that it’s over. I just want to say a huge thank you to my team, all my crew, everybody around me, my girlfriend, Filippo, everyone; everyone at home watching, thank you guys!’

With MXGP decided with two rounds remaining, our focus shifted to the silver and bronze medal battles. After Seewer’s performance in Finland, the silver medal was almost there for the taking, with Coldenhoff’s win elevating him above Prado by 8 points in the bronze medal chase. Renaux is knocking on the door as well. Next stop France, and the MXGP of Charente Maritime.

Charente Maritime, Saint Jean d’Angely Round 17 Predicting the outcome of certain situations is never easy, but if you could, as a script writer you’d be in a position to make a lot of money; and that was certainly the case at Saint Jean d’Angely for round seventeen.

A tense MX2 qualifying race where Vialle edged Thibault Benistant by just 0.198s and where Geerts fell from 3rd to 8th, meant we were quite possibly going to be set for a thrilling penultimate round; and that’s before we even get to the MXGP class!

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Andrea Adamo raced to the first Fox Holeshot and his first of the season, but he was immediately shuffled back to 7th by the end of the opening lap as Benistant, Vialle, Geerts, Laengenfelder, Moosdijk and Haarup all raced by. The pace was high but with passing opportunities restricted, the only time positions changed was when Moosdijk fell from 5th on lap two, which bumped those around him up one more place. The race ended with a French 1-2, Benistant taking his fourth win of the season, from Vialle and Geerts; the Belgian’s 15-point gap now down to 13.

It was clear a good start was needed if you were either Geerts or Vialle, and when the gates dropped in race 2, all eyes were on the two title rivals.

First over the Fox holehot line though was Tom Guyon, another first-timer, who drifted wide to prevent Benistant gaining the advantage, and whilst that was being played out, Vialle snook up the inside of the pair of them and took over the lead in the very next turn.

Benistant passed Guyon before turn four for 2nd, as Geerts went from 4th to 5th. Suddenly, things were looking good for Vialle in his quest to reduce the points deficit even further.

As the Red Bull KTM gradually pulled clear, Geerts was still struggling to find a way past Moosdijk, and when the opportunity eventually presented itself on lap 7, he took it with both hands, and within half a lap, he was on to Guyon for 3rd. But then, he tucked the front end, dropping from 4th to 7th, and with another mistake late on in the race, 7th was the best he could muster.

Urged on by the massive French crowd, Vialle’s margin of victory as he crossed the line after eighteen laps was five seconds, but the bigger picture here was clear; he’d not only won his fifteenth race of the season, but he’d taken his ninth GP win and reduced the gap to just two points with one round remaining. And all of this in his final ‘home’ GP before heading Stateside for 2023. Vialle had a job to do, and he executed it perfectly.

Joining Tom on the podium were Benistant (2nd) and Geerts (3rd), the Belgian relieved to at least still be lead-

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ing the championship. After all, it’s better to be two points ahead then two behind, right? We will see!

The standout performance of the race though was from Tom Guyon; the VRT KTM Veritise rider hung on to 3rd for his best race finish of his fledgling MX2 career, and coupled with 9th from race one, the local lad claimed 4th overall.

In MXGP Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre sparked the French crowd into life when he won the qualifying race on Saturday for the second weekend in succession, but it was Jeremy Seewer who crossed the Fox holehot line in race one ahead of everybody else, for the fourth time this season. Behind him, the roar from the crowd was for the Kawasaki rider on the ‘3’, but his time in 2nd was limited to just four laps before the newly crowned five-time world champion came by. The Slovenian was able to close the gap to the Swiss, but every time he got close, Seewer would ‘pop’ the huge triple at the top end of the circuit, gaining around 0.7 of a second every time, which might not sound like much, but it was effective. It was also enough to determine the outcome of the race, and after nineteen laps, the win belonged to Seewer for the fifth time this season. Gajser crossed the line 2nd ahead of Febvre and Prado; the Red Bull GASGAS rider started 7th, passing Monticelli on lap two, Renaux on lap nine and Evans when he fell on lap 15. With Prado taking 4th and Coldenhoff 6th, the battle for the bronze medal position was closing up once again, with The Hoff just five points clear of the former two-time world champion heading into race two.

In race 2, for the first time in six races, Prado navigated his GASGAS over the Fox holeshot line for the sixteenth time this season, with Renaux, Seewer, Febvre and Gajser hot on his heels. The first to make a move was the ‘243’ and his pass on Febvre moved him up to 4th, on the second lap.

Seewer sensed the danger from behind and on lap 7, he moved past Renaux for 2nd and set about the race leader, Prado.

Five laps later, and Gajser was back on Seewer’s case, having passed Renaux, and for the next seven laps, the top three played their own version of cat-andmouse. Two significant things then happened, the first at the end of lap seventeen, when Prado hit the Monster Energy Finish line with just ‘01’ second of the race remaining, meaning there were now three

laps still to run. How costly would this turn out to be? Very, as it happens!

As the three riders entered the nineteenth and final lap, the overall podium had Seewer on the top step with 1-2 (47 points), followed by Prado 4-1 (43 points) and Gajser 2-3 (40 points). That all changed on the exit of turn 8, when Seewer followed Prado into the tight left-hander, as Gajser opted for the next available rut, resulting in a better exit into the next downhill that saw ‘243’ pass the ‘91’ before the next turn.

