British MXGP preview
By Alex Hodgkinson on 21st May 14
The biggest weekend of the year in UK motocross is upon us as the stars of world MX descend on Hampshire for two days of action at Matterley Basin. Cairoli, Desalle, Van Horebeek, Searle, Simpson, Nicholls, Herlings, Tonus, Ferrandis, Febvre, Tixier, Anstie and Pocock will all be there to thrill you with their skills.
But there is also so much more to look forward to at Matterley. With five classes going to the line the action will be almost non-stop from early Saturday morning until tea time on Sunday. And EMX2 is guaranteed to be just as absorbing as the GP classes with UK interest at the head of the pack.
And, if the series opener in Bulgaria is an indication, there will be terrific action all through the field in the ultimate feeder class for future GP stars.
Ben Watson had two stunning rides on the Hitachi KTM at Sevlievo to grab the series red plate. The 16-year-old was joined on the podium by Steven Clarke aboard his CRC Toomer – and the lad from the Black Country will carry the red plate at Matterley after victory in Spain.
Adam Sterry (Wilvo Forkrent KTM), Watson's team-mate James Cottrell plus Michael Eccles aboard the Silver Action KTM add to the UK riders who will be in the mix for points.
The continental opposition is headed by Euro 125cc champ Pauls Jonass on the Marchetti KTM, Bud Kawasaki's Jorge Zaragoza, Martin Honda's Michele Cervellin, Nico Aubin's kid brother Arnaud, J-Tech Honda's Thomas Olsen and Kalle Olsson and HSF Logistics KTM duo Brian Bogers and Ceriel Klein Kromhof.
Belgian hotshots Brent Van Doninck and Sullivan Jaulin and the German-based duo of Henry Jacobi and Calvin Vlaanderen will also be in the mix.
But the main attraction are the two GP classes. And to get you in the mood TMX offers you pen portraits of the top 16 contenders from each class – MXGP and MX2.
MXGP Class
3 Tanel Leok (Estonia – Ricci TM) Age 28, 3 GP wins.
The Estonian is well-known to UK fans from his days with MVR-D. And he has gradually dragged himself back into the frame after a winter knee injury seriously affected his form in the overseas GPs.
9 Ken De Dycker (Belgium – Red Bull KTM) Age 29, 5 GP wins.
The KTM factory No.2 missed the first five GPs after sustaining a wrist injury during the winter, then an ankle injury the day after he got back on a bike in March. ‘Keeno' is a loyal No.2 and he could prove vital in the championship if Cairoli comes under a bit of pressure.
19 David Philippaerts (Italy – DP19 Yamaha) Age 30, 12 GP wins.
The 2008 world champion is the oldest rider contesting the GPs and had to start his own team to get a ride this year. David hopes to continue in management when his career ends.
22 Kevin Strijbos (Belgium – Rockstar Suzuki) Age 28, 5 GP wins.
The 2012 Maxxis champion has three wins to his credit at the GPs this year but all of them have come in qualification. When it comes to the serious stuff Kevin appears to be just short of the pace and has been trailed off by the Big Four.
24 Shaun Simpson (Scotland – Hitachi KTM UK) Age 26, 1 GP win.
The sensational winner of the final GP of 2013, Shaun has suffered wretched luck with breakages and contact incidents but has dragged himself back into the world top 10 and was the third fastest man on track in the wet second race in Bulgaria until he slipped off.
25 Clement Desalle (Belgium – Rockstar Suzuki) Age 25, 16 GP wins.
A run of podiums after a winter of inactivity following his shoulder injury at the Nations have once again made the French-speaking Belgian a leading title contender.
28 Tyla Rattray (South Africa – Ice1 Husqvarna) Age 28, 15 GP wins.
The 2008 MX2 world champion – the last guy to deny Tony Cairoli a title – spent the last five years living the dream in the States and fell on both feet with a factory ride for his return to the GPs. Injury kept him out of the early GPs but he has now established top-six pace on the 350 version of the KTM copy.
