MXGP #104 April 2022

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MXGP MAG Chief Editor: Marionna Leiva Photos: MXGP INFRONT MOTO RACING MEDIA World Trade Center II Rte de Pré-Bois 29 1215 Geneva 15 Airport Switzerland MXGP Mag #104 April 2022

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

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L A I R O T I D E

David Luongo CEO of Infront Moto Racing

Dear MXGP Friends, Three fantastic Grand Prix took place since our last edition of the MXGP Magazine. Our come back to Argentina has been made with great class. It was a big pleasure to come back to such a beautiful venue. Villa La AngosturaPatagonia was missing on the MXGP calendar since the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, it was the first Grand Prix that suffered the global lock down we had to face. In 2020 we had to cancel the GP just 10 days before it would have taken place.

So, it is also a very important symbol to be welcomed over there for our very first overseas Grand Prix since 2019! The Argentinian and South American motocross fans answered the call with a massive and impressive presence, breaking the record of attendance with more than 39.000 spectators onsite during the weekend. The local authorities and the organizer confirmed their will of having the GP back in 2023, which will bring to 7 the number of GP that took place on this amazing track!

Gajser in MXGP and Vialle in MX2 won this great GP.

OUR COME BACK TO ARGENTINA HAS BEEN MADE WITH GREAT CLASS.

Another important come back on the calendar was Portugal, on the famous red dirt of Agueda. Here also the public answered the call.

We definitely felt the demand of the fans to attend the Grand Prix and enjoy live our sport again.

We were missing the sound of the chains for the last 2 years along the track and in front of the podium, and we are definitively on the good way. Regarding the racing, Prado was the fastest in MXGP and Vialle won the MX2 class.

Pietramurata and the Grand Prix of Trentino gave us some novelties with the modifications brought to the track and the changes of the direction to ride.

The Slovenian fans came across the border to support Tim Gajser, their hero, who won the GP and Vialle confirmed his great period with another win and a perfect

score of 50 points. He took back the red plate of Geerts.

The different European championships also started with a great success and an impressive amount of rider’s entries, especially in Trentino which is very well located to travel from across Europe.

Finally, we announced the renewal of our collaboration with KTM group for the European Junior e-Motocross Series, an electric motocross bike series dedicated to the young talents.

This year we will see 5 rounds taking place during the GP of Spain, France, Germany and Czech Republic. We are sure that it will confirm its great success of last year by giving a fantastic access to the new generations to new technology of racing.

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

See you in Latvia!

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THE COMPETITION SO FAR… 18

WE’RE FIVE ROUNDS INTO THE 2022 SEASON OF THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AND THE BATTLES FOR THE TITLE’S IN MXGP AND MX2 ARE NOT THE ONLY THING THAT’S GETTING MORE INTERESTING EVERY WEEKEND.

to a third consecutive Grand Prix victory of the season.

In the last issue of the Magazine, which was published before the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina, the Fox Holeshot competition looked to be in the hands of the Red Bull GasGas and KTM Factory teams, though the next few rounds have proved to be otherwise as other teams and manufacturers have risen to the challenge!

At the MXGP of PatagoniaArgentina the Fox Holeshot awards were presented to four different riders across the MXGP and MX2 categories. In the MXGP races, the starts were dominated by Honda, with JM Honda Racing’s Henry Jacobi leading the start in race one, meanwhile in race two, it was Team HRC’s Tim Gajser who got ahead of the field, on his way

In MX2, it was again Tom Vialle and Simon Längenfelder who continued to set the standard for the starts in the class. The starts were important for Vialle who was able to start the races up-front and claim his first GP win of 2022.

A couple of weeks later, we headed to Agueda for the MXGP of Portugal, where again we were met with some more surprises and witnessed some new Fox Holeshot winners. In MXGP, Jacobi was the victor once again in the first race, while in the second race Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado timed the gate drop perfectly to claim his third Fox Holeshot of the season on his way to his first Grand Prix win since Loket 2021.

Though in MX2 is where things got interesting as this time around the Fox Holeshot’s were won by Kawasaki mounted riders. In the first race, podium finisher Mikkel Haarup of the Big Van World MTX Kawasaki Racing squad secured his first holeshot on his way to a strong finish in the heat. Meanwhile in race two, the second Fox Holeshot went to F&H Kawasaki Racing’s Kevin Horgmo, as the Norwegian continued his strong performance.

The following weekend it was time to return to Pietramurata for the iconic MXGP of Trentino, which presented a new challenge for the riders with a new track layout, which included a 180-degree first corner which made the Fox Holeshot even more interesting.

In MXGP, the first Fox Holeshot of the day went Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff, who went on to lead 10 of the 19 laps to finish the race 19

second behind Gajser. While in race two, we saw Jorge Prado bounce back with a Fox Holeshot – though after stalling on the opening lap, he fought back to fourth, for third on the podium!

In MX2, Tom Vialle added a third consecutive Grand Prix victory of 2022 as he went 1-1 in both of the races, which were greatly aided by his two Fox Holeshots, with his total now standing at five as he edges out in the competition.

The Fox Holeshot competition will resume at the MXGP of Latvia on the 23rd and 24th of April but in

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the meanwhile check out the Fox Holeshot Classifications below…

MXGP MX2 Tom Vialle

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Simon Lanfenfelder

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Mikkel Haarup

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Kevin Horgmo

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Jorge Prado

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Henry Jacobi

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Tim Gajser

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Glenn Coldenhoff

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P U G H N ATC I C A C R

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Argentina is back!

IT’S BEEN A BUSY FEW WEEKS SINCE THE LAST EDITION OF THE MXGP MAGAZINE. WE’VE TRAVELLED TO ARGENTINA, WHICH WAS A BIG TRIP BUT ONE THAT WAS CERTAINLY WORTH THE LONG-HAUL FLIGHT! THEN WE RETURNED TO AGUEDA FOR THE PORTUGUESE GP FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2019 AND WERE SURPRISED WITH A BRAND-NEW TRACK LAYOUT IN TRENTINO – SO TO SUM IT UP, THE LAST FEW WEEKS HAVE BEEN A TREAT… AND SO HAS THE RACING!

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Let’s start at the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, we were able to gain back some normality and make an overseas trip to the stunning Villa La Angostura.

Despite the numerous flights and hours of driving that was needed to arrive on-site, in the end it was so worth it.

The Argentinian GP delivered, as it always does, with a crowd of 39,000 fans keeping the atmosphere at a maximum even before the weekend started, right to the chequered flag on Sunday evening, reminding the whole paddock why the Argentinian Grand Prix is among the best on the racing calendar.

the selfies that they could, not only with the riders but also the team members, girlfriends and other paddock personnel.

We started our weekend with Friday’s media activities, which included the opening press conference that officially welcomed back MXGP to Argentina. Among those in attendance was Infront Moto Racing’s CEO David Luongo, FIM/ CMS Director Antonio Alia Portela, the organiser of the Argentinian GP, David Eli, as well as local politicians Neuquén Governor Omar Gutierrez, Mayor of Villa La Angostura Fabio Stefani, Neuquén Minister of Tourism Sandro Badilla and Neuquén Minister of Sports Alejandra Piedecasas and Track Designer Lucas de La Fuente who shared their excitement and support for the event taking place this weekend. The day then continued with the riders autograph session in the city centre of Villa La Angostura and the only word that springs to mind is – WOW! The riders were met by a huge enthusiastic crowd of MXGP fans who were eager to get their signed posters and take all

After that it was back to business as we kicked things off with the official GoPro Lap with Ruben Fernandez, which received a lot of fan attention, as the Spaniard made his way around the circuit, stopping at one of the tabletops to really get the crowd going. And then it was time for the qualifying races. In MXGP the win went to Standing Construct Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass who surprised many with his performance as he fought through the pack and was right where he needed to be when the front runners made mistakes.

It was a surprise because just a couple of weeks earlier the Latvian struggled with an open wound from a tendinitis surgery that had him struggling in the off-season.

Meanwhile in MX2, Jago Geerts from Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing was the victor as he secured first gate pick for Sunday’s

races ahead of Tom Vialle and Kay de Wolf who looked on form and a threat for the Belgian who was looking at making back-to-back victories.

The main action saw plenty of thrills as Tim Gajser ended his day going 2-1 with a third consecutive GP victory and his 90th career podium ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Maxime Renaux who not only scored his first ever MXGP race victory in the opening heat, but also celebrated his second podium in MXGP on just his third race in the premier class. Third on the box was Jorge Prado who admitted that he was having an off weekend after a 4-4 result in the races.

Meanwhile in MX2, Tom Vialle conquered Geerts and made his comeback to the top step with a 2-1 result over Geerts’ 1-2. Another big celebration came from the Big Van World MTX Kawasaki camp as Mikkel Haarup celebrated his first podium since 2020, with a 4-3 scorecard!

