MXGP #113 January 2023

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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 #113 January 2023 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

Dear MXGP Friends, In less than two months, the 2023 MXGP World Championship season will start!

We cannot wait to start the engine on the exceptional track of Villa la Angostura in Patagonia, Argentina. I have no doubt that the upcoming season will be very exciting and unpredictable. All the stars of the championship are now preparing themselves to be ready for the 12th March and the first GP! January has been a busy month for us, as we were able to publish the last updated calendar of the upcoming 2023 season. The comeback of the MXGP of Switzerland is the great news of the month! After several years missing in the calendar, thanks to the tremendous work of the organizing committee of the Swiss Grand Prix leaded

by Willy Laederach and all the support of Infront, we have been able to bring back the Motocross World Championship to Switzerland. The patriotic Swiss fans of Jeremy Seewer and Valentin Guillod will be able to cheer for them! This Grand Prix will have the particularity to be organized on 3 days. The Saturday program will take place as usual, then the Easter Sunday will be a day off and finally the racing on Monday.

We will put in place some activities in the paddock on Sunday for the fans who are present onsite the 3 days. Then Riola Sardo in Sardinia has also been confirmed as the first Grand Prix of the season in Europe, on a track that the whole paddock knows very well as most of them are training right now in Sardinia.

December and January are the months we receive the surveys and the reports about the MXGP audience on TV and the different economic impact analysis of the events on the countries, regions, and the

THE MXGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP HAS TO GO WORLDWIDE AND CONTINUE DEVELOPING OUR FAVOURITE SPORT IN NEW MARKETS WHERE FANS ARE GROWING cities where a GP takes place. It is always very rewarding to understand how much interest a Grand Prix brings to a region and a country. In Europe, most of the time, we talk about more that 20.000 people traveling for the GP weekend and using the facilities, hotels, restaurants of the region, visiting some touristic places and having a great time during the Grand Prix.

Concerning the TV audience, we reached an impressive 44 millions of unique TV viewers on the different broadcaster which are showing MXGP Worldwide (the data are presented by Nielsen, the world sports data analyst’s leading company). This represents more than 15% increase compared to 2021 season.

The fans of MXGP are also young and very dynamic people, our social networks continue to grow with more than 3 million fans on Facebook, 1.2 million followers on Instagram and more than 15 million views on YouTube during the last season with 50% of MXGP audience between 18 and 34 years old! The new MXGP-TV pass for the upcoming season is already available with an Early Bird promotion. MXGP-TV will also receive some extra program in the upcoming season, giving more focus on

David Luongo CEO of Infront Moto Racing

our legends and riders to enlarge our offer other than LIVE sport.

On the novelties side for the next year, the freight allowance for the private teams that come to the overseas will increase.

We clearly witnessed during the last years, especially during the Covid time, a big increase of the costs for the transportation.

This situation is clearly affecting all of us.

On another way it is also very clear that the MXGP World Championship has to go worldwide and continue developing our favorite sport in new markets where fans are growing, too. It was important to adapt our support to the situation.

Therefore, we are sensibly increasing the support for the private teams and riders, this will allow a better and more comfortable participation to the overseas Grand Prix for the teams. The beauty of motocross has always been the fact that the man counts more than the bike and we always had great stories of riders coming from the pack and winning races or having great results from a private structure. In the upcoming days, more novelties will come and I will be able to present them in my next editorial.

The wintertime has also been the occasion to renew some very important historical partnerships. On TV, we already renewed some important markets like Motorvision, TVG and USA with CBS SN. More will come in the upcoming days.

I would like to thank all the MXGP partners, the FIM, FIM Europe, the manufacturers, the media and last but not least all the MXGP fans.

I wish you a great 2023 year.

S T O H S L COO

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AFTER AN INCREDIBLE 2022 SEASON OF THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IT IS NOW TIME TO GET READY FOR THE UPCOMING 2023 SEASON, THAT ONCE AGAIN PROMISES TO BE BIGGER AND BETTER WITH 21 EVENTS DUE TO TAKE PLACE.

The championship shakedown will take place in Patagonia, Argentina, at the amazing racetrack of Villa la Angostura in the province of Neuquén. This venue has been something special since its first appearance on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar back in 2015, after that it won the prestigious MXGP Award for being the “Best Race Track” of the season five times in a row!

In 2016 Tim Gajser, during his rookie season in MXGP, won the GP and with his third win in four races, showed to everybody that he was a true title contender for the MXGP title that year.

Villa la Angostura brings back also great memories like the incredible win of the 9-time World Champion

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Antonio Cairoli in 2019 on his RedBull KTM Factory Racing machine; Cairoli after a terrible qualifying race on Saturday (DNF) managed to take both race wins and of course the overall in front of Tim Gajser and Jeremy Van Horebeek on the privateer Honda SR Motoblouz. On the same day, Jorge Prado ruled the MX2 class showing everybody that the MX2 title for 2019 was something serious for the Spanish rider.

In 2022 the FIM Motocross World Championship returned overseas for the first time after the pandemic and of course Villa La Angostura was the perfect choice to move outside Europe. Villa La Angostura is a resort town on Nahuel Huapi Lake in Patagonia, and it’s known for its Alpine-style wooden buildings, beautiful mountains, lakes and forests that surround the area and for much of the paddock, the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina is among the top favourites on the racing calendar.

After that the MXGP paddock will move back to Europe for the MXGP of Sardegna in Riola Sardo on March the 26th. The track of Riola Sardo is part of the MXGP Calendar since 2020. The island of Sardegna is one of the most sport-supporting regions in Italy and year after year is becoming the perfect place to practice any kind of sport during the whole year due to the great weather conditions and the high standards infrastructures. The organizers and the local authorities gave the maximum effort to deliver an incredible event and after a great 2020 and a successful 2021 we are sure that this year’s edition will be another good one. In 2021 Calvin Vlaanderen showed everybody that sand and warm weather are the perfect recipe for his success; the Dutch got an impressive 1-1 showing that he’s the real king of the island. In MX2 was the turn of Tom Vialle in front of the all-season title contender Jago Geerts.

For the third GP of the season, we’ll move from the Mediterranean Sea to the Swiss Alps for the MXGP of

Switzerland which is taking place in Frauenfeld. The venue held the GP of Switzerland for the first time in 2016 and for 3 years in a row until 2018 where this successful venue welcomed around 30,000 spectators and was watched by more than 50 million viewers worldwide.

The former track saw Antonio Cairoli winning the MXGP in 2016, while in 2017 and 2018 the MXGP class was the land of Jeffrey Herlings. The last MX2 winner there was Jorge Prado on his RedBull KTM Factory Racing Machine back in 2018. Even if Frauenfeld is not new to the MXGP paddock, surprises are coming for the 2023 edition as the circuit will be completely brand new, creating an added challenge for the riders.