39 Davide Guarneri (I – Ricci TM) Age 29, 2 GP wins.
Now nearing the end of a GP career which started as Chad Parker's protege, ‘Mountain Boy' is a regular front runner during the early laps as he takes advantage of the power surge out of the gate which TM have discovered this year.
The benefit is derived from their front-facing air-intake after designers and technicians reversed the positions of airbox and fuel tank.
45 Jake Nicholls (England – Wilvo Forkrent KTM) Age 24, 2 GP podiums.
So close to victory in MX2 last year, the East Anglian is enjoying a typically erratic rookie season in the major class but has shown already that he has the class to run top 10 and the grit to battle from from early misfortune. He is sure to raise his game when spurred on by an enthusiastic home crowd.
89 Jeremy Van Horebeek (Belgium – Rinaldi Yamaha) Age 24, 1 GP win.
‘Jerre' has been the revelation of the season after signing to be Yamaha's sole factory rider in MXGP. He has recorded a succession of podiums and that first GP victory, either moto or overall, must be just around the corner.
91 Matiss Karro (Latvia – Wilvo Forkrent KTM) Age 22.
Mixing MX2 in the Maxxis and MXGP with a 350 on the world stage, Britain's favourite foreigner has suffered some wretched luck with crashes and mechanicals. His do-or-die commitment usually sees him in the mix out of the gate and if he gets round turn one he can run top 10 pace.
100 Tommy Searle (England – Monster CLS Kawasaki) Age 24, 14 GP wins.
Britain's No.1 entered the season as a title contender but a wrist injury at round two shattered his hopes. Now back on a bike for a month, Tommy should have refound race pace by Matterley and will be keen to podium for the home crowd which spurred him on so frantically to the MX2 double-victory two years ago.
183 Steven Frossard (France – Monster KRT Kawasaki) Age 26, 3 GP wins.
The burly Frenchman started the season in style as he chased home KRT colleague Gautier Paulin for a 1-2 in Qatar and a qualification victory in Italy also proved his pace.But, as in the past, his uncompromising commitment has also brought him numerous hefty crashes.
222 Tony Cairoli (Italy – Red Bull KTM) Age 28, 67 GP wins.
The Sicilian is going for a sixth consecutive world title in the premier class and to date all is going to plan with two moto maximums on his best days and hard-fought points hauls on his ‘bad' days. He clinched the title with a moto win at Matterley last year.
777 Evgeny Bobryshev (Russia – HRC Honda) Age 26, 1 GP win.
The Russian, potentially the next world star when he clinched the Maxxis with CAS, is desperately in need of results after two-and-a-half years of injury frustration. As Max Nagl is out with a broken scaphoid, Bobby will be HRC's sole MXGP runner in Hampshire.
999 Rui Goncalves (Portugal – BikeIt Cosworth Yamaha) Age 29, 4 GP wins.
Matterley will be one of the few UK appearances this year for Steve Dixon's MXGP runner as the Portuguese No.1 is committed to his own national championship when not on GP duty.
MX2 CLASS
17 Jose Butron (Spain – Silver Action KTM) Age 23, one GP moto win.
The 2013 world No.3 has had a traumatic season after being promoted to factory status. The Spaniard is still the MX2 holeshot king but has not managed to stay in the top six to the end of a moto since the season-opener in Qatar.
23 Christophe Charlier (France – Rinaldi Yamaha) Age 22, 1 GP moto win.
Yamaha's sole factory runner in MX2 saw his title hopes disappear on the same jump which claimed Tommy Searle in Thailand. However, he got back into racing this month and will be eager to add an overall GP win to the moto defeat of Herlings he achieved last year in Sweden before he moves up to MXGP next year.
26 Luke Styke (Australia – Kemea Reytec Yamaha) Age 22
The 2013 Australian champion in both MX and SX is still looking for his first top-10 finish in his debut MX2 GP season. It will also be his last season in the class as he turns 23 at the end of December.
59 Aleksandr Tonkov (Russia – Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna) Age 20, 1 GP podium.
The lightweight Russian is lightning out of the gate but still has to find the stamina to maintain the pace over a full 35 minutes. However, he has only once failed to finish top 10 and only started to hit peak form last summer at the end of May.