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some moments that proved to be costly for both championships that took out some of the big names.

In MXGP, Brian Bogers dislocated his shoulder in the qualifying which put him out of the races, along with some big crashes from Jeremy Seewer and Thomas Kjer Olsen which also jeopardized their weekends and the following weekends too. And in MX2, Gianluca Facchetti was among the injured, as Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing suffered the biggest blows, with their two riders Kay de Wolf and Roan van de Moosdijk crashing out, which left Moosdijk injured as well.

More surprises in Portugal After a brief break, we all made our way back to Agueda for the MXGP of Portugal where the orange/red clay venue had more nice surprises in store.

As the gate dropped for Sunday’s racing, in MXGP we witnessed a near-perfect performance from Jorge Prado who went 1-2 to secure his first overall win since Loket 2021 and break Gajser’s winning streak. It was a big win for Prado who had struggled in Argentina and was eager to make his comeback to the top step of the box and admitted that the victory could be a turning point.

But Prado’s win was not the only big headline of the weekend as Brian Bogers made his return to the box for the very first time since Russia 2017 (in MX2), making it also his first podium in the premier class - “It’s amazing. I mean, I am speechless but the way to here was so difficult” admitted Bogers.

After the media activities were completed, again the focus shifted to the racing. In qualifying, Glenn Coldenhoff bounced back from some tough GP’s with a qualifying race victory as he won ahead of Jorge Prado and Brian Bogers.

Bogers’ performance was another stand-out if you remember that he dislocating his shoulder a mere two weeks ago.

In MX2, Vialle won his second back-to-back GP with again a near perfect score going 1-2. Vialle won the opening race but was chased down by Haarup who had his own time in the lead after taking the Fox Holeshot, but nerves kickedin and he made the mature decision to follow and learn from the Frenchman who had much more experience of leading races.

Meanwhile, Geerts crashed and only managed to get back to ninth, but his race victory in the second heat was what helped him to third overall. In the second heat, it was Horgmo that time around with the fastest reaction out of the gate as he briefly led the way – this was interesting as it was the first time in recent years that Kawasaki dominated both starts in MX2, that were usually won by KTM. For Haarup, the Portuguese GP saw him climb one step higher on the podium as he finished second with plenty of attention as we headed into Trentino to see if he could continue his successful streak.

In MX2, Geerts led every lap of the qualifying race as he secured his third consecutive pole winning ahead of Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Mattia Guadagnini who is yet to show some exciting results this year. Third was F&H Kawasa-

Alongside the MXGP and MX2 races, we also saw rounds of the WMX and EMX250. Starting with the Women, the series saw a massive shake-up as a crash in practice ruled out defending World Champion Courtney Duncan. This

The Friday started off with a media event and this time the MXGP paddock, which included the likes of Calvin Vlaanderen, Mikkel Haarup, Lynn Valk, Alberto Forato, Andrea Adamo, Jeremy Sydow, Nicholas Lapucci and Hakon Osterhagen (among others), took a tour of the Triangle’s factory, who are the leading producer of high-tech aluminium bicycle frames. The riders and team personnel travelled to Triangle’s in a very special “Vouguinha”, in reference to the historic locomotive of the Vouga Line, which made for a fun and exciting experience.

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ki Racing’s Kevin Horgmo who is week-by-week edging closer to his first podium in MX2.

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opened the door for the other ladies to take centre stage and continue on their quest for the title. Lynn Valk of JK Yamaha Racing had two immaculate races that saw her claim both race victories, claim the number one trophy and clinch the red plate from Nancy Van de Ven who was the leader up until that point. In EMX250, Yamaha continued their dominance with Rick Elzinga’s double race win ahead of Lucas Coenen and Cornelius Toendel who joined him on the podium, as the Dutchman extended his championship lead.

New track layout and new challenges in Trentino…

The fifth round of the series in Pietramurata saw some explosive action as the riders took on a new reversed track layout, with parts of the track, including the addition of the 180-degree start, which were adapted to fit the new direction.

In qualifying, we saw Team HRC’s Mitch Evans back at the sharp end, as he battled for top positions in the qualifying race, that eventually his teammate won. Prado slipped by too while Evans held onto third – which was a dream scenario for Honda to have two riders inside the top three.

A fresh track layout made for a level playing field as those who lined-up for the MXGP of Trentino, rode the track for the very first time! Gajser and Vialle rose to the occasion, securing their first perfect score, respectively, to win the MXGP of Trentino!

Those wins did not come easy. For Vialle, he was urged on by Haarup in race one and then de Wolf in race two.

Though the Frenchman did not back down or put a foot wrong, as he raced his way to getting back the red plate, after Geerts went out of the second race. For Geerts it was a devastating weekend as his front wheel got jammed after a crash in MX2 race two, which ultimately took him out of the race and cost him the championship lead. With Vialle guaranteed the win and a spot on the podium, the two riders that joined him were de Wolf and Haarup – for Haarup this was his third podium in a row.

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In MXGP, Gajser had a big job on his hands too. In race one, he fought through the field to catch Glenn Coldenhoff who led the way and in fact led the way for around 10 of the 19 laps before the Slovenian was able to get through.

Some other standout performances came from the likes of Alberto Forato and Calvin Vlaanderen, who ultimately got unlucky with crashes, but prior to that showed great speed. In race one, Vlaanderen worked his way up to sixth while in race two, Forato chased down Prado for fourth before crashing too. Prado even admitted in the postrace press conference that the speed Forato was showing, could have been good enough for a podium finish if everything else came together.

The EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing and EMX Open classes also took on the challenge of the Pietramurata circuit. In the 125cc category, Fantic Factory Team Maddii’s Alexis Fueri was unmatched, despite best efforts from his teammate Cas Valk and the likes of Karlis Alberts Reisulis and Julius Mikula, as he went 1-1 to celebrate his first victories in the European Championship along with the red plate. In EMX Open, Giuseppe Tropepe won on home soil ahead of series leader Michael Sandner as Jose Butron struggled with crashes in the starts and could only salvage 11th overall.

Racing aside, what made the MXGP of Trentino even more special today was the incredible fan support that created a stunning atmosphere in Pietramurata.

The Gajser’s corner was the standout today as the crowd of fans created a roar that shook the entire circuit lap by lap and especially at the podium as they joined Gajser in singing the Slovenian national anthem. Having the fans back at such a scale was the reminder that everyone needed at how amazing it is to have supporter’s trackside once again!

The last few weeks have been fun, to say the least, but now the paddock will take some much needed and earned time off to re-charge batteries before the MXGP of Latvia in Kegums – let’s see what the next few races brings us and we’ll let you know in the next Racing Catch-Up!

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FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

RESULTS

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L A I C O S P G X M @mxgpstore_official Everything is ready for the MXGP of Trentino make sure to place your order NOW! @mxdose Back at it again...we love it #mxdose #photography #mxgp #trentino #mx2 #motocross #mx #motocrossdose #motocrossphotography

Opening Event | MXGP of Portugal: Re-live all the emotions of the opening event at the Triangles Factory!

@galfer_brakes DOUBLE WIN FOR LYNN VALK IN PORTUGAL🔥 The Dutch rider of the JK Racing Yamaha team won both races at the WMX GP of Portugal and now leads the overall standings by six points. ✨✌🏻

@trak_industries Take it to the line 💪🏼 @ rynopower @the.mackey.122 #RynoPower #ChargeLife #TRAK #TRAKindustries

News Highlights | MXGP of Patagonia Argentina 2022: Re-live all the best moments of the weekend in the News Highlights!

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@smacks_7 Trip to #PortugalMxGp 🇵🇹

Inicio de viaje complicado con nieve🌨️❄️ en la carretera🛣️, estampa invernal☃️ que dejó paso más tarde a horas de sol☀️ sin una sola nube☁️ pero con algo d viento fresco🌬️.

Campamento montado🚐, bandera nacional 🇪🇸 y hoguera para combatir el frió 🥶 y sobretodo motos, muchas motos.

@vmsimoes PortugalMXGP 🇵🇹🏁 Day 2: Finish . #tentmonsterenergy #sundayrace #mxlifestyle

@oman_automobile_ association The @fimlive @mxgp World Championship for Motocross is to take place in Oman for the first time ever on September 9-10, 2022 jointly organized by OAA and Trade8 International.

@restaurantealconada Que suerte la nuestra con lo que nos gusta en Alconada 🦀 el deporte. Hoy ha venido a visitarnos @ rubenfernandez70 el piloto mundialista de MXGP. Es grande dentro y fuera del circuito. Gracias por tu visita campeón.

