Preview: 2016 World MXGP/MX2 Championship

By Alex Hodgkinson on 18th Feb 16

There has been no repeat of the hype from 2015 with the ultimate clash of two worlds Toni Cairoli versus Ryan Villopoto.But the 2016 MXGP series promises to be even more intriguing that its predecessor... and hopefully with less injuries.

Just six riders in each class went to the gate in all 36 motos last year and series organiser Youthstream has already reacted to slow the pace with rotavation and more technical tracks.

If their track prep succeeds, it will then be down to the riders to control their zealous over-enthusiasm and misplaced feeling of impregnability.

There will be injuries – there already have been – but the champion will be the rider who not only races fast but also races a complete season. Romain Febvre heralded a brave new era last summer when he took over the mantle from perennial champion Tony Cairoli.

But the Italian is surely not yet finished at the age of 30 and 2016 should offer a fascinating struggle between the old gard and the new usurpers... and not just ‘Le Petit Prince' versus TC#222.

Let's take a look at the GP prospects.

Tony Cairoli never actually earned the red plate through the whole of 2015 but his gritty determination through the pain barrier kept the 2014 champion in the hunt for longer than anyone could have dreamed.

Tony's 2016 got off to a false start when he already broke ribs last month, but don't write him off yet.

He has hit back from worse in the past.

2015 Champion Romain Febvre has also been in the wars already, needing an elbow stitching after an unnecessary crash in Italy, and 2016 will be an even stiffer test of his character than anything he faced last year.

They say the first defence is the hardest, and the evidence from the past would fill a book. But Romain looked good in Sardinia, cool and confident and never rushed. He is a champion the rest will have to beat.

But the MXGP title chase is far from being a two horse race.

Clement Desalle was intensely strong last year until he got injured in France – remember Ryan Villopoto's career came to an end desperately trying to fend off the Belgian – and his debut win in green at Hawkstone emphasised that his winter trip to Socal to get acquainted with his new steed was fruitful.

After three times silver and twice bronze, the ‘Panda' wants gold.

Max Nagl took off like a rocket last year with a maximum in Qatar and won three of the first four rounds to inherit the points lead again as soon as Desalle's challenge went up in smoke.

But the German has never coped with pressure and splattered himself out of the race on home soil as the Febvre charge gained momentum.

Max has a blue and yellow Factory Edition this year, but has not got the all-important starts dialled in yet.

Gautier Paulin had no master bar Shaun Simpson in sand last year, but the tall Frenchman looked awkward on the compact CRF450 and, although he packed the series silver medal, his average finish – and he did complete every moto bar one – was a mere fifth.

At the season opener it was clear that he has spent the winter working on his style to blend better with the Honda, but he still looked awkward.

His team-mate, Russian Evgeny Bobryshev has been on fire, confident and energetic as he enters a season fully fit for the first time since his CAS Honda days.

And not only his huge army of admirers will wish the Russian well.

Shaun Simpson has an even larger fan base, his nomination as star performer in this year's ‘Living For The Weekend' film, emphasising his popularity.

The Scot was the only man to beat Febvre head-to-head during the second half of last year and factory support has boosted his confidence, as witnessed already at Hawkstone.

The perennial privateer has become a genuine title candidate.

Ben Townley's career looked over when he left Europe under a shadow five-years ago after a misplaced comeback with CLS.

But his nomination for the Nations team, and a stunning second behind world champion, Febvre, in the final moto, have rejuvenated the Kiwi's career and reunited him with respected former rival Stefan Everts as the record champ takes over the reigns at Suzuki.

The friends needed each other, but just hope ‘BT' can avoid injury for the second season in his career. Incidentally, he was world champion the only time he did complete a season.

Kevin Strijbos remains at Suzuki as his team-mate and has a silver medal to his name, but the Belgian must learn to deliver on Sunday more often; he was the king of qualifying last year, but, despite the machinations of Youthstream last autumn, the Saturday races still bring no points.