Gajser was now 2nd, and immediately had his sights set on the race win. When Gajser outjumped Prado on the long downhill, he still had to close down the gap going into turn 14, and once that was accomplished, he was almost home and dry. All he needed to do was keep it upright, and when he crossed the line half a lap later, he not only won the race but also claimed the overall victory. Prado hung on for 2nd from Seewer at the end of what was possibly the craziest lap in MXGP in a long while. The final podium positions saw Gajser from Seewer and Prado, the Spaniard taking his first podium since Indonesia, six rounds previous.

With Seewer 3rd in the race and Coldenhoff 8th, the silver medal position was decided and for the 6th time in his career, it belonged to Seewer: twice in MX2 and four times in MXGP. With one round remaining, Prado is now back up to 3rd in points, with Coldenhoff just four adrift, and Renaux 13 behind his teammate. This battle will be going down to the wire, with three riders still in the hunt for bronze.

See you all at the BitCi MXGP of Turkey.

EMX ROUND UP The trip up north also saw action from EMX125 presented by FMF Racing, EMX250 and EMX Open. In the 125cc division, Sweden marked the penultimate round of the season with Fantic Factory Maddii’s Cas Valk arriving with a comfortable 35 point lead over Yamaha Europe MJC’s Karlis Reisulis with Alexis Fueri a further seventeen points adrift. Eleven points behind the Frenchman was Janis Reisulis, the winner of the previous round in Belgium.

Race one belonged to Ivano Erp though, the ‘Pocket Rocket’ pulled through from 7th on lap one to take the lead (and the win) with two laps remaining from his Yamaha Europe MJC teammate, Ferruccio Zanchi, although there was a remarkable

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performance from home rider, Laban Alm, who led for the first four laps, eventually placing 3rd. Janis Reisulis took 4th from series leader Valk who started just inside the top fifteen.

Race two saw another race win for Janis Reisulis, who fended off the challenge from Fueri to win by almost twelve seconds. Van Erp was 3rd with Karlis Reisulis and Valk rounding out the top five. The podium saw Van Erp on the top step (1-3) from Janis Reisulis (4-1) and Fueri (7-2), and with one round remaining in Finland, Cas Valk had extended his lead to 48 points over Fueri, who was now 2nd, Karlis Reisulis (-1) and Janis Reisulis just three behind his older brother.

Finland Hyvinkää was a memorable occasion for at least three reasons: 1.

Ivano Van Erp went 1-1 for the first time to win the final round, in what would also be his last 125cc race, so it was an emotional day for him.

2.

Although he started the day three points ahead of his younger brother, Karlis Reisulis went 2-3 to secure 2nd overall in the championship. Brother Janis went 4-7, which secured him the bronze medal, and possibly the first time we had two brothers on the overall podium.

3.

Last but not least, Cas Valk (3-2) secured the EMX125 title in the first race and the Fantic Factory Maddii rider was well deserving as well. He will now move into EMX250 for 2023, so congratulations to Cas, and the entire Fantic Maddii team for another EMX title.

EMX250 Sweden - Round 8/10 Heading into Sweden, Rick Elzinga held a 30 point lead over Cornelius Toendel, with Lucas Coenen (winner in Lommel) 43 points further back, although none of the top three in the standings featured on the overall podium at Uddevalla. Elzinga rounded out the day 5th overall (9-4), one place ahead of Coenen (0-1) - the Belgian Jumbo Husqvarna BT Racing rider threw a chain in the first race whilst in 2nd position! As for Toendel, the Fantic Factory Maddii rider fell from 4th on the same lap that Coenen had his issues, and so the Norwegian’s (0-5) was only good enough for 15th overall. So, who occupied the podium in Sweden? Haakon Osterhagen (1-2) was clearly in fine form at the round closest to home, edging out Quentin-Marc Prugnieres (2-3) and Camden Mc Lellan (36). For Prugnieres, it was the 9mm Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki’s first EMX po40

dium, and likewise for Mc Lellan on the TBS Conversions KTM. As we left Sweden for Finland, Hutten Metaal Yamaha’s Elzinga had extended his lead out to 44 points, so with two rounds remaining, things were looking good for the Dutchman.

Finland - Round 9/10 At Hyvinkää, Lucas Coenen was impressive as he raced to his second double race win of the season. Behind him, and picking up his second consecutive podium, was Camden Mc Lellan (2-4); suddenly the South African can’t stop getting podium’s! Rounding out the podium was Hutten Metaal Yamaha’s Andrea Bonacorsi, who’s ride through the field in race one was impressive, coming from 25th to 5th, on a track many struggled to pass on. In race two he took 2nd behind Coenen, but possibly used too much energy to go with the Belgian as he started to pull away, but it was still enough to claim his fourth podium of the season.

As for the title challengers, Elzinga (4-7) was 6th overall, with Toendel 4th overall with 5-3, to reduce the gap by four to 40 points.

Charente Maritime - Final round An 8th place finish in race one was enough to secure Rick Elzinga the EMX250 championship and the Hutten Metaal Yamaha crew celebrated in fine style when the ‘44’ crossed the finish line, the Dutch rider doing just enough to ‘get it done’ with some smart riding and staying out of trouble. The hard work had been done at the beginning of the season, where he took four overall wins from the first six rounds. Congratulations to Rick and all at Hutten Metaal Yamaha on their second title in three years, the team winning in 2020 with Thibault Benistant.