@lucasbylofotografia #mxgpacademy #mxgpargentina #mxgp

MXGP 2022 Season so far featuring Tim Gajser and Maxime Renaux | MXGP of Portugal 2022: The 2022 season has already been full of surprises... Take a look at the season re-cap so far, with MXGP championship leader Tim Gajser and MXGP rookie Maxime Renaux who give their take on the first few races!

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@cagiva_lovers_ un buongiorno dal nostro caro Corrado 🏁🇮🇹 #cagiva #cagivalovers 45

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H T N RE MO E D I RF TH O

R E G ON

R T S : P U R A A H E LTL E K I MIK T VER E N THA

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MIKKEL HAARUP IS NO STRANGER IN THE MXGP PADDOCK, THE 20-YEAR-OLD MADE A NAME FOR HIMSELF AS HE ROSE THROUGH THE RANKS IN THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP UNDER THE WING OF ANTTI PYRHÖNEN AND THE FACTORY ICE ONE TEAM.

Haarup first stepped on the bike at the mere age of three and by nine or ten was already eyeing up a professional career in racing after taking part in some international races outside of Denmark. And he had success, becoming a three-time Dutch Champion in the youth categories as well as the Nordic EMX85 Champion. In 2017, he finished second in the Junior Motocross World Championship before making the move up to the EMX250 class with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing where he began to make a name for himself.

In 2020, the Dane moved to F&H Kawasaki to embark on a new adventure for his first full season in MX2. This was the

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last time that MXGP Magazine sat down with Haarup, for what was his first Rider of the Month cover feature in June of 2020.

This was just a couple of months after his first podium in MX2 and unfortunately just at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic which changed the world as we knew it.

Now two years later, Haarup sits third in the MX2 World Championship standings, and a lot has changed, with a new prospective and outlook to his racing, some experience under his belt and a strong mentality, after a couple of tough seasons, there’s lots to catch-up on and what a better moment to do it than after he scored his third podium on the bounce in Trentino.

So, we hopped on a video call with Mikkel after the GP to chat about what has happened since

the last interview, his success this year and the hardship he had to overcome to arrive to this point.

MXGP Mag: Hi Mikkel, how are you? Where are you right now?

And what have you been up to lately?

Mikkel: I’m good. First of all, very good. Things have been going good lately, so I have no reason to complain. I’m in Denmark. And the weather… is not nice, but I’m home in Denmark, and just relaxing.

MXGP Mag: We see on social media that you and your girlfriend are renovating or building a house, how’s that going?

Mikkel: Yeah. So, by the end of the year, when I was doing my contracts and everything, we were discussing what we were going to do. And I said, why not buying a house in Denmark and do everything

like practising in Denmark and just have our own home. Matea thought it was a good idea and I found a place that I thought was a good opportunity and a good investment at the same time. So in February, we took over the house, but we’ve had quite a lot of work to do on it because I want it to be nice for us and also just for her to have a house that feels like her own because she moved to Denmark, which for me is nice. But for her is far away from her parents and I thought it would be more fun if we build something together. So, at the moment we are working, well I’m not really working, the builders are working. But we are getting there soon. I think within a month, we probably have the house ready, the floors down, the ceiling …. they’re just doing the bathroom now. So, I actually go and check on it later today.

Because yeah, there’s always things you have to go and get, and we are now at that point where I have to go and go get some paint.

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MXGP Mag: And in terms of choosing paint or choosing other things, is your girlfriend taking the lead, how much are you involved in these types of decisions?

Mikkel: So, Matea has way better style than me but there’s also the financial. Obviously, I have some decisions to make. But if she tells me that she prefers it that way, then that’s what we do. Just because I believe in her ability to pick out what looks good. I feel like so far we’ve been agreeing on most of the things. There’s not been many things we have disagreed on.

MXGP Mag: Mikkel this is your second solo cover on the MXGP Magazine, your last one was in June 2020, so this is pretty much a follow-up. You are now two years older, how have things changed? Do you feel more mature?

Mikkel: Yeah, I feel old. Actually, there’s a lot of people that come up to me, especially lately, and they go, oh, is this your last year in MX2? Because they think I’m 23. And I think it’s just because I’ve been racing in MXGP and the EMX categories a long time, so people think I am older than I really am. At this point I am only 20 but I feel more mature.

And I take advantage of it as well, because there’s a couple of quick guys in the class, and no doubt about that they are quick, but they make a lot of mistakes.

And I think I’m at the point where maybe I have a little bit more advantage of having that experience, you know, and it helps a little bit.

MXGP Mag: You mention the EMX classes, how important do you think those classes are for a rider like you to prepare you for the move into the World Championship?

Mikkel: It’s very important because one of the things you learn is also the fact that you don’t need to win every time. I think Ricky Carmichael also mentioned 56

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back when he was racing with James Stewart, he said that most of the time, James was the quickest, but Carmichael was just the clever one and that’s basically what you learn in those small classes, because you’re young, and you want to win. And you’re going to make so many mistakes. And that’s the whole point of it. Some people continue to make those mistakes, and some people manage to be a little bit smart. And that’s typically the guy who wins. And if they can learn that at an early age already in the 85cc, and the 125cc classes, and bring that up into the MX2, I think they’ll benefit a lot from it.

Because it’s not all about the speed.

It’s also about being consistent and avoiding making stupid mistakes.

MXGP Mag: Last time we did an interview for this magazine, you just got your first podium in MX2, which was in Matterley Basin and now two years later, you just got your third podium on the bounce.

Though during this time, going from that podium in 2020 to now the three in 2022, did any doubts start to creep in?

Mikkel: It feels like eternity and a lot of things happened in that period of time. It was very nice when I got the podium back in 2020 but also it came a little bit out of nothing. And even though I knew I’ve had the speed all along, there was a lot of things which still needed to click. So, I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t get as many podiums in that period of time. But I was also a little bit down. Because I still continued to work really hard, I just somehow couldn’t make it work together with the team. It was not like I felt that I had peaked already, you know, I knew that I was going to come back to it. But I was frustrated that I couldn’t figure out what the problem was. It was a frustrating time and a lot of injuries and stuff happened in that period as well. It was just very turbulent, but I’m happy that I continued working really hard for it, because it would be a period of time where you could give up, not quit, but maybe not continue with the same goal. But when it finally clicks, it

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feels so worth it. But, I mean, it was also two years, just hard work without any results.

MXGP Mag: And now at the position where you are now what advice would you now give yourself to the, to the Mikkel, that was two years ago?

Mikkel: This is a hard one. But I must have done something right. Since I’ve managed to bounce back and find the things that I needed. But obviously, there are some things that you would have wanted to change.

So, if I could tell myself to be more relaxed, and then try to enjoy every GP every session and it becomes a lot easier.

Because it can be very stressful if you don’t enjoy it, there’s a lot of things happening during the weekend. And if you don’t enjoy going on track and just playing around, then it’s going to be a very long time. And so I feel like I’ve found that last couple of rounds and by the end of last year, I also sort of started realising like I don’t have to do this. I could be home in the in Denmark just racing the Danish Championship or doing something else. Nobody tells you to do it, so if you don’t enjoy it, why do it? And that’s sort of when I realised maybe I should just go out and do my thing because I’ve done my practice, I’ve done the work at home, I am physically fit, so it’s not a problem but to go out and enjoy the GPs, do something different.

MXGP Mag: Like Tim Gajser says ‘happy rider, fast rider’?

Mikkel: Yeah, it’s true. I actually saw that hashtag, is that a thing now?

MXGP Mag: Yes, it’s a thing now and a lot of riders agree with that, you need to have fun with it. But going back to 2020 and 2021, what are some of the important lessons you learned in those two years?

Mikkel: So, after the podium in 2020, I was flying, you know, you get a lot of attention, and

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you sort of lose focus a little bit on what you have to go and do.

And that’s an important lesson.

So, when I was on the podium in Argentina, the first thing that came to my mind was, enjoy this moment today but Monday it’s back to work. Because otherwise you lose focus, and it’ll be difficult to continue that thing. I was unfortunate, late in the 2020 season, and ended up being injured for probably half of it. But in 2021 I sort of came in with a game plan to get through the season, don’t stress. And just let the results come when the time comes.

And that was one of the things that probably also helped me get to where I am now, just because you need the time, you need the race experience. But if you push too much, trying to get that result on the first weekend to go racing, you’re going to get injured, and you won’t get the time you need on the bike and to get used to the races and passing and all these things to get the experience.

So, just to take your time. And I got so much criticism from last season because I was not really pushing and people could see it was not the typical Mikkel.

But I somehow knew inside of me that that was an important step in order for me to grow as a rider and be more consistent, because that has been one of the things which has been a struggle for me.

MXGP Mag: And for the last two years, you were with F&H Racing, how did you find it with the team and working with Marc De Reuver?

