MXGP #48 September 2017

RACING CATCH UP

RIDER OF THE MONTH Jorge Prado

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INDEX

COOL SHOT

MONSTER GIRLS

HALL OF FAME Greg Albertyn

MXGP MAG: Chief Editor: Marionna Leiva Photos: Youthstream YOUTHSTREAM Media World Trade Center II Rte de Pré-Bois 29 1215 Geneva 15 Airport Switzerland MXGP Mag #48 September 2017 The articles published in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the official position of Youthstream.

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

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

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EDITORIAL Giuseppe Luongo President of Youthstream Group

Dear MXGP Friends,

from the American Motocross World and public. Gajser and Febvre have also now returned to their top shape and have proven during the last couple of Grand Prix races to be ready for a victory again, and we must not forget Paulin and Desalle who are always fast and battling for the top positions, they are also ready to win a Grand Prix or two again before the season reaches an end.

Championship 65cc and 85cc, and especially the 125cc and Only 3 races to go and even 250cc classes where these young if the MX2 class is still open, talents can race on the same with a good advantage to Joweekend and on the same race nass, the race for the MXGP track as MX2 and MXGP, also title looks to be near the end. racing on the same weekend as Possibly we’ll know who the the World Championship classes 2017 FIM MXGP World Chamallows them to race in front of big pion is already this weekend crowds, make TV interviews and in USA, but even if the total speak with the journalists during MXGP game looks closed, the press conferences, so they are racing is still very interesting prepared and know how to hanbecause we see Cairoli is very dle the stress of the public assolid and Herlings has made a The level of MXGP is at its high- pect of their racing career. great come back to reach his est ever and this is thanks to 2.

Our race tracks, which are best condition possibly ever and many factors; first of all the very technically demanding and he’s going incredibly fast, he talent of many riders, and also vary greatly from one to another, proved his talent at the last few the political line that YS together and for riders to excel they need Grand Prix races and also last with FIM, FIM-Europe, Manuto be very fast in all types of terweekend during the last race facturers/Teams and organisers rains. The solidity of this system of the AMA Nationals, where have put in place since several is proven also by the fact more he won both races, especially in years which are: and more riders from other parts the second race where he came of the world (USA, Australia, from 39th position to get a vic- 1.

The pyramid system, New Zealand) come to compete tory, he gained a lot of respect starting with the European in the European Championship MXGP MAG 2017 MXGP.COM

pean riders. The system works perfectly, imagine now to have MXGP without Herlings, Febvre, Gajser, Anstie and the other fast Recently there has been a young guns, if there was no age lot of speculation concerning limit, for sure they would have some MX2 and MXGP riders not having a place in a team for stayed in MX2 to try and win next year, one of the arguments more titles, while bringing the was whether the under 23 age level in MXGP lower and blocking places in MX2 for riders limit for MX2 should be kept like Olsen, Sanayei, Lawrence, or changed. These are normal Prado, Mewse, etc. Another questions to be made, but we don’t have to destroy a building factor to keep in mind is if a ridace in a just because some windows are er loses their pl factory team they are replaced broken, this subject of course has to be analysed and we have by another rider, and this is how sport works at a high level. to be ready to find a solution, but we don’t need to touch Youthstream is currently workthe system because the sysing with a new partner on the tem is working very well. With possibility to organise a new this system in place the young talented riders go from MX2 to MXGP team to give the opportunity to the talented riders who MXGP making the level highdon’t have place in a MXGP facer in each Championship, and tory or support team to continue a place that remains empty in their career and prove their MX2 is filled by talented Euroin order to grow and become a professional Motocross rider.

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talent. We are convinced riders like Bobryshev, Tixier, Paturel and Nagl will continue to prove their performance in MXGP. Next weekend in Florida, the Monster Energy FIM MXGP of USA will take place near Jacksonville where many top American riders will join the world circus in both the MXGP and MX2 classes and for sure we will assist an unbelievable event with the best of MXGP and the best of American Motocross. This is something not to miss. In addition to the live TV coverage of Sunday’s racing, MXGP-TV.com will broadcast live all the qualifying races on Saturday and the races of Sunday so that you can watch and support your favourite rider. It will be the ideal appetiser before the main course, the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in 4 weeks time.

COOL SHOTS

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COOL SHOTS

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COOL SHOTS

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HOLESHOT

WE HAVE A CHAMPION MX2 Belgium For the second GP in succession the MX2 class saw two different riders cross the FOX Holeshot line, and neither of them were on KTM! That’s right, the shock of it, right?

KTM not getting a holeshot in four straight moto’s? WOW! Instead it was Jeremy Seewer who recorded his and Suzuki World MX2 their second perfect start of the season.

Yes! You heard correctly. Seewer and Suzuki had only crossed the stripe first on one other occasion and that was at round two in Indonesia. Back then it was a GP win for the Swiss rider but in Belgium it was Jorge Prado and Red Bull KTM that danced their way to victory in the overall classification.

a poor start in qualifying on Saturday, Prado more than made up for it come race day by pulling both Fox Holeshots in superb style. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that KTM’s had been MIA since Portugal or maybe he just brought his ‘H’ game. Either way, Prado extended his lead at the top of the MX2 Fox Holeshot leader board, moving to fourteen with his nearest rival being his teammate Pauls Jonass on eight.