64 Thomas Covington (USA – Monster CLS Kawasaki) Age 18.
The son of Monster Energy CEO Mitch Covington, Thomas won his EMX2 semi at Matterley on his Euro debut last year and initially intended to return to the States after the first four GPs to ride the US Nationals. But after a third place finish in Qatar he has signed a two-year deal with CLS and lives and trains with Tommy Searle in Derby.
84 Jeffrey Herlings (Netherlands – Red Bull KTM) Age 19, 37 GP wins.
The two-time champion has found life more difficult this year after spending most of the off-season off the bike and missing round three of the series in Brazil with a shoulder injury. His unrivalled determination and ability to dig deep have seen him claw his way back into the title hunt with a series of hard-fought victories.
91 Jeremy Seewer (Switzerland – Rockstar Suzuki) Age 19.
The first German-speaking Swiss to cut it on the world stage, Jeremy is now a top-10 regular, even breaking top six a couple of times. EMX2 runner-up last year, he goes full-time pro next month after completing his engineering apprenticeship.
92 Valentin Guillod (Switzerland – Standing Construct KTM) Age 21, EMX2 champion 2013
Having followed Mel Pocock's example by stepping back to dominate EMX2 last summer, the protege of Yves Demaria has already shown his class this season with a qualification victory and near-podium in Italy.
99 Max Anstie (England – BikeIt Cosworth Yamaha) Age 21, 4 GP podiums.
The Brit stunned the world with two runaway performances at the opening GP in Qatar before a mechanical and a single error cost him dear. He added podiums in both other overseas GPs on the 2013 YZ250F but has somewhat lost his way since the series returned to Europe and will be keen to put Steve Dixon's fuel injection bike in the winners' circle of their home GP.
119 Mel Pocock (England – Hitachi KTM UK) Age 21, EMX2 champ 2012.
In his first year at KTM the Sussex youngster has shown leaderboard pace but not results as falls or mechanicals have prevented a top 10 finish during the first quarter of the season. His home track knowledge should correct that at Matterley.
122 Dylan Ferrandis (France – Monster CLS Kawasaki) Age 19, 1 GP moto win.
The dynamic French teenager scored a thrilling bike's-length win over champion Herlings in the opening moto of the 2014 campaign but his form has been erratic since then. He remains one of the leading contenders to pull a shock on his day and is at home on grassland tracks like Matterley.
152 Petar Petrov (Bulgaria – Kemea Reytec Yamaha) Age 19.
The stocky Bulgarian seems to have been around for ever after starting his GP career as a 15-year-old. He is still a teenager and proved in his home GP that he is equally at home on grass as he is in his favourite sandy going.
200 Arnaud Tonus (Switzerland – Monster CLS Kawasaki) Age 22, 1 GP win.
After two seasons devastated through injury, the former Maxxis champion has returned to the forefront of the class this year, taking over the red plate in Herlings' absence in March with an emphatic win in Brazil. Arnaud has proved that form was no flash in the pan by battling the champion wheel-to-wheel in Italy and Bulgaria as the title fight develops into a classic duel.
243 Tim Gajser (Slovenia – Gariboldi Honda) Age 17, EMX125 champion 2012.
Few will forget the teenager's dramatic crash at Matterley last year when his vacated bike flew into the crowd, miraculously injuring no-one. The incident has not dampened his spirits though and Honda's choice to lead them back in MX2 started the season with further crashes as he rails the outside of every turn. He has the pace to finish top three when he stays on.
461 Romain Febvre (France – Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna) Age 22, EMX2 champion 2011.
The former supermoto champion was a podium regular at the start of last year before injury interupted his season but he has rebounded as leader of the Husqvarna challenge this term. A definite candidate for the holeshot, he has already collected more trophies this year and should find Matterley to his liking as he chases that elusive maiden win.
911 Jordi Tixier (France – Red Bull KTM) Age 21, 13 GP podiums.
After 10 podiums last year, Jordi was being groomed to take over when Herlings moves to MXGP next year. But the French rider has wilted under pressure whenever the KTM factory leader is not there. He started to get his act together again in Bulgaria at Easter.