Mikkel: Learned a lot of things.

Before that I was with Antti at Ice One for five years since I was 14 years old, I think, so it was very different for me. And it was the first time for me to be in a team surrounded by teammates who were riding in the same class and practising together with them. At times, it was tough, but I think it was an important step for me just to learn mentally because you’re practising with the two guys

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you’re going to compete against on the weekend and if you have a bad day and you’re not able to keep up with them, you feel it and then you need to turn it around and comeback the next weekend and still believe that you can beat them.

There are some things I would have changed if I could, but you live and learn, and you cannot make the right decisions all the time. I don’t have parents who have experience in motocross, or a dad or a Grandad that raced GP’s. Not to say that my parents don’t have experience, they do, just not in motocross and there are some things you learn on the way. Other riders are maybe able to skip a couple of mistakes if they have somebody with that specific experience, but that’s just part of it and I think it also makes the success even more enjoyable, because you know, you did it from scratch.

MXGP Mag: Speaking of teammates which you just mentioned, in 2020, we saw both Roan and Mathys have some podium successes, for example Latvia where they were on the podium and for you that weekend was not so great. What was this like mentally to know you can be there with them, but thing’s just didn’t go your way?

Mikkel: It was really hard, because you want to win. You really want to beat your teammates, not because it’s a personal matter but because you’ve been training as much as them, you know you can ride as well as them, but the results don’t come and this is really difficult. And I think that doesn’t matter who you ask, they’re going to say the same thing. But for me it was just not happening, I couldn’t make it click.

Ok my teammates were older than me, but this didn’t matter to me, I felt like I could do better and that was probably the reason why I was able to bounce back from it just because I knew I could do better.

You want to win, but sometimes you just can’t and it’s not easy but it cannot be easy every time.

MXGP Mag: Ok that’s 2020 and 2021 done. Now for 2022 you have

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made a switch to a new team, you’re with Big Van World MTX Kawasaki. How is the team, how are you settling in and how is the English banter?

Mikkel: I love it. There was a lot of things in my mind when I did the signing, and I had a lot of ideas, there were experiences from the previous years that I took into consideration when I made the deal with them. But the first thing I realised the fact that they speak English, you know, everybody speaks English, no matter who he is. So, if anybody is talking behind you, you can understand everything, which is really nice!

And that was one of the first things that it meant a lot more to me than I realised.

MXGP Mag: You mentioned before that you’re building a house in Denmark, so is that where you train now and spend most of your time? How does that work with the team?

Mikkel: Immediately, the first thing I said to Steve when I made this contract was, I want to train in Denmark, because I want to have that home feeling. I was so jealous of Tim Gajser, because I could see how happy he was from just doing his thing at home. And that was what I wanted. But it’s hard, because it’s very difficult to find a team that was willing to do it. Because there’s things like parts, bikes and mechanics, and it’s very expensive and very complicated as well. And I had to put down my expectation salary wise as those kinds of compromises require finances to make it happen. But I was okay with that, to me, the most important thing was to have a good feeling and have the right setup because in the end, when you make podiums, you’re going to make enough money… This was a tough decision of course, you need money to live, and you travel a lot and spend a lot of money, but I was willing to take that risk.

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MXGP Mag: Have you changed how you approach things this season?

Mikkel: Yeah, I changed, I changed quite a lot of things. I made the move to Denmark and re-did my programme. I spend a lot of time on the bike, but I wouldn’t say if you compare it to what I did before, it’s not like a huge difference, but the way I do it has changed a lot. And my approach in general is very different but maybe that’s not what makes the biggest difference. It’s just about what I believe in and what I feel comfortable with. I think that’s what makes the difference.

And then, combined with a very good bike from Steve. Actually, one of the things that I’m happy about as well is that, Steve and his mechanics can just focus on the race bike. They don’t have to worry about me being in the workshop, having to clean my practice bike or just me being in the way.

They’ve got 110% focus on the race bike, it’s the team putting in the effort and it’s great for them to have the time to do it.

MXGP: Ok let’s go to Argentina now. You got that podium; it was a huge moment for you and the team who had their last podium in 2016. What was going through your mind as you were stood on the box? Did you feel emotion, maybe a little tear or something?

Mikkel: No tears, just emotions. I was very happy, like it was really hard for me to put it into words, I was happy not only for me but for everyone around me, people at home, people who are close to me, they kept believing in me and because they knew what I was capable of doing. It’s not a win, but still a podium is a podium, and I was happy. You know, finally, you get some results, because that’s what counts. And then just after the podium, I started to think Mikkel don’t get too cocky, don’t get too excited, you know, back to work on Monday. I really had to get into that mindset because it means so much to get these results, but I don’t want to mess it up this time and

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I’m really trying to be focused and not make it just a one-time thing.

MXGP Mag: So, it seems that you and the team really found a good setup that is working.

If we fast-forward to Portugal, you got the Fox Holeshot and led the race. How did it feel being in the lead?

Mikkel: I was really nervous. I did the qualifying race the day before and I finished seventh and then Sunday I got the holeshot, I was so nervous, but I was really happy because it makes my work a lot easier.

When I realised Tom was on my back and pushing, I didn’t try to fight it too much, I wasn’t trying to hold him back for 30 minutes plus two laps. There was just no way. So, to be a little bit smart, I decided to sort of let him pass and follow him. He’s got the experience; he’s been in that position plenty of times already, so I took advantage of that and I just followed him. And then the nerves slowly passed, but no 100% because I could still feel the shaking in my legs, but by the end of the race I was starting to get better and better and I could push. I pushed him a little bit, but not enough and he’s not a guy who makes big mistakes. It was a very important step for me to come closer to getting a GP victory.

MXGP Mag: How did it feel to follow up that Argentinian podium with another in Portugal and now a third in Trentino. What’s your mindset now?

Mikkel: I’m feeling more confident now, just because I’ve done it a couple of times. I know the setup is good. InTrentino it was not the best weekend and I felt like I could have done better, on Saturday we had technical issues and we know why from my side and the team. So, to get a podium, third one in a row, but knowing that the third was not your best weekend is great. We managed a really

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good first race and then a really hard fought second race, which I was actually happier about.

The first race I felt like I could have done better, I should have pushed and passed Tom, I felt like I was quicker. My nerves were still there, not like Portugal, but you think he’s quick, he’s world champion, I don’t need to pass, but when I look back on it, I should have passed. I watched the video yesterday, I was thinking, I don’t know why I stayed behind, but I’m happy to have the confidence.

MXGP Mag: And you mentioned the second race.

It was hard fought, and it was impressive. I mean lap 17 you got the fastest lap of the race, but it was also the fastest lap of the day in MX2…

Mikkel: Yeah, that’s impressive.

But that just shows we’ve got the speed and I just need to man up a little bit when I’m in the top positions, because if I believe in myself more, I think we can get even better results. Because I shouldn’t be able to make the quickest lap on lap 17, I know I’m quicker towards the end of the race, but it shouldn’t have been like that. I should have done a quick lap earlier. But I think it’s good. It’s nice to know we’ve got the speed.

MXGP Mag: Three podiums now in a row, how are you feeling heading into Latvia, you feeling any, not pressure, but expectation from yourself after getting three, you know what’s to stop you going for four?

Mikkel: First of all, I’m just happy to get a free weekend now because I felt like we’ve been working really hard. Also, in between the races, I spent a lot of days testing suspension, and just trying to improve on the setup we had, because I know we can still improve on it. So, to have a little bit more rest is good for my body as well, because I felt tired, especially in this last one. So, to get the rest is good. And then for Latvia,

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I like the track, the start is tricky and it’s very important to have a good qualifying.

That’s going to be a challenge because lately my sprint laps haven’t been very good. That’s going to be the next thing to work on and in the next couple of days I’ll be practising sprints. I know it’s not going to change a whole lot. You cannot just get like to become the champion in sprint laps in two weeks, but I think I can improve on it.

MXGP Mag: How are you finding the two-day format with the qualifying race, after two years with the one-day format because of COVID? Mikkel: I’m so happy about it, because we use the Saturdays to improve on the bike setup and everything.

MXGP Mag: Which GP are you most excited for this season?

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Mikkel: I am really excited for Oman. I never got to race in Qatar and I haven’t been to any of the countries in the Middle East. I really look forward to just experience it, yes, it’s a little bit short because we have the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, so we cannot stay for a holiday, I wish we could. And also, Indonesia is going to be interesting.

MXGP Mag: And what are your expectations for the rest of the season now?

Mikkel: I am going to give a very boring answer, okay.

My goal is to continue doing what I’m doing. Try to be consistent, not make too many mistakes, improve on my results on Saturday and that’s pretty much it and see how it goes.