RedBull KTM’s and both very much in the hunt for the MXGP title. The Sicilian had pretty much mastered the place in recent years but Herlings, on paper at least, was surely the man to beat. With that being a given a good start was always going to key if TC222 was planning on taking The Bullet’s backside and handing it back to him on a silver platter, seasoned to the hilt and served with a huge slice of humble pie! The first part of that scenario was true in that Cairoli claimed both Sweden FOX Holehsots to put himself in the The third straight GP in as many driving seat. What he hadn’t banked weeks saw MXGP head north to on was Herlings pulling off two of Sweden and the circuit of Uddeval- his best starts of the season. As the la, a venue not visited since 2015, moto’s unfolded we were treated but that did nothing to dent the to some great racing between the starting prowess of Jorge Prado two champions and it was indeed as he once again dominated the Herlings who came away with the In Race Two it was Thomas Coving- FOX Holeshot contest in emphatic bragging rights as he chipped away ton who delivered for the fifth time style. Nobody else even came close. at his teammate’s lead. on his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna As he heads to the USA the young but unfortunately for him he sufSpaniard holds a 6-start advantage Switzerland fered a huge get-off mid-race and over his teammate Jonass, who is Returning to a venue where he would not finish. Whilst the crash the only rider mathematically in with went 1-1 was always going to signal some kind of epic performance originally looked horrific, it turned a chance of winning this contest. out to be ‘one of those’ that looked If Prado crosses the stripe first in from Max Anstie. Last year he was worse than it was. Ah well, at least either one of the moto’s in Jackson- the king of MX2 around this circuit he took another Black Plate for his ville then the FOX Holeshot loot will and right from the off he was on be his, all his! MWAHAHAHAHA! it again in MXGP. It’s strange how earlier efforts. some riders just have a certain MXGP Switzerland affinity with certain circuits and this Heading into Lommel all eyes were clearly had the Brit’s name written When we pulled into Frauenfeld-Gachnang a week later noron the two sand masters, Jefall over it. In the Qualifying Race mal business was resumed in the frey Herlings and Antonio Cairoli. he looked sharp and when it came orange corner of Austria, and after Both riders armed with full factory to race day, he was in no mood for

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mucking about and swiftly put his Rockstar Energy Husqvarna on the FOX Holeshot scoresheet for the first time this season in MXGP Race 1. The Brit is really starting to look comfortable on the bike and his second place finish in Race 1 gave him his second top three result in three moto’s. Just in time for MXoN selection for Team GB. Yes, he made it! The second Black Plate in MXGP went to the series leader in both ‘championships’ with Cairoli adding another to his collection. By the time he left Switzerland he was NINE clear of his closest rival Tim Gajser!

Sweden The hard, slick nature of Uddevalla used to have a real baring on who would take the FOX Holeshots but since the introduction of the mesh start pad, for some riders it has offered consistency whilst for others it has played havoc. On

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this particular occasion though we saw two different recipients of the Black Plate. In Race 1 it was the turn of Team HRC MXGP rider Evgeny Bobryshev to take his first FOX Holeshot of the season, thus making it five for the Japanese manufacturer. In Race Two it was the turn of Monster Energy Yamaha’s Romain Febvre who hadn’t scored a Black Plate since Russia.

The bigger picture here is that the former MXGP world champion also managed to turn it into a race win, his first since he won the Qualifying Race at Glen Helen 2016. In points terms though it was his first win since June 5th in France and to cap it all off, he managed his first visit to the podium as well. Long overdue but well worth it no doubt.

However, all of that is irrelevant in some ways because even without crossing the stripe in Sweden Antonio Cairoli cannot be caught with

three GP’s and six moto’s remaining. The Sicilian retained his gap of NINE over Febvre who is now tied with Gajser which means he cannot be caught, so a nice cheque for €10,000 will be on its way to Sicily once again. Congratulations to Antonio Cairoli and his Red Bull KTM crew for giving him the tools to make it happen.

MX2 Table Jorge Prado 14 Paul’s Jonass 8 Thomas Covington 5 MXGP Table Antonio Cairoli 13 Tim Gajser 4 Romain Febvre 4 Gautier Paulin 2

RACING CATCH UP

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RACING FROM BELGIUM TO SWITZERLAND AND INTO SWEDEN

MXGP has been busy lately traveling from the sands of Lommel to the rutted circuit in Switzerland and the rocky soil of Sweden. All in matter of three weeks time we’ve had 18 races and a lot of action.

This article is dedicated to getting you caught up on the epic MXGP and MX2 racing from each of the last 3 stops.

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Fiat Professional MXGP of Belgium The 2017 Fiat Professional MXGP of Belgium was the first race on the August ballot and after a soggy Saturday, Sunday started with the sun shining and the best MXGP and MX2 riders taking to the demanding sands of Belgium. Focus, strength, and skill all combined into winning performances for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado Garcia.

Jeffrey Herlings came into the weekend focused on winning on the sand; he so often is referred to as the best on and as race 1 kicked off he found himself second on the first lap sandwiched between his teammates, Glen Coldenhoff and Antonio Cairoli.

Coldenhoff led his fellow countryman while Cairoli gave chase to the two Dutch riders. Coldenhoff managed to hold his own against the sand master, Herlings, for

the first laps but it was on lap 6 that the #84 found his way by and looked to check out from Cairoli and the rest.

While Herlings led, Coldenhoff responded to the charges of Cairoli well for the next 5 laps at which point Cairoli went by. The battle for the position wasn’t over though and thanks to a mistake from Cairoli, Coldenhoff slid back by for another lap before Cairoli reclaimed the spot and took second 27 seconds after Herlings crossed the finish.