On the day though, the winning once again was done by Lucas Coenen, the Jumbo Husqvarna BT Racing rider went 1-1 for the third time this season. He also won seven from the last eight races - had it not been for the broken chain in Sweden, who knows, maybe he could have won all eight! Anyway, the Belgian rounded off his EMX career in fine style, and like Elzinga, will head to MX2 for 2023. Nestaan Husqvarna’s Maxime Grau impressed at home by posting 4-2 scores for his second podium visit of the season and is clearly a rider to watch out for in the years to come. Rounding out the podium at Saint Jean d’Angely was another Frenchie, Quentin-Marc Prugnieres (3-4), a great way for the 9mm Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki ace to end the season.

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As for the championship, Rick Elzinga took the gold medal, from Lucas Coenen and Cornelius Toendel.

EMX OPEN - Round 5/6 Also making the trip to Finland was the EMX Open class, where Jose Butron held a 21-point lead over Michael Sandner, who was just 2 points clear of Thomas Kohut. The last time the Open class was on track was May 8th, more than three months prior.

The fastest rider out of the blocks in the first race was the points leader, Butron, and from there the JD Gunnex KTM rider was never headed, eventually going on to win by a comfortable margin over Gert Krestinov, the Estonian making his third appearance in the championship, who started outside the top ten. Home rider and Wildcard entrant, Jusso Matikainen took 3rd after starting 10th. Michael Sander made a good start but was shuffled back to 8th by the end of the opening lap, and gained just two positions during the entire race, as Kohut’s up and down ride saw him start 4th, move to 3rd, drop to 5th before re-claiming 4th on the final lap.

It was an eventful second race for Michael Sander to say the least, the Rath’s Motorsport rider falling on more than one occasion, eventually coming home in 9th place. His closest rival before the start of the weekend, Thomas Kohut, fared much better, and after starting 4th, the Osicka KTM rider passed the championship leader Butron for 3rd, before hounding down the Pole man Matikainen for 2nd on the final half lap.

No-one was a match for Krestinov though, his 2-1 netting him the overall win. Butron was 2nd overall (1-4) with Kohut 3rd (4-2) and as we head into the final round at Afyon in Turkey, Butron’s lead is 26 points over Kohut who is now up to 2nd in the standings, with Sandner eleven adrift in 3rd.

You can watch all of the action LIVE on www.mxgp-tv.com where, as always, we look forward to the pleasure of your company, and as it is also the final round of MXGP, MX2, and WMX, we will round out the day with the Infront Moto Racing Awards ceremony which will also be shown live. See you there.

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FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

RESULTS

MXGP INSTAGRAM PAGE 1.2 Million Followers Top Countries: USA: 14% Italy: 12% Indonesia: 10% France: 9% Brazil: 7% UK: 6% In 2022 Profile View Growth: 88% 966 total posts 5.4 Likes received 21.4 Comments received 175.1 Million Impressions 44.1 Million Unique Reaches

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Posts with Higher Reach: Near LIVE Action replay Near LIVE Crash replay Reels

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L A I C O S P G X M

@martinplesnik 3 GP’s in 1 month, 4 GP’s in 2 months…didn’t even expect that before/ throughout the season, some crazy trips and unreal memories.

@teamswitzerlandmxon Second overall in the Grand Prix with 1-3 scores and second in the championship (secured with a round still to run)... @JeremySeewer91 is the man on form at the moment!

News Highlights | EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 2 | MXGP of Finland 2022: Don’t miss all the best moments of the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing class in the Highlights of the day which includes the celebration of the Champion, Cas Valk!

@benerinkautobedrijf @rick.elz is de nieuwe EMX250 Kampioen! 👑 Hij pakte zaterdag tijdens de eerste manche de titel in Frankrijk.

@toto_caroyer Un week-end de folie 😈🔥 #mxgp

@stmitaly Una fantastica performance di @nicolasalvinik79 nella YZ bLUcRU Cup in St Jean d’Angely🇫🇷 con il team @jkracingmx con frizioni STM , lo vede portare a casa un 1° posto nelle qualifiche e 🥇 nella gara 125!

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Team Report | RedBull KTM Factory Racing | MXGP of Sweden 2022: Go behind the scenes with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing squad as Tom Vialle and Jeffrey Herlings talk about their varying 2022 season!

@j.marty40 Good week-end at MXGP 🇫🇷 with all the green Team !

@_childoftheocean Congratulations @tiga243 on your 5th MXGP World Championship title! 🏆 What a season 🙌🏻 Tim, you are a real champ! You deserve it so much!

@davisapsens19 With chempion @ tiga243 , Congrats with wins the 2022 MXGP World Championship, and get fifth world title!

@pikkarambo Upee @mxgp viikonloppu takana🔥 Toivottavasti saadaan jatkossakin tän tason urheilutapahtumia tänne🇫🇮 #mxgp #pitlane #mxgpfinland

Jeremy Van Horebeek Career Tribute | MXGP of Finland 2022: Jeremy Van Horeveek has enjoyed an incredible career in the FIM Motocross World Championship that saw him win races, GP’s and the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations with Team Belgium 🇧🇪 Watch him re-live these moments in a special episode of the Studio Show!

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

@bviljamikyllonen77 EMX125 Hyvinkää Aamulla pääsin rennolla fiiliksellä ja ilman paineita ajamaan harjoituksia. Aikaajoissa ison yleisön edessä jännitys oli suuri, kaikki oli isompaa.