MXGP Mag: Okay and to wrap this up… The last time we did this interview was two years ago, so what would you like to see happen in the next two years? Let’s say dream scenario…

Mikkel: Okay, so if we do this again in two years, I will accept if I finish decent in the championship now and then next year I will be champion, so then when you’re talking with me I will be a one-time World Champion with the red plate.

MXGP Mag: That’s great! Let’s manifest that and put it out into the universe and you never know, when we do this next, you could be World Champion, we can’t wait for that interview!

Want to check out the interview we did with Mikkel in 2020? Click HERE!

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

E H T G N I T N I D A E P R N W O T

HONDA’S PARTICIPATION IN THE FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IS AN ILLUSTRIOUS ONE, STEMMING BACK TO THE MID 1970’S WHEN THE TWO-STROKE REVOLUTION STARTED TO TAKE OVER THE SPORT. DURING THAT TIME THE RED CORNER OF JAPAN HAS AMASSED NO FEWER THAN 30 WORLD TITLES, AND WITH TIM GAJSER CURRENTLY LEADING THE MXGP CATEGORY, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE COOL TO UNCOVER SOME OF HONDA’S HISTORY IN THE PAGES OF MXGP MAGAZINE.

When the FIM 500cc Motocross World Championship began in 1957, the motorcycles of that era were 4-stoke and mostly still very much experimental. However, as the series progressed by adding a 250cc class to the championship in 1962, it wasn’t long before these 4-stroke machines were under threat as new technology paved the way for new, lightweight machines in the form of new 2-stroke engines, and by 1969 the writing was on the wall for the bigger, heavier motorcycles.

Suzuki was the first to really step into the fray and when Olle Petterson placed 3rd in the 250cc world championship in 1969, from there, there was no looking back as Joel Robert took the fourth of his six titles on a Suzuki the following year in 1970.

That pretty much changed the sport as we knew it, and it wasn’t long before Japan became the major player in the sport, as Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki all joined the band wagon.

New Era Honda’s own involvement began in 1975, the same year as the 125cc class was formed. In the 500cc class, Dutch legend Pierre Karsmakers contested three rounds of the world championship and despite his 10th in the first race at the USGP at Carlsbad, he followed up with a 2nd in race two, and then 2nd overall at the Canadian GP one week later with two, 2nd place finishes. He also scored a 4th in the final race at Hawkstone Park, the British GP. With those performances alone, he placed 10th overall in the campaign.

At the same time, Honda dipped its toe in the 125cc class, but it wasn’t until the ninth round of twelve, at the USGP at Lexington, Ohio, that Honda really came to prominence when in the hands of Marty Smith, the American became the first rider to win a grand prix for Honda, going 1-1 in spectacular fashion; in short, Honda had arrived and was very much here to stay!

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Four years after Marty Smith’s triumph at the 125cc USGP, Honda finally got its hands on a world title when Great Britain’s Graham Noyce won the 500cc world championship in 1979. Back then, the HRC moniker didn’t really exist, but this changed in the ‘80s when Honda Racing Corporation fully-backed the 500cc world championship effort. It truly was a golden era of motocross, and one where factory bikes were state-ofthe-art, money couldn’t buy items of racing bling. Hand-built frames, special over-sized fuel tanks to last the 45 minutes race duration, lightweight parts, exotic looking exhaust pipes, lightweight wheels, magnesium crank cases, special suspension … you name it, Honda produced it and the results were there for all to see.

From Noyce’s first title in 1979 to Eric Geboers’ title win in 1990, Honda, with HRC at the helm won a staggering 13 world titles: 10 in the 500cc class, 2 in the 250 class and a 125cc title. When Eric Geboers retired at the end of 1990 as a fivetime world champion, HRC pretty much pulled out of racing, but the legacy continued and those factory bikes were still being leased and ridden by the likes of Georges Jobé, who won two more titles in 1991 and 1992. By now though, Honda teams were privately run, such as Venko Honda in The Netherlands, or Paolo Martin’s Honda team that took American Trampas Parker to the 250cc title in 1991 - albeit with support from HRC in what was now the premier class.

Jan de Groot, the renowned engine tuner guided South African Greg Albertyn to 125cc and 250cc titles in consecutive seasons in 1992/’93 with in-house tuned engines, Marcus Hansson won a 500cc title in 1994 with production-based machinery and Corrado Maddii was the man in charge when Alessandro Puzar won the 125cc title in 1995; this would turn out to be the last 2-stroke title in the 125cc class, which was later rebranded MX2. HRC though, did get semiinterested again when Stefan Everts raced for the British-based team RWJ Honda. Whilst it might not

Photo: Pascal Haudiquert

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have been a full HRC bike like those from the ‘80s, Everts’ bikes that took him to the 250cc titles in 1996/’97 were not exactly standard either; they still oozed a certain ‘je ne sais quoi.’

Two more premier class 250cc world titles were claimed either side of the turn of the century when Frederic Bolley won back-to-back championships in 1999 and 2000, the last for Honda in the 2-stroke era, again with minimal HRC support, and other than the titles won in MX3 by Julien Bill (2011) and Klemen Gercar (2013), Honda’s success had become more and more limited. Sure, there were GP wins and podiums, but with the re-emergence of KTM at the end of the ‘90s, most of the success was about to be headed across to Austria.

Changing of The Guard

Photo: Pascal Haudiquert

As Austria started to gain traction, Honda decided to come back to the table and throughout the early 2000’s, teams such as CAS Honda with the riders such as Billy MacKenzie and Josh Coppins were back in the hunt for GP wins, but more importantly, with more and more support coming back from HRC. Martin Honda also tasted success with Evgeny Bobryshev, shortly before there was a change of ownership of the Honda team structure.

Whilst Honda was flexing its muscles with successes here and there, it wasn’t until Giacomo Gariboldi’s involvement from 2012, that Honda really started to challenge for world titles once again, and that day finally came in 2015 when a Slovenian by the name of Tim Gajser lifted the MX2 world championship at the final round of the season at Glen Helen, USA. Earlier that season he had secured his maiden GP win at Trentino, beating Jeffrey Herlings in a straight-up dog fight. With success, comes more support, and when Gajser moved to the MXGP class for the following season, the world was stunned when he won the opening GP of the season in Qatar with a solid 1-1, and went on to win the MXGP world championship at his first attempt. HRC was back, and in some kind of style.

Gajser joined Honda in 2014 and since then has accumulated four

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world titles. His recent win in Patagonia-Argentina was the 350th for Honda since they entered the world championship in 1975, and after Trentino, Round 5, where he secured his 37th GP victory, Tim now enjoys a 33 point advantage over Jorge Prado.

so we tried to go for that way, which was not easy because at that time in 2012 when I started with Honda there was not a plan for having factory bikes in MX2, and then everything changed in 2014 because they wanted to come back with a good bike.’

If you’ve ever had the opportunity to witness MXGP first hand, you will notice that HRC’s presence seems to be based around it’s MXGP riders Tim Gajser and Mitch Evans.

Two new glass-fronted race units - one for hospitality and one as the workshop - immediately catch your eye, but the reality is, it’s not just about HRC. Next door you will find Livia Lancelot’s Honda 114 Motorsports team where Ruben Fernandez (MXGP) and Hakon Fredriksen (MX2) hang out and go about their working/racing routine.

In the same avenue - paddock life sees all manufacturers park together - you will also see the JM Honda Racing set-up as well, the team run by former 500cc world champion, Jacky Martens, who hopes his riders Henry Jacobi and Ivo Monticelli will be regular fixtures inside the top ten.

Martens also supports Petr Polak in the MX2 class. Then of course, there is a team with a new title sponsor in the form of Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz - a French-based team which runs with two French riders, Stephen Rubini (MX2) and Benoit Paturel (MXGP). Rounding out Honda’s presence is JWR Honda the Johan Westermark Racing team operating with Miro Sihvonen.

When Giacomo joined Honda, the goal was to win world championships; the last MX2/125cc title was won back in 1995 with Alessandro Puzar, so when his Gariboldi Racing Team won the MX2 world championship with Tim Gajser in 2015, that twentyyear wait was now over. Mission accomplished maybe, but there was still plenty of work to do. Despite this success, support from HRC was still limited; the bike may have been a full HRC CRF250RW but Giacomo was still operating the team as Gariboldi Racing which meant the day-to-day running of the team was down to him, including organising sponsors. But when Gajser won the MXGP title at his first attempt in 2016, all of that changed, and from 2017 HRC took over the reins and took control of the whole operation:

Factory Effort

From the outside looking in, the CRF450RW factory bike is a work of art, but how does a factory bike in the modern era compare to the full works bikes raced by HRC riders during the 1980’s when Honda ruled the world?