When Coldenhoff took third it looked as if Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Romain Febvre would take fourth but the French rider fell on the last lap which gave his teammate Jeremy Van Horebeek the position.

Race 2 started with a Cairoli holeshot but Herlings was second across the chalk and went to

work quickly, he made a pass on the Italian before even reaching the green flag. From there the two newly found rivals went all out in a brilliant race.

Behind the battle for the lead and ultimately the race win was 2nd in the championship Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing’s Clement Desalle. The Belgian made a mistake though which opened the door for Team Suzuki World MXGP’s Arminas Jasikonis and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Anstie. Desalle picked himself up behind Anstie but then Jasikonis would crash out of the race on the same section of track where Desalle had made his error prior which resulted in Anstie moving to third and Desalle to 4th ahead of Coldenhoff. Confidence from his race 1 podium pushed Coldenhoff to pass Desalle for the position and 2 more overall points.

Back at the front Herlings and Cairoli were having the battle

that the fan’s dreams were made of. Cairoli showed aggression in a pass for the lead pushing the #84 out wide but half a lap later Herlings dove to the inside of Cairoli yet it was answered immediately by the Sicilian veteran. Banging bars and trading plastic for several laps Herlings would again pass Cairoli in the same corner but this time brake checked the #222.

Herlings antics proved valuable though as he sprinted away from Cairoli. Cairoli backed off from his charge and settled into second for both the race and overall dropping his pace the final laps as Herlings not only took double race wins and the overall but he leapt past Desalle in the championship chase.

Coldenhoff took the final podium spot making it a Red Bull KTM Factory Racing sweep.

The weekend wouldn’t be complete without the MX2 racing and the KTM bikes proved strong again.

To start race 1 it was Team Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer taking the holeshot but the young Spaniard, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Jorge Prado Garcia, took the lead immediately. Red Bull KTM

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Factory Racing rider and points leader Pauls Jonass was around 5th off the start but by the end of the first lap had already passed LRT’s Julien Lieber and Hitachi KTM UK’s Ben Watson.

away. Seewer remounted in 9th while Jonass was instead moving forward through the pack at an amazing pace gaining 12 positions by lap 2 and he didn’t stop there, by the end of the race he would pass 27 competitors to place 5th.

Jonass took only 3 laps to catch Seewer also moved forward but Seewer in 2nd, passing the #91 on only back to where he had started lap 4. Jonass continued to put his in 4th. head down and caught Prado, who was determined putting up a fight Lieber took second behind race 2 to hold his position even against and overall winner Prado, but the his points leading teammate. most notable result was that JonJonass eventually broke away ass finished 2nd overall ahead of from Prado and took the win while Lieber, gaining points on Seewer Seewer took third ahead of Kemea rather than losing them.

Yamaha Official MX Team’s Benoit Paturel and the #33 of Lieber.

MXGP of Switzerland presented by iXS Race 2’s holeshot went to PraAfter the strenuous sand of do with Seewer again near the Lommel the World Championship front. A mistake in the first turn headed to Frauenfeld-Gachnang swallowed up a handful of riders for the MXGP of Switzerland preincluding race 1 winner Jonass sented by iXS. Rain again soaked and the race 1 4th place finisher the paddock and circuit the days Paturel. Jonass was the last to get leading up to Sunday, but the track going again and on the opening lap would develop to provide some of was in 32nd position out of 32. In the best racing of the year. Jeffrey the meantime Seewer fell out of Herlings came into the weekend 4th, the golden opportunity of gift- with a win on the sands of Lommel ed upon him to gain championship and he was hoping for another one points on Jonass started to slip in Switzerland. In race 1 it looked

as if his aspirations wouldn’t turn into reality when he started near 15th position but only one lap in he had already made his way to 10th and continued charging.

Anstie, Cairoli, Paulin, and Febvre while Herlings finished 6th.

In race 2 Tonus and Herlings switched roles with Tonus around 18th and Herlings in the lead after At the front of the field it was Wilvo a Cairoli FOX Holeshot. Cairoli also lost spots to Paulin and Febvre Yamaha MXGP’s Arnaud Tonus in the early portion of the race. leading his home GP. Tonus took While Herlings started to check out the lead on the first few turns from the field Tonus was fighting from the #99 holeshot machine of his way through it. Tonus fell on Max Anstie. Anstie made several the tunnel jump prior to the finish attempts to pass Tonus throughand at first he was unharmed but out the 16-lap race, but the Brit never found a way past the Swiss as he tried to return to his bike he was hit by Suzuki World MXGP’s rider. In third and fourth it was the pair of French riders Rockstar Arminas Jasikonis which sent both riders tumbling. Jasikonis was Energy Husqvarna Factory Racable to remount but Tonus wasn’t ing’s Gautier Paulin and Monster as fortunate and it was later Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s discovered he’d suffered a broken Romain Febvre. Febvre hounded the back tire of Paulin and on lap 8 clavicle in a disappointing end to made it by but it was short lived as his career high weekend. he stalled his Yamaha and took to much time restarting the machine. The front four stayed in the same order to the finish of race 2 with The error allowed Red Bull KTM Herlings winning, Paulin second Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli and Febvre third after a Cairoli into third right after he’d passed charge came up short. The overPaulin. Back at the front Tonus used the home advantage and won all win was taken by Herlings but his first ever MXGP race ahead of it only gave him a 2 point gain on

Cairoli in the championship. Paulin’s 4-2 gave him second overall and his first visit to the podium since the Russian GP. In the MX2 class Jeremy Seewer was the hometown hero and he didn’t disappoint his fans over the weekend. In race 1 Seewer was around 4th off the start with his title rival, Jonass ahead of him and taking another Fox Holeshot was Prado. Seewer had the cheers of the crowd, which motivated him to pass Jonass 4 laps into the race.

