Tom Vialle launches his 2022 MX campaign with Lacapelle Marival Masters of Motocross

By Press Release on 4th Feb 22

MXGP Hawkstone International Tom Vialle Lacapelle Marival

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing continue their schedule and programme for the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship as MX2 title contender, Tom Vialle, makes his first competitive appearance of the year this weekend in France.

The 21-year-old Frenchman will race in front of expectant native fans at the scenic, compact and hard-packed circuit located in the centre of the Lacapelle Marival town. The annual international pre-season meeting Masters of Motocross is back on the agenda for the first time since 2020 and around the course that hosted the 2021 Grand Prix of France.

Vialle will compete with his brand new KTM 250 SX-F as the team maintain their testing and development work ahead of the opening round of MXGP in the UK on February 20. Lacapelle will not only be the 2020 world champions first race of the year but also the first in his 2022 livery and with the innovative KTM 250 SX-F. He will face a number of MX2 Grand Prix peers.

The team will then travel to Great Britain to contest the Hawkstone International the following weekend. Vialle triumphed at the last edition of the sandy fixture in 2020 when he went four-one in two damp motos to walk the top of the overall podium.

"It hasnt been such a long off-season since the final Grand Prix of 2021 but I actually took quite a long break because of my foot fracture," Vialle confessed.

"I worked a lot physically but its been just over a month since I started riding. So, perhaps less bike time than usual but I feel better every training every session.

"Im happy to go to Lacapelle because its a nice track and a decent place to try the new bike in race conditions and to know where we are for set-up. Its good to have some gate drops there and in England before the first GP because we like mix racing on hard-pack and in the sand to know our feeling."

Tom Vialle (Image: Ray Archer)