The fourth GP of the season will take place in Trentino at the Pietramurata track in the beautiful setting of the Dolomite Mountains of Trentino.

The Pietramurata track has one of the best landscapes of all the seasons, with the Dolomite Mountains surrounding the track, every picture taken during the GP weekend looks like something out of a postcard!

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pandemic Pietramurata and the local organizer (MX Trentino) hosted a triple header in 2020 and again another one in 2021 with an incredible outcome. In 2020 both champions got the title during the MXGP of Pietramurata: Tim Gajser in MXGP while Tom Vialle secured his very first title in MX2. In 2021, it was the time of Maxime Renaux that during the MXGP of Garda got his hands on the MX2 title on his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory machine. The venue itself was the setting of some of the best battles between Antonio Cairoli and Tim Gajser, who together with Jeffrey Herlings counted five wins each onsite.

After Trentino the FIM Motocross World Championship will move down to the south of Europe as Agueda will host the MXGP of Portugal on 30th April 2023.

Agueda is easily recognized by its unique orange clay that is well-known by many, especially because this track has hosted the FIM Motocross World Championship a total of 23 times! When it comes to victories, Antonio Cairoli is the most victorious there, with five victories to his name (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2017).

Last season we saw the first win of the season for Jorge Prado in MXGP with a 1-2 result, while Tom Vialle went 1-1 in MX2.

To keep the Mediterranean atmosphere, the paddock will then move to intu Xanadù – Arroyomolinos; located in the Comunidad de Madrid has been hosting the FIM Motocross World Championship since 2020 and from that edition onwards has been a big success. Jorge Prado is the home hero there and everywhere you turn, you can see the fans with the red flags with the yellow 61 on it.

Back in 2020, during his rookie season in MXGP, Jorge got an incredible GP victory.

The atmosphere at the Spanish Grand Prix is always special, with a very enthusiastic crowd cheering on every home rider as the pass by! This season though it was the turn of rookie Maxime Renaux, who got is first GP win in the premiere class and on the Spanish track while in MX2 Tom Vialle secured his overall victory once again.

The MXGP of France in 2023 will return to Villar sous Ecot, the French track hosted already the MXGP of Pays Montbéliard back in 2017, and after 5-years’ stop it is back on the calendar again ready to give great emotions. Last time in 2017,

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Jeffrey Herlings won in the MXGP category, while Thomas Covington won in MX2, but the main highlight of the weekend was the title of Pauls Jonass on his RedBull KTM Factory Racing machine in MX2; the Latvian got a solid fifth in race one which was enough to be proclaimed MX2 World Champion after fighting all season long with Jorge Prado. The French track also hosted a great edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in 1988 with a winning Team USA made of Jeff Ward, Ricky Johson and Ron Lechien.

After the MXGP of France the paddock will move to Latvia in sandy Kegums, which hosted the FIM Motocross World Championship for the first time in 2009 when Antonio Cairoli was the winner in MX1 and Rui Goncalves won the GP in MX2. Back in 2014 the track also hosted a great edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations with Team France winning the Chamberlain Trophy and starting a series of consecutive wins. Last season Tim Gajser ruled the MXGP class and Jago Geerts won the MX2 taking the red plate back on his Monster Energy Yamaha machine.

The following weekend, it will be the turn of the Liqui Moly MXGP of Germany on the hard pack circuit of Teutschenthal. The track is historic and hosted the FIM Motocross World Championship for the 26th time in 2022; on the German track, back in 2021, we saw an incredible battle between Jorge Prado and Jeffrey Herlings, which ultimately ended in tears. In 2022 the races in MXGP were exciting, with the battle between Tim Gajser and Jeremy Seewer at the forefront of the action, though Gajser was the winner in the end. While in MX2 Thibault Benistant impressed with his performance to take his very first GP victory of his career, ahead of his teammate Jago Geerts.

After a week off the FIM Motocross World Championship will then move to Southeast Asia for two races in Indonesia. The first race will be in Samota-Sumbawa where the MXGP of Indonesia took place for the first time in 2022 with a great atmosphere.

Romain Febvre was impressive upon his comeback from injury going 5-3 but just missing out on the podium by 24

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two point, while it was Gajser again on the top step! In MX2, Tom Vialle was able to win and bring back the red plate onto his factory KTM, while Simon Längenfelder finished second overall.

For the second GP in Indonesia MXGP will move to Lombok; a beautiful place in the Indonesian archipelago well known for the sandy beaches, swimming and snorkeling areas, culinary attraction, and other tourism destinations like the motor-vehicle-free Gili Islands and Senggigi island, a real earthly paradise. The MXGP of Lombok-Indonesia will be held at the Selaparang Airport Field (closed from September 2011) in a completely new track built specifically for the event.

After the Indonesian double header, MXGP will come back to Europe for the MXGP of Czech Republic held at the historic Loket track, which has been hosting the FIM Motocross World Championship since 1995 and the hard pack track has seen many champions and rising stars riding there. The MXGP of Czech Republic has been hosting the EMX65 and EMX85 for a long time and has been the perfect scenario for young riders to show their potential. In 2022 Jeremy Seewer won the MXGP Grand Prix while the Championship leader, Tim Gajser had a difficult weekend; in MX2 was the turn of Jago Geerts that took back the red plate on his Factory Yamaha from Tom Vialle having not his best weekend.

The Monster Energy MXGP of Flanders will be next and will again return to the deep sand of Lommel, the home of many of the GP teams and the stomping ground from most of the riders! For many it’s a kind of home race. Lommel hosted a successful triple header in 2020 during the pandemic, and in 2021 it was the very first time that Romain Febvre was able to win at the sandy venue, while in MX2 Jago Geerts gave his home fans exactly what they wanted with a victory!

The 2022 edition of the MXGP of Flanders was great and full of surprises: Brian Bogers won in MXGP ahead of Calvin Vlaanderen and Glenn Coldenhoff to complete a full Dutch podium. In MX2 it was an affair between Jago Geerts and Kay de Wolf with the Belgian going 2-1 and the Dutchman going 1-2; at the end it was Geerts who took the win in front of his home fans.

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The MXGP paddock will then move to Scandinavia for the MXGP of Finland which will take place in Hyvinkää for the second time; thinking of the sandy Finnish track from 2022 only great memories can come to our mind. Tim Gajser got his 5th World Title on his CRF450RW while on the same day, the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing MXGP Team got and historic result with his three riders on the first three steps of the podium with Glenn Coldenhoff winning followed by Jeremy Seewer and Maxime Renaux. In MX2 once again was Tom Vialle the winner on Kay De Wolf and Jago Geerts making the title battle tighter and tighter.