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H T S N RE MO E D I RF TH O

Y R TO

S E H T : R S E E S L J T I A T G D E TIM TITLWORL E V I F F O

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The 2022 season has been filled with ups and downs for the Slovenian, who battled illness halfway through the season, though this did not stop him in racking up wins, podiums – and most importantly those vital championship points to be the only rider to ever hold the red plate this season.

FIVE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER FOR TEAM HRC’S TIM GAJSER, WHO SECURED HIS FIFTH FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE AT THE MXGP OF FINLAND A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.

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After the 2021 season, that saw Gajser narrowly miss out on the chance to fight for the crown alongside Jeffrey Herlings and Romain Febvre at the final race of the season in Mantova, due to a penalty that ended his hopes prematurely, Gajser turned that heartbreak into motivation and there was no doubt that he was going to bring his ‘A game’ after the short winter break.

“It motivated me a lot, losing the championship last year,” admitted Gajser, “I learned a lot and for this year the motivation was super high”.

The Slovenian started his 2022 campaign with a statement in the form of an overall victory at the MXGP of Great Britain and followed that up with two more wins in Mantova and Argentina, before his winning streak was broken at the Portuguese Grand Prix by Jorge Prado, who was his closest championship rival at that point.

Three more consecutive wins followed in Trentino, Latvia and Maggiora before illness took its toll and Gajser struggled at the next few races.

Like last year, Germany was a turning point that saw the HRC rider back on the top step with another victory in Indonesia but as the possibility of the title drew closer, Gajser fell off the podium

radar as nerves began to kick in.

Though he still managed to score decent points to stay well ahead of his competition.

“It was a dream start and a good beginning to the year” said Gajser, “and then between Indonesia and Czech Republic we had a break, two weekends off, and that’s when I started to realise, we are getting close and the last couple of GP’s I have to be smart, stay on two wheels and bring the title back to Honda,” he admitted.

While the Slovenian had a comfortable championship lead, the pressure was still lurking in the shadows, as the fear of making a costly mistake played in the mind of the Honda rider.

“I knew it was going to be an important day,” Gajser explained at the post-race press conference in Finland. “Everything went good, but It was honestly not my best GP”. he added.

It was a big relief, it was incredible and like I said so many times, to win the world championship five times is [pause] something big,” explained Gajser. “I couldn’t do it without my team around me. We work so hard together, for this treat, to be World Champions,” he concluded.

Despite it being not his best result of the season, as the Slovenian only managed a 6-7 result for sixth overall, it did not matter as his sensible approach paid off and he was able to wrap up the title after the chequered flag of the second MXGP race at the Finnish Grand Prix in Hyvinkää.

“The Saturday before the race, in 2020, the night before I didn’t sleep at all” recalled Gajser, “but this year was quite good, I managed to take a good and important nap let’s say”.

With the gold plate in hand, Gajser arrived at the following race in Saint Jean d’Angely with a completely different mind-set and it was clear just how much pressure the championship had given him previously. The MXGP of Charente Maritime saw the Slovenian back to his old ways as he was far more 55

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competitive and more aggressive at the sharp end of the field, fighting for race wins. A stand-out moment is no doubt that last lap passes on Jeremy Seewer and Jorge Prado, that saw him go from third to first, not only in the race but also on the podium – the perfect message as to why he is a five-time World Champion!

“Yeah, it was a good day of racing.

Definitely it was way much easier to ride without the pressure, you know, last couple of GPs were very difficult.

I was struggling. And yeah, thinking about the championship, maybe too much. But today, I could really relax and just ride like I know” he shared at the post-race press conference in France.

The journey to five titles…

Tim Gajser started his motocross journey at a tender age of three and by the time he reached his seventh birthday (2006) he entered the EMX65 Championship where he finished third. The following year, Gajser claimed the title in the same category and then repeated his success two years later in EMX85 class.

In 2010, he made his debut in the EMX125 Championship and by 2012, at the age of fifteen, dominated the class to win the EMX125 Championship title and become the FIM 125cc Junior Motocross World Champion that season, too.

From the EMX125 class Gajser made the jump into the MX2 World Championship in 2013 where he finished in 20th and was picked up

by Honda Gariboldi (now known as Team HRC) for the following season where he made a big improvement to place fifth overall with some solid results that included six podium finishes in Mexico (2nd), Brazil (3rd), Great Britain (3rd), Finland (2nd) Sweden (3rd) and Germany (2nd).

2015 was a big year for the Slovenian who claimed his very first world title in the adult division to become the MX2 World Champion that time around. Though he struggled in the beginning of the season, he was able to turn this around when the series returned to Europe with GP victories in Teutschenthal, Maggiora, Trentino, 58

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Assen and Uddevalla. He fought an injury during a couple of the races, though was able to come back strong and clinch that title by the end of the season.

“When we signed him, he was just seventeen, I think, he wasn’t event eighteen” Giacomo Gariboldi, Team Owner of Team HRC explained. “He had won many championships in the junior categories, but when we won the first title together, we said, maybe we have a real champion, and we can go for more,” he added.

In 2016, Gajser made the move up to the premier MXGP class, where he was nothing short of extraordinary. The Slovenian won a total of 15 races, 7 Grand Prix’s and took a total of 15 out of a possible 17 podiums. Having showed maturity and strength all season long, Gajser made history to take back-toback titles in MX2 and MXGP. The 2017 season was a tough one for Gajser, as he lined-up at the opening round in Qatar as the defending champion, but a year full of crashes and injuries made it hard for the Slovenian to fight back, which forced him to settle for fifth in the standings.