Only 3 laps later Seewer then passed Prado to take the lead and from there he charged on. Benoit Paturel rallied his way into second and on the final lap caught Seewer. Seewer made a mistake out of a corner, which allowed Paturel to get right next to him and apply pressure. Seewer noticeably tensed up but held on to the win only 6 tenths of a second ahead of Paturel.

Race 2 couldn’t have started worse for Seewer when he hit the back wheel of Prado and went

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down in the first corner. Prado took the holeshot and Jonass was right in tow as Seewer was left collecting and restarting his Suzuki from dead last position. Jonass then took the lead from Prado but fell shortly after dropping to 5th and giving the lead back to his teammate. Only a lap later it was Prado who fell and gave the lead away.

Switzerland and in Sweden he not only found the podium but did one better when he took the overall with 1-2 finishes. The reigning champion started the race in the top 5 while his HRC teammate Evgeny Bobryshev took the Fox holeshot but lost the lead quickly to Romain Febvre.

Gajser and Bobryshev battled shortly but Gajser made it by the Russian along with Red Bull KTM Capitalizing on the KTM rider’s Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenmistakes was Thomas Covinghoff. Leading the GP that he won ton who led for 5 laps before the determined Paturel found a way by in the last visit Febvre made a mistake and fell out of the lead and the American. However, the real story was Jeremy Seewer coming remounted in 12th. While Gajser, Coldenhoff, Bobryshev and Paulin back through the field in a valwhere battling up front, Red Bull iant effort. Seewer made it all the KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio way to 5th at the finish giving him second overall. Benoit Paturel won Cairoli was back in 15th, and his race two and he obtained his first title rival, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings was 6th ever overall victory in what it will chasing down Monster Energy be his last MX2 season.

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle.

MXGP of Sweden The third weekend in a row was set for Sweden and the Uddevalla On lap 4 Bobryshev lost 3rd to circuit. Tim Gajser had missed the Paulin and 5 laps later lost 4th to Herlings who had finally found a podium for several rounds before

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way around Desalle. Herlings and Paulin both passed Coldenhoff and then Bobryshev did the same.

One lap later Herlings took over second from Paulin. On the last lap a mistake dropped Bobryshev even further, from 4th to 7th, letting Coldenhoff back into the top five. At the finish Gajser beat out Herlings by over 9 seconds and Febvre worked his way back from 12th to finish 6th.

Race 2 started similar but with a Holeshot for Febvre just ahead of Herlings and Gajser who then passed Herlings quickly but a few laps later a mistake let the Dutchman back by. Herlings, while charging toward the leader Febvre, had a bike issue which immediately ended his race. Gajser retook 2nd position and set his sights on the #461. The Slovenian and the Frenchman battled for several laps coming extremely close at times.

Behind the front Cairoli struggled again starting in 9th and only making his way to 7th by the finish.

At the checkered flag Febvre won the race ahead of Gajser to secure second while the HRC rider took the overall win, his third this season but the first since Leon 12 rounds prior. Antonio Cairoli though finishing 7th overall gained points in the championship and heads to the USA with the possibility of clenching the championship.

In Sweden’s MX2 racing Jeremy Seewer came into weekend only one week after missing out on winning his home GP and while the competition was tough he managed to take the overall with 2-2 results. When MX2 race 1 started Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado Garcia took the holeshot just beating out Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei. Sanayei held second only for the first two corners though as LRT’s Julien Lieber took the spot.

The two title contenders Seewer and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass started 4th and 7th but by the end of the first lap were in 3rd and 5th respectively. As Prado ran away with the lead, Seewer pushed to reach Lieber but fell in a corner and picked up his bike just ahead of Jonass nearly being passed.

Lieber then made a mistake, fell out of second, and remounted in 4th before making more errors and dropping to 13th. At the end it was Prado winning by just under 2 seconds then Jonass 28 seconds back of the lead.

Race 2 had an identical Fox holeshot taken by Prado, one of several this season. Behind Prado was Jonass then Thomas Covington and Seewer. Covington passed Jonass on the open corner and when Jonass retaliated it slowed the pair enough to not only let Seewer by but also

his Suzuki World MX2 teammate Hunter Lawrence.

Throughout it all Covington maintained his position ahead of Jonass and Seewer went after Prado. On lap 5 Seewer took over the lead and one lap later Lawrence and Covington passed Prado as well. Lawrence later crashed out of second and remounted in 6th leaving Seewer to deal with Covington on his own who on the last lap showed amazing speed and caught Seewer leaping past the Swiss rider into the last corner to end the race in a photo finish. Covington took the race win to the disappointment of Seewer who took the overall win, the 5th of his career and season. Pauls Jonass scored valuable points but the gap has now dropped to 45 between him and Seewer heading into the Monster Energy MXGP of USA.