A couple of weeks after MXGP will move to Uddevalla, for the MXGP of Sweden.

Antonio Cairoli and Stefan Everts are the ones with the most victories at the Swedish track with six victories each.

The 2022 edition saw another win for Jeremy Seewer in front of Tim Gajser and Glenn Coldenhoff.

In MX2 Jago Geerts took the win once again and kept the red plate on his Yamaha while Tom Vialle was second in front of Simon Längenfelder; the RedBull GasGas Factory Racing making a return to the box for the first time since the MXGP of Indonesia.

The MXGP of the Netherlands is a truly awaited comeback for all the MXGP Dutch fans. The last time the MXGP calendar had an MXGP of the Netherlands it was in 2021 in Oss; the event was one to remember as the home-hero Jeffrey Herlings won the first race with a fracture on his shoulder after a crash at the beginning of the heat. This year the MXGP of the Netherlands will take place in Arnhem, a venue that is not new to the MXGP paddock as it hosts a round of the Dutch Masters of Motocross and it’s home of many riders’ training. The city is situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55km southeast from Utrecht. The Motorsportpark Gelderland Midden was founded in 2017 and, from that moment several races were organized like Dutch Championship rounds but also some international races and an EMX Youth Event.

The weekend of 3rd September will be the turn of the MXGP of Turkiye in Afyon, a venue that has been hosting the FIM Motocross World Championship races since 2018 with 28

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an incredible outcome year after year. The 2022 edition was a busy one, as it was the series finale and saw the crowning of the MX2, WMX and EMX Open Champions! In MX2 after a year-long battle Tom Vialle won the MX2 title against Jago Geerts by only four points. In the WMX class, it was the time of Nancy Van de Ven, who after finishing second for five times during her career, was finally able to win the WMX World Championship title, while in the EMXOpen class the former GP rider José Butron won the Championship with an overall round victory, too!

Then MXGP will move to Thanh Hoa for the first ever MXGP of Vietnam. Thanh Hoa is a province in the north central coast region of Vietnam; 150 km away from Hanoi capital in southwards, 1,560 km from Ho Chi Minh City. Thanh Hoa

has a convenient location in terms of traffic with all types of transportation, including: roads, waterway, railway, airway, North-South Expressway, international border gate.

With a TBA event on the calendar MXGP will reach the last event of the season that will take place in Matterley Basin, a historic venue inside the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar. The track has been inside the MXGP calendar since 2006 and hosted two editions of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations back in 2006 and 2017. The track saw World Champions like Antonio Cairoli, Jeffrey Herlings, Tim Gajser, Pauls Jonass, Tom Vialle, and Maxime Renaux winning a GP there. In 2022 Matterley was the season opener that saw Tim Gajser win in MXGP, while Simon Längenfelder impressed everybody in MX2 winning all of

the races that weekend upon his debut on the RedBull GasGas Factory Racing team.

The best and most epic event of the season, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations will be held in Ernée; a track that is full of stories and has been the place where many historic events took place, such as Stefan Everts’ triple victory in 1 day! The Raymond Demy circuit hosted two unforgettable Monster Energy FIM MXoN, in 2005 and 2015. That time around Team France with Gautier Paulin, Romain Febvre, and Marvin Musquin took the win in front of their home fans and sent them into rapture for their favorite riders. On October 21st and 22nd 2023 all eyes will be again on Team France, who will go to Ernèe to repeat the 2015 affair and have back the Chamberlain Trophy.

TIM GAJESER

2022 MXGP WORLD CHAMPION

TOM VIALLE

2022 MX2 WORLD CHAMPION

“WE SELL WHAT WE RACE, WE RACE WHAT WE SELL”

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L A I C O S P G X M @yamahafactorymxgp Happy new year everyone ✨️ wishing you all the best for 2023! @MXGP Happy 2023 from MXGP #MXGP #Motocross

Ep. 9 | 26 Minutes Behind the Gate | MXGP of Spain 2022: Let’s look back together at the epic 2022 season of the FIM Motocross World Championship with the replay of the 26-min Behind-the-Gate series featuring behind-thescenes look at the events, including interviews, highlights, and more!

@spelamotaln Merry Christmas from our little family

@ilcentrodelcross SCARTIAMO TUTTA QUESTA CARTA RIDERSSSS, BUON NATALE A TUTTI

Merry Christmas | MXGP 2022: To celebrate this great time of the year, MXGP wishes you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year by sharing our Christmas video for 2022. 🎄 Immerse yourself in the Christmas atmosphere!

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@nancyvdven Thanks 2022 you’ve been probably the best year of my life.

More than a few of my dreams came true this year.

And the most important one to call myself finally a world champion is a blessing 🥹.

We had to say goodbye to people we love this year, but they will never be forgotten. Also people I love came back in my life and shared the best memories with me. I couldn’t be more thankfull to end this year with the beautiful memories we’ve made. Let’s try again to do this again next year, because it was so so good.

And I want to wish everyone a happy new year and full of love

@mattguada101 @frontoceanbmx @ subrosabrand@redbullitalia @etnies @thepit_wdw @ astroclub.y

@dominicmxriders merrychristmas

@antoniocairoli Tanti auguri di buon anno a te e famiglia Che il 2023 ci porti un bel po’ di manetta a tutti.

@jeffrey_herlings84 Verified 2023

Most Impressive Crashes of 2022 | EP.1 | MXGP: The 2022 season had it all - the action, the intensity, the battles and some impressive crashes as well... Check out all the most impressive crashes from the MXGP and MX2 categories that were captured on camera in this first episode of the series! !

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

@_familyriders06_ Bon dimanche MXGP France 2022

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T S E B E H T ! : E T M R F O R P P E U H S T F E O M E E HO CTIT C I L T A R P 39

IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE HAVE SEEN A BIG INCREASE OF SPANISH RIDERS IN ALL OF THE CLASSES OF THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, AS WELL AS THE FIM EUROPE MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP; OF COURSE, THE TWO TITLES OF JORGE PRADO BACK IN 2018 AND 2019 HAVE BEEN A BIG PUSH FOR ALL THE SPANISH “MOVEMENT” BUT THERE IS MUCH MORE BEHIND THAT.

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In 2020 the motocross fans and all the MXGP paddock also had the chance to meet a couple of more rising stars: the second place of David Braceras (fresh new signing of F&H Racing Team for MX2 2023 season) and the 6th place of Guillem Farres in the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Championship were just the beginning of a new generation of successful Spanish riders.