World No.2 in 2014 Jeremy Van Horebeek set his sights on gold last year and when it didn't happen in the early rounds his season fell apart.

But the ‘Jerre' picked himself up to grab a podium at Mantova and has been effervescent through the early races this year.

The Mattighofen No.2s are truly that.

Glenn Coldenhoff won a GP last year in Latvia, but the ‘Hoff' has been struggling badly with arm-pump on his return to KTM, while Husky may regret discarding Nathan Watson if Christophe Charlier's knee is as wrecked as it seems.

Kawasaki's Jordi Tixier is another not expected to light up the sky.

Those are the factory teams, but there is one more factory bike.

Tim Gajser, Honda's golden boy for the 21st century, has exercised his right to move up to the main class at 19 rather than defend his MX2 title.

The Slovenian made everyone sit up and take notice as he ran the wheels off two thirds of the world elite at Alghero before the clutch gave out. A little bird claims it wasn't the first time this winter either.

Tim would appear to need to be a little less prone to twitchy index and middle fingers.

But don't discount his ability to adapt, and his arrival heralds the second phase of the new wave arising from MX2.

A further 12 months down the line, Jeffrey Herlings and Max Anstie will move up too and 2016 may be the last chance for the generation which has ruled for the last decade.

Factory bikes are special, and you have to be special to get your hands on one. The ‘privateers' are likely to be in a different race. Ken De Dycker is nearing the end of his career as he goes back to MX24.

Matiss Karro gets another chance and should be better than the Honda Europe 2015 crew, but a top ten will only come if the Latvian can outlast the factory guns.

Meanwhile, Tommy Searle has first to prove that he can race up front regularly on a 450. Injuries have wrecked his MXGP career since a promising rookie year but, at 26, he needs to deliver on Steve Dixon's KX if the factories are to be tempted to take a chance again.

Valentin Guillod has been impressive at the Nations in one-off MXGP rides but he has wisely stifled his effervescent style during the early Italian races.

Time will tell what happens when he tries to twist the throttle a little more again.

Britain's Jake Nicholls will start his GP season at Valkenswaard over Easter, and his first aim must be to stay seated for long enough to fly home Sunday evenings rather than sitting in the medical unit or watching the show from the sofa.

Alex Snow gets the chance to take in the Asian rounds with JK Yamaha and the Euro rounds are also planned.

Points are necessary to pull in the Latin American races too, but everything is possible with only two-dozen travellers in Qatar and Thailand.

Two questions spring immediately to mind regarding the MX2 class. Can Jeffrey Herlings avoid messing up again? And can anybody run with him?

The most exhilarating sand rider in the history of motocross has cast away two world titles through injury but – with the sympathetic and steadying influence of Joel Smets – he has had a good winter, building slowly over a period of more than two months.

He has won everything pre-season in MX2, declined to get locked into unnecessary duels with 450s and, although he could continue into 2017 in MX2, envisages this summer as his last in the class.

His body has been wrecked so often that he will never again be the ‘Bullit' of 2013 but he is probably still too fast for the opposition.

But who might be able to run with him?

Dylan Ferrandis came closest last spring before he wrecked himself and is back for one final GP campaign before going full-time stateside, where he has prepared in the sun rather than risk rain in Europe.

Pauls Jonass stepped it up in the second half of last year when KTM fortunes rested on his shoulders but he also started to crash more often at the faster pace.

He does bounce well, but has missed most of the pre-season with a hyperextension of his thumb ligaments and is Mattighofen's youngster waiting in the wings for 2017.

Unless, that is, Stefan Everts steals him for Suzuki.

But the man who should push Herlings the hardest is, of course, Britain's Max Anstie.

Having matured tremendously in the last couple of years Max has simply been going through the motions during the early season races but he has been going very quickly through the motions when the opportunity has arisen.

Armed with virtually the same bike as Herlings but in a separate camp, the rider who dominated the second half of 2015 is ready to take the battle to Jeffrey.

The rest are probably racing for fifth.