FIM Motocross World Championship

Standings MXGP CHAMP. STANDINGS

MX2 CHAMP. STANDINGS

1. A.Cairoli (ITA, KTM) , 631 points 2. J.Herlings (NED, KTM) , 530 p.

3. G. Paulin (FRA, HUS), 526 p 4. C. Desalle (BEL, KAW) , 519 p.

5. T. Gajser (SLO, HON),453 6. R. Febvre (FRA YAM) 441.

7. J. VanHorebeek(BEL,YAM), 377.

8. M. Nagl (GER, HUS) ,364 p.

9. G.Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 352 p.

10. E. Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 344

1. P. Jonass (LAT, KTM),669 points 2. J. Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 629 p.

3. B. Paturel (FRA, YAM) , 504 p.

4. T. Olsen (DEN, HUS),497 p.

5. J.Lieber (BEL, KTM), 436 p.

6. T. Covington (USA, HUS), 417 p.

7. J. Prado (ESP, KTM), 392.

8 B. Bogers (NED, KTM),331 p.

9. H. Lawrence (AUS, SUZ) , 284.

10. B. Vandoninck (BEL, YAM), 273

MXGP MANUFACTUERS 1. KTM 2. Husqvarna 3. Yamaha 4. Honda 5. Kawasaki 6. Suzuki

692 582 558 531 519 358

points points points points points points

MX2 MANUFACTUERS 1. KTM 2. Suzuki 3. Husqvarna 4. Yamaha 5. Kawasaki 6. Honda 7. TM

732 639 601 551 366 268 135

#DontCrackUnderPressure Videos 536,616 Views on MXGP-TV Youtube Channel Best 2017 #DontCrackUnderPressureVideo Antonio Cairoli unstoppable in Trentino: 140,502 Views Videos shared on MXGP Facebook Page 1,085,335 Reach 38,184 Actions United Kingdom: 71.796

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points points points points points points points

RIDER OF THE MONTH

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SPECIAL FEATURE

Every month we try and feature a special team or rider and this month that rider is none other the young Spanish motocross prodigy Jorge Prado García. Jorge Prado as most know him was born in Lugo, Spain in September 2001 making him 16 years old in his first complete and rookie MX2 season.

At only three years old Jorge started to ride and at first it was trials skills that he learned riding with his dad for fun. It was at age 6 that him and his father decided to visit the local motocross track as spectators. From that

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point he started to love the world of motocross and once his dad bought him a new motocross bike and he made the transition deciding to switch to racing instead of trials. It was in 2009 he won the Master Kids on a 65cc and in 2010 he was crowned Spanish champion.

From Spain Jorge started to travel and race the rest of Europe and World, in 2011 he started to achieve international success winning both the 65cc European and World Champion titles. Jorge became only the second Spanish World Champion and in 2011 be-

came the youngest rider in history to sign with the prestigious Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team, a 5-year contract.

When Joel Smets, KTM’s Motocross Sports Director, was asked about the decision to sign Prado to KTM even while on mini bikes said, “we could see his talent very soon and since KTM is a market leader in the minibikes, by signing him young we could make him familiar with the products and the company and assure a smooth transition into the “real” classes (MX2 and MXGP).”

SPECIAL FEATURE

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In 2012 he moved to the 85cc machine in the Spanish, European and World Champi-onships. The following years were met with adversity though when he became injured time and time again. Throughout the struggles and injuries one thing remained clear and that was Jorge’s talent shown by winning the few times that he did race.

Smets admitted: “Pure talent wise, I would dare to compare him (Jorge Prado) with the likes of Herlings and Roczen, but at the same age as Jorge now, those boys had lived already several years as a full professional. While the family of Jorge choose another approach, I believe that was not a bad choice

and I’m convinced JP can win champi-onships!”

By 2015, Jorge had gone to the U.S. and trained on the American tracks for 2 months and at the age of only 14 Prado returned to Europe to win the 125cc FIM Europe Championship prior to heading to EMX250. In 2016 Jorge started his EMX250 campaign but injury would again stop his success.

After returning to the EMX250 for a few races Jorge decided to try out the professional ranks and took his first ever career GP podium in his first professional race at Assen 2016.

Now he is living in Lommel, Belgium, with his family,

which includes his parents and sister. The family gave up everything that they had to move to the motocross capital of the world for Jorge.

In return the young athlete is no slacker, during the week he trains day in and day out whilst still attending public school full-time.

Fluent in three languages, Spanish, English, and Dutch, Prado is well on his way to a successful career whether on or off the bike and that’s how both him and his family want it.

Jorge talking about school, “It is quite difficult because you try and do both things, study and race, the best you can, but I think it is important to have and

SPECIAL FEATURE

education, once you’re done with racing, it’s important to have something else.”

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a second place.

Smets again talking about Jorge, “Jorge made another decent step forward this year and that’s very remarkable because so far he’s combined his racing with a full-time day school program.”

It was only a matter of time before Prado would put all the pieces together to take a GP win. In fact it was at the MXGP of Trentino in Pietramurata that he took his first career GP overall win, sooner than even he expected, at only 16 years old emotions over-whelmed the talented rider.

In 2017 Prado has lined up at every GP round and shown great flashes of speed and talent starting as early in the season as the GP in Neuquen, Patagonia, Argentina. The Argentinian fans saw him battle with his KTM teammate and now points’ leader Pauls Jonass to take his second career podium with

Now nearing the conclusion of the 2017 championship Jorge is 7th in the champion-ship points and since his victory in Trentino he has found the podium twice more with another victory in the deep and treacherous sands of Lommel, and most recently he took second overall at the MXGP of Sweden.

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Lately a constant top five finisher Jorge goals for the remainder of the season remain just that, finish in the top 5 every race.

Prado, “I think my worst finish in the last races was fifth, so since Portugal the races have been really good, I was able to win in the Lommel again after Trentino and my goal for the last three races is just to finish in the top 5 and learn for next year.”

