On-Track Off-Road issue 197

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Photo: R. Schedl

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FEATURE MX

JUST TWO

2 out of 2 for Jeffrey Herlings but with Tim Gajser owning 50% of the motos so far in 2020 then then MXGP was already shaping into a leadership contest between the 25 year old Dutchman and 23 year old Slovenian. MXGP should start again with the Grand Prix of Russia on June 7th for erratic season scheduling right up until late November. Meanwhile #84 is the subject of our opening feature in this issue‌ Photo by Ray Archer

FEATURE RALLY

THE FIRST TO AIR? TITULAR TITULAR TITULAR TITULAR

Doubts remain over the Gran Premio Red Bull de EspaĂąa and MotoGP could be delayed until Barcelona in June. So potentially the first FIM World Championship series in action might be the Rallies series with the opening race of a provisional five taking place in Kazakhstan from 24-29.

Red Bull KTM’s Sam Sunderland will be out to defend his title. (impressive how shapes like this can be thrown with Rally/Dakar bikes!)

Photo by Sebas Romero/KTM

MOTOGP

TIME TO SHINE Starting his fourth full Moto2 season, 27 year old Tetsuta Nagashima opened his Red Bull KTM Ajo account in the best possible way with Qatar victory; his first Grand Prix trophy. Losail hosted an unusual start to 2020 MotoGP but undeniably memorable Photo by Polarity Photo

JUST 4

THE STORY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND TENSION THAT CREATED THE UNFORGETTABLE 2014 MFIM MX2 CHAMPIONSHIP DECIDER…

BY THOSE THAT WERE THERE

By Adam Wheeler, Photos by Ray Archer

FEATURE

6

years ago, the FIM Motocross World Championship staged one of the closest and most dramatic finales in the history of the sport. The respective narratives of Red Bull KTM teammates Jeffrey Herlings and Jordi Tixier in the 2014 MX2 campaign carried shades of a Shakespearian arc: there was glory, ambition, arrogance, anguish, desperation, maturation, family tragedy, pain, celebration, commiseration.

And it was all decided in the final laps and minutes of an extraordinary season.

2014 was not the first time – or the last – that the factory squad had to deal with the delicate situation of teammates concurrently pushing for a title. Since 2004 (and the year of its conception) to the present day KTM has laid waste to the MX2 category: they missed the championship only four times up until 2020 and with eight different riders achieving the #1 plate. In 2008 Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle took their dispute to the closer at Faenza in Italy. In 2018 it was Herlings and Tony Cairoli enacting a tussle in the MXGP category.

In 2014 and for the second year in a row Herlings (still in his late teens and already world champion in 2012 and 2013) and Tixier (21 years old, three seasons in MX2

and series runner-up in 2013) fronted KTM’s MX2 effort. Herlings - brilliant, cocky, aggressive and winner of 15 from 17 GPs in ’13 – was aiming for his third crown and at the centre of a debate about whether he was too young to move to the MXGP class with the 450.

Tixier – quieter, talented but retrained and more measured – was the hopeful ‘second’ and contemplating the twilight of his MX2 career before aging-out of the division after 2015. Riders such as Arnaud Tonus, Max Anstie, Dylan Ferrandis, Romain Febvre and Glenn Coldenhoff were hoping to topple the KTM banner….

SUNDAY MARCH 30th, 2014: Arnaud Tonus claims a wet Grand Prix of Brazil at Beto Carrero, round three of the championship. Jeffrey Herlings had already won in Qatar and Thailand but a shoulder muscular problem meant he was temporarily counted out of action in South America. In Brazil there had been rumours of an eleventh-hour entry for the reigning world champion…but the team curb their rider’s anxiety by insisting he heals and returns for the fourth meeting of seventeen. Tixier takes 11th in Brazil after finishing 8th and 7th in the previous two fixtures.

SUNDAY JULY 13th, 2014: Round thirteen: Grand Prix of Finland. Herlings validates the penalty for Dylan Ferrandis and Jose Butron after they overtake the Dutchman as he slows for waved yellow flags while leading the race.

The adjusted classification elevates Tixier (who’d crashed heavily on Saturday) to 3rd overall for a fifth consecutive podium appearance and continues a bright second-half-ofseason flurry of results. Herlings, who had owned 19 from 20 motos since his Brazilian break, needs just five points at the following Grand Prix of Czech Republic two weeks later to confirm his third consecutive MX2 championship with three rounds remaining thereafter. He wouldn’t make it that far…

Dirk Gruebel, Red Bull KTM MX2 Technical Coordinator and later Team Manager: Jeffrey was the favourite that year. He’d won the title in 2012 and 2013 and he was on top of his game into 2014. But we always had second guys in the team that were at a certain level of development: they were there so if the leader ‘broke away’ then they had the ability or the character to full-in.

Jordi Tixier: When I signed with KTM I had a long talk with Stefan Everts, who was

JUST 4: THE 2014 MX2 TITLE STORY

GRUEBEL: “THEY WERE JUST KIDS. RIDING AND RACING AND EVERYTHING WAS JUST FUN, AND THEY WERE FLAT OUT. JEFFREY WENT AS FAST AS HE COULD EVERY TIME HE WAS ON A BIKE.”

FEATURE training me at the time, and we had a goal to be world champion by the end of a three-year contract. The first year we were top five, second year we were second, so we were going for it in 2014 which was the third. In my head it was pretty clear we had to try and challenge Jeffrey. For sure he was the fastest guy. We had a long, good winter off-season and we rode together with Jeffrey.

He was faster but I knew I had [competitive] speed and the championship would be long, so the key was to never give up. In the end that attitude paid off.

MONDAY JULY 21st, 2014: After a total of 22 moto victories and 10 Grand Prix wins on the bounce as well as leading ten times more laps than any other rider, Herlings snaps his left femur after misjudging a jump riding an 85cc machine at the Everts and Friends Charity event in Belgium. With just six days until the Grand Prix of Czech Republic he has a lead of 145 points with only a maximum of 200 left that season and trips to Belgium, Brazil and Mexico to come.

Jeffrey Herlings: I was nineteen years old when I got on that 85‌

SUNDAY JULY 27th, 2014: Jordi Tixier wins his first ever moto and, thanks to a nervy fourth place in the second race, celebrates his maiden Grand Prix victory in the Czech Republic. Herlings’ margin shrinks to 102 points with 150 remaining.

Gruebel: There was a different air in the paddock in the Czech Republic. It was a wake-up to everybody in MX2: Jeffrey was gone, and it meant anybody could win. There were a couple of Kawasaki guys, Jordi, and a few others that you could see where thinking ‘this is my time’.

Jordi jumped over his own shadow and proved his worth.

He was always a good rider but not consistent enough. He really picked it up.

Tixier: I had five podiums in a row and then Jeffrey got hurt so it was my time to win. It was not easy because all the

pressure was there and as the second guy behind him I ‘had’ to win that race. I had some experience from the previous year and crashed under pressure, so I didn’t want to make the same mistake. I remember the first moto was pretty easy but I was stressed in the second. I could still win…but it felt much more difficult. I then came to the rest of the races with a different mentality and it worked.

Wayne Banks, Jordi Tixier’s mechanic [and Herlings’ from 2016 onwards]: Our side of the garage was obviously quite happy with Jordi’s first GP win but Jeffrey’s injury had only four days before Loket. So, there was a feeling of ‘highs and lows’.

Gruebel: Both riders had a good bike and they were happy with their equipment. Of course, we gave full support to Jordi. In terms of pressure he was in the shadow of Jeffrey but then when Jeffrey was gone he had to take-on that pressure. Jordi stepped-up to it. When Jeffrey was there then it didn’t look like he was capable of winning, also because Jeffrey was very dominant at that stage, but they were both on the same material and Jordi lifted his game and made it happen.

Tixier: I felt pressure because of my own expectation and

JUST 4: THE 2014 MX2 TITLE STORY

Gruebel: They were just kids.

Riding and racing and everything was just fun, and they were flat out. Jeffrey also had a ‘moment’ at Ernee for the French Grand Prix when he threw it down the hill. It could have been ‘game-over’. He did not calculate or manage his risk on a Saturday. He went as fast as he could every time he was on a bike.

FEATURE also from what I needed to do for KTM. It quickly became a situation of ‘this is my year’ but I knew I couldn’t make mistakes. I had the best team around me and great people to help me be relaxed and to keep that pressure away: that was important to be able to give your best every time on the track.

Gruebel: When you win your first GP then things can start to roll: we’ve seen it before with other riders when they know they can do it and they want to repeat. Up until that point their biggest goal is to actually win a GP, once it’s done then it perhaps doesn’t feel so difficult anymore. They want more.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 7th, 2014: After another podium finish in the Lommel sand, Tixier falters slightly at Trindade (scene of the last Grand Prix of Brazil to-date) and finishes 5-4 for 4th overall at the penultimate round. Tixier is still 23 points behind Herlings with 50 left. The Frenchman has already agreed to join the CLS Kawasaki team for 2015.

KTM plan to elevate Pauls Jonass [eventual 2017 world champion] alongside Herlings.

While in Brazil Tixier receives the devastating news that his brother has suffered a life-altering accident back in France.

