Take two in Thailand
By Infront Moto Racing on 2nd Mar 16
Its all new, its in central Thailand, and it will play host to the second round of the FIM Motocross World Championship this weekend. A new motocross track has been built in Suphan Buri, a province of Thailand located a couple of hours North West of Bangkok, the countries capital.
It will be the first time this year that the riders of the MXGP and MX2 world championships are on a 100% level playing field with the track being made specifically for this event. In terms of what to expect from the track, the track staff have said it is in complete contrast to the jumpy circuit we had at the MXGP of Thailand last year. Instead it is an intermediate to hard-ish soil that has been well ripped with less jumps and a quicker and more flowing layout.
While a new track on its own is a big challenge, not just for the riders but for the teams as well as they will be searching all weekend to find a good bike set up and pick good tires, the biggest challenge is probably going to be the heat with the forecast predicting temperatures that will burst the thermometer at 38 – 40 degrees Celsius.
The first few rounds of the championship are always crazy; nerves, hype and expectation are a few things that often affect the riders while the mechanics and team staff are often revising set-ups and trying to settle back into the race environment. One rider who caught everyone by surprise last weekend at the opening round of the championship in Qatar was Honda Gariboldi's Tim Gajser. Gajser, who is last years FIM MX2 World Champion, was oozing confidence in Losail and it reflected in the way he raced. The new rookie sensation got off to two good starts and threw down consistently fast laps to dominate the premier class on his debut. The nineteen year old has struggled with the heat of Thailand in the past, so this weekend will be a massive test.
The defending MXGP world champion, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing's Romain Febvre has always done well here. Over the last three years he has landed on the podium twice in MX2 and just missed it here in the MXGP class last year. Judging by those statistics alone, and the fact he has amazing mental strength will make him a solid bet for the overall.
It's cold in Russia right now, so this heat is a major challenge for Team HRC's Evgeny Bobryshev who is looking stronger than ever at the moment. The long time Honda rider doesn't have the best memories from racing over here, but a winter of solid training and a great start in Qatar could be enough to make a difference in his results.
Thailand was the catalyst of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing rider Jeremy Van Horebeek'spodium streak in 2014. The Belgian in blue took his first ever premier class podium in the heat of Si Racha, Thailand back in 2014 and then strung together a further run of ten consecutive podiums thereafter. Ideally, he would love to play that record again, so let's see if he can throw it on.
As for the eight-time world champ, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Antonio Cairoli is normally a force in this corner of the globe having never finished off of the podium. The Italian legend has topped the box twice and is arguably one of the fittest riders in the class. He hasn't made a podium appearance in the last eleven rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championship with his most recent being a third place at the MXGP of France last year. This weekend the soaring heat could play in his favor and see him finally turn that ship around.
MXGP Championship Top 10: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 42 p.; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 42 p.; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 34 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 33 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 25 p.; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 25 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 25 p.; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 24 p.