Each and every one of these teams has varying levels of support from Honda, but let’s start with the official HRC team, run by Giacomo Gariboldi. Before moving to Honda, Giacomo was very much part of Yamaha’s programme, but realised that there were limited options further down the road, as he recalls: ‘We did work for 7 years with Yamaha, and it was good, but the main team was (Michele) Rinaldi’s team, so I didn’t see a big future for our team staying there, so this is why we were exploring different opportunities. At that time Honda didn’t have any team in MX2 and

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‘From 2014 - 2016 we had just the factory support, but I was managing the sponsors and the budget of the team myself, and then from 2017 on, it was just everything managed from Japan. Still the same factory bikes but our sponsors are directly signed by Japan, so that’s the main thing that changed.’

‘In the ‘80s it was different because the bikes were prototypes; really very, very different from production bikes. But, for example, with these bikes, the ones we have now, we could use the new model one year before it was presented for sale to the public. So, normally we get the bikes one year in advance compared to what is selling, and the engines are different, the frames

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could be different so that’s what it means to be a factory bike now.’

We Can’t All Be Factory Next door to Team HRC is Honda 114 Motorsports, run by two-time WMX world champion, Livia Lancelot. Many were surprised that she went straight into a team managers role when she hung up her boots, but for her it was the obvious step to take, since she had already been running her own team as a rider, but how did the opportunity come about?

‘This all came from Giacomo. He is the one that really saw how I was managing my own structure at the same time I was riding, so he definitely realised how difficult it was, and he is the first and only person actually to really believe that I was able to run the team. He came to me the first time, it was already 2016 when I won the WMX title in Assen; he was talking to me on this weekend and I refused the offer to do one more year of riding because I didn’t want to do two things at the same time, and then he came to me again in 2017; this is where I said okay, I’m in.’

When the team was formed in 2018, it was widely regarded as a MX2 team; Hunter Lawrence enjoyed success here before heading Stateside and when Mitch Evans was transplanted from 114 to HRC, it was clear to see why Livia’s team existed, and that was to act as a ‘feeder’ team from MX2 to MXGP: ‘We are definitely here to feed HRC; this is why Giacomo wanted to create this team and this is why he asked me to do it because he knew I was able to stay around the riders and help them, give them my experience and this is why we are here. That’s why we signed Hunter Lawrence first before he went to Geico, then we signed Mitch Evans before he went to HRC and it’s the same with Ruben. At the moment, Ruben is still under our tent because it was already full at HRC but they definitely wanted to follow him in his first MXGP season, but this a little bit the goal and this is what we try to do, yes.’

As for team success, Honda 114 Motorsports has enjoyed 10 podiums

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since the team was formed, with 2021 being the most rewarding in terms of box visits, when Ruben Fernandez climbed the podium on five occasions. He even held the championship leader’s red plate as well, so how does it feel watching her riders achieve success now that she is team manager, and how do those moments compare to when she was on the podium as a racer?

‘Honestly, now I am much more happy when I’m on the podium as a team manager; okay, I’ve never been on the podium as a team manager because we haven’t won a GP yet, but a podium today feels almost better than when I was riding because it’s kind of like I was used to it as a rider. When I was riding, it was only the victory that counted and I was only thinking about the title, like I was living for the title every weekend, so winning a GP was just one more step to reaching my goal, which was the title, and today it’s more like I enjoy every moment. So today, when we are on the podium I am definitely happy.

Whilst the first podium of the year for Honda 114 Motorsports has yet to be climbed, MXGP rookie Fernandez has already experienced a top three race finish in Patagonia, and in MX2, his team mate Hakon Fredriksen, who is also a class rookie, has already recorded a season’s best of 6th overall in Lombardia, so both riders are within touching distance of stepping on to the podium. But if wither of them were to win a GP then, according to the boss, ‘if we can win a GP one day and I can jump again on this podium, I will definitely be more happy than the rider that won the GP.’ The Back Up Over the past few years, Honda has gradually increased its presence in the paddock, and that is plain to see from the support teams that operate in the world championship. Former 500cc world champion Jacky Martens runs the JM Honda Racing team and 2022 will be his third season riding red, and apart from the succession of injuries he

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has experienced during that time, overall, he is happy with how things are going: ‘It’s my third year with Honda; we have good support, I’m happy with it. I don’t expect more because the three years I am with Honda I have many injuries. This is the first race in Arco that I have three riders behind the start gate. But, I have a good feeling with them (Honda) and I think they have a good feeling with me, and now I have to show what our potential is. Now with Jacobi and Ivo, I hope in the next races that we can show where we should be, in the top ten, but with Honda I am satisfied.’

As a supported team, information is generally shared with the other teams, so if JM Honda tests any parts that improve the bike in any way, then this will be passed on and vice versa. But where HRC’s focus is to win the world championship, the goal at JM Honda is, as Martens explains, ‘to focus on bringing the riders up, and I think you need to know the place where you are and we can only work hard to get there. Ivo was not on the bike for a few months (since the MXGP of Flanders-Belgium, 1st August 2021) Jacobi got injured just before England and needed a screw in his scaphoid and all together, it’s difficult. But, I keep going. I look forwards and the riders are nice to work with, the team is nice to work with; for sure everything is coming more expensive but as long as we can handle this, we will continue.’

On a positive note, the JM Honda has proved itself to be one of the fastest bikes out of the start gate, and in the hands of Henry Jacobi, the production-based CRF450R has stormed to three Fox holeshots so far this season, whilst in MX2, Petr Polak has seen his results improve from last year, and he currently sits 17th in the standings. Compare this to 2021, the rider from Czech Rebublic has only failed to score on one occasion in the four rounds that he has contested; last year that number was five! Working on the new CRF250R is also something that Jacky enjoys, and when Polak made it to the first turn in 3rd place in Mantova, this was proof that the

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work they are doing is going in the right direction; ‘Last year he was hardly never in the top 20, now our average result is 14/15th and I think we do good and I like the 250; that I have a bike with good performance in Mantova, is already a big step and with a rider that we need to improve, so we see. I have a good feeling with it and as long as we can we will continue with it.’

JWR Honda There is another relatively new member to the Honda family in the form of JWR Honda Racing. Like most team owners or managers within the MXGP paddock, Johan Westermark has grown up with bikes all his life, but even though he rode bikes when he was younger, he never had the opportunity to race himself; his passion for bikes came from watching his stepfather race.

‘From the beginning my stepfather was riding GPs in the ‘70s so I was pretty much in that small, small camper in the beginning of my life every weekend, and then eventually I started riding by myself, but I became a father when I was 17 so I couldn’t race; but the passion has always been there. And in some stupid way (laughing) I ended up back here; I don’t know how, but the roads led here.’ **Johan’s stepfather is Torbjorn Winzell who placed 5th overall in the European 125cc championship in 1974. André Malherbe won the title that year, before the 125cc class was upgraded to world championship status in 1975.

He finished on the podium on three occasions, his best result being 2nd overall in Poland.

Johan’s relationship with Honda within MXGP began in 2020, but it’s not the first time the Swede has joined forces with the brand: ‘From the beginning in 2014, I had a Honda team in Sweden and then a couple of years later I started with Yamaha, but they stopped sponsoring in Sweden; that’s why I came back to Honda, so I went home, if you like.’

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At the moment most of his support is through Honda Sweden, where he enjoys good discounts on the bike’s he receives, but he hopes that in the future to have more involvement with Honda Europe as well. As a racing structure, JWR is pretty impressive; it really looks the part, so it’s not surprising that a major manufacturer like Honda is keen to work with them, and if he were to compare himself to any of the other supported teams, he replies modestly: ‘I think I am pretty much the same level as Jacky, maybe just slightly lower because he has been in the paddock for many years, and we are a pretty new team. So, we are a little bit under, but our goal is to be the top team someday. That’s a wish but you never know. We try to develop every year and try to make small things like details, to make it better.’

Representing JWR in the MXGP class is Miro Sihvonen, a former EMX125 race winner, round winner and championship contender before a couple of untimely injuries kept him on the side lines. He’s a hard-working kid who deserves the opportunity to be in MXGP. In Trentino he scored in both races and hopes to build on that next time out in Latvia. Davy Pootjes is also part of the team, but the Dutch rider is currently injured, hopefully to return soon.

The team remain positive, because as Johan says, ‘we try to be as good as we can. We work hard every day, we are pretty young; all the crew is pretty young, but I hope we can get to be the top team one day.’

Small but Perfectly Formed As teams go, the Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz team looks quite a small operation, but as we know, looks can often be deceiving. Former French racer Josse Sallefranque has only been in the MXGP paddock for a couple of seasons, but his passion and drive to succeed are no less than any factory team. The race transporter might not be the biggest, but how Josse presents his team and goes about racing, is more akin to the ‘old school’ way of doing things, as he explains:

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‘We don’t have the big structure but for us it’s really important to make all the budget on the mechanics, the bikes and the riders; it’s important on the track, not in the paddock, so we organise ourselves in a different way to maybe some of the other teams.