Also in 2020, Ruben Fernandez, now part of Team HRC, one of the main factory teams in the paddock and teammate of MXGP World Champion Tim Gajser, impressed everybody with good results. A sixth at the MXGP of Limburg battling with all the “factory guys”, managing to finish ninth overall in the MX2

Championship on the SDM Corse Yamaha Racing machine.

Spain is now a solid reality also in the WMX class with the likes of Gabriela Seisdedos and Daniela Guillen. The duo finished the 2022 season in style with a Women’s Motocross of European Championship’ victory in Talavera de la Reina, which was a perfect end of the season for Team Spain. Besides, Daniela had an impressive WMX championship in 2022, with a race win and a second position in the Spanish round in intùXanadu just behind the two-time WMX World Champion Courtney Duncan.

Speaking about RFME, the Real Federación Motociclista Española was founded in 1923 in Zaragoza with the main goal to promote motorsports and support Spanish athletes in their top-level careers.

The big change came in 2018

when the Real Federación Motociclista Española saw the election of the new President Manuel Casado. President Casado, a true fan of motorsports and Motocross in particular, together with the help of the experts started a new program to help the young Spanish riders to reach top results, including the MXGP, MX2 and WMX categories.

“The results of the Spanish riders have been magnificent in the latest seasons, thanks to the great work of the entire RFME technical staff in our Junior and Women’s Teams. Our national coach Paco Rico and the person in charge of the Spanish Championship Jonathan Villa worked really hard and the outcome is visible for everybody. We have great stars like Jorge Prado and Rubén Fernandez, who are the inspiration of our young riders, and Daniela Guillen and Gabriela Seisdedos represent Spain in the WMX class, while really talented riders such as David Braceras, Guillem Farrés, Gerard Congost,

Samuel Nilsson, Elias Escandel, Oriol Oliver, etc. compete at an international level with very good results. The RFME is proud of the boost we are giving to the Motocross on the economical side as well as the media side with broadcasters on TV and Social Media; our aim is to continue to work in that way to place our riders in elite of Motocross,” said President Casado.

“The work done by the Federation in the last few years is incredible and I think everybody can see that. I’ve been a GP rider for more than ten years and I saw all the different generations of riders; I’ve seen many of them arriving at the top but also many others with big potential getting lost in the transition between the EMX and the MXGP and MX2 and this is a big shame,” said José Butron the fresh new EMXOpen European Champion in 2022. “The big work is done in the small classes from the EMX65 to the EMX125, where if you follow the riders properly, you can get good results because this is a crucial part of a rider’s life, I’ve experienced it myself, too.

When I started riding it was more 41

difficult, I was doing it all alone with my father and my uncle, so I’m really proud of the Federation, of the big Team they created and how they follow the young talents in all the steps of the FIM Motocross World Championship.

I’m sure we’ll have great results for Spain in the future”.

“I think in 2020 people started to know who Ruben Fernandez was, but the great 2020 season I had and the chance to get inside the HRC family was built in 2019 with the support of the Federation which helped me to be consistent and solid in the EMX250 class,” Ruben Fernandez admits.

In 2020 the Federation created this ‘Spanish Team’, the RFME MX Junior Team as a project to follow the young EMX riders from the beginning of their career and keep them all together creating a “family” atmosphere that is fundamental for the young riders since most of them are still kids.

At the time the team included a trio of 16-year-old talents - David Braceras, Gerard Congost and Guillem Farres.

“Being inside the RFME team has been an experience that I’ll bring forever with me and if I managed to finish second in the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing back in 2020 is thanks to them and the structure they have,” David Braceras says. “In the team, we had all what we need, great bikes, great trainers, great material, and the most important thing, a friendly atmosphere that helped us a lot; having those people behind you, even when you don’t get the results you are looking for, is a big push and support for a rider. With the work done by the Federation now, Spain is becoming a point of reference in Motocross and many young kids start to be interested in this incredible sport following the success of Jorge Prado and Ruben Fernandez.”

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now is also focused on the WMX Championship with the team RFME WMX Team featuring with Daniela and Gabriela as spearheads but with much more coming soon for sure.

“Being inside such a professional team is a big push, in 2022 I was able to get results I couldn’t even imagine before, like third overall in the round of Sardegna and second overall in the round of Spain. Now Spain starts to be a main actor in Motocross and also the level of our National Championship is increasing year after year,” Daniela Guillen says.

For Gabriela has been a big opportunity to race for the RFME team: “I’ve been riding in the WMX class from many years and I always had to face with some difficulties organizing my trips, my training, keeping the bike in the best conditions and all the “behind the scenes” of a motocross rider’s life. Once I got the chance to get inside the RFME Team my life changed totally: now I work with technicians, mechanics, trainers, and we have really good bikes, so I can be focus only on my riding; being inside this team with this amazing atmosphere is something not easy to find in the MXGP paddock”.

Speaking with all the riders, mechanics and trainers that have been involved in the RFME Team we noticed a light in their eyes when they spoke about the project, and the passion was clearly evident and indicative that this team is really something special. Of course, we couldn’t miss a chance to speak with one of the latest Spanish talented riders that have been racing for the RFME team and recently flew across the Atlantic Ocean to catch the opportunity of a lifetime for his career: Guillem Farres.

“The RFME team has been and will always be a part of my life. When you see it from the outside it looks like is full of ‘noisy people’ but in reality everybody knows exactly what to do: mechanics, trainers, etc. are all there to help you and 44

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get the final result. This team with that atmosphere is one of a kind and nowhere you can find something so helpful especially when you are so young”.

Eventually MXGP Mag spoke with Paco Rico, team managers of both the Junior and the WMX RFME Teams after the deserved victory of Team Spain at the Women’s Motocross of European Nations.

Paco is just not the team manager, but he is “The Man” to talk to.

MXGP Mag: Paco, when and how everything started?

Paco: In 2018! When Manuel Casado became the new president of the Spanish Federation, we saw the chance to make something different and new, so I had the chance to sit down together with José Luis Berenguer, the sport director, and we started this long journey to bring the Spanish riders to the top of the FIM Motocross World Championship.

MXGP MAG: How did you decide to organize everything and help the young riders?

Paco: You know, sometimes to do something new it is really important to look back and take inspiration from what has been. We started by creating a team to support all the “juniors” like the Federation was doing more or less 20 years ago, the goal of the team was to teach them everything in order to be ready to be chosen by the Factory teams. Our work was more on small classes like EMX65, EMX85, and EMX125 which are the most crucial and important for young riders. We helped them with all the material they need to perform, we taught them everything around the races and the importance of all the details and we gave them little money prizes based on the results they did to motivate them, so they started to learn how this sport could become their “job” and not a hobby anymore.