Banks: I think Jordi had some ‘realisation’ he was getting really close. In Brazil he rode tight and that meant it wasn’t as easy as it could have been for the last race in Mexico. It was a pressurised time…and there were other things in the background that were going on.

Tixier: It was a really long week. I called my brother and told him I was coming home.

He was more important to me than racing. But he told me to stay and to win. He said he was OK and my mum was close. The message was to do my best and come back after.

The days went slowly, and I spoke with him every day. I had my Dad and girlfriend with

Gruebel: Back home Jeffrey was frustrated. Every visit to the doctor made him feel worse because they said he needed more time and he had to stay calm. At first, they did not catch an infection in the bone and, in the end, he was even more disappointed about that and needing more surgery to clean it. He lost hope.

At first you think ‘it’s a big points lead…he can hopefully come back soon and there is a good chance for the championship’ but then the trouble with the bone meant that doubt started to creep in. Week after week the recovery period got longer and longer, and the GPs went on. At that time Jordi really took on the role of a champion; he grew into it.

Valentina Ragni, Team Coordinator: It was a mix of emotions because we knew Jeffrey had a lot of wins and points…but the broken femur had more complications. It was clear from the beginning that he could not ride for a few GPs and Jordi was the second rider and could win. But he did not

get enough points and that created the situation in Mexico. In Brazil he was thinking of going home and being with his brother but we talked it over and he knew he had the chance to win the title in less than a week. He could have gone home but he also knew he could not change the situation for his brother by being there. It wasn’t easy to think about Mexico...and at that moment Jeffrey was still not going to fly out.

Herlings: I watched the GP in Brazil on TV and decided ‘I have to go, he’s going to messup with nerves…it’s Mexico, the last one, and there won’t be many riders in the gate’. I was limping, feeling sick and bad. It was hard emotion.

JUST 4: THE 2014 MX2 TITLE STORY

me and also one rider, Christophe Charlier and his wife, and I will always remember them because they were the only ones around that helped me get out and try to think about something else that week before we got to Mexico.

They really helped us in those bad moments. I just wanted to ride and go home.

FEATURE

Gruebel: Jeffrey was desperate at that time. It was clear in his head that even with a half-decent race he could bring home some points and might still win the title. With Jordi you could see he was getting more nervous because he didn’t know how to handle the situation. The pressure rose and the other guys around him were also riding better. The pressure was on all sides: on the track from others and from KTM to keep the championship. I think he became a bit fragile because of all that and when Jeffrey showed up in Mexico – which nobody could believe – you could also see a change in Jordi.

That wasn’t part of the plan. For us it was very difficult: how can you stay neutral?! Whatever happened we were due to have the title again through one of them…I had to really take a step back and just watch it.

TUESDAY 9th SEPTEMBER 2014: Herlings makes a late call to attempt the Grand Prix of Mexico, taking place for the first time at a temporary circuit inside the confines of the park in central Leon. Clinically, his injury was still healing.

Herlings, three days from his 20th birthday, arrives delayed in South America after his flight was re-routed. Only eight weeks after he broke his leg the world champion is pale, gaunt and suddenly at the centre of a championshipclimax drama that swept in a new wave of attention and expectation. Around the Red Bull KTM set-up in the large paddock building there was palpable tension.

Ragni: It was not easy in the team because you were happy for Jordi and you knew it was the chance of his life, but Jeffrey was an awesome rider and so tough. At a certain point in the previous weeks I think he realised that at least the team would keep the championship with Jordi…but then Jordi was not scoring big points every weekend and it left a small chance open for him.

Gruebel: In the long-term it was a crazy move. In the short-term, from Jeffrey’s point of view, the chance was still there and the championship was on the table. But if you looked at the x-rays he provided then he shouldn’t have raced. The bones were together but had not fully joined. The leg was being held by the pin.

Ragni: The doctors recommended that he should not ride but they could not stop him. There were a lot of talks.

A lot of conversations with Pit [Beirer] as well, Stefan Everts and Dirk: was it the right thing to do or not? In the end Pit, as an ex-rider, said if he was in Jeffrey’s position then he would have tried. But when Jeffrey arrived in Mexico we could see that his leg was really painful. He was taking painkillers and we went to the hospital there twice, once on Friday and once on Saturday.

The doctors said they’d never seen a situation like that before. I remember at the time the medical doctor from the FIM was almost praying; he said Jeffrey was insane to ride like that. Those were some tough days.

Tixier: I had the feeling that KTM wanted Jeffrey to be world champion, maybe because I’d signed with Kawasaki the year after. I was kinda alone with my side of the team. It was quite a tough situation but at the time I just needed a good bike – and I had one – a good mechanic – which I had – and people I loved around me. Then I just went out on the track with the goal of winning. Even in Free Practice I wanted to be first.

Banks: Jeffrey was trying to survive and get through it with his side of the box and we were also going about our jobs in the right way knowing it had to be settled out on the track.

JUST 4: THE 2014 MX2 TITLE STORY

Tixier: It was one of the most important races of my career. My brother had had his accident. I called him and said: “what do I do?” and he said: “go for the win, get that championship”. In my head I thought “whatever happens with the championship, you have to win this race for your brother: the rest doesn’t matter”.

FEATURE

Ragni: We tried to be a neutral as we could but Jeffrey’s path through the weekend was so demanding.

Gruebel: It was horrible. Jeffrey came back with his leg in that state and had been leading the championship the whole year so kinda deserved it but then Jordi had done a great job to push up to getting to the point of being in contention. He deserved it also. At that point you just need to let it happen.

Tixier: That weekend was like a dream but also a difficult moment that I would not wish on anyone! I did a job and it is like it is. I have to say that KTM were great with me and really helped. We’ve had a decent relationship since those days and I’ll always be grateful.

Ragni: I think the whole fuss around Jeffrey helped Jordi in a way because he wanted to do it for his brother. I don’t think I have ever seen him so determined as he was at that

GP. He was strong both mentally and physically. I was used to seeing that a lot with Jeffrey because he is so often ‘all or nothing’.

I remember talking to Tony [Cairoli] at the time and asking him what he thought: he said he would have done the same if he was Jeffrey.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 14th 2014:

Gruebel: You are too tense to think about what a show it must be.

The flat Leon layout, surrounded by cacti and temporary grandstands of public, is quick and hard-packed. The MX2 showdown is the centre of attention. Poor weather meant a reduced timetable on Saturday. Tixier heads Timed Practice, Qualification Practice and warm-up. Herlings completes only two laps of the Saturday Quali heat to earn his spot in the gate…in last position.

Ragni: It was the most difficult and emotional Grand Prix I’ve ever experienced.

There was a lot of tension… but you couldn’t really show your feelings. There was fear and nerves and there was happiness for Jordi but also, deep-down, a lot of admiration for what Jeffrey was doing.

Ragni: When we went to the gate I was with the riders like normal. Again, there was a lot of tension. I could see Jordi, quite pumped, with Wayne and his father there and I was standing with Jeffrey who I’ve worked with him since 2009.

He is usually quite reserved – almost cold-blooded - before a race but for the first time ever, just before we had to leave the start area, he gave me this huge, tight hug and I ‘lost’ it. I had to move away. I wondered what was going through his mind to make that show of emotion in public. I think he was at a point that he’d never been in his life.

Herlings: Riding with a broken femur is not like riding with a broken pinkie.

Grands Prix and thirty-four motos, a total of 607 laps (348 led by Herlings, 61 by the next Tixier dominates the first moto; best, Tixier) and more than leading every lap to win by 600 points the difference rests less than three seconds from at 616 to 612.

Romain Febvre. Herlings gains 7 points for 14th. Tixier needs Herlings: I was winning the 6 points more than his teamchampionship with two laps to mate from the final outing of go and someone passed me the year to be champion. The and he [Tixier] passed someone second race turns into a sport- else so it went from zero points ing epic. Tixier fronts the first to four. I was so close. lap but makes a mistake on the jump opposite the pitlane Tixier: I hit a neutral just beand is hit by Husqvarna’s Alex fore the take-off and I knew Tonkov. The Russian suffers somebody was going to hit me. third degree burns to his right When I managed to get up I rearm and Tixier restarts outside member seeing Jeffrey in front the top ten. Herlings has exited and he was riding pretty crazy. the gate strongly and holds I thought ‘how the f**k is that 8th spot for 14 of the 18 laps. possible?!’ I think there was a The two KTMs circulate toperiod of five seconds where gether on lap three as the live I considered giving up or givTV director continually cuts to ing my best and not having any the stern faces of the team in regrets. With everything that pitlane. Tixier is on a mission. had gone on I decided to go for He pushes all the way to 3rd it and accept how it ended up. I to earn the ‘overall’. Herlings rode like crazy. manages 10th. After seventeen

JUST 4: THE 2014 MX2 TITLE STORY

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 14th 2014: JUST 4

FEATURE

Herlings: Jordi shone at the right moment. He never really did it that year but was riding well and consistent. That weekend he nailed it. That was probably his best ever race. He came from far back and won the championship.

Banks: We were just trying to get the job done…but you also had to feel for Jeffrey because he’d won that many motos and had such a lead in the points. You need to be at all the races, this is part of the sport and Jeffrey is still learning that now.