With his long-term goal to win the world title Jorge has the potential to race the MX2 class until age 23 and he has far from reached his potential. We can’t wait to watch what this young man can and will continue to do.

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TWITTER, FACEB IN THE WORLD OF #MXGP @tommyhill33 Buzzing! Been invited to #MXon @mxgp With one of my long term sponsors since 2004 @bikeitmc - #TeamGB Motocross Of Nations 2017

@ChrisAlldredge Deutschland is growing on me. It’s so beautiful here!

Sign me up! @mxgp @ Bischheim, Germany ‬ @JoelRizzi1 @mxgp of USA is gonna have some good racing! @MonsterEnergy The #MonsterEnergy @ MXGP of USA is right around the corner & we’re bringing @WakaFlocka to celebrate! More info>>> http://mxgpusa.com‬ @hinsonracing Be there or be square! @ mxgp is coming to @wwmotox in Jacksonville, FL Sept 2-3, 2017! #bethere #hin@alexlowes22 Nice to see @tommysearle100 back on the @mxgp grid this weekend I know how hard he has worked to @amylouisedargan Woah just catching up on @ mxgp highlights! MX2 looked insane - ROLL ON #MXDN I need to come ‬

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@Broctickle Just finally got around to watching @mxgp of Wow this might be the best racing I’ve seen in one weekend. @DunlopMoto Huge congratulations to #BenoitPaturel on 1st ever #MX2 GP victory @mxgp #Switzerland @yamaharacingcom @KemeaYamaha

Jeremy Seewer had a incredible determinations at his home GP. Watch his best actions from the MXGP OF SWIZTERLAND in the #Dontcrackunderpressure video

Monster Energy MXGP of USA Cross Promo_Guess 4 Moto-Master Riders in MXGP an MX2 and WIN Moto-Master.

Have a Look at the Actions’ Compilation of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s duo of Jeffrey Herlings and Antonio Cairoli in Lommel, Belgium!

BOOK, INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE

@davewillet: The 2017 #MXoN is just over a month away at Matterley Basin.. Who remembers the last time it was there when @s72forever rode around

@mc_villarssousecot Track is almost ready!! #villarssousecot2017 #FinalMXGP #MXGP

@suzukiworldmxgp Game Face #firstplace #JS91 #Uddevalla #MXGP

@fansofsebvettel A smiling Sebastian Vettel at the MXGP of Switzerland :)#teamfrance #ffm #juniorworldcup

@prado61_fangirl I’m a really big fan @jorgeprado61

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MONSTER GIRLS

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MONSTER GIRLS

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G

HALL OF FAME

Greg ‘Albee’ Albertyn South African Greg Albertyn was the first rider coming from South Africa to race the Motocross World Championship, where he got some huge success as he claimed three World titles in a row before moving to America. By moving to Europe he also showed the way to some of his fellow countrymen such as Grant Langston or Tyla Rattray, who both travelled later to Europe and also put their names on the FIM books.

Honda Venko team for another step in his career; the legendary Dutch tuner Jan de Groot, manager of the team, was convinced that Greg had a huge potential and even if he was injured during the 1991 season, he showed his potential with two race podiums and several top five results.

With a new GP format introduced in 1992 with three shorter races per weekend, Greg immediately showed Born on 13th October 1970 in that he was stronger than ever when he dominated Johannesburg, Greg had already been dominant in South the opening round in Spain.

Dutch Pedro Tragter and Africa with several 85cc, Dave Strijbos, and French100cc and 125cc titles when he decided to move to Europe man Yves Demaria won the following rounds and until when he turned 18. Based in mid season these four riders Belgium, the heart of Eurofought for the title before pean Motocross, he discovthe series moved to the East ered the Belgian and Dutch countries. In Czech Republic tracks and entered his first GP’s scoring some points and and Poland Greg won five of the six heats to score importlearning a lot during his few ant points, and later he did attempts in the World Chamanother strong performance pionship. The 1990 season when he won the penultimate was a learning year for the round in the Netherlands beyoung kid, who joined the

fore he secured his first ever World title in Japan.

The following season Greg Albertyn raced the 250cc class with Jan De Groot and Honda and once again the South African started the series with a win in Italy and entered a strong battle with Stefan Everts. In the end, the consistency of Albertyn made the difference and during the penultimate round of the series in Finland he secured his second consecutive title.

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Both him and his strongest rival changed team during wintertime; while Stefan Everts moved from Suzuki to Kawasaki, Greg Albertyn took his factory ride in the Suzuki team. It was a strategic move for Greg, who was planning to move to the USA later, but that season was even harder than the previous one as Everts won five GP’s and he was one of the favourites to claim the title until the last round. Greg only won two rounds that season, but once more his consistency was better than his rivals and he celebrated his third consecutive World title before moving definitively to the US. Greg Albertyn joined Roger

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de Coster to rebuild a strong Suzuki team in the US, but the South African struggled with injuries during his first seasons there; he had to wait until 1996 to win his first National and in 1999 he claimed his first and single US title in the 250cc

Motocross championship. Unfortunately, he was not able to defend the title as he broke his femur during a Supercross race in 2000, and later he announced his retirement from racing.