All this was possible with the support of KTM AG and all the other sponsors that were working together with us on this incredible journey.”

MXGP Mag: Is the same for the WMX side of Team?

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Paco: To be honest at the beginning we wanted to focus all our effort on the small classes and following also WMX riders was not part of the plan.

Then seeing the potential of Daniela and Gabriela we decided to extend the team also to them and I think it worked out well. Daniela is super talented and I’m sure in the next season will be a true title contender while Gabriela is still discovering her full potential and trust me, she has a big one. Now in Spain also the Women’s Motocross starts to be popular, and we have many other promising girls that soon will step up in the WMX class.

MXGP MAG: So the main goal is to be like an “academy” for the Spanish riders, right?

Paco: Yes, we want to have more Spanish riders in the MXGP and MX2 classes and I think we are doing a great job; we have been lucky because since 2020 the Comunidad de Madrid is hosting the MXGP of Spain and this has been another important push for Spain in motocross. With all the parts of the puzzle together now the results are coming and I hope for more in the future.

MXGP Mag: We can now say that there is a Spanish “movement” in the MXGP Paddock.

Paco: Exactly, this was our goal and I think we are in a good way; like that more companies and sponsors will invest in Spanish motocross and in motocross in general and this will be helpful for everybody: it’s like a circle.

MXGP Mag: Behind all this work there is also much more.

Paco: We’ve tried to work in all the fields not only on the technical and sport side. We have press officers, photographers and videographers working with us and showing what we do everywhere in Europe and in the world, and nowadays this is necessary to get people more interested and involved. We want to be professional and cover all the sides of our project in order to have a good outcome and start to make the riders familiar with interviews, press releases, etc.

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MXGP Mag: What are the hopes for the future?

Paco: My dream is to see one day Jorge Prado and Ruben Fernandez fighting for the MXGP title while in the same weekend David Braceras and Oriol Oliver getting a podium in MX2, Guillem Farres bringing the Spanish flag on top in USA and veterans like José Butrón and Carlos Campano winning international races. Even better would be to win the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations; I know that are big dreams, but I’ve always been a dreamer and those are my and our goals.

MXGP Mag: Last but not least, tell us more about you and your story, we always see you everywhere but we don’t know so much about your past?

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Paco: I’ve been a Spanish motocross rider till 2005, when I stopped. I always wanted to help the young riders because I know by myself how difficult is when you are so young, and you travel across Europe with your family to race. Everything started with Jorge Zaragoza and Jorge Prado in the EMX65 and EMX85, and even if at the time they were winning a lot, the Federation was not really interested in motocross, so this became a mission for me: find the budget, the bikes and all the best materials to compete in Europe with all the other guys.

Then through the years we worked with many other riders like Pablo Naert, Mario Lucas, Francisco Bordonado, etc., those years around Europe with one camper, all together have been something special and I’ll bring

it forever with me. Now you can find me in the paddock, in the media center, or in the pitlane speaking with somebody with my RFME t-shirt trying to figure out what to do better for my riders thinking about a plan B or C because it is always important to have the fastest solution for every situation... I wish that one day this project will continue even without me and the other guys, and I’ll be one of these old guys that come at the race with their nephew with their small camper only to enjoy the atmosphere and support their favorite rider.”

MXGP wishes the best to the RFME Teams for the 2023 season which will compete in EMX125 Presented by FMF racing, EMX250 and WMX categories.

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

T A

Y L L A I C I F S F O 3 M 2 A 0 E 2 T E TH ROVED P P A

AS THIS ISSUE OF MXGP MAGAZINE LEAVES THE BUILDING, IT DOES SO WITH ALL OF US KNOWING THAT THE BRAND NEW SEASON OF MXGP IS LITERALLY JUST AROUND THE CORNER, EVEN IF ‘AROUND THE CORNER’ MEANS 12,000KM AWAY. BUT BEFORE WE KICK THINGS OFF IN PATAGONIA ON 11TH/12TH MARCH, LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE OFFICIALLY APPROVED TEAM’S (OAT) THAT WILL BE TAKING TO THE GRID IN BOTH MXGP AND MX2.

As the new season dawns, there are one or two changes amongst the OAT’s, with riders either retiring from racing or moving up from MX2 to MXGP or just generally switching teams. So, let’s start with MXGP and we will do this in order of where the riders placed in the 2022 world championship standings.

Team HRC Tim Gajser continues his journey with Honda and HRC but for 2023, after riding under the Honda 114 banner, his official teammate will be the exciting young Spaniard Ruben Fernandez, as Mitch Evans moves on to another team. Gajser ended the year as a five-time world champion, as Fernandez secured 8th overall in his rookie season.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team Once again, the Dutch-based team remains unchanged with Jeremy Seewer, Maxime Renaux and the recently married Glenn Coldenhoff.

All three riders finished the season inside the top five in 2022, with Seewer 2nd, Renaux 4th and The Hoff 5th.

Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing After placing 3rd overall, Jorge Prado remains with Red Bull GASGAS, where his teammate will once again be Mattia Guadagnini.

Last year, the Italian started the season as an MX2 rider before moving to the premier class after seven rounds.

Standing Construct Honda MXGP It’s an all-new look for Standing Construct this year as the Belgianbased team lines up with support from Honda. There is no change to the rider line up though, as the team has retained the services of Flanders (Belgium) GP winner Brian Bogers, who placed 6th overall last year, and Pauls Jonass who came home 9th.

Team Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing

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Photo: Honda

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For 2023 Calvin Vlaanderen will line up as the sole member of the Gebben Van Venrooy team, but after securing a GP win in Sardinia on his way to 7th overall, ‘CV10’ will be keen to get going again come the first gate drop in Patagonia.

Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP Having won the final race of the year after what had been a difficult 2022 campaign, Romain Febvre will once again line up for the factory Kawasaki team as he hopes to lift his second MXGP title. It’s all change for his sidekick though as Ben Watson moves aside for the Australian Mitch Evans, who swaps red for green.

SM Action Racing Team YUASA Battery 2023 will be Alberto Forato’s third year in the premier class, and it will be business as usual for the Italian who remains with SM Action. His best finish in 2022 was 6th overall in Latvia where he claimed a 4th in the first race. It will be interesting to see how a fully fit ‘Alby’ will fare in the new season.