Banks: Jordi stepped up to the plate on Sunday. It was really impressive how he came through the pack. He went from holeshot to not even completing a lap before the crash, all the way to the back and then coming through. Jeffrey saw him and they battled.

We were trying to tell Jordi where he needed to be and Rami [Falt, Herlings’ mechanic] was telling Jeffrey the same. Until 2018 and when Jeffrey and Tony were battling at some races I’ve never really experienced anything like it.

That atmosphere and tension gives you goosebumps.

Ragni: Jeffrey tried, and he was fighting with Jordi at one point which I think gave him some energy somehow.

I remember in the morning warm-up he was telling us that it was too painful and he was not going to ride. We called Pit. He said to Jeffrey that he had made the journey all the way to Mexico so he should try, and it would be better to say that he attempted the race and remove the doubt for the

Tixier: The result made the world championship feel even better because I was clearly the fastest on the day. It was extra difficult to achieve but I managed it. Knowing that my brother and mum were watching it on TV made me extra proud. It was the hardest but also the best day.

Ragni: Jordi was there crying by the finish line but Jeffrey was behind the podium area also crying, like a baby. There were a lot of tears from other people as well. When Jordi won we were really happy for him. We had organised a party and we celebrated.

JUST 4: THE 2014 MX2 TITLE STORY

rest of his life. Jeffrey decided to go for it. But it was another last-minute decision and he needed more painkillers.

FEATURE

You can say what you want about Jeffrey but you can never say that he gives up. He always gives everything.

Gruebel: Behind the podium it was hard. Jeffrey told me where he lost the championship, and I agreed, because he signed the penalty incident in Finland earlier in the year where Jordi gained points because another rider was disqualified. He looked me straight in the face and said: “I didn’t lose it today, I lost it in Finland…and you told me”.

I had advised him not to sign and those few points made the difference. It was a double bitter taste.

Herlings: It was a learning process. It was dumb to race in Mexico but I don’t have any regrets and I’d probably do it again. It was a tough pill to swallow. I should have won that championship. I was 145 points ahead, even missing one race, but then I did it again in 2015 with a dislocated hip.

Tixier: I still cannot watch the race on TV. There was a lot going on to be world champion. It was a dream that I made real so, even now, I still talk about it quite a bit! I know I will never forget that day. I don’t think

I have ever ridden better. It was one of the only times in my career where I really had to speak to myself and drive myself. It was a crazy time mentally. I proud that it was the closest ever title fight and hopefully will stay that way for a good few years.

Despite his Mexico heroics, Tixier is overlooked for the French Motocross of Nations team that wins the first of their five trophies at Kegums in Latvia. He would bury the disappointment with a pivotal role for his country in the 2018 success in the USA. KTM is criticised in some quarters for not renewing their contract with the new champion.

Gruebel: We had a different plan for 2015 and the future.

We knew when Jeffrey was healthy then he’d win the title.

Jordi had one more season in MX2 and was aging-out. We knew we needed another guy

to develop, and who could work with and learn from Jeffrey. Pauls Jonass had four years to go. It didn’t make sense for us to have what would be the reigning world champion as well as the guy most likely to win in the same team. Of course, for the fans it was hard to understand but we were thinking longer term.

Jordi went to Kawasaki and it was a competitive bike at that time. He had good races but could not regularly win again.

Jeffrey came back swinging in ’15 and 16. Sometimes he just wanted to show everybody how good he was. He had the wrong goals at certain points: he wanted to lap as many riders as possible or be the fastest every single lap. If

he could have stepped back slightly and showed the approach he is actually making now then he would have had more titles, being honest. If [only] he could have settled for a second, third – a podium – with less risk. Without injuries he would have been ‘12, ‘13, ‘14, ‘15 and ‘16 champion. But he made mistakes and came back too early from injuries.

Herlings: I would have moved to MXGP in 2016 but then Tony was winning so much at the time that it would have been dumb to put two champions together. I’m glad I got the third.

2015 was a turbulent time for the former teammates. As reigning #1, Tixier would take six podiums but injury would mean that he missed the final four Grands Prix of his MX2 career. To-date he has not won another race since Leon.

Herlings dislocated his hip at the Grand Prix of Czech Republic after being blamelessly hit by Tixier and watched another hefty championship lead of 130 points erode into the hands of Tim Gajser, despite a plucky challenge from rookie Jonass. This time Herlings cannot return for any of the final seven rounds of the year. In 2016 Herlings would trounce MX2 to finally obtain his third medal and moved to the premier class.

JUST 4: THE 2014 MX2 TITLE STORY

POSTSCRIPT:

H E L M E T

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PRODUCTS

LEATT Leatt have come a long way with their race gear in the last five years. The earliest versions of the jersey and pant off-road attire were well-intentioned but questionable in design and needed refinement to match the performance of many rivals on the market.

By 2020 the South Africans have hit the spot and any doubts on the quality and practicality of the garments can be dispelled by the growing quantity of racers using Leatt in MXGP and other top series’: an important point considering Leatt frequently pride themselves on providing riders with certain aspects that their competitors overlook. The GPX 5.5 Ultraweld is the top of the range model. Extremely light, ventilated (thanks to the air channels and made of MoistureCool, stretch mesh) it matches anything else on a hanger. The jersey has: dirt, water and stain resistant fabric coating, perforated Brush Guard protection over elbows, welded seams at cuff and hem for maximum comfort, is tailored, tight fit for riding with or without body armour, laser-cut ventilation, collar design for use with or without a neck brace,

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Don’t forget the GPX 4.5 gloves; these are CE certified and the ‘reinforced NanoGrip palm consists of fibres that are 7.500 times thinner than hair. Known for its feel, durability and superior wet and dry grip properties, this palm cannot simply be compared to anything else.’

MXGP SBK BLOG BLOG

TITULAR TITULAR INTO THE MIRE...

The idea was to generate a blog without talking about a virus. Hmmm.

For all the far greater, more important and tragic ramifications of COVID-19’s rampant spread there is the also the unheard-of repercussions on the international motorsports calendar. Although it is far down the list of priorities at this time (however racing is still a lot of people’s livelihood as well as their passion or pastime) MXGP faces the consequences, and there are a lot of people wondering ‘when?’ ‘if?’ and ‘what next?’.

We published a story on www. ontrackoffroad.com last week with some quotes from a few riders regarding the nine-week hole in their season. There was a feeling that racers are generally at a loss as to how to handle the temporary but lengthy halt to a campaign that they have carefully planned throughout the winter months (as an aside I feel a degree of sympathy for Olympians if the Tokyo games falls victim; those

athletes have been preparing for years for a single event).

Leaving aside the issue of health - and assuming the sport and its fans can assume a degree of normality without concern at some point this summer - the topics at hand are: -The kind of training regime to handle until June 7th and the Grand Prix of Russia, especially considering confinement and the closure of gyms, tracks and even outdoor activities.

Do riders take some time off?

Or try to sustain their peaking levels?

-A hopeful calendar of eighteen remaining races means a brutal schedule ahead. The longest consecutive streak will be six events in Italy, Czech Republic, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Finland. There is almost no reprieve, so staying injury (and other illness)-free

will be almost as important as finding the speed to win a Grand Prix.

-The role of the Motocross of Nations. For the first time in living memory the spectacle on September 27th at Ernee will not have that end-of-season vibe to it and a relaxed, care-free approach from world championship riders. The date in France precedes another five rounds of MXGP so those motos at the 74th running of the annual ‘flagship’ suddenly pale in significance for an elite crop that have MXGP or MX2 points and standings on their minds. This could be the most ‘alien’ MXoN since the hastily arranged and shambolic 2002 edition in Spain that was eventually boycotted by most of the big names.

-The run into 2021. If the final Grand Prix of the year in Argentina goes ahead in Neuquen on November 21-22 then

CREATED THANKS TO

BY ADAM WHEELER

BY ADAM WHEELER this is already well into the testing/resting/contract phase which is crucial for the next term. Infront Moto Racing will be clocking up the video conferencing hours these weeks to stabilise a semblance of competition for 2020 but at some point they will also need to confer with the teams and manufacturers to discuss the shape of MXGP for ‘21.

If the championship tries to maintain the same framework and a late February/early March start then this means a complicated winter and minimal downtime. The small window of budgets for teams to confirm sponsors, riders and technical partners will also be up in the air.

In more ways than one MXGP has been turned almost on its head. It could be fascinating to see which team/athlete will make a series of correct judgements, and negotiates an agenda that is virtually ‘American’ in relentlessness.

The AMA teams and riders are coping with their own bewildering shake-up where it is hard to envisage a finale to the current Supercross series (two of four remaining events are still ‘active’) and where the AMA Pro National MX championship has already morphed.

[As an aside you could say that many motorsports are now in a mess because of their overreaching ambition.

At what point is too many races too much? See what F1 and their ridiculous march to 25 Grands Prix per year is now facing. More events mean more money. In my opinion it also means devaluation in overall interest and media value: why make the effort to cover one Grand Prix when there are three other episodes occurring in a particular month?]

