MX2 is GO
By TMX Archives on 25th Feb 15
The World Motocross Championship kicks off at the Losail circuit in Qatar this weekend.And for the first time in five years the No.1 plate will appear in GP racing as Jordi Tixier wheels out a Kawasaki for the first time at world level, after clinching the crown in a nerve-tingling Mexican finale last September.
The Frenchman – surely the most stylish rider in world motocross today – has already proved that he has adapted well to the green machines with a dominant double win at Hawkstone.
But he is not the hot favourite to take a second consecutive world crown.
Jeffrey Herlings is expected to be the dominant figure in MX2 GP racing again this year.
But of course the 20-year-old Dutch phenomenon has already learned the hard way that the fastest riders don't always win titles.
It will be fascinating to see how fast he is in Qatar after no races and just three weeks' training back on the bike.
But he was only fractionally further forward with his preparation 12-months earlier and still recorded the first of a dozen 2014 GP victories under the floodlights in Qatar.
Crashes are part of the scenario for a rider who pushes the limit as much as the ‘Bullit', and both he and KTM know that they cannot celebrate until his rivals' mathematical chance is gone.
Perhaps the only thing to say for sure about Jeffrey is that we won't see him race an 85cc machine again.
Tixier was the perfect foil to Herlings in the Mattighofen awning, his cool refusal to ride over the top a clear distinction to the all-action Dutchman.
A European title and four years of GP racing have been completed without a single injury and the Frenchman goes into his final year on 250s without missing a race in that period – a singularly unique record.
Anyone who has had contact with Jordi since he clinched gold cannot help notice how the title has boosted his confidence, while he has still managed to keep both feet on the ground.
He is realistic enough to know that Herlings will again be faster but after standing alongside his friend 18 times on a lower step of the podium in two seasons, he is now quietly confident.
FOR FULL REPORT AND PICTURES SEE TMX NEWS, FERUARY 26, 2015 (ISSUE 1960)