MRT Racing Team For 2023, MRT (Marchetti) returns to MXGP with factory support from Beta. Alessandro Lupino remains with the brand and will be keen to put the 2022 campaign behind him where health issues prevented him from doing more than four GP’s. Lupino’s teammate will be Britain’s Ben Watson; the former factory Yamaha and Kawasaki rider maintains his factory status with Beta and will be hoping to impress in what will be his third year in MXGP. JM Honda Racing

Photo: Kawasaki

After a couple of seasons in blue, Brent Van doninck will line up for Jacky Martens JM Honda team where both rider and team owner will be hoping to improve on ‘BVd’s’ 15th from last year. The second half of the season saw some impressive rides, with his standout performance being Ernee, Race 1, where he placed 3rd.

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JWR Honda Racing As a satellite team, you would be mistaken for thinking that JWR was a factory team, such is its presence in the paddock. Once again, team owner Johan Westermark aligns with Honda for 2023 in what is a new look for his team, with two new riders under the awning. Alvin Östlund and Hardi Roosiorg are the chosen two for this Swedish-owned, Belgian-based team.

TEAM SHIP TO CYCLE HONDA MOTOBLOUZ SR After a string of impressive results last year, Switzerland’s Valentin Guillod joins the French team which is owned and run by former racer Josse Sallefranque. Joining the former MX2 GP winner will be Stephen Rubini, who remains with the team, albeit now as a MXGP rider.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing It’s not often we see Red Bull KTM this far down our OAT list, but there is a very good reason for this, of course.

A pre-season crash left the defending champion Jeffrey Herlings with a broken foot, but what we didn’t know at the time was that The Bullet would miss the entire season as a result of his injury. For 2023, the ‘84’ will be the only factory KTM representative in the premier class, where his new boss is none other than 9-time champ, Antonio Cairoli.

JK Racing Yamaha With the demise of iXS Yamaha, Swiss rider Kevin Brumann now finds himself at JK Racing. The teenager started 2022 in MX2 before moving to MXGP for the last seven rounds. Hopefully he can put the experience gained from those races to good use as he embarks on his rookie season in the premier class.

De Baets Yamaha MX-Team A new private team will join MXGP this year and goes by the name of De Baets Yamaha. The Belgian car dealer has long been a fan of Benoit Paturel and will no doubt look forward to supporting the former 58

Photo: KTM

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MX2 bronze medallist and MXoN winner in 2023. Paturel has always performed well in blue, so here’s hoping he can conjure up some of the magic that took him to two race wins in the 250cc class.

MX2 Teams Red Bull KTM Factory Racing With 2022 world champion Tom Vialle heading stateside, Red Bull KTM have a brand new look for 2023, with three riders representing the Austrian brand. Andrea Adamo, 8th overall in 2022, heads up the squad and will be joined by Liam Everts (10th) and Sascha Coenen (19th in EMX250). On paper perhaps, maybe not the strongest team, but don’t be fooled. KTM have always had a knack of plucking riders from obscurity and turning them into world champions, and ’23 could be another one of those years.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team Just the one change for the factory Yamaha team as Jago Geerts and Thibault Benistant will be joined by 2022 EMX250 Champion, Rick Elzinga, in a three-pronged attack at the MX2 world championship.

On paper, Yamaha is perhaps the strongest team heading into the new season after taking 2nd and 5th overall last year, but which of its riders will have the upper hand?

Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing With his former teammate Mattia Guadagnini moving to MXGP, GASGAS will need to rely on Simon Laengenfelder as the major bread winner for the red corner of Austria.

The reality here though is that ‘SL516’ was never placed outside the top three in the points chase last year, so you get the feeling he and the team will be just fine.

Photo: Yamaha

F&H Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team After running Jed Beaton (MXGP) and Kevin Horgmo (MX2) in 2022, F&H Kawasaki’s focus will shift to MX2

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where Horgmo (4th) will be joined

by Spain’s David Braceras, who moves up from EMX250.

Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing There will be three MX2 teams fielding three riders in 2023 and Nestaan Husqvarna is one of those teams. Last year’s duo of Kay de Wolf and Roan Van De Moosdijk remain and they will be joined by last year’s EMX250 sensation, Lucas Coenen, who won seven of the last eight races on his way to 2nd overall.

Big Van World MTX Kawasaki No changes here for Steve Dixon’s team as he continues his collaboration with Denmark’s Mikkel Haarup. The ‘11’ claimed four podiums on his way to 7th overall in 2022.

TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team Last year, Jan Pancar had quite a few standout performances with 8 top ten finishes in the second half the season, which is pretty impressive for a rider who runs his own team as a privateer. For 2023 he will continue to dance to his own tune as the sole rider on his team.

KTM UK As MXGP Magazine goes to print, we continue to await the PR as to who the official title sponsor will be for KTM UK. What we do know though, is that Isak Gifting and Kay Karssemakers will remain, so no change in the rider line up at least.

Fantic Factory Team Maddii After returning to the paddock as a 2-stroke outfit a few years ago, the Fantic programme entered MXGP last year with Nicolas Lapucci riding a 450cc. Whilst the team will continue with its 2-stroke agenda, it also welcomes Tom Guyon to MX2, whose best race finish in 2022 came at his home GP at Saint Jean d’Angely where he placed 3rd in race two.

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Photo: Husqvarna

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Riley Racing After a tough season in ’22, which saw him crash out of the GP of Czech Republic as a MXGP wild card, Hakon Fredriksen will shift his attentions back to MX2 with Riley Racing. He will be joined by Joel Rizzi, who had his best season in MX2 last year, scoring regular points in the last few GP’s of the year for Riley Racing.

where he scored points in all four races.

RACESTORE KTM RACING TEAM Moving in to MX2 full time for 2023 is Spain’s Jago Martinez. Last year Jago managed a race win and a podium (3rd) on his way to 10th overall in the EMX250 class.

SM ACTION RACING TEAM YUASA BATTERY

JM Honda Racing For the second consecutive season Jacky Martens will field a rider in MX2, as South Africa’s Camden Mc Lellan joins the team for what will be his rookie season in the class. The former EMX85cc Champion scored points as a wild card at Loket in 2022, and narrowly missed the bronze medal in EMX250.

Another rider moving up from EMX250 for 2023 is Cornelius Toendel. The Norwegian was a challenger the championship last year before eventually finishing 3rd. He swaps his 2-stroke Fantic for a GASGAS 250cc 4-stroke, which given his size, might just suit him more than his previous steed.

Team VHR KTM

TEAM SHIP TO CYCLE HONDA MOTOBLOUZ SR With Stephen Rubini moving into MXGP, this French team will rely on former EMX150 champion Emil Weckman to deliver the goods.

Injury kept him off the gird last year until the final two rounds,

Opting for just one rider in MX2 this year, VHR will push its weight behind Scotty Verhaeghe.

The French rider placed 15th in EMX250 after missing the first four rounds of the season in 2022.