In MXGP a champion could emerge where the virtues of tactical acumen, well-measured fitness and a large slice of luck count for much more than sheer speed. You could argue that Romain Febvre (2015), Tim Gajser (2016 and Jeffrey Herlings (2018) claimed their crowns thanks to outright superiority as well as those previously mentioned qualities essential for a solid season. Shrewdness might be the most valuable commodity – more than usual – in the rush to find an MXGP #1 in the Corona-Championship.

Sporting fortunes, re-arranged races and the inconvenience of an unstable diary pale into total insignificance for the people that have – or will – encounter their own experience with COVID-19, therefore best wishes to all.

Acevedo

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SX BLOG

WHERE TO JUMP...

Unprecedented times in our sport right now with the pause of the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross series and really, with life itself. It seems petty to worry about when some dirt bike racing is going to start up again but we can try to figure out a few things that have been going on behind the scenes.

First up, the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships announced their pushed back schedule with one round dropping out altogether and the other eleven mushed together with very little time off. You can take bets on whether this schedule holds up or not but I would lean on the “not” if I had some free change in my pocket. But still, the folks at MX Sports had to do something to react to the news of the world and couldn’t just steadfast remain in the “we’re racing in May” mode so this will do for now.

Meanwhile there have been more than a few phone calls between Feld Entertainment (the promoters of supercross) and heads of the teams to try and figure out a

workaround solution for the remaining seven rounds of indoor action.

At first it was thought they would be crammed into the last three or four weeks before motocross started but that has, I believe, gone by the wayside. So, one of a couple of solutions put forth would be to have the seven rounds in the fall, after motocross season with some doubleheaders in there and maybe a revised schedule of cities. From what I hear, Feld is very much on the idea of getting the full calendar done. Count me in as skeptical by the way.

The problem with that model is many contracts end in the sport on September 31st so plenty of things would have

to be modified. That’s not a huge deal: a pandemic would be easy to make some adjustments, one would surmise. From what I gather the teams want to finish supercross before the nationals start; that makes the most sense to me but when MX Sports released their new schedule, all that went out the window.

This is an issue where a few years of not always playing so nice with the Nationals might come back to bite Feld when it comes to talks with MX Sports about trying to help them out. From my sources, getting supercross out of the way first is a high priority with the teams due to injuries or whatever that could arise during a 22 moto outdoor season and affect

CREATED THANKS TO

BY ADAM WHEELER

BY STEVE MATTHES the supercross crown which is undoubtedly the bigger pie over here in America. Do the teams all work together for what may be the first time to put heat on MX Sports to move their races into that September/October timeline? Does Feld hold their races then? Do contracts get modified? Or does Feld just call it a day and cancel the rest of the remaining rounds and have the current standings stay as they are?

Lots of questions, few answers as of right now, but those are the things going on behind the scenes right now.

I know that every option has been put on the table and let’s hope we see some sort of racing going on. For now though, stay safe everyone!

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FEATURE

JEWEL IN THE CROWN KTM’S NEW MOTOHALL: IS IT WORTH A VISIT? Words & photos by Adam Wheeler

FEATURE

Y

ou have to thread up through a busy High St parade of little shops and restaurants in the centre of Mattighofen before you drop down a shallow hill and in less than a kilometre to arrive to the site of the principle KTM factory. The two buildings are the original facilities of what has now become a sprawl, encompassing an engine plant, spares warehouse and production, a new marketing structure, the racing department complex, a vast WP Suspension factory as well as more to come.

Just after you pass the high street a silvery glimmer catches your eye. Mere metres from the typical amenities found in the 7000-populated town located a short distance from the German border sits the futuristic oval exterior of KTM’s ‘MOTOHALL’. The factory, together with creative collaborators KISKA, came up with the concept to explain something that is not quite a museum, not quite an active and demonstrative area, and not quite an education hub or display but all of these things.

The striking oval exterior sits on top of an underground parking and conference centre and allegedly conveys the look of an off-road wheel with the ‘spokes’ separating the two panels; apparently even the metallic panels are individually tinted to create this effect.

Prior to walking up the wide approach to the edifice that is the result of half a decade of planning and construction and cost allegedly around thirty million euros, it’s not hard to miss the ‘Garage’. This is the classy new restaurant and bar associated with the Motohall.

It has a smallish menu but decent selection of beverages, waffles, some Austrian delica-

cies and is housed in an airy and KTM-themed environment. Cool arty sketches of KTM bikes and components lay in the toilets, crankcases are stuck to the interiors, a gallery of racing heroes flanks one wall and a mock MotoGP RC16 is suspended among the tables. We tried the Asian dish and the vegetarian and were not disappointed by the quali-

“THE SECOND SLOPE STARTS THE KTM HISTORY TRAIL, ILLUSTRATED BY VINTAGE MACHINES AND THE COMPANY’S PROGRESSION THROUGH THE DECADES. THE BIKES ARE LABELLED BUT ALSO FEATURE A SHORT DESCRIPTION WITH SOME NARRATIVE DETAILS; THIS HELPS TO PROLONG THE WALK AND BECOME A LITTLE MORE IMMERSED IN THE CHRONOLOGY...”

The Motohall entrance is only a few metres away and access is only possible to visitors between Wednesday and Sundays with opening times of 09.00-18.00.

There are guided tours and the

KTM’S MOTOHALL

ty or the portion. Order the sharing ‘Werkzeugbox’ starter for two and the food comes prepared in a small mechanic’s toolbox.

FEATURE possibility to contract an individual tour, as well as kids’ workshops. The Motohall’s website is clearly laid out with this information as well as the ticketing costs of 10 euros for an adult, 7 for concessions, kids under 14 are free and a family ticket is 25 euros.

compounded by the airportstyle gate scan entry.

So, what else did we see?

What did we like? What could be better?

First impressions are often so important in exhibition spaces and the Motohall is blindingly

The upward journey Motohallers work their way up three gentle and long slopes to the highest point. The first exhibits are heavy on the explanatory side and divulge

classy and inviting: the cascade of trophies is original and there are bikes suspended and perched around the slanting lines of the architecture. Like the KTM motorcycles themselves the displays, signage and layout is cleverly made and simplistic. The place is elegant and classy. It feels technical and efficient,

KTM’s design and technical philosophy. From fuel tanks to engines – one with every part laid out – WP suspension and other elements. There is a heavy degree of interaction here, especially for kids with a ‘Rookie Tour’ stamp point for their collector’s book, a ‘guess the exhaust noise’ quiz and handles to feel just

how a shock spring works.

Immaculate hanging models and components, lighting and explanations in German and English make this a dense and revelatory intro. The evolving map of the KTM business and factory site is fascinating, charting how the company went from 12 buildings and 564 employees at the start of the 1990s to ten times the amount of personnel today

and a much larger footprint in and around the town. There are little nuggets of information doted around the walls, such as the fact that 20,000 spares or accessories are gathered, packed and shipped every day from Mattighofen.

Turning the corner onto the second slope starts the KTM

also started manufacturing the Powerwear apparel as far back as the 1980s.

the Mecky 50 scooter, made in the mid-1950s, being one of the first motorcycles on the route and the first model with a fully KTM-produced engine - before becoming an offroad behemoth and that the famous orange colour emerged only in the 1990s; mixing the previous company colours of white and red. They

A worthy racing homage Turning again and the final rise leads into a racing heroes room with a collection of almost 30 historic/notable bikes and full rider kit. Not only is this an impressive sight in itself – and there are landmark figures here such as KTM’s first Dakar winner Fabrizio Meoni, the first Motocross

Inevitably the dirtbikes come along but there is also space for innovations like the RC8 Superbike and the first Super Duke (with an aesthetic that hasn’t aged too well).

World Champion Gennady Moiseev, their first Grand Prix road racing victor Casey Stoner (with the 125 FRR), Sandro Cortese’s Moto3 title winner, Tony Cairoli’s 350 SX-F MXGP victor, Ryan Dungey’s AMA Supercross vanquishing 450 SX-F and a load more – but it’s the audio visual aspect of the set-up that is quite astonishing. Every hour an exclusive video radically changes

the light and ambience of the space. Many of the athletes who have their gear on show ruminate on the meaning of racing. It’s almost distracting from the wealth of material in front of you, and zones to sit and watch as voice, music and sounds boom out from the speaker system are essential to take it all in. It’s a

KTM’S MOTOHALL

history trail, illustrated by vintage machines and the company’s progression through the decades. The bikes are labelled but also feature a short description with some narrative details; this helps to prolong the walk and become a little more immersed in the chronology. It’s interesting to note that KTM started with road machines - the R 100 and the Tourist before

FEATURE very appropriate dedication to the success – more than 300 FIM world titles – in such an array of disciplines. There is also flexibility: by having such a simple yet well-thought out zone for an aspect of the company in which KTM take such pride there has to be scope for personalisation or variation in the future (an all-Dakar or all-MX section?

Or new videos?) which should ensure that repeat visits are fresh.

The full line-up Walking down the opposing side of the Motohall oval delves into KTM’s STREET output with small and big naked bikes – Dukes and Super Dukes – Supermoto models and the Travel segment of gleaming Adventures. The channel serves as a reminder

of how quickly KTM have progressed with the quality and design of their work, and one of the cool aspects of this zone is that some of the motorcycles have been withdrawn from the line-up and are fixed to the floor so visitors can swing a leg and actually try out the ergo. This was something we saw and experienced at Harley Davidson (where the diversity of their portfolio means there are some interesting bikes to ‘try out’) and only implemented recently in the reception area of Ducati on our last visit to their compact museum in 2019. At the bottom of the slope is the ample off-road section with roster of current Enduro, motocross and ebikes.