Text and Photos: Pascal Haudiquert

1985-1986: 80 South African Champion 1987: 100 South African Champion 1988-1989: 125 South African Champion 1990: 23rd of the 125 Motocross championship (Kawasaki) 1991: 10th of the 125 Motocross championship (Honda) 1992: 125 Motocross World Champion (Honda), winner of 4 GP’s 1993: 250 Motocross World Champion (Honda), winner of 6 GP’s 1994: 250 Motocross World Champion (Suzuki), winner of 2 GP’s 1995: 10th of the US 250 Motocross championship (Suzuki) 1996: 4th of the US 250 Motocross championship (Suzuki) 1997: 5th of the US 250 Supercross championship (Suzuki) 1998: 2nd of the US 250 Motocross championship (Suzuki) 1999: 250 US Motocross Champion (Suzuki) 2000: 7th of the US 250 Motocross championship (Suzuki)

PADDOCK TALKS

01

Paddock Talks 01/Honda presented the 2018 CRF250 machine in Lommel.

02/FOX showed case the new MX18 collection with all their athletes.

03/There is always time to have fun between motos!

04/The MXGP and MX2 riders got a copy of the new MXGP videogame.

05/Presentation of Team Italy for the 2017 Monster Energy FIM MXoN.

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Paddock Talks 06/The Belgians are ready to represent their country at MXoN. 07/It is great to have Steve Ramon back at the races helping the new talents.

08/Wlecome to Switzerland!

09/The Swiss Italians fans made some nice for their favourite rider Tony Cairoli.

10/F1 driver Sebastian Vettel didn’t want to miss the Swiss Grand Prix.

11/Gautier Paulin taking a selfie during his autograph session at the FOX booth.

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Pekka VEHKONEN 1985

Cagiva WMX 125 a full factory seat alongside As a rider Pekka Vehkonen was ful of points was the luckless Corrado Maddi in 1984. It was as old school as they come, recipient of a broken leg. The a no-brainer really as around even in the modern era of the dream of becoming Italy’s first the same time the Japanese mid-eighties. He was hard, ever motocross world champion manufacturers were pulling tough, a true warrior in every riding an Italian machine was their factory support from the sense of the word. Above all over! Instead the title went to eighth-litre class, leaving Cagiva else he was a fighter. In 1985, Michele Rinaldi and Suzuki. as the only true factory team in the Finn won the 125cc world the 125cc class. That alone was championship on board an ItalHowever, after the dust had enough to force Cagiva to up the ian Cagiva. From turning prosettled the team knew that they development of their rocket-red fessional in 1982 it took him just had a potential title-winning 125cc race bike and throughout three years to win the title and weapon in the hands of both The 125cc thewe European Championship puts a spotlight on the next As far the 1984 season usually it would claim it’s his 1985class Cagivainthat will Maddii and Vehkonen. twoofGP wins in the hands of the feature in in thismotocross. issue of MXGP as Vehkonen’s machine big name In fact both the 2015 FIM Motocross World Champions andthough, Italian Maddii, who was unlucky Magazine. the work started at the end of vice-world champions Romain Febvre, Gautier Paulin, Tim Gajser and Pauls Jonass not to win the title. At the final the 1984 season and the saying have won the EMX125 onseason, their paths motocross GP of the Maddii to colAfterall winning his first GP in championship thatsupremacy. ‘no two machines are alike’ lided with fellow Italian Michele 1983 on a semi-factory Yamawas particularly true, as his Fanton, who was making his GP ha at Avesta in Sweden, Pekka mechanic Kari Silvasti points debut, and the championship Vehkonen caught the eye of out: leader, who needed just a handCagiva, who offered the Finn

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SPECIAL FEATURE

‘We were already building things up at the end of ’84. The bike was already there but we changed a lot of things before ’85 because really, the bike was made for Maddii in ’84 and him and Pekka had a completely different riding style. We had to change the bike quite a bit for ’85 because it was a very wide bike and Maddi was always sitting and Pekka most of the time was standing and it was way too wide, so we had to make it narrower, change the riding position, everything.’

ters in Varese, Italy, and the race workshop in Belgium, with all of the winter testing being done in Italy. This was particularly important because with Cagiva being a small manufacturer compared to the might of the Japanese brands, it meant that if any parts needed changing then it could all be done in-house in an instant, in order to make the bike better, faster, more reliable for the season ahead. When testing was complete the team headed north to Belgium.

The race team split its time between the factory headquar-

As for the machine itself, it was a complete factory bike accord-

ing to Silvasti: ‘Basically nothing was the same as standard. The geometry and steering angles were all different because we had to change the frame to make it narrower. It had a 6-speed gearbox, we ran a MOTOPLAT ignition from Spain. The cases were all Magnesium. The wheels were Excel and adorned with Magnesium hubs and Pirelli tyres. The clutch was produced in-house and the carburettor was a 36mm Dellorto unit. The piston was produced in Germany by MAHLE. The exhaust pipe was created in-house but recreated in Italy by one of the specialist exhaust pipe manu-

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facturers, probably Messico. The front forks were 40mm Marzocchi conventional units and the rear was by ÖHLINS. The only standard item on the bike was probably the airbox.’

Whilst the bike was something of a rocket ship, the project didn’t come without its problems as Silvasti recalls: ‘At first we had Brembo brakes but in the rear it was still a drum brake. The front was so bad and not strong enough for Pekka, so we had to change to Nissin on the front.

Now though, Brembo are really good but back then they were really poor because Pekka was very hard with his braking with the front brake so even in the sand it would boil. After a few Grand Prix, maybe even before the GP’s started, we changed the front brake to Nissin, which meant he had one less problem to worry about.