JM Racing Astra

A new team in the paddock, JM Racing Astra will provide an opportunity for Muhammad Delvintor Alfariz. The Indonesian rider has experienced MX2 as a wildcard in the past, and will no doubt look forward to his two home GP’s at Sumbawa (June 25) and Lombok (July 2). In terms of logistics, Astra comes from Honda Astra in Indonesia and will operate under the Jacky Martens awning, hence the JM Racing in the team description, and it’s foreseen that Alfariz will contest only the European and Indonesian rounds.

Team Leoparden Racing Another privateer outfit, with Leopold Ambjörnson as its sole rider. From the eight rounds that he contested, Leopold scored in both races at six of those events, with his best finish being at the penultimate round at Saint Jean d’Angely where he placed 15th in race two.

The opening round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship kicks off on the weekend of 11th/12th March with the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina where you can watch all of the action LIVE on www.mxgp-tv.com

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E E M M A A N F N F O I T L L AC SE H

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ANTTI PYRHÖNEN TITLE

WELL-KNOWN TODAY AS ONE OF THE MAIN MXGP TEAM MANAGERS IN THE PADDOCK, ANTTI PYRHÖNEN HAS A STRONG EXPERIENCE IN THE SPORT AS HE WAS A FIERCE COMPETITOR IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP DURING A DECADE. TWICE ON THE PODIUM AT THE MOTOCROSS OF NATIONS WITH TEAM FINLAND, HE ALSO SECURED A GP WIN AND A PODIUM IN THE MX3 SERIES. Born on 13th September 1978 in Hyvinkää, Antti had of course some opportunities to discover motocross as he lived close to the most famous Finish track!

All started when he was six years old and went with his father to watch some practice sessions before one round of the 250cc World Championship organised at Hyvinkää. Since that moment he knew which sport he wanted to do and of course it was not hockey or football! Then his father took him to see another race that year and at Christmas he got a little old bike.

At that time in Finland you could race the year you turned twelve, so Antti had a lot of time to train and prepare his first ever competition which took place in 1990. In fact, his motivation to enter a race was so high that he did all the paper work by himself, as his father was too busy to take care of this administrative part.

His first race at Kouvola was not really what he was expecting, as he was lapped by some older riders! He was really disappointed

but he went back training harder and in 1993 he got his first reward with a title in the 80cc class.

Winner of his qualifying zone of the 125cc European championship in 1999, he claimed the title one year later and got a deal to start racing GP’s. He did only one season in the 125cc class, and in 2002 he moved to the 500cc category where he scored points in ten races with a sixth position in Russia as best result. Selected to ride representing Finland at the 2002 Motocross of Nations organized in Spain, he had the honour to be on the podium with Jussi Pekka Vehvilainen and Marko Kovalainen, in third position behind Italy and Belgium. The following year he was again on the podium at the MXoN celebrated in Belgium, and he did one of his best campaigns that year with an 8th position in the 650cc championship. Besides, he also scored points in some 250cc GP’s as there was only one moto per class at this period.

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In 2005 he signed with the TM factory to race the MX1 World Championship, and got a top fifteen result during two campaigns. Injured in 2007 he started the following season in the MX1 class as a privateer, but at mid-season he moved to the MX3 series and scored his first ever GP podium during the Finnish round at Heinola.

His best ever season was for sure 2009, when he was an MX3 title contender during most of the season against Pierre Alexandre Renet and Alex Salvini. Third in Chili, Netherlands and Slovenia, he finally won his home Grand Prix at Vantaa but that was not enough to become world champion. Third in the standings and MX1 Finish champion, he unfortunately broke his leg at the MXoN in Italy and missed the entire 2010 season. Back in 2011 with a fourth position in the MX3 series, he ended his racing career at the end of 2012 after a knee and shoulder injury.

With a huge experience after twelve seasons racing the World Championship as a factory rider but mainly as a privateer, Antti had no time to rest when he retired as Kimi Räikkönen contacted him to become team manager of the Ice One Racing Team. Working with KTM, Husqvarna and now Kawasaki factory since last season, Antti will enter his eleventh season as a team manager when the gate will drop in Argentina.

Text and Photos: Pascal Haudiquert

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1993:

80 Finish Motocross Champion

1999:

125 Finish Motocross Champion (TM) Winner of the qualifying zone A of the 125 European Championship

2000:

125 European Motocross Champion (Husqvarna) 125 Finish Motocross Champion 36th in the 125 Motocross World Championship

2001:

24th in the 125 Motocross World Championship (Honda)

2002:

16th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (Honda) 3rd at the Motocross of Nations with Team Finland

2003:

8th in the 650 Motocross World Championship (Yamaha) 3rd at the Motocross of Nations with Team Finland

2004:

18th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (Suzuki)

2005:

15th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (TM)

2006:

14th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (TM)

2007:

38th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (Kawasaki)

2008:

11th in the MX3 Motocross World Championship (Suzuki) MX1 Finish Motocross Champion

2009:

3rd in the MX3 Motocross World Championship (Honda). Win one GP

2011:

4th in the MX3 Motocross World Championship (Honda)

2012:

5th in the MX3 Motocross World Championship (Kawasaki)

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S K L A T K C O D PAD

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BRISK spark plugs will continue to support Husqvarna Factory Racing in MXGP for the 2023 season.

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UFO Plast and MRT Racing Team Beta will collaborate in the 2023 FIM Motocross Championship season with the riders Ben Watson and Alessandro Lupino

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Blackbird Racing renew partnership with Honda Racing Corporation for the 10th Year in a row

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Press conference held in Istanbul at the end of 2022 to introduce the 2023 Snowcross World Championship in Kayseri, Turkiye.

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Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing have penned a partnership with DunlopMoto for the upcoming 2023 MXGP season.

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It was officially announced that Standing Racing will switch to Honda for the upcoming season

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Alvin Ostlund excited to join JWR Honda Racing for the FIM Motocross World Championship 2023

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Yago Martinez joins the Ufo Plast group with KTM Racing Team for the MX2 World Championship in 2023

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MXGP visits the new venue of the 2023 SNX Championship

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10 Jan Pancar will wear Ufo Plast for the 2023 Season

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

WHEN YAMAHA INTRODUCED ITS FULL-FACTORY, ONE OF A KIND YZ400F TO THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN 1997, IT WAS MET WITH MIXED REVIEWS. WHY? WELL, SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WAS NEW AND IT CAUSED A REAL STIR AMONGST THE 2-STROKE BRIGADE, AND TO SAY IT WAS A GAMECHANGER IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. IT WAS LIGHT, IT WAS FAST AND IT WAS EXTREMELY LOUD AS WELL.