The creative stuff The last descent veers into KTM’s current work, such as their efforts with e-mobility, ride assistance software and hardware (and their innovative collab with Bosch for Motorcycle Traction Control and Motorcycle Safety Control with cornering ABS) and also early prototypes and concepts. It’s

KTM’S MOTOHALL from the roof just next to it.

KTM’s RC8 Superbike prototype emerged in 2003 and the 990 RC8 Venom was made in 2004 to harness the power of the LC8 engine into a naked bike. The Venom was eventually shelved but acted as a forerunner of ‘The Beast’ 1290 SUPER DUKE R; the extreme initial version proudly under the lights. Alongside is the concept scooter made for the Tokyo Motor Show in 2013 and the bold vision of how the Austrians could return to a slice of their urban mobility roots.

here where the futuristic XBow is parked: KTM’s robust and pacey ‘go-kart’. It leads into other fascinating experiments and germs of ideas that either survived or were given the chop. The first Freeride-E concept in 2010 looks like a cross between a bicycle and a stunt bike and is nicely juxtaposed with a split production version that is dangling

It may sound like an obvious promotional scheme and perhaps a little trite but KTM have also wheeled out their latest 2020 models for viewing. The value? Well, it’s the first chance that riders/ customers/punters can see the newest wares beyond the stands of a motorcycle show like EICMA and without the commitment or intent of having to head into a dealership.

Moving past reception the KTM Powerparts store is huge.

It is also a place where kids can pick up a little push bicycle and appear on a ‘podium’.

The route to the in-house workshop where technicians are working and restoring old KTMs can be seen from here and where classes and explanatory sessions also take place.

Done better?

We’ve been to Ducati and Harley Davidson (even Ferrari) museums and the Motohall is a clear winner when it comes to architecture, design and appeal. They have also made a strong push to engage all-ages, to make the experience one for families and not just for KTM riders, bikers or history-fans. In one sense it would be good to have even more detail, more stories, particularly of the roots of the company. You can be in the Motohall for as little as 45 minutes, but you can also double that and get even more value for money with deeper immersion. The racing heritage of KTM is littered with narratives, names and ups-and-downs – indeed they

FEATURE could probably fill the Motohall on this alone, so space becomes an issue – but that is another rich field for content-picking that can be exploited further.

As with similar facilities, the challenge for the Motohall team will be renovation and keeping people coming back. Temporary exhibitions and specialist talks and displays will help this recycle. After opening last year, the Motohall has already counted more than 50,000 people through the gates which sounds quite impressive considering Mattighofen’s reasonably remote location 45 minutes north of Salzburg. “We have to remember that while we are a very strong and interesting brand on the one hand, on the other we are not located in a big city like Munich or Stuttgart,” project leader Kristina Kuttruff said to me in 2018 when the Motohall was beginning to take shape. “I think if we can attract 60,000 visitors a year at the beginning then this would be fine.

Overall it is a little of guesswork but we as team are prepared to offer a comfortable and interesting experience for all national and international visitors.”

KTM customers or fans curious about the factory to the point of waiting to travel to Austria and Mattighofen used to have a fairly underwhelming first taste; there was a short and infrequent factory tour (more through request as opposed to buying tickets, as is the case with Ducati) and a tiny shop but that was it. The Motohall now makes it very worthwhile to programme the GPS.

KTM’S MOTOHALL

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MotoGP BLOG

A CHANCE FOR EXPERIMENTATION? I am loath to write about the MotoGP calendar, for by doing so, I am likely to be proved wrong by the time you read this.

Things are moving fast as a result of the COVID-19 or coronavirus outbreak, in the outside world, and as a result, in the world of MotoGP. But you probably already understand that. The chances are, you are reading this somewhere where your government has imposed some kind of ban on events and restrictions on travel and movement. And it is almost 100% certain that those restrictions were not in place a week or so ago.

What is clear, however, is that we are living through a grand societal experiment. Our way of life has changed radically and is likely to stay that way for the next couple

of months. This change will have long-lasting effects too, some predictable, some things you would never have thought of.

So how will the COVID-19 outbreak affect MotoGP? As of this writing, it seems nearly impossible for the season to pick up again at Jerez, as the most recently published calendar has it. My totally uneducated guess based on a complete lack of expertise suggests that this period of semi-quarantine is set to continue for at least the next two months, if not beyond. The earliest we could even think about racing again is probably June.

That would make Barcelona the first MotoGP round to be held.

In fact, I would put good money on the season starting in Barcelona, for a lot of reasons. It is Dorna’s home Grand Prix, and a large part of the paddock is based close to the region surrounding the Catalonian capital. Of all the races in the first half of the season, it would require the fewest number of people to travel into a country from elsewhere, making it the least vulnerable to travel

restrictions from other countries, if such restrictions in Spain were lifted.

It would also be much easier for Dorna to turn the resumption of racing into the celebration which, arguably, it deserves to be. With the Montmelo circuit so close to Dorna’s home, MotoGP’s organisers would simply have more resources at their disposal to turn it into a fine opener. Of course, whether the Barcelona race will happen on the 7th June, as currently scheduled, is a different matter altogether. If, as looks likely, travel bans in various key countries around the world are extended until either the end of May or the end of June, then reorganising the calendar to commence in Barcelona at the beginning of July could be the best option.

Wherever and whenever we start, we face a crammed and hectic schedule. Dorna has said they intend to hold as many races as possible this year, with FIM president Jorge Viegas even proposing running into December and January 2021.

That is not as mad as it seems.

The loss of spring and the first six or seven races will force a radical shakeup of the calendar anyway. Might as well abandon any preconceived notion of how it ought to be run and organise the schedule with a view to appropriate climates. So, for example, finishing the season at Buriram, Phillip Island, and Sepang, places where it is warm in December and January, rather than a frigid Valencia. Holding Valencia before Jerez, the weather being better in Jerez later in the year. Argentina and perhaps even Austin would also be better later on. A shake up like this could be a trial run for a totally overhauled calendar for 2021 and beyond.

Even with a reorganised calendar, trying to cram a maximum of 19 races into 26 to 30 weeks is going to place an enormous stress on resources. There will be few weekends off, and no time for riders, teams, or anyone involved in the sport to rest and recover.

Dorna will have three options: cancel races, shorten race weekends, or both. And to be hon-

est, the latter is the most likely option.

Finland is a prime candidate to be cut in 2020, due to make its debut in July. The track is not yet homologated, and another year would give them more time to prepare. Brno has always struggled with paying for MotoGP, and may happily accept a year off. Argentina could be scrapped for logistical reasons (and is set to disappear in the near future anyway). Le Mans could struggle to find a gap in the calendar, with the 24 Hour bike and car races taking precedence.

Cutting race weekends from three to two days would make a huge difference in terms of logistics. An extra day to ship equipment in and out of circuits would make it easier to run multiple races back-to-back. Circuit promoters prefer the three-day weekend but could trade track action on Friday for entertainment on Friday night. That would keep the punters happy and help reduce costs.

CREATED THANKS TO Moto3’S NEWEST RACING TEAM

BY DAVID EMMETT

MotoGP BLOG

If rounds are sliced due to time constraints, Dorna could compensate by holding double-header weekends.

They could test races on Saturday and Sunday, or two races on Sunday, as WorldSBK used to do. There is room for experimentation, and exceptional circumstances with which to justify radical change.

For Dorna, the 2020 season could become a blueprint for the future.

Carmelo Ezpeleta wants to expand the season to 22 races in 2022, putting pressure on an already packed schedule. If Dorna is free to experiment with shortened weekends, forced upon them by the bizarre circumstances of 2020, they may find ways of holding more races without raising the pressure on teams and riders, while keeping the circuits happy.

The 2020 COVID-19 outbreak will have a long-lasting impact on the world. The impact on MotoGP and motorcycle racing could be even bigger.

CormacGP

POISED

SAM LOWES OPENS THE LID ON SOME OF THE INTRICACIES OF BEING COMPETITIVE IN Moto2 AND WHY HE’S RELISHING THE UNION WITH HIS BEST RACE TEAM TO-DATE

By Neil Morrison, Photos by Steve English

H

ow the luck can change. On February 10th, an innocuous crash – “it was nothing, the slowest of my career” – at Jerez’s turn two appeared to have dire consequences for Sam Lowes ahead of his

seventh grand prix campaign.

Official testing had not yet begun and the 29-year old Englishman had just ruptured the tendons in his right shoulder and chipped the top of his humorous bone. A sustained spell on the sidelines awaited.

Not exactly ideal preparation for what has to be regarded as a massive season for the three-time grand prix winner.

From that troubled 2017 in MotoGP, Lowes is still seeking a way back to the podium

FEATURE after two up-and-down years in the Moto2 class. But his outright speed still convinced Marc van der Straten, team owner of serial Moto2 champions EG 0,0 Marc VDS, to take a chance on him for 2020.