Then 2018 was another blow, as he picked up a double lower jaw fracture at the final round of the Internazionali d’Italia and was forced to skip the opening round and focus on recovery.

That year Gajser finished without any overall victories, though still managed fourth place in the championship standings.

The following year, 2019, Gajser regained his strength, and it was consistency which helped him win his third title. He won a total of 16 races, 9 GP’s and made 15 podium appearances. After winning the title that season, he was ready to defend his number one status in 2020 and he was able to do just that!

While some might feel pressure to defend the title, Gajser made sure he wouldn’t let it phase him. While the first GP did not deliver the result he had hoped for, by the end of the campaign he racked up 15 race wins, 14 podiums and 5 Grand Prix victories, which helped him onto his fourth world title and his third in MXGP.

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Fast forward to 2021, the season that will no doubt remain in the minds and hearts of any motocross fan for decades to come, as we all bared witness to one of the most exciting title fights in the history of the sport that saw Jeffrey Herlings, Romain Febvre and Tim Gajser go head-to-head for the crown that went down to the very final race of the season.

While at the opening few GP’s Gajser was looking solid and held the championship lead, the second half of the season was a turning point after a shoulder injury put a huge roadblock in the Slovenian’s title hopes.

While Gajser was able to recover and fight back to remain competitive, a mistake, that was out of his control, saw him penalised and ultimately ended his title fight earlier

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than he would have wanted.

Gajser finished the season third behind Herlings and Febvre…

The 2022 season saw Gajser lead the championship from the very first round, as he was the only rider to ever hold the red plate this year.

Not only does he top the charts in terms of points (since he is world champion), he also tops the charts when it comes to the race statistics. Heading into the final round of the season, Gajser has led the most laps (185*), won the most races (14*) and Grand Prix (9*) as well as made the most podium appearances (12*) and has had the most pole positions (4*). Let’s see if he can add to those stats in Turkey!

Congratulations to Tim on your fifth FIM Motocross World Championship title!

Tim Gajser’s Quick Facts & Season Stats

DOB: 08/09/1996 BEST RESULT: 5-time World Champion (4 MXGP, 1 MX2) FIRST GP RACED: 2012 MXGP of Europe, Faenza FIRST GP WIN: 2015, MXGP of Trentino, Pietramurata, MX2 TOTAL GP WINS: 42* RACE WINS IN 2022: 14* GP WINS IN 2022: 9* PODIUMS IN 2022: 12* LAPS LED IN 2022: 185* POLE POSITIONS IN 2022: 4* *Stats current after the MXGP of Charente Maritime.

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

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2 X M E H T : E L L A I V !

S N V W S O T D R E W GE E SHO L T I T

17 ROUNDS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED IN THE 2022 FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AND JUST ONE REMAINS BEFORE WE CAN CROWN THE MX2 WORLD CHAMPION OF THIS YEAR. WHILE THE MXGP TITLE IS SAFE IN THE HANDS OF TIM GAJSER, THE SAME CANNOT BE SAID IN MX2, AS JUST TWO POINTS SEPARATE MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA FACTORY RACING’S JAGO GEERTS FROM RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING’S TOM VIALLE.

Though before we start to imagine all the different scenarios of how this title showdown can end – let’s take a look at how we arrived at this point…

Jago Geerts made his first MX2 wildcard appearance in 2017, though his first season in the FIM Motocross World Championship was in 2018 with Kemea Yamaha Official MX2 Team where he finished eighth in the overall championship standings which included a podium finish in Latvia (2nd). By the following season, the Belgian was much more competitive and managed to secure a total of six podiums and a race win in Saint Jean d’Angely, he finished the 2019 season third in the championship standings behind Jorge Prado and Thomas Kjer Olsen and ahead of Tom Vialle, who placed fourth just six points behind, on what was his very first season in the MX2 class.

The 2020 season was the year that everyone anticipated a title fight between Geerts and Vialle and they received just that, though it was mostly dominated by Vialle, who won the title that time around with an impressive 14 race wins and matching podiums, along with 7 overall victories and an outstanding 21 Fox Holeshots!

Geerts finished second 80 points behind the Frenchman.

The following year was not as many expected, with Vialle injured and Geerts struggling for much of the season with his own troubles, this paved way for a new champion to be born in the form of Maxime Renaux. While Geerts was competitive, he did not deliver the consistency of Renaux that was needed for the title, and for the second year in a row he ended up second, while Vialle made a strong comeback to finish third and also back some race wins and GP victories.

Back to this season though, it was again an expected battle between Geerts and Vialle, with Vialle going after his second world title, while Geerts is still chasing down his first.

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The season kicked off in Matterley Basin, where a big surprise in the form of Simon Längenfelder awaited us. The German dominated the entire weekend by winning the qualifying race and then both heats and took the overall, while Vialle and Geerts placed second and third.

The next Grand Prix in Mantova delivered another surprise as Geerts dominated both races to take maximum points and the red plate, while Vialle finished second in the opening race and then had a huge crash in race one which resulted in 0 points for the Frenchman.

Though Vialle bounced back quickly by dominating the following three GP in Argentina, Portugal and Trentino, while Geerts finished second and third, and completely missed the podium in Trentino due to a DNF in the second race. This was also the weekend that we saw Vialle take back the red plate for the first time this season.