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Then came the YZ250F in 2001, but it wasn’t until 2004 that we saw the emergence of the rest of the ‘baby boomers’ from KTM, Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki, as a result of the FIM’s rebranding of the 125cc class, which from 2004 became known as MX2. However, we can only choose one feature bike to write about, and so in this issue of MXGP Magazine, we will shift our attention to the all-new (at the time) Kawasaki KX250F. As the the decade of the nineties drew to a close, the dawn of a new millennium was not the only major change lying in wait on the horizon; far from it. Motocross was seeing its first major shift in motorcycle production since the birth of the 2-stroke era in

2004 KAWASAKI KX250F

1970 when Joel Robert guided his Japanese 250cc Suzuki to the world championship, something which changed the future of the sport of motocross. So, it seems almost ironic that by the turn of the century we were about to come ‘full-circle’ as a new generation of lightweight, 4-stroke motocross bikes were about to burst back on to the scene, pushing the 2-stroke into the shadows where its future was now unknown.

In what was still known as the 125cc class, Yamaha had already introduced its YZ250F four-stroke to the table in 2001, whilst KTM had ‘dabbled’ with its own 250F around the same time, but with teething problems a plenty, the Austrian project was shelved until 2004, and when the bike returned to the track in the hands of Ben Townley, the result was devastating; the New Zealander won 21 out of the 32 races to

become the first ever MX2 World Champion, and it was clear that that the 4-stroke revolution was here to stay.

Kawasaki’s 250F journey from design to production began in 2002, but rather than go it alone, the green corner of Japan formed ‘The Alliance’ with Suzuki and with both companies coming together, it would be interesting to see how the bikes would differ, if at all. The engine was designed

by Suzuki with Kawasaki responsible for the chassis, and actually, when all was said and done, the only difference between the two was the colour and the design of the plastics. By the end of 2003, both bikes broke cover and were made available for ‘Media Tests’ ahead of what would be an important 2004 debut season.

From Kawasaki’s perspective, the new bike could not be compared to a previous ‘F’ model, so instead,

the comparisons were drawn against its existing 2003 KX125.

The tried and trusted twin-spar steel perimeter frame remained, although it now featured new ‘D-section’ perimeter frame tubes which was designed to ‘allow the bodywork to hug the frame more closely, thus offering a slimmer design and better riding position.’

The new chassis design also meant that that area around the foot pegs was reduced by around 40%, which helped maintain that overall slim feel, so from that side, Kawasaki was seen to be doing everything right with its first attempt at the 250F. When the bike broke cover, this new lightweight, compact and powerful KX250F was, according to Kawasaki, made with the most innovative technology in 4-stroke motocross (at that time). Whilst Yamaha’s 250F came with five valves, Kawasaki opted for four, and were made from titanium.

The cylinder head was DOHC. With an impressive spread of power, the myth surrounding the new 4-strokes was that the

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engine braking was going to be quite abrupt, but Kawasaki had this covered with its 37mm Keihin FCR carburettor and trick digital CDI unit, which came with 3D mapping, which soothed that harsh feeling quite considerably, helping it feel more akin to how a 2-stroke felt as the rider closed the throttle; not completely, but enough for it not to be a major concern at least.

titanium valves, and a lot of aluminium where possible. Even the new designed front brake callipers were lighter and came equipped with a Kevlar-lined front brake cable and 250mm front disc, but despite all of this, the KX250F still weighed in some 5.5kg heavier than the KX125 it was being compared to, but then again, you can’t have everything, can you?

The 48mm KYB forks were new and ran check valves on the bladders to help improve damping, and offered an overall smoother action through the stroke. The rear shock was also new and so too was the newlink Uni-Trak system which was designed to transmit suspension input via the swingarm, which therefore allowed the frame to be lighter. With a much simpler rear shock motion, the suspension action was therefore smoother, which according to the technicians at the time, helped to increase traction at the rear wheel by 35%. Impressive stuff!

Perhaps the most talked about topic at the time was how difficult these new generation 4-strokes were to start after a fall, or when they were just hot in general, but Kawasaki also had this covered.

Easy to start when cold was a treat, but with the hot-start lever on the left side of the handlebar, the KX250F fired up quite easily once hot and therefore a real bonus too.

There was also a lot of talk about how the new bike was lightweight, with the use of

As for the ride itself, with first and second gears being very close together, you really needed to ride this bike in the taller gears and from that aspect, third and fourth worked really well. The power delivery was smooth and easy to ride compared to a 2-stroke

125cc, which could be quite snappy if you had the power set up for bottom to mid-range performance, or lazy (mid-top) to the point you needed to be too dependent on the clutch.

The KX250Fs power delivery meant that a rider who carried good corner speed on a 125cc, could now do the same in a more effective manner, whilst at the same time, a rider stepping up to a bigger bike for the first time - from 85cc - could now ride with more confidence and more consistency due to the bikes torquey, yet smooth characteristics.

In its first year of racing in 2004, the Kawasaki KX250F saw Ivan Tedesco claim the 125cc AMA West Coast Supercross title, whilst on this side of the pond, Scotland’s Stephen Sword raced to victory at the Portuguese (Agueda) and German (Teutschenthal) GP’s on his way to 4th overall in the FIM MX2 World Championship.

Two years later though, the Kawasaki KX250F would win the title in the hands of Christophe Pourcel.

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

Hi MXGP, I would like to get some official hoodies for my family, where is the best place to buy them?

Emma

❞

Hi Emma, you just have to go on the official MXGP Store website by clicking on this link https:// www.mxgp-store.com and you will find everything there!

Thanks MXGP

❝ ❞

Hello MXGP, I would like to go to the MXoN in Ernée, where can we buy the tickets?

Julien

Hi Julien, you can buy the tickets directly at https://ernee.motocrosstickets.com/en/6551-mxfr/ Regards MXGP

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❝

Hi there, where will I find out when the ticket for Matterley Basin 2023 go online?

Kim

❞

Dear Kim, MXGP will announce on www.mxgp.com as soon as they will be out and we will also share it on our social platforms on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok. Best Regards MXGP

❝

Ciao MXGP, is there any discoWhere can I buy a season pass to watch MXGP races live in 2023?

Matt Hello Matt : You can buy a MXGP-TV season pass following this link www. mxgp-tv.com This is also a great time to get this pass as our Early Bird Promo on the Season pass is still available.

Thanks MXGP

❝

I wanted to check the results of the MXoN 2021, I’m not sure where can I find them?

Sergio

❞

Hi Sergio, you can find all the results and stats of any previous races following this link https://results.mxgp.com/ mxgp/standings.aspx Thanks MXGP

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