Even before the worldwide escalation of the Covid-19 crisis placed serious delays on the current grand prix calendar, Lowes had done away with any of the kind of negativity serious injury can bring. His presence in Qatar for the first race of the year was not just for show. He passed a fitness test on Thursday, posted 24 laps on Friday before being withdrawn on Saturday morning. The tears in the team office were evidence of this being no token gesture.

“It was tough,” he said. “I wanted to ride. I was sat in the office crying. Nobody understands how hard it is to work to come back then get back on the bike. I love riding.

I’d ride every day if I could.

You go through a lot to be there. You’re on track, braking and feel the shoulder moving.

You worry about that. You go into a place where I haven’t been much in my career. It’s difficult and you have a lot of emotions. When the doctors and team said I couldn’t ride, I accepted that but it was difficult. I was sad. I did a lot to be here.”

stepping into a world championship winning team, and why it never quite worked out at Gresini Racing in 2019.

You have been upbeat but I imagine there were some dark moments between the injury and here…

The saving grace this year is I’ve got a great team, coming off a bad couple of years.

I jumped on the bike on Friday and it already felt OK. This helps me. I’m not worried thinking we haven’t been testing a certain part or doing

“THERE’S NO MAGIC. YOU’VE GOT TO POLISH, TO FINE TUNE. [IN 2019] THERE, IT WAS LIKE ROLLING THE DICE. AND I SHOULD HAVE CONTROLLED THAT MORE, AS THE RIDER...”

Few invest their heart and soul into their discipline as the older Lowes twin does. It would be understandable if recent experiences had taken their toll. But after twenty minutes in his company on race day in Qatar it’s clear he is relishing his new role in the structure that has produced three of the past six Moto2 world champions. “I’m more confident than I have ever been – a funny thing to say sitting here with a broken shoulder.”

There he talked about the dark moments that preceded his comeback, impressions of

this. I’ve still got a lot of information. Last year, because I had no team-mate, I’d have missed a lot more.

It was tough. It was really tough. I’ve not slept since doing the injury. I’m sleeping from 11 to 2 then I wake up. They say having a kid was bad for sleep. She sleeps ten hours every night and I can’t even sleep two! It’s really painful at night, every night since I did it. It’s still knitting and coming together.

The ‘twin-y’ thing about this is Alex did the same thing at turn three at Jerez.

SAM LOWES

Now the postponements have handed him a reprieve, allowing the former World Supersport Champion to regroup, heal up and regain his strength. And who would deny Lowes this chance? The recent injury came after three tough seasons, starting with a brief sojourn in Aprilia’s MotoGP ranks that soon turned sour, an experience followed by an unhappy Moto2 return with Swiss Innovative Investors KTM, a team beset by sponsorship failings and financial woes from the start.

FEATURE He ran off track at the first corner then came rope under my arm pulling it but it wouldn’t go back on and crashed at turn three. High-sided. in. Then I was in the ambulance with my arm Crashed. I went in turn two, tucked, stupid crash. tied to the roof but it wouldn’t go in. Two and So within 200 metres we’ve both dislocated our a half hours was difficult. I had something in shoulder and ruptured the tendons. So we are my arm in the medical centre. They decided to definitely twins! take me to the hospital to put me to sleep. But But I’ve learnt a lot about myself in the last to do that they couldn’t give me any painkillers three weeks. I’ve learnt testing [times] doesn’t on the journey there. Honestly, if Rocky [Dave matter. In the past, when I tried to top every Ryan, former Commonwealth boxing champion session that I ever did, I learnt that doesn’t mat- and a close friend of the Lowes twins] had ter. No one looks as much as you think. That been there, I’d have said, ‘Please knock me will help me in the future to do a better job in out!’ testing rather than looking to be the fastest. But This is racing. We take that. You learn when I did the shoulder I was in the Jerez medi- about yourself in those hard situations. I’ve cal centre screaming like a little kid in pain. They probably looked a lot in the last couple of couldn’t get the shoulder back in. There was years at people, criticism and then putting three of them [doctors] pulling. I had a bit of myself under pressure for the wrong reason.

www.marcvds.com

you take from such a good team and such a good team-mate over the winter. I’m probably the only person in the world that has got lucky with this whole situation with the [Corona] virus. It’s a terrible situation but for me it’s maybe been a good thing.

You mentioned Marc VDS being a top team.

How is it so?

In my opinion there are a few teams in Moto2 that work like MotoGP teams. This team works like that. I had a great relationship with Gresini. I still do. They are great people and I have no problem with them. But it was more of a family feeling. There wasn’t as many staff. It was a little less professional. When everything is going OK, you can manage that. But Moto2 is changing every year. You need to be a lot more on it over a weekend because track time is limited now. Honestly it’s the ambience and how the garage is. They don’t need to be my best friend. It’s good to have nice relationships. But they respect me as a rider. I respect them to do their job. Everyone does their job whether the result is there or not. Whereas in other teams it’s more moulded together. [They say] ‘What do you think? And what do you think? Should we do this?’ Then there’s a lot more confusion. That can happen and it can also help sometimes when you’re struggling.

But this team everyone is good at their job.

I don’t feel any stress in the garage. I’m talking about Valencia last year because I’ve not ridden much this year, but you come in. [I’m asked] ‘Sam, what do you think?’ I give my comment, leave the garage, come back after and this is the plan. I’m not an engineer. So this takes the pressure off. It helps so much in the current race weekend in Moto2 because there are three sessions, a 15-minute qualifying and a race. That’s not a lot of time. That and the fact the atmosphere in the garage is more relaxed. Everyone knows the expectation.

It’s a championship winning team.

SAM LOWES

Pressure’s good. I’m in the world championship and I want to do well so that pressure is needed. But it’s just made me change my opinion on a lot of things. Over the season that will help me a lot. When you go through tough things you learn a lot. I feel like it’s given me a lot of power.

The first thing is I want to come back into this team. If the team’s not on the same level and you’re working hard, it can make it a lot more difficult. It’s been tough. I’d love to have ridden. I turned up Friday and it was better than I thought. I did a 1m 59s straight away.

I did a quicker time straight away than my team-mate did at the whole test with half an arm. That’s good for me, good for motivation, good for my feeling with the guys. That’s what

FEATURE They’ve won a lot of races with a load of different riders. Everyone knows the goal in this team is to win races and be near the front. That’s a fact. Because you know that, it’s not even a question. I think that makes it more settled. And Marc [van der Straten] is good. He’s been amazing with me. With this injury he’s said, ‘Take your time.

We have time. No problem.’ He didn’t want me to ride here. But I tried.

Does the team assist you away from the track?

There are a few things with the guys, training-wise, weight-wise.

But this winter was the best I’ve ever been. Before I turned up at the Jerez private test I was the most delighted I’d been

in twelve years. My weight was good, my flexibility was good, my fitness was good. Not so much advice, more a ‘this is what we expect of you. We expect you to be this weight. 64-65 kilos.

For us that’s optimal for Moto2.’

That’s not them saying you need to do this. But the way of working is real calm. Gresini was more Italian. If you’re fastest in FP1 everything is mega, you’re the best rider in the world and everything is amazing. You have a bad FP2 and you’re shit. It’s too up and down. Moto2 now is so tight. Having that flat line helps a lot.

From the outside looking in, Brno last August seemed like a turbulent weekend. It was confirmed you were out of Gresini on Thursday. Yet you signed for Marc VDS within days. Can you tell us a bit about that?

It was, a little bit. I knew that with Federal Oil [Gresini’s title sponsor] the situation wasn’t so clear. They wanted a second slot.

The funding needed to be different. Things weren’t the same last year compared to when I was there before [in 2016]. I kind-of knew. I wasn’t happy about it because I loved the guys there, they’re sound. But when that came out we spoke about it.

I hadn’t spoken to Marc too much in the past years. But every time I had it was always real positive. I remember in 2016 when I won the race in Aragon, [Alex] Marquez was second and [Franco] Morbidelli [Marc VDS

You came into 2019 as a preseason favourite but ended the year 16th overall. Why didn’t it quite work out?

I think I was a lot better than the results said. I had a few fifth places after bad starts.

At Aragon I was as quick as anyone after the first few laps.

Misano was a track that, in the past, I always struggled.

I finished fifth. It wasn’t too bad. I think that last year got out of hand a little bit when the team needed results even when I was leaving. They sent me to Indonesia. I came back.

The sponsor wasn’t happy I wasn’t going to be there [in 2020]. They pushed for results. Then it was like every session was so important and you didn’t do the correct job for the race. Fausto would come in and we were eleventh. [He’d say] ‘We need to change the bike.’ [I’d say] ‘Yeah, but we’re 0.3 off and my pace is good enough for fifth or sixth. That’d be a decent result.’ [He’d respond] ‘No, we need to change the bike. We need to be faster.’

Then we’re on the grid, chang-

SAM LOWES

riders in that season] was third. After he said to me, ‘I love the number 22. I want to see it on my bike one day.’ He said that to me again when I signed so that was nice, that he remembered that. It was a turbulent weekend but it was good. And I qualified second, which was nice.

ing [the set-up]. We didn’t know what-was-what: and you can’t do that in this class. That would never happen in this team. Some of the changes I made last year, not just in a race weekend, but on race day, wouldn’t happen here. There’s no magic. You’ve got to polish, to fine tune. There it was like rolling the dice. And I should have controlled that more, as the rider. But it’s difficult because they were under pressure. It’s never simple. Then you’re 0.3s off, ninth or tenth and everyone thinks you’re having a bad time.