Thomas Covington probably has the best chance of joining the front bunch at times. Max Anstie's team-mate gets his ride at Rockstar Suzuki on merit, and Jacky Martens signed him before he won in Mexico but first task this spring is to take care of the arm pump.

Over at Suzuki Jeremy Seewer should again be a permanent top six contender and only time will tell if he can make the next step, while Brian Hsu, who will join the title trail at Valkenswaard, is an outstanding talent with a first-class racing brain and parents who have supported without pressure.

It is surely no coincidence that both these boys come from really nice families.

The two Yamaha crews of Benoit Paturel, Brent Van Doninck, Sascha Tonkov and Julien Lieber will be racing for top ten places every week, together with Kawasaki No.2 Petar Petrov but the sensation of 2016 will probably be Steve Dixon's new boy Vsevolod Brylyakov.

The ever-smiling Russian has now served his apprenticeship with Gariboldi and J-Tech and his brace of fifths at Uddevalla last summer were sensational. A one-off ? Surely not, his lack of front line results for the rest of the summer were the consequence of a shoulder injury the following weekend.

With DRT Cosworth power he could even start pushing podium before the summer is out.

Honda enter 2016 as defending champions in MX2 but there is little prospect of a repeat.

One-time whizz kid Jorge Zaragoza has gone right off the boil, new Gariboldi signing David Herbreteau appears to have a bigger mouth than talent, and the J-Tech duo of Damon Graulus and Henry Jacobi are contracted through Honda Europe, not HRC.

The brightest light on the horizon in red is Michele Cervellin, a Chiodi-style smooth perfectionist who has grown in stature beyond recognition since being nominated for the Nations.

However, the Italian will only contest the European rounds of the series.

A similar fate awaits Ben Watson but his Hawkstone form augurs well for him finally making an important step, the 2016 Mattighofen bike offering him the chance.

The orange version should also see a third Brit chasing top-ten places as Adam Sterry moves full-time to the GPs and Steve Turner's boy has the added benefit of racing with the best from the word go in Asia and Latin America.

After a couple of years with a strung-out field MX2 has depth again and there will be no gifted points this summer.

KTM third-string Davy Pootjes, HSF's Brian Bogers and Calvin Vlaanderen, TM factory wild boy Samuele Bernardini on possibly the fastest straight-line bike in the class and Alfie Smith are all real points chasers.

Alfie has really upped his game this year after daily riding in Italy with JK Yamaha.

Support for the WMX series has shrunk with Meghan Rutledge gone while the German girls have all but quit the world series, and the title should be a straight fight between Kiara Fontanesi and Livi Lancelot again, with Nancy Van de Ven and Natalie Kane hopefully close at hand.

Let's also wish Stacey Fisher and Elaine MacEachern well as they head off to the Gulf next week.

The MXGP and MX2 titles will go to the factories.

But let's shout loud and clear for Shaun and Max and for the rest of the Brits as they chase top-ten finishes.

The action begins next Friday morning (GMT) with daylight practice in Qatar.

By Saturday evening we will be a little wiser about who can run up front – and TMX will be there to keep you informed.

2016 World MXGP/MX2 Championship – Dates & venues

February 27 – Losail, QATAR

March 6 – Suphan Buri, THAILAND

March 28 – Valkenswaard, HOLLAND

April 10 – Neuquen, Patagonia, ARGENTINA

April 17 – Leon, MEXICO

May 1 – Kegums, LATVIA

May 8 – Teutschenthal, GERMANY

May 15 – Pietramurata, Trentino,

ITALY

May 29 – Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, SPAIN

June 5 – St Jean d'Angely, FRANCE

June 19 – Matterley Basin, nr Winchester, BRITAIN

June 26 – Mantova, ITALY

July 24 – Loket, CZECH REPUBLIC

July31 – Lommel, BELGIUM

August 7 – Frauenfeld-Gachnang, SWITZERLAND

August 14 – Assen, HOLLAND

September 3 – Charlotte Motor Speedway,

North Carolina, USA

September 11 – Glen Helen, California, USA