Next was Latvia and Maggiora where Geerts came out on top, while Vialle finished third and second before Vialle came back with a win in Riola Sardo. The MXGP of Sardinia saw the pair exchange race wins and tied on 47 points, but since Vialle was the winner of the second race, he was declared the overall victor.

The points remained tight and while Vialle ended up winning the next two GP in Spain and France – this in turn also saw him claim the red plate on those occasions, too, while Geerts looked for a way to bounce back.

In Germany, Vialle was looking strong, after winning the opening race he was also pushing for another one in race two, but after completing just four laps, the Frenchman was dealt a huge blow to his championship as he did not finish the race due to a technical problem and lost all his points advantage over Geerts, who took back the red plate.

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Vialle bounced back with the GP win in Indonesia, and the red plate too, but it was the next few races where he struggled once again and Geerts made the most of that! The Belgian dominated the next three GPs in Czech Republic, Belgium and Sweden, where he was able to build up a decent gap to Vialle.

By the time we reached the Finnish Grand Prix, the points gap was at 23 points and with Hyvinkää being a sand track, it was all looking good for Geerts as he started the weekend with a qualifying race victory, while Vialle crashed and ended up ninth. Geerts won the opening race but by the second heat, things fell apart as the Belgian crashed out of the lead and had to work his way through the pack.

He then crashed once again after a collision with Mikkel Haarup which only turned his day from bad to worse, as he finished seventh and more importantly lost very important championship points, all while Vialle won the second race and the Grand Prix, breaking Geerts’ winning streak.

The next race, out of the three on the bounce was the MXGP of Charente Maritime in Saint Jean d’Angely, the home GP of Vialle.

This was a weekend that everyone knew would be make or break for either one of the title hopefuls and it certainly delivered on that promise.

Vialle delivered when it mattered most to go 2-1 in the races, sharing the same result with his fellow countryman Thibault Benistant, who finished 1-2. For Geerts, the weekend was far from perfect as small mistakes and crashed proved to be costly once more as his result was 3-7.

In the end, Geerts lost 13 points over the course of the second French Grand Prix and now holds a very slim 2-point advantage over Vialle as we enter the final round…

But what can be expected at the BitCi MXGP of Turkey? Well there are only two ways this could go, Vialle wins or Geerts does… But of course, it probably won’t be this simple, as the final

races are bound to deliver more surprises – just like the title fight in Mantova last year in MXGP! When it comes to racing in Afyonkarahisar, Vialle won both of the Grand Prix there last season during the Turkish doubleheader, meanwhile, Geerts was not even close to a podium finish as he placed 6th and 8th overall. The Turkish venue is also hard pack, and as we all know Vialle is a strong hard-pack rider, though Geerts has also proved that he has what it takes to win on the harder soil base – his wins in Maggiora, Loket and Uddevalla speak for themselves.

There is no doubt that the final Grand Prix of this 2022 season will be more of a mental game than a physical one, as both riders are in incredible shape and have proved that with their results and their riding, but it will be a question of who will get the starts and manage to stay out in front and more importantly not crack under pressure!

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TITLE MARC “CALIMERO” DE REUVER MULTIPLE DUTCH CHAMPION AND WINNER OF SEVERAL GP’S DURING HIS CAREER, MARC DE REUVER WAS UNFORTUNATE AS INJURIES DIDN’T ALLOW HIM TO CLAIM A WORLD TITLE. BUT THE DUTCHMAN, WHO RACED FOR THREE DIFFERENT FACTORIES AND CONSIDERED AS ONE OF THE BEST SAND RIDERS, HAS SO MUCH EXPERIENCE THAT HE SHARES NOW WITH YOUNG RIDERS. Born on 21st February 1983 in Amstelveen, The Netherlands, Marc has always been a very active person since his youngest age, and that’s one of the reasons why his father, himself a motocross rider, offered him a bike so his kid could spend his energy outside of the house! That’s how it started when Marc was only five years old, and of course after a few months Marc asked his father to go racing.

Winning his first title in the 50cc class in 1989, Marc had to be patient to move to the upper classes, and he won National titles in the 50cc, 60cc, 80cc little and big class. In 1998 he was only fifteen when he got a podium in the Dutch series among the best 125cc Dutch riders, and from there he started his international career and entered the European Championship. Racing his first GP at Mill when he was sixteen, he scored his first points in the second race, and one year later

he raced again and scored points in the Dutch GP’s at Valkenswaard and Berghem.

Moving to a Yamaha team in 2001 he clinched the 125cc Dutch title and led the European series until the final round, but offered the title to Kevin Strijbos as he retired in the last heat and also raced several GP’s. At that period there was only one race per GP, and Marc got podium results in Valkenswaard, Genk and Lierop. Again, National Champion in 2002, he missed some European and World Championship events due to injuries but reached a deal with KTM to become a pro rider.

The 2003 season started really well with four podiums within the first seven GP’s, including a GP win at Teutschenthal, and Marc was a title contender at mid-season when he had a big crash during a Dutch race and stopped his season. It was a similar story in 2004; winner 71

of the first heat of the season at Zolder and regularly in the top five of each race, he broke his neck at Teutschenthal and missed several GP’s. Back for the last races, he was ‘on fire’ at the Motocross of Nations in Lierop where he raced the MX1 class and finished both races runner up behind Stefan Everts to put the Dutch team on the podium at his favourite track.