What would represent a fantastic year in 2020?

A fantastic year is to be at the front. I want to be world champion, but I’ve had some tough years. But I’ve also had some fantastic years. This is the best team I’ve ridden for, including MotoGP teams. So why not? But the first target is to get back, be fast and then we’ll see where we are. For sure me and my teammate need to be winning and fighting for podiums. I see no reason why not. I’m really happy having a team-mate. That will help me a lot. We get on really well. We’ll be there. I’m more confident than I ever have been, which is a funny thing to say at the moment. But it’s not about where you start. Alex Marquez finished seventh here last year in this first race. Then he came to Silverstone with a 60-point lead.

So you never know what’s going to happen.

PRODUCTS

6D HELMETS A word on 6D Helmets ATS-1R after several months of using the latest street helmet from the Californian experts and pioneers of the ODS system to combat the potentially lethal effects of rotational acceleration. A smaller shell size and lighter lid comes through the tech applied to the second generation of the firm’s off-road ATR-2 and the complex inners that ensure some of the very best protection against linear and angular impact (in short this helmet will do the job both in the event of a direct smash against another object and at the crucial moment when the head and neck is turning on impact leading to movement inside the cranium; widely thought as one of the primary causes of concussion). The shell is made from 3k carbon and 6D have worked hard to ensure a better performing visor in terms of seal and ventilation and the helmet is impressive in this respect. 15 transfer ports and 5 exhaust ports keep the air moving around the helmet (we’ve yet to feel hot wearing the ATS1R despite temperatures creeping up in Spain), although our chin vent cover came loose after repeated use.

When it comes to the patented ODS then 6D sum up the tech best by stating: ‘(ODS) technology is a fully active, in-helmet suspension and kinetic energy management system. Engineered to uncouple the helmet’s exterior shell from the inner EPS liner, the system effectively mitigates energy transfer to the head and brain of the rider during any given accident or impact event.’ More details? There are integrated speaker pockets, the helmet is compatible with eyewear, there is a removable chin curtain and Pinlock is included. A classy carry bag sadly is not as practical as a ‘draw-string’ option for shoulder transportation. Expect to pay around 750 dollars.

PRODUCTS:

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MotoGP BLOG

EASY GOES IT...

In an alternate universe, we’d be picking through the bones of the Thai Grand Prix this Tuesday. Fabio Quartararo is fresh from notching up his second win of the year, which has put some fresh daylight between him and Maverick Viñales.

Injury has finally caught up with Marc Marquez, who already faces an uphill task to catch his young rival after settling for a solid sixth place.

As it is, many of us – and the racers included – have been inside for more than a week. No end is in sight as cases of Covid 19 escalate rapidly in Spain, the USA and the UK. The chances of any kind of motorsport commencing in the next two months

is fanciful at best, delusional at worst. Racing has either been limited to our imaginations or computer game screens.

If Steve McQueen’s dictum that “racing is life, the rest is just waiting” rings true, then the current period of delay and uncertainty must amount to torture for the grand prix community, mostly entering a phase of homebound delirium. “Staying at home is hard,” admitted Fabio Quartararo to Sky Italia, adding: “I’m going crazy.”

It’s doubtful he is alone. The modern day grand prix rider rarely has time to stand still.

Holidays across a season last a fortnight or less. Travelling to events, sponsorship and media engagements, racing and training take up nearly all of the rest.

The current situation, therefore, is alien to athletes, who – like many of us – have an unexpected amount of idle time to whittle down.

Some have been relatively fortunate. Jack Miller’s Instagram was awash with shots of the Australian star on a motocross track in

Australia. But those situated in Italy and Spain, areas currently hit hardest in Europe, the current lockdown restricts all on-bike activity. Thus Marc Marquez finds refuge in dog walking. Remy Gardner continues to do-up old bangers in his garage. And former Moto3 champion Jorge Martin has begun re-watching old Formula1 seasons to add structure to his day.

There are trips to the gym. For Marquez, in hard-hit northern Catalonia he drives there alone before returning home to comply with recent government decrees.

Others, like Madrid-based Moto3 contender Raul Fernandez, have got creative with a stay at home routine. “I am not a MotoGP rider with an indoor gym,” he told Motociclismo’s Jesus Lazaro. ”After breakfast I start a yoga class on YouTube, because it helps me to gain flexibility. Then I do an hour and a half of TRX with my brother, playing with our own weight instead of with weights or machines. And after eating I do cardio, stationary bike and jump rope.”

These weeks offer up a chance on contemplation for the grids more cerebral riders. Andrea Dovizioso, for example, he has used his free time to reflect on his future approach. “ These are difficult weeks which make you understand many things,” he recently told Sky Italia. “We are used to having a life that’s so busy and in that you miss some important aspects. When you have all this time if you think about it, you clarify your ideas a little. We can see this as the positive side of this situation.”

Some, like Valentino Rossi and Francesco Bagnaia, have given sizable donations to the understaffed and under-equipped medical units in their respective parts of Italy. This indefinite delay will, of course, have ramifications for the elder Italian’s decision on whether to continue racing beyond 2020.

“I was hoping to have some races to decide whether to continue or not and it is a choice that I will have to make later in the second part of the season when it starts,” he told Sky Italia.

“I always need some races to understand how competitive I am and that is the key.” Chances of that happening by the summer now seem greatly diminished.

Too much time to train can also carry its hazards, as Maverick Viñales recently proved. His motocross spill on the 12th March led to an overnight stay in hospital and a fairly substantial scare.

These kinds of incident now appear less likely with lockdowns now firmly in place across Western Europe.

Does anyone come out of this current crisis engulfing the world with any positives? There were several riders coming into this campaign still some way off their physical peak. Marc Marquez was one of those after an operation Takaaki Nakagami declared himself operating at “70 percent” of his physical capabilities at the close of the final preseason test after surgery corrected a right shoulder injury last November.

Likewise Miguel Oliveira was another, who to ease his way through winter testing after a similar procedure on his left shoulder.

CREATED THANKS TO Moto3’S NEWEST RACING TEAM

BY NEIL MORRISON

MotoGP BLOG

As we understand, there is a very slim chance of any on-track action occurring before June.

These walking wounded therefore could enjoy an added two and a half months of rehabilitation to get back to their best before MotoGP’s first race, wherever – and whenever – that may be.

Those planning on a slow start to Marquez’s title defence have more than likely found their hopes dashed by force majeure.

In a way this crisis shows racers are really just like the rest of us.

Until we see a significant way out of this woods, it’s about staying safe and healthy, maintaining a responsible routine and managing the boredom.

MotoGP

Polarity Photo

PRODUCTS

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WorldSBK BLOG

1 ISN’T 65 AGAIN JUST YET...

It’s been a few weeks now since we had some racing. I have almost forgotten what it looks like.

When I headed to Australia for the first round of WorldSBK my flight booking was changed as I had one leg that went via Hong Kong.

It was a bit of an inconvenience but little did I know back then what the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic would be.

I honestly don’t think we will be back racing until the summer at least and then the calendar for the second half of the year will be unlike anything we have known before. I reckon my Christmas shopping will be done in the dutyfree shops of Europe’s airports.

Looking back to Phillip Island it was a dream start for Kawasaki and a certain rider Having raced in WorldSBK with some degree of success up until now, coming into the championship winning

team was always going to be accompanied with a fair amount of pressure. It was a bit of a surprise move as well, that no one in the paddock had really seen coming.

Previous seasons had been dogged with injuries and setbacks, and always riding a machine that was behind the development curve compared to some of the competitors.

Finishing third in the preceding season, a career best in WorldSBK, meant that, coming into the first race, expectations were relatively high.

However, to win first time out is something of a fairy tale opening to a maiden term in green.

Now, at this point you’re all thinking I am talking about Alex Lowes but I have actually turned the clock back to 2015 and the first race for

Jonathan Rea on the ZX-10R. Rea had worked miracles with the Honda, winning on a machine that really shouldn’t have capable of doing so and he achieved a career best third place in the championship in 2014, before his unexpected move to KRT. He had shown some promise in pre-season testing but no one quite expected him to win at Phillip Island in the first round. The rest, they say, is five-year history.

The parallels with Alex Lowes are uncanny. Lowes joined the WorldSBK paddock from BSB at the end of 2013, coming in as BSB champion, and signing for the Crescent team. At that point they were the official Suzuki squad but when they pulled the plug on international racing, apart from MotoGP, Crescent jumped ship to Yamaha and have since been the factory team.

Lowes was seen as some-

BY ADAM WHEELER

BY GRAEME BROWN thing of a permanent fixture with the team until 2019. It had been reported early on that Yamaha were going to retain only one of the current rider line-up between Lowes and his team-mate Michael VD Mark. The understanding in the paddock was that if either held third place at the halfway point of the season, they would get to keep their ride. That honour fell to Lowes but he was overlooked and VD Mark was favoured for 2020.