With our budget, the priority is to have the good result on the track and after that, in the paddock.’

For 2022, the team has decided to run a rider in both MX2 and MXGP. In MX2 Stephen Rubini currently sits 9th in the standings and has already registered a top 5 race finish at the opening round in Great Britain, whilst Benoit Paturel lines up in MXGP. For Paturel, a rider who placed 3rd overall in the MX2 world championship in 2016, his MXGP campaigns have been marred by injury setbacks, and this year has been no exception, and just before the season opener in England, the Frenchman crashed and picked up a collarbone injury. Before that though, his pace, speed and confidence were back to where he hoped they would be. It’s a shame for a talent like Paturel but the season is long, and hopefully he will be fighting for those top five, top ten places in the near future.

Aside from MXGP though, this team also concentrates on the famous French Sand Racing Championship, where the equally world famous Le Touquet Beach Race is the final round. So, how difficult is it to run this team, where does the budget come from to go racing, and where does Josse place the most importance: MXGP of Sand Racing?

‘It’s difficult but for me, MXGP is the best so we work really hard to be here. It’s a dream for us, so now we will work really hard to continue in the future and I hope to continue again and again, season after season and I hope to finish in the top 10. It’s a dream for us to be here and I want to continue for a few more years.

‘For me it’s really important to have the budget from Honda France and Honda Europe, because if I don’t have that then it’s really impossible for me, so we have two goals; one is to finish on the podium in Le

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Touquet because it’s a big, big race in France and after that, it’s really important to finish top 10, top 12 in MXGP. Now we also have a new category with MX2, with Stephen Rubini so now we have a new goal which is top 10 in MX2. So, to answer your question, I don’t have the preference between Le Touquet and MXGP but, we have two goals, not one goal.’

With a team of this size, it’s a brave move running a rider in each class, especially as it’s widely regarded that running a MX2 bike is more expensive than a 450, but for Sallefranque, the opportunity has come at the right time: ‘The new standard Honda CRF250R is really, really good so that makes it easier for us.

We also have a good tuner so

we found a good solution on the engine, and even if we don’t have a factory bike, we have a good bike to finish top 5, top 7, and when we look at Stephen, this is the place. So, maybe after a good start, I hope he can finish sometimes in the top 3.’

Back to Racing As MXGP heads to Latvia after a one-week break, Team HRC currently the MXGP class with Tim Gjaser. Honda also lead the way in the Manufacturers Championship, and for Giacomo Gariboldi, this a position the team has been in before, and whilst things are looking good, they are not taking things for granted: ‘Last year we felt for two thirds of the season that we had that title and so it was really hurting not

to win, but we all know in this sport that you can get injured any time during the season and it happened before to Jeffrey to be injured, and then it happened to Tim, so you have to accept what happens. In motorsport you know that you are running on blade and sometimes it’s very dangerous, and for sure it gives us more and more motivation to go for the title the following year and we are in the same situation this year.

‘We are leading the championship and we know that everything can change suddenly, so we have to pray that everything goes well until the end. But I’m confident; you have a feeling when everything is going well and hopefully, even if we are at the beginning of the season, I see that all is in place to go for another title.’

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

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TITLE MARC VELKENEERS IN THE 80’S MARC VELKENEERS WAS ONE OF THE FASTEST RIDERS IN THE 125CC CLASS, AND DURING THREE SEASONS FROM 1980 TO 1983 HE WAS A TITLE CONTENDER AGAINST FAMOUS RIDERS SUCH AS HARRY EVERTS, ERIC GEBOERS OR MICHELE RINALDI. BUT BEING FAST AND TALENTED WERE NOT ENOUGH TO SUCCEED, AND A COUPLE OF INJURIES DIDN’T HELP HIM TO REACH HIS DREAM AND TO CLINCH AN INDIVIDUAL TITLE. Born on 5th August 1961 in Heers (Limburg), Marc Velkeneers was only fourteen years old when he started racing mainly in the Netherlands, as it was not possible to race at his age on his home soil considering the Belgian law! As soon as he started racing, he brought back home many trophies, and showed a great potential on sandy tracks during his first junior campaign in 1975. Then and always supported by his father and Lucien Tilkens, the inventor of the famous Cantilever suspensions, Marc entered local championships in Belgium and won races in all classes as he also competed on a 500cc! In 1978 he impressed everyone when he won the 875 Trophy at Orp le Grand (the race format was one heat on a 125cc, one on a 250cc and one on the 500cc) and beat some of the greatest Belgian stars including Roger De Coster, André Malherbe and Georges Jobe! Thanks to this result and a couple of wins in the National championship, the Belgian

Federation gave him a chance to enter the 125cc Belgian GP at Lanklaar Dilsen, where he finished both races in the top ten to score his first points in the 1978 World Championship at 17 years old.

For 1979 Yamaha signed him to race the 125cc World Championship, but finally he wasn’t able to enter any round when someone brought up an old rule saying that it wasn’t possible to race GP’s if you hadn’t turned eighteen at the beginning of the year! Racing national and international events during the season to gain experience, he made a thunderous entrance in the 1980 World Championship as he won the third round of the series in Belgium to become the championship leader until mid season, when he broke his ankle during the German GP. Finally, fourth in the series he was again a title contender in 1981, but lost his chances due to a couple of DNF’s, including a double one at the final round in Spain, where he lost a bronze medal.

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Twice fourth in the 125cc World Championship, Marc was the man to beat during the first rounds of the 1982 season; winner of the first three rounds in Netherlands, Belgium and Austria, he had a tough day in Italy but bounced back in Yugoslavia. The French GP was a nightmare for him, as he crashed and got injured, and was not able to fight for podium honours that season again, and once more missed the final podium in the standings.

After four seasons with Yamaha, he signed with Gilera in 1983 to replace Michele Rinaldi who joined Suzuki; it was another tough season for him, who had to wait to the eighth round of the series to win his first race on the Italian bike, which was not really reliable at this period. The worst memory of the season was the final round in Czech Republic, when he broke the frame during the practice session and couldn’t race the GP as only one bike went trough the technical control.

Moving to the 250cc class with Gilera in 1984 he will again be in contention for a podium result, but even if he won the last GP in Finland, he had to be satisfied with a fourth ranking for the third time in his career. It was his last good season, as Gilera didn’t renew his contract; signing with Maico, who tried to come back to the World Championship, he finished the season in the top ten of the series without any podium result.

Changing brand and classes the following years, he was never again in a position to win a race and finally retired when he turned thirty. Very smart rider, able to beat anyone on a good day and considered as one of the best sand specialist, Marc just missed some more experience on hard pack to be more succesful during his career. Winner of six GP’s in both the 125cc and 250cc class, winner of the 1983 Cup of Nations with the Belgian team, he was back a few years ago in the paddock as a technician for the Gebben Van Venrooy team.

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Text and Photos: Pascal Haudiquert

1978:

30th in the 125 Motocross World Championship (Yamaha)

1980:

4th in the 125 Motocross World Championship (Yamaha). Winner of 1 GP

1981:

4th in the 125 Motocross World Championship (Yamaha). Winner of 1 GP

1982:

5th in the 125 Motocross World Championship (Yamaha). Winner of 3 GP’s

1983:

6th in the 125 Motocross World Championship (Gilera) Winner of the Cup of Nations with team Belgium

1984:

4th in the 250 Motocross World Championship (Gilera).

Winner of 1 GP

1985:

9th in the 250 Motocross World Championship (Maico) 250 Belgian Champion

1986:

12th in the 250 Motocross World Championship (Yamaha)

1987:

10th in the 250 Motocross World Championship (Honda)

1988:

19th in the 250 Motocross World Championship (Kawasaki)

1989:

22th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (Kawasaki)

1990:

15th in the 500 Motocross World Championship (Kawasaki)

1991:

42nd in the 500 Motocross World Championship (Honda)

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S K L A T K C O D PAD

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MXGP Academy youngsters enjoying the riding session at the MXGP of PatagoniaArgentina

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MXGP riders enjoyed an exciting autograph event in Villa La Angostura in front of an enthusiastic crowd of fans!

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Kevin Benavides of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Rally Team enjoying the MXGP action in Argentina

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Rui Gonçalves, Former MX2 Vice World Champion made an appearance at the MXGP of Portugal as he caught up with Lisa Leyland LIVE on MXGP-TV

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Alpine Skiing Vice World Champion Luca de Aliprandini came to support his friend Jeremy Seewer at the MXGP of Trentino

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Three Generations of the Everts family, Harry, Stefan and Liam signed autographs at the Sidi stand in Trentino!