The 2005 season was not a good one, as Marc broke vertebras during the off season, missed many rounds, but he was able to come back for the last ones and scored podium results in Lierop and Desert Martin. His last campaign in the MX2 class was much better with a GP win and a final fifth position, and with such a strong potential Yamaha signed him to make his debut in the MX1 class.

His learning season in the main class was a mix of ups and downs with some podiums, a second overall during the final round at Lierop, but also some physical troubles due to a herniated disc. Moving to team Honda Martin in 2008 he won two GP’s but also missed some races due to another injury sustained while training, as he broke several vertebrae’s.

And as 2009 was similar with another injury, he lost factory support for the following seasons but never gave up and won MX1 National titles in 2010 and 2014.

Marc retired in 2016 and struggled to find his way out of racing and finally came back alongside Pauls Jonass to help him to become MX2 World Champion. Now coach of the F&H Kawasaki team for several years, he enjoys his job and shares his passion with young riders. “I’ve never been world champion; I think I could have been at least three times, but many things happened. My mistakes, other people’s mistakes, that’s life,” he admitted with a smile.

Text and Photos: Pascal Haudiquert 72

1989:

50cc Dutch Champion

1992:

60cc Dutch Champion

1993:

80cc Dutch Champion

1996:

80cc Dutch Champion

1999:

35th in the 125 World Championship (Suzuki) 15th in the 125 European Championship

2000:

39th in the 125 World Championship (Suzuki)

2001:

2nd in the 125 European Championship (Yamaha) 8th in the 125 World Championship 125 Dutch Champion

2002:

9th in the 125 World Championship (Yamaha) 9th in the 125 European Championship 125 Dutch Champion

2003:

7th in the 125 World Championship (KTM). Win 1 GP

2004:

14th in the 125 World Championship (KTM) 2nd at the MX of Nations with the Dutch team

2005:

20th in the MX2 World Championship (KTM)

2006:

5th in the MX2 World Championship (KTM). Win 1 GP

2007:

14th in the MX1 World Championship (Yamaha)

2008:

10th in the MX1 World Championship (Honda). Win 2 GP’s

2009:

24th in the MX1 World Championship (Honda)

2010:

19th in the M1 World Championship (Suzuki) MX1 Dutch Champion

2011:

23rd in the MX1 World Championship (Yamaha)

2012:

18th in the MX1 World Championship (Kawasaki) 4th at the MX of Nations with the Dutch team

2014:

28th in the MXGP World Championship (Honda) MX1 Dutch Champion

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Hakan Andersson times two! Pictured at the MXGP of Sweden with his very own portrait behind him…

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The YZ bLU cRU riders receiving their medals from former MXGP star Gautier Paulin in Saint Jean d’Angely

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Domenico Gostoli the CEO of RAM Trucks pictured at the MXGP of Charente Maritime!

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Rick Elzinga and crew celebrate his EMX250 title in Saint Jean d’Angely

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Cas Valk crowned EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Champion of 2022

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French World Champions celebrated at the MXGP of Charente Maritime during a special autograph session

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Tim Gajser and crew celebrate their 5th world title together in style!

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Wonder what’s so interesting on Maxime’s phone…

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The Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing riders at the autograph session in Sweden.

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10 Happy bLU cRU kids with their medals!

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Photo: KTM

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

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JOEL SMETS 2000 KTM SXS 520

JOEL SMETS IS A FIVE-TIME FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPION FROM BELGIUM, WHOSE HARD RIDING EARNED HIM RESPECT FROM RIDERS AND FANS ALL OVER THE WORLD. HIS FIRST TITLE CAME IN 1995 RIDING FOR HUSABERG, AND THE FLEMISH LION ADDED TWO MORE FOR THE SWEDISH BRAND IN ’97 AND ’98, BUT WHEN HE LOST THE TITLE AND PLACED 3RD IN 1999, SMETS SWITCHED TO KTM WHERE HE WON HIS FOURTH TITLE AT THE FIRST ATTEMPT WITH THE AUSTRIAN BRAND, AND IT’S HIS 2000 KTM SXS 520 WHICH WE WILL FEATURE IN THIS ISSUE OF MXGP MAGAZINE.

Losing the world championship in 1999 was a tough loss for Joel Smets, and when you look at the history books, the results will show there were eight races where he did not score points, and none of them were injury related. In short, the reliability of the Husaberg had become a problem and it was clear that if the Belgian was going to add more titles to the three that he already had, then something needed to be done to make that happen. For Smets, the decision was an easy one. KTM had owned Husaberg since 1995, so how did the move come about for Smets to integrate into the KTM family as a KTM rider?

‘It was a common decision and it was an easy call to make because I think, as far as I remember, in the back of their mind from KTM they had the idea to bring their production from Husaberg to Austria and to focus more on their new 4-strokes, their own new 4-strokes. Shayne King and Peter Johansson had already been developing that bike the previous year and that bike proved to be really good. KTM wanted to win with that bike, and I wanted to win also, so it was a common decision that we had, so it was quickly done.’

So, how were the first impressions compared to the Husaberg? Was there much difference in terms of power for instance?

‘Not so much actually to be honest, because my Husaberg

was not a power problem, I could take holeshots and I remember that year ’99 I was fast for half an hour, I was leading also with 30 seconds, so there was not a problem with the power or the rideability, geometry. I loved that bike like I had loved it the six previous years, but it was just the reliability that completely at the end of the year, undermined my confidence. Even if I still won 4 GP’s out of 12 that year, the GP’s that my bike didn’t break, I won.