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‘The 1985 season started well but then there was some hassle in the middle of the season. The front forks blew up a couple of times because of some problems with the seals, but the last three races we changed the forks from Marzocchi to Showa.

The problem was because Pekka was so hard on the front brake, the damping system was not so good and when he braked the front would dive really bad and the seals would break. There was also one gearbox failure.’

Despite these issues though the bike was very, very fast and that was ‘probably the best thing about the Cagiva 125; it was strong off the bottom and went up through the rev range very nicely.’

mate Maddii, Cagiva won six GP’s between them with both winning three times in the ’85 season. It’s funny to think that as a racer, Vehkonen was known for his hard charging style but as a person he was completely the opposite; you wouldn’t meet anybody more laid back than him.

Even his mechanic Kari Silvasti would get frustrated sometimes, as he points out; ‘As a rider Pekka was easy to work with but sometimes frustrating. If his handlebars were in the right position then everything else was okay. We would spend many weeks and weeks testing his factory bike to get it to the best level, and then he would jump on his practice bike and make the same lap times. That’s how he was!’

Pekka went on to win the 125cc title ahead of Dave Strijbos and between himself and his team-

Many thanks to Kari Silvasti for the additional information relating to this article.

Br EM

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rad Anderson, 2017 MX300 Champion!

SPECIAL FEATURE

This year’s EMX300 Presented by FMF Racing championship was full of action but in the end one racer stood atop the rest in the standings. Crowned 2017 Champion at the MXGP of Switzerland was Great Britain’s Brad Anderson.

Anderson was born in Bishop Auckland, Co Durham in 1981. In his youth Brad started first with a pedal bike, riding BMX at age 4. For Anderson success came soon after when he became

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European BMX champion at age 6.

Even with his promising start in the world of BMX Anderson decided to go into moto-cross. In 2009 Brad would win the British championship and he did so again in 2011. From the UK Brad decided to go live in Australia with his wife for a year and race the Australian motocross championship. Finishing third in the championship his wife then became pregnant and the decision to move back home to the UK was made.

Anderson has also rode for team Great Britain in the Motocross of Nations twice, first at the American stop in Colorado, where the team only missed the overall podium by a single point, and also at Saint Jean d’Angely in France, where the team would again place 4th.

Outside of motocross Brad stays true to his roots bicycling, playing golf, walking in the Lake District near his home and the occasional game of poker.

Now a father Anderson also enjoys taking his son out on his bike.

This season was a fantastic one for Anderson and started off with a bang as he went 1-1 at the opening round in Teutschenthal, Germany. Happy to come away with red plate at the first round Brad initially wasn’t planning on racing in Russia.

Anderson admitted: “we weren’t going to do Russia but the only way I could win the championship was to race Russia. It was hard work but we got there in the end. Tanel Leok took my bike over for me and that

was a big help.”

A big help it definitely was as Anderson got a first and second during the muddy condi-tions of Russia giving him first overall again.

The third round in Italy was red hot and again was Anderson getting a second and a first to win another overall. Then in the sands of Lommel he had another first and then second in race 2 giving him second overall after a swapping result with first overall, GL12 Racing’s Mike Kras.

At the final round in Switzerland Brad managed a 3rd after a bad start and a fall in race 1 then fin-ished the last race with a win

and took the championship 44 clear of his main title competitor Mike Kras.

Brad couldn’t have been happier with his season saying, “I’m over the moon to have been on the box at every round and stayed consistent, I’m hoping to do the same again next year thanks to Team Verde Sports and RJS Builders.”

QUESTIONS TO THE EDITOR

QUESTIONS TO THE EDITOR Dear MXGP, I was wondering if there was a Magazine foreseen after the FIM Junior Motocross World Championship.

Thanks, Colette Dear Colette, The magazine corresponding to the FIM Junior Motocross World Championship will be a 44 minutes format and it’ll be online on Friday, August the 4th.

Best Regards MXGP Hi MXGP, Where can I have more info on the VIP tickets for the Monster Energy FIM MXoN? Thanks, Pascal Hi Pascal Please follow the link below either to have more details on the tickets sales for the 2017 Monster Energy FIM MXoN or to purchase your VIP Gold SkyBox package: https://mxon.motocross-viptickets.com/2938-mxon-motocross-vip/en/ Regards MXGP

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Hi MXGP, I would love to purchase some OGIO items. Any suggestions to buy them online?

Thanks, Margie Hi Margie Thank you for your question. In fact it’s been some days that OGIO started a special discount for some items. Please check OGIO online store, maybe you can find your favorite one: http://www.mxgp-ogio.com Regards MXGP Hi MXGP, I wish to have a printed copy of the MXGP Mag issue #43 as I’m a big fan of Julien Lieber. How can I order?

Thanks, Cecilia Hi Cecilia Thank you for your amazing request. It’s much easier than you think. You need to enter issuu. com and choose the Magazine and the issue you wish and order your printed copy from there, you just need to register and you can purchase it over there.

Regards MXGP

Hi MXGP, I’m wondering if you could point me in the right direction of where to get tickets for the Belgium MXGP please.

Thanks, Louise Hi Louise thanks for the message! You can purchase your Tickets and get more info here: http://www. gplimburg.be/tickets/ Regards MXGP Hi MXGP, Would you know what channel the racing would be aired on?

I’m currently in Mexico and wanna watch the race while on holiday if they’ve got the channel!

Thanks, Ashley Hi Ashley Thanks for message we’re glad you want to watch! If you log on to www.MXGP-TV.com you watch from anywhere in the world.

Regards MXGP

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