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The Organisers of the MXGP Sultanate of Oman visited MXGP for the first time in Pietramurata.

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Antonio Cairoli caught up with Lisa Leyland for a pre-grid interview at the MXGP of Trentino

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MXGP’s official lubricant partner Liqui Molly representatives enjoyed MXGP races in the sunshine at MXGP of Trentino.

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10 Yamaha Official Tenere 700 Rider Pol Tarres came to enjoy some MXGP racing in Trentino.

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Photos: Pascal Haudiquert

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

JACKY VIMOND 1986 YAMAHA YZ250 102

WHEN JACKY VIMOND WON THE 1986 FIM 250CC MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP HE BECAME A NATIONAL HERO BY BECOMING THE FIRST EVER MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPION FROM FRANCE, PAVING THE WAY FOR THE LIKES OF JEAN-MICHEL BAYLE, SEBASTIEN TORTELLI, MARVIN MUSQUIN AND OTHERS TO GO OUT AND DO THE SAME. HE DID IT WITH STYLE, AND HE DID IT WITH FLAIR; HE ALSO DID IT WITH A BIT OF PINK THROWN IN AS WELL, AND IT’S VIMOND’S TITLE WINNING YZ250 THAT WE WILL FEATURE IN THIS ISSUE OF MXGP MAGAZINE.

me full factory bikes and for sure they helped me a lot.’

When Jacky Vimond first entered the motocross world championship, it was in the 125cc class riding a YZ125. It wasn’t just any ordinary 125cc though; he’d already caught the eye of the French Yamaha importer Sonauto, who liked what they saw. Sonauto wielded a certain amount of power within the Yamaha fraternity and were closely linked to the racing division in Japan, and so when push came to shove, a young Jacky Vimond soon found himself racing a factory bike in the eighth-litre division: ‘Before the 250cc class I raced in 125cc; it was the last years with the factory bike, a real factory bike, in ’81, ‘82’ 83 with Yamaha. Full factory bike. I was lucky with Yamaha Sonauto, they had a lot of power at that time so they were able to get

After placing 2nd overall in the 250cc world championship in 1984 and ’85, Vimond came into the ’86 season full of confidence, but how ‘factory’ was the 250cc that he was racing at this time?

‘It was a normal YZ250; it was the time that Yamaha stopped with the factory 250cc because they were focussed more on the YZM500, so I arrived there at the wrong time. I think the last year that Yamaha did a full factory bike was with Danny La Porte (1982), so when I started in 250cc in 1984, we just rode with the kits from Yamaha - the cylinder, cylinder head, exhaust pipe and some nuts and bolts (titanium), wheels and suspension. But anyway, with that bike I became a world champion so it means the bike was really good.’

Testing during the off-season was quite limited, with not so many parts to test, but the parts that were introduced for 1986 improved the bike significantly: ‘The power delivery was okay, nothing really strong, just normal.

At that time, we start with the valve on the cylinder and the ignition; I mean we had to use the clutch anyway, which was not a really big problem … but one of the main changes was to the suspension, particularly, the front forks, which were the new upside down Öhlins units. It made a lot of difference; it was not perfect but for me it was better than the classic one. In ’85 we ran the original conventional front fork from Yamaha (Kayaba). I tested the USD front fork and for me, they gave me technically something more, but the problem was to find something more progressive. If it was too hard it gave a problem to the hands (blisters), and if it was too soft, it was coming down quick (in the stroke). It was difficult to adjust these things at that time.’

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There was also a little bit of trickery being played as well, which might have given the illusion that Vimond was racing a 1987 model, as Jacky recalls: ‘We painted the bike white, (standard was a red frame) because in ’87 the production bike was going to be white. Yamaha wanted to do like a pre-promotion about the ’87 colours so they painted my ’86 bike in white.

But seriously, from ’85 to ’86 they improved a few things and I felt really good on that bike.’

Jacky was also the only rider, certainly from Yamaha at least, to use a rear disc brake, which obviously improved braking no-end as well.

A 7th place finish in the opening race of the season in Austria did nothing to dampen Vimond’s spirits, and after going on a win-rampage, the French ace won four from the next five races, to take over the championship lead.

A poor judgement call, in the first race in Italy at Gallarate also cost him some points, after the hard-pack track had been heavily watered: ‘The problem was, the track it was really hard, and they were watering the track so I hesitated about the tyres. We had so much choice at that time with Dunlop; hard, medium, soft … but it was my mistake! I thought because the track was hard, I should go with the hard tyre, but it was a mistake in the beginning because it was really slippery.

I think I did one crash. Yeah, it was my fault!

It was a good memory also, because I fight a little bit with Michele Rinladi.’

He managed to follow up a no score with a 2nd in race two, so the title was still very much looking good.

Two no-scores were registered in Belgium when Vimond reverted back to how he raced in ’84/’85 which he painfully recalls through gritted teeth: ‘Ooooh! That’s a bad memory! It was like in ’84, ’85 where I make one race good, one race bad … and here was TACK! No, I did two really bad crashes there. After this race I said ‘no! No, never again!’ because we were going back to how it was before, STOP! And the race after was in Switzerland at

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Roggenthurm … I went 1-1, so it was just a mistake for one weekend, not like I did before.’

One week later at a muddy Rudersberg, Germany, Jacky Vimond romped to an emphatic double race win - his fourth double win of the campaign, and his eleventh win of the season - and wrapped up the world championship with two rounds to spare, and headed off to the USGP at Unadilla with the hope of competing with the top American riders, but things did not go according to plan: ‘So, my goal in Unadilla was really to fight with the American’s you know.

At one time I was with the famous guys, one of the most famous guys at that time; he was getting a little bit old but he was still really famous (and still fast); Bob Hannah! And I really wanted to be with him, really tried to beat him of course, and I do maybe 110% and I kill myself after three laps! Not so much for the heat, but I killed myself to try to do more and more like a lap time, for 4 laps, 106

with no stop, because I had one goal you know, and then … yeah! And then maybe also I stopped because I was already world champion.’

When Vimond returned to Europe for the final round I Sweden, a 5th in race one was followed up with a DNF in race two, the only non-finish of the season due to a technical issue; a broken ignition.

Just as well that the title was decided with two rounds to go!

The bike that took Jacky Vimond to the 250cc world title started out as a production YZ250, but with factory kits coming from Japan, the bike came equipped with a different cylinder, piston, cylinder head, ignition but the reed valve was standard. The 38mm Mikuni carburettor was made from magnesium and so too were the wheel hubs. The fuel tank though, was a standard, plastic item and was ‘blown out’ with hot air to make it bigger, particularly for the fuelsapping sand races.

One of the biggest changes was the switch from KYB to Öhlins suspension, with Vimond using

the all-new, first-generation, USD fork. Whilst he admits the forks were difficult to set up, they offered him something else, which clearly worked out on track, and although the overall power of the engine might not have been hard-hitting, it was smooth and therefore easier to manage and ride.

From the twenty-four moto’s raced, Vimond placed inside the top three no fewer than fifteen times, elven of those as a winner.

He also won a total of seven GP’s overall. So, how did it feel to win the world championship to become the first rider from France to do so?

‘It was a really big thing! You’re waiting for this for many years, and the really first French rider to show the other French guys that it could be possible to be world champion was Jean-Jacques Bruno, so everybody thought it would be Jean-Jacques to be the first one. He was the first one to be riding with a factory bike, who had a contract with a factory bike, you know … with Suzuki, it didn’t happen, so then everybody was looking for the next one. And it was me!’

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

Hi, I would like to buy MXGP clothes for the upcoming German GP, where can I order online?

Ugo

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Hi Ugo , you can buy our clothes and accessories HERE https:// www.mxgp-store.com/ Best Regards MXGP

❝ ❞

When do the MXGP Academy activities take place during the race weekends?

Andrea

Hi Andrea , Activities dedicated to children take place at dedicated GP’s on Friday from 12pm to 7pm and on Saturday around 11:30.

You can find more information HERE: https://www.mxgp. com/inside-mxgp/academy Regards MXGP

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Hi, is there an app where you can watch MXGP on TV? Chris

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Dear Chris , You can watch the races from our website, on your laptop, smartphone or tablet and connect the device to your TV and enjoy the races!

Best Regards MXGP

❝

where can I buy one ticket to gI am very interested in MXGP, I would like to know how a race weekend works, is there an information guide?

Joao

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Hello Joao: Of course, you can find our guide to this season by downloading the document on the following link: https:// www.mxgp.com/motocross/ inside-mxgp/mxgp-guide-2021 Thanks MXGP

❝

Hey MXGP, where can I find the latest issue of the magazine?

Julia

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Hi Julia you can check out the latest issue of MXGP Magazine HERE: https://issuu.com/mxgpmag Thanks MXGP

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