“I WOULD CAUTION ANYONE TO WRITE JR OFF AT YOUR PERIL WHEN RACING GETS UNDERWAY AGAIN...”

A spurned Lowes was now looking for a seat for 2020.

It could be said that JR had been in a similar position.

He had been with Honda all of his road racing career and had set his sights

on MotoGP but, aside from two wildcard appearances in 2012, he was continually overlooked. He therefore chose to look for a new ride at the end of 2014 and was fortunate that a seat at KRT had come up with Loris Baz being cast adrift.

It was the same last year with Leon Haslam losing out in the end of season shake-up, and after the post Suzuka 8hr spat between Kawasaki and Toprak Razgatlioglu, the seat at KRT became available and Lowes jumped in.

Winning in Australia was an ideal start and one that must give Lowes huge satisfaction.

At the team launch in February he said it was the ultimate challenge to be in KRT as team-mate to Rea. ‘When he is beating you every weekend you are never 100% sure how much is down to you as a rider and how much is down to the bike. This

season I will have no excuses and can judge myself directly with the best as I am on exactly the same bike’.

After round one that judgment is pretty clear. To an extent he is on a par with the five-time world champion but with racing suspended for the foreseeable future we’ve been denied the opportunity to see the battle develop.

I have been asked if this is the start of ‘the decline of Rea’. That, I think, is a premature question to ask.

Many of the riders pointed out that Phillip Island has that unique ability to throw up some ridiculously close racing and with tyre management being such a critical factor, most are judging the tyre wear and not pushing to the limit for the entire race distance. There is also the chance to be mugged on the final lap on Gardner Straight.

If you don’t get the drive

WorldSBK BLOG

hooked up in the last corner you can be out-dragged to the line and pipped for victory. Here is where Lowes deserves a lot of credit. I was trackside in turn 11 in race one and he came out the corner in third place but kept it pinned all the way through turn 12 and onto the start finish straight, sideways with the tyre smoking, and slipped past Michael VD Mark to take second.

He was similarly canny and brave in race two to get the better of Rea, this time with a couple of laps to run.

As impressive as it is, I am reluctant to declare the arrival of the new king of Superbike, but I think the display at Phillip Island means we are in for genuinely the closest WorldSBK season we have had for a long time.

Lowes is a contender for sure. As is Razgatlioglu who took victory in race one and seems to have settled in at

Yamaha the way Lowes has in KRT. Scott Redding admitted to still finding his feet but that didn’t stop him scoring his first WorldSBK podiums. Tom Sykes seems to be getting back to some degree of form whilst Michael VD Mark was unlucky not to get better results in what was the closest race finishes for some time as well.

For now, we are stuck in a frustrating limbo and when we will get back to racing is anyone’s guess. However, whilst the 2020 challengers have shown a strong hand in the opening round, I would caution anyone to write JR off at your peril when racing gets underway again.

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See more here: www.ktm.com

TEST

LONG LIVE THE RED TWIN

By Roland Brown Photos by Milagro

TEST

I

t would be easy to get the wrong idea about the Panigale V2, purely from its name and close resemblance to the Panigale V4 that is among the world’s most powerful and uncompromising superbikes. With its sleek scarlet bodywork, single-sided swing-arm and stubby silencer tucked in on its right side, the V2 looks almost identical apart from lacking the aerodynamic winglets that the 1103cc V4 gains this year.

With the open-class Panigale now packing four cylinders, the V2’s name reflects its status as the flagship of Ducati’s V-twin family. It’s essentially a restyled and subtly tweaked successor to the Panigale 959.

And while its name and look have changed, its character and its 955cc, eight-valve desmo V-twin powerplant have not.

As soon as you fire up the Panigale V2 and pull away, it’s clear that this is a much less feisty and demanding machine than the V4. It would be exaggerating to call this singleminded, 160mph supersports bike a sheep in wolf’s clothing but Ducati are happy

to admit that the mid-sized Panigale has been designed for rider-friendliness as much as for pure speed.

Engine-related changes are limited to parts surrounding the 90-degree V-twin unit.

The new, twin-layered fairing ducts air more efficiently from slots in its aggressively flared ‘snout’. Along with reworked fuel injectors and the cleverly redesigned exhaust – which

“AS SOON AS YOU FIRE UP THE PANIGALE V2 AND PULL AWAY, IT’S CLEAR THAT THIS IS A MUCH LESS FEISTY AND DEMANDING MACHINE THAN THE V4...”

2020 DUCATI PANIGALE V2

replaces the 959’s unloved twin-pipe system – this lifts maximum power output by 5bhp, to 153bhp.

Chassis updates equip the unchanged aluminium monocoque main frame with the new V4-style single-sided swing-arm. A slightly longer shock raises rear ride height, steepens steering geometry and puts more weight on the front wheel. The Sachs unit and Showa Big Piston forks

are softened, albeit only with revised damping settings.

The revamped electronic system uses the latest Bosch IMU to give a full range of Panigale V4-level features. The quickshifter now works in both directions. Wheelie control, engine brake control and cornering ABS are more sophisticated and faster-acting. So is the traction control, which adds a predictive element – in other words, it not only knows

how much the rear tyre is sliding but how much it’s about to slide. Which might sound like science fiction, were it not based on the system from Ducati’s Desmosedici MotoGP missile.

The Panigale V2 doesn’t provide remotely MotoGP-like acceleration, but it’s still a hugely entertaining and rewarding bike to ride. In Sport, the middle of the three riding modes, throttle response is flawless

TEST

“THE V2 IS DISTINCTLY MORE MANAGEABLE THAN ITS V4 NAMESAKE, AND WITH A PRICE ROUGHLY 30 PER CENT LOWER THAN THE BASE-MODEL V4’S (AT £14,995 IN THE UK) IT’S MUCH EASIER ON THE WALLET TOO...”

2020 DUCATI PANIGALE V2

TEST

and the bike charges forward urgently, hoovering up straight sections like a bright red Ducati superbike should, but without the ceaseless aggression that makes the V4 both thrilling and slightly intimidating.

With your head tucked behind the low screen the V2 takes very little time to put 150mph on its colourful TFT instrument panel’s speedometer, with a gear still to go. Serious torque is delivered above 8000rpm, and on track you don’t spend much time below that figure, thanks to frequent use of the slick gearbox and reliable twoway shifter. But low-rev running is clean and there’s plenty of midrange grunt, with more than 60 per cent of the maximum torque figure available from 5500rpm.

Chassis performance is similarly obliging, combining sweet steering with stability and excellent suspension control. On standard settings the V2 is slightly more responsive and easy to turn than the 959, though the difference is essentially down to set-up.

There’s no change to stopping power, thanks to an identical dry weight of 200kg and retained Brembo M4.32 Monobloc front calipers, which give plenty of bite without the ferocity of the V4’s Stylema units. When braking hard it’s useful to be able to keep body weight over the rear wheel by moving back in the seat, which is 20mm longer than the 959’s.

Rain on the track launch at Jerez gave a useful indication of the Panigale’s roadgoing performance, highlighting its

precision of throttle response and steering input. In slippery conditions I was also grateful for the V2’s ultra-capable electronics. Some bikes would doubtless have lapped quicker, even in the wet. But not by much, and possibly without such a wide safety margin.

Even this rider-friendly Panigale is a singleminded sporting weapon, with low bars, firm suspension and little aptitude for motorways or commuting. (If you’re looking for all-round ability, Ducati’s deceptively named SuperSport has much more of that.) But the V2 is distinctly more manageable than its V4 namesake, and with a price roughly 30 per cent lower than the basemodel V4’s (at £14,995 in the UK) it’s much easier on the wallet too.

2020 DUCATI PANIGALE V2

How much it appeals is likely to depend on riding ability and what exactly you want from a sleek red Ducati Panigale. Hardcore track jockeys who relish the fearsome V4’s challenge might find the Vtwin slightly tame. But for typical road and occasional track-day riders who prefer a Panigale that is as rideable as it’s quick, the V2 is a sophisticated, thoughtfully improved machine that offers a tempting combination of performance and control.

BACK PAGE

Tim Gajser. Grand Prix of the Netherlands. By Ray Archer

ON TRACK OFF ROAD

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

‘On-track Off-road’ will be published online at www.ontrackoffroad.com on the last Wednesday of the month. To receive an email notification that a new issue available with a brief description of each edition’s contents simply enter an address in the box provided on the homepage. All email addresses will be kept strictly confidential and only used for purposes connected with OTOR. Adam Wheeler Editor and MXGP/MotoGP correspondent Ray Archer Photographer Steve Matthes AMA MX and SX correspondent James Lissimore AMA SX Photographer Cormac Ryan-Meenan MotoGP Photographer www.cormacgp.com Rob Gray MotoGP Photographer David Emmett MotoGP Blogger Neil Morrison MotoGP Blogger & Feature writer Graeme Brown WSB Blogger and Photographer Roland Brown Tester/Columnist Núria Garcia Cover Design Gabi Álvarez Web developer Hosting FireThumb7 - www.firethumb7.co.uk PHOTO CREDITS Ray Archer, Polarity Photo, GeeBee Images, Milagro Cover shot: Valentino Rossi by Polarity Photo

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