MXoN: Mantova 2021 Preview
By Infront Moto Racing on 22nd Sep 21
The biggest off-road event of the season is back! This weekend will see the return of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations as Mantova, Italy, will play the host of the 74th edition of the MXoN.
Last year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, motocross fans all over the world were deprived of the legendary race, but this weekend will be a weekend to celebrate as 33 nations will send their best three riders to Mantova, where they will fight for pride and glory, in the hope of bringing home the coveted Chamberlain Trophy.
Mantova, located in the north of Italy, is a modern take on a sand circuit, featuring a series of man-made jumps, while the sand sits atop a hard base, which makes this track different to other sand circuits.
While Mantova has hosted the FIM Motocross World Championship since the beginning of the 90s, this will be the first time that the Italian venue will have the honour of holding the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations.
Team Netherlands will line up in Mantova as the defending champions following their maiden win in Assen back in 2019. Red Bull KTM Factory Racings Jeffrey Herlings, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racings Glenn Coldenhoff and F&H Kawasaki Racings Roan Van De Moosdijk will fight to repeat the teams success and add a second victory for the nation. Herlings is in great form as he currently leads the MXGP World Championship standings, while Coldenhoff has been settling in well with his new team and has plenty of individual overall victories at the event which will no doubt set him up nicely for this year too. For Van De Moosdijk this will be the first Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, with the youngster keen on performing well for the team.
The Netherlands are one of the favourites but another team that will be looking to take Chamberlain Trophy are home heroes Team Italy. The team made up of Red Bull KTM Factory Racings Tony Cairoli, Mattia Guadagnini and Alessandro Lupino of MRT Racing Team KTM is one of the strongest line-ups of the event. Despite a heavy crash during the MXGP of Sardegna, the nine-time world champion will line up for the races this weekend to represent his nation in the hope of adding another very important victory to his already impressive statistics, as Cairoli is yet to win a Monster Energy FIM MXoN with Team Italy. Guadagnini who is battling for the MX2 world title and Lupino who has had some incredible results in MXGP this season perfectly complete the team which has a real chance to go for gold this year.
Team Great Britain headed by SS24 KTM MXGPs Shaun Simpson, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racings Ben Watson and Conrad Mewse of Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee are also strong contenders as the squad takes aim at a podium finish for the fourth consecutive time after finishing on the box at Matterley Basin, RedBud and Assen.
Theres also Team France made up of Red Bull KTM Factory Racings Tom Vialle, F&H Kawasaki Racings Mathys Boisrame and Team Honda SR Motoblouzs Benoit Paturel as well as Team Germany with Max Nagl, SM Honda Racings Henry Jacobi and Simon Lngenfelder of DIGA PROCROSS GASGAS FACTORY RACING and Team Denmark with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racings Thomas Kjer Olsen, Mikkel Haarup of F&H Kawasaki Racing and WZ Racing KTMs Bastian Beogh-Damm who are a real threat this year also.
Team Estonia are another notable team to mention with Gert Krestinov, Harri Kullas and Jorgen-Matthias Talviku representing the nation. Both Krestinov and Kullas are experienced Monster Energy MXoN riders who will no doubt use their experience to bring Team Estonia the highest team classification.
While this season Team Belgium will feature some fresh new faces as Liam Everts of Liamski KTM, Brent Van Doninck of Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing and Cyrcil Genot will represent the multi-time Monster Energy MXoN winning team.
A total of 33 teams will take part in the 74th edition of the event that is set to be more intense than ever before. There is a full schedule of events, including the Team Presentation which will be live at 17:00 (CEST) on www.MXGP-TV.com and MXGP's YouTube channel. Meanwhile, Saturday will see the YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup 65 and 85 races, as well as the traditional qualifying heats and the brand-new Junior eMotocross session one, while Sunday will see the YZ bLU cRU FIM Europe Cup 125 action followed by the second session of the Junior eMotocross category and of course the MXoN main races that will determine the outcome of the 74th edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations!
Timetable (CEST)
All times are local. Mantova is one hour ahead of the UK.
Friday
MXoN Teams Presentation to the Crowd 17:00
Ballot 19:00
Saturday
Free practice bLU cRU YZ65 07:40
Free practice bLU cRU YZ85 07:55
Free practice bLU cRU YZ125 08:10
Free/Time practice Junior eMotocross 08:25
Time practice bLU cRU YZ65 08:45
Free practice bLU cRU YZ85 09:10
Free practice bLU cRU YZ125 09:35
Free Practice MXGP 10:00
Free practice MX2 10:50
Free Practice Open 11:40
Race bLU cRU YZ65 13:10
Race bLU cRU YZ85 13:45
Qualifying Heat MXGP 14:30
Qualifying Heat MX2 15:30
Qualifying Heat Open 16:30
Session 1 Junior eMotocross 17:25
Sunday
Warm-up B-Final 8:35
Race bLU cRU YZ125 09:20
Warm-up MXoN Group 1 10:05
Warm-up MXoN Group 2 10:25
B-Final 11:00
Session 2 Junior eMotocross 12:25
MXoN Race 1 (MXGP+MX2) 13:10
MXoN Race 2 (MX2+Open) 14:40
MXoN Race 3 (Open+MXGP) 16:08
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