So, it means that bike, ridingwise and power-wise, was no problem.’

‘But straight away when I hopped on that KTM I do not really remember that the handling was so much better than on the Husaberg, it wasn’t, because I would remember that.

I think, what I remember is that the power - okay, my Husaberg was a 600, the KTM was 575, so the 25cc of course doesn’t make that much of a difference, but the character of the engine 79

Photo: P. Haudiquert

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was definitely slightly different. On the KTM it was even more useful, although I have also always loved the character of a lot of torque, a lot of bottom power and where you could steer the bike with the throttle, you know? I have always loved that, but for some reason on the KTM, it seemed to be even more easy than on the Husaberg. It was a great bike, and don’t forget, that KTM was a PDS, eh? I was afraid a little bit that that was gonna cost me some time to get used to but for me, yeah, that worked so well at that time. I was almost unbeatable on that bike. In sand, hardpack, whatever; we had it dialled in like very, very good.

‘So, you know, like jumping on to that bike, maybe it was on all aspects slightly better, but not much, but then let’s say, the confidence that comes with having a reliable bike and knowing that you can start and you can just go wide open and not have to worry about saving the bike and stuff like that, phwoar!

That gave me such a boost; 2000 was a rocket year.’

One of the biggest things that Joel had to get used to, although it didn’t take as long as he’d anticipated, was that unlike the Husaberg, the KTM used the PDS shock from WP, where there was no linkage. Instead, the rear shock was connected directly to the swingarm and for Smets it was possibly one of the biggest game changers, and he’s still glowing about it even to this day. Sure, the power was good, but that handling though: ‘It was the whole package. The handling, power and also again, ok, later on when Stefan Everts came to KTM, they went back to the linkage but phwoar, I liked that PDS actually, especially on that 2000 bike. Phwoar, most of the tracks to me looked flat. It was crazy; I was impressed how you could just go without a linkage, how all that progressivity and stuff like that, how you can build all that into a shock, I thought that was a great job that they did there.’

As for everything else, there were some things that stayed the same, such as the frame. Both the Husaberg of 1999 and the KTM of 2000 had steel frames so there were no major challenges to

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‘mind blown’ with the overall handling of the KTM: overcome in that department, although the construction between the two frames were vastly different. The Husaberg utilised the frame as the airbox, whereas the KTM was more traditional in that the filter was housed in an actual airbox.

As for the handling, it was clear that Smets + the SXS 520 + PDS = a great combination, and whilst the Belgian was able to maintain the services of his suspension technician Ari Skog, Smets was also quick to point out the work that had been done prior to his arrival, particularly by Peter Johansson: ‘Actually, Peter Johansson did a pretty good job with developing that bike already, he paved the road for me. Before, he was with Yamaha but in ’99 when I was struggling with my Husaberg, he was with KTM!’ Clearly the vast experience from ‘PJ’ paid off handsomely; at least there was a very good starting point when Smets moved in. In fact, it would be fair to suggest that Smets was 82

‘Somehow the whole package, the geometry together with the swingarm, the PDS suspension, forks - that whole package, phwoar! I was laughing around the corners. I was unbelievably stable, out of the corners but also the transition from braking into the corners, I was cornering that thing with my elbows to the ground. It was crazy!’

The bike came with a kickstart back then, although the electric start system would be introduced the following year, making this the last kickstart KTM that Smets rode. There was also a decompressor, operated by a finger lever on the left side of the handlebar, to ease the starting of the machine.

The 4-speed gearbox was a factory item and the clutch was hydraulic. The radiators were bigger to cope with the demands of the 40 minute + 2 Lap races. At the front end, the bike was suspended by 52mm USD WP forks with the rear shock being PDS. Brakes were Brembo. The bike used a Keihin

carburettor, and the exhaust was provided by Arrow, although there was no digital mapping on this bike.

In the 2000 FIM 500cc Motocross World Championship, the series was contested over sixteen rounds, and Joel was victorious in twelve of them, and of the 32 moto’s contested Smets won 25 of them. One of his favourite weekends, and the one that stands out the most was his home GP at Namur, as he remembers: ‘The one that stands out is the race that I was winning the championship; it was the first time that I won my home GP. I had been chasing the GP win in Namur for years and years, and something always happened. I had been winning moto’s but never the overall, and that year when I won, I won at the same time, the same day the championship and the GP there. And it turned out to be the only time I won the GP in Namur, unfortunately. So, happy at least that I won it once, it was an important one and that was 2000.’

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

Which riders will line up the USA team for the motocross of Nations?

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When could I buy a season pass for next year for MXGP-TV ?

Victoria

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Hi Victoria , you could find your season pass from the beginning of December on the www.mxgp-tv. com platform, Thanks MXGP

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

Frank

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

Thanks Regards MXGP

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Jany

Dear Jany , The US team will field three riders, Eli Tomac, Chase Sexton and Justin Cooper Best Regards MXGP

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Hi would like to know if theWhere can I find cool mx videos?

Jean

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Hello Jean : you can find many awesome MXGP videos on our YouTube channel HERE: https:// www.youtube.com/user/ mxgptvThanks MXGP

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I saw that there were race summaries in Italian after each race weekend, will you do it next year too?

Federico

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Hi Federico yes of course. You can find all our News Highlights in Italian on our youtube channel! Thanks MXGP

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