OK, so RV is in MXGP (does that make it “MXRVGP”?) and that gives extra credence to the general feeling that the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championship is the strongest for many years.
Some stats also back up the urge for hype. The official teams list for 2015 has twenty-eight riders and some eighteen of those know what it takes to win a Grand Prix; twenty-two have walked the podium. Ryan is not among those even though his list of achievements dwarfs practically any motocrosser except for Tony Cairoli—the other rider with whom RV was going to supposedly battle for MXGP rights in 2015. Another point to illustrate that MXGP is one tough nut to crack came at Losail on Saturday night. Neither Villopoto or Cairoli made the top three, neither won a moto and both failed to lead a lap. Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna’s Max Nagl was utterly dominant across a fast, wide, flowing but also bumpy, holey, slick layout punctuated with some long jumps. Two holeshots and two escapes and there was barely any competition in it.
Rockstar Suzuki’s Clement Desalle came to the Middle East with perhaps the best record from the pre-season Internationals and looked the most threatening to the German’s superiority in the first moto but a boot malfunction hindered his path. In the second race Nagl was a little more assertive in the early stages and even more faultless to establish a bigger gap. Gautier Paulin, winner here in 2014, was embarking on his first GP with the works HRC CRF450RW and with Jean-Michel Bayle in his corner. Perhaps mindful of his tendency to shine fast and quickly with GP wins but never with a sustained championship tilt, the French Motocross of Nations winner was the picture of controlled restraint at Losail. GP21 already seemed to be in the championship mood. His third place overall still gave HRC their third trophy in a row after Nagl had produced the goods in the final two fixtures of 2014.
“All through the winter my name was not really there,” Nagl said when asked his view on the promotion of MXGP ’15 as TC vs RV. “In one way you think ‘why is it like this?’ but I always think that actions speak louder than words. So this is my sentence. I didn’t have any nerves as a consequence and maybe this helped.”
“It is a bit of a surprise that they are not up here because everybody is talking about Tony and Villopoto at the moment but there are so many good riders that it will not be so easy for them. We also do our job by training hard.”
That was the top three in Qatar. And what of the two cast leaders? World Champion Cairoli carried a temperature into the first moto and also professed his dislike of the track as well as pointing out that it was not an easy venue for the 350SX-F in comparison to the 450s. The Sicilian had blitzed the qualification heat on Friday night so his malaise—he barely offered resistance to Desalle when overtaken in that first race—was a little surprising. 222 was stronger and ‘more likely’ in the second race when he shadowed the back of Paulin for third place, well aware he needed to pass the Honda to secure third overall but never really looked capable of making an overtaking move. There were lines on the track and options but the 1-min-51-52 lap-times were remarkably close.
While his countrymen and former peers worked under the bulbs of Atlanta 2, Villopoto was given a pretty bright spotlight for his Grand Prix bow (420 of them according to the details of the Musco system that floods the International Circuit here in the maligned FIFA World Cup host territory). The glare was predictably hot for the presence of the Kawasaki rider who must have known that he would be instantly judged for putting his wares into a new shop window. An engine stall on the gate drop to the first moto was a surprising sight and then a collision with Spain’s Jose Butron left him picking up the KX450F; not for the first time in the GP so far. When he motored then Ryan was on the gas. His laps were marginally slower than the leaders and he overtook other riders with guts and feisty efficiency. There was something missing though and it looked obvious that some more work on the KX would be necessary to cope with the chops of a track like Losail, that was actually softer and more rippled compared to previous editions of the GP. RV also had to deal with the loss of his rear brake in the second moto. His final card showed 9-8.
“Pretty s**t. All I know is that every time we went on the track we got better,” he assessed from the confines of the permanent pit garage complex afterwards. “From yesterday until now we got better all the time. We definitely have some things to work on with the bike, set-up-wise and getting the thing to work a bit better in these conditions. It is not a U.S.-spec set-up but it is really close. We’re gonna work on that.”
“If we can keep doing improvements on the track, preferably quickly, and steps in the right direction fairly soon then we will be OK,” he added. “By no means did we do good…but we salvaged some points.”
Ryan certainly is not oblivious to the ripple his MXGP transfer has caused. It reaches into the motocross community but also in motorcycle sport generally and—whether he really cares or not—he knew that this first outing would invite opinion. “I’m sure things are going crazy right now with the ‘look at this-look at that’,” he commented. “I know that is happening but bottom line is that I had the balls to come over here to race. It is not going to be easy and never once have I said it would be easy. We’ll keep working and moving forward.”
Another small sign that his KRT team still have work to do was found through the results of teammate Tyla Rattray who barely scored points and was left searching for a solution with his suspension settings.
Factory Yamaha’s Jeremy Van Horebeek got through his nerves to replicate his fifth place finish from 2014 but it was his new teammate, MX2 graduate Romain Febvre, that caught the eye and actually demoted Villopoto a position in the second moto. Mixing it with the factory riders was 2014’s top privateer Hitachi Construction Revo KTM’s Shaun Simpson who was just beaten to sixth by Febvre in the first moto but endured a dramatic sequence of events in the second race: “I’ve never had a race like it,” the 26-year-old said. “My goggle lens was knocked out on the third corner, Butron smashed into me by the pits and I thought I’d broken my foot for a moment, I came up short on one jump and barely saved the bike and then finally crashed because I couldn't see…all in the first twenty minutes!” Perhaps not as wincingly bad as Motocross of Nations winner Steven Frossard who pulled out of the second race after crushing his nuts on the tank. The Frenchman lost all feeling and pitted, apparently recovering a short time later.
Losail claimed some victims and swelled the initial group of walking wounded going to the Grand Prix of Thailand the following week. Damon Graulus, Max Anstie, Nathan Watson, Ben Watson, Tommy Searle all suffered their physical problems and the case of new Red Bull KTM rider Searle was particularly disappointing. Having partially relocated to Italy to fully immerse himself in the works squad as Cairoli and Ken De Dycker’s (the Belgian crashed on the first lap of the first moto) teammate Searle had worked hard through the winter and by all accounts was set to be a real threat on the 350SX-F. He contrived to re-displace his right thumb in the Qualification Heat on Friday and tearfully faced the prospect of missing races to let the injury heal or spend a number of GPs riding below par and without confidence or strength in his hand, as he did for a period in 2014.
One of the KTM team to have already come through the emotional mist of recurring physical misery was Jeffrey Herlings. Issues with his broken femur—the same fracture that cost him the 2014 title—meant a winter without riding and he only threw the troublesome leg over the 250SX-F two and a half weeks before Qatar. Claiming he was only “at 60 percent” it was clearly more than most riders’ 100. Like Nagl, Herlings was assisted by KTM power from the gate and although he was challenged by Monster Energy Kawasaki CLS’ Dylan Ferrandis in the first moto was largely without peer for speed. All of the CLS riders, Ferrandis (although he’d fight back to third in spite of being weakened by illness), Thomas Covington (who nearly took Pole on Saturday) and world champion Jordi Tixier hit the deck at some stage. Tixier was not the same rider that MXGP fans saw in the final rounds of 2014. It was his first GP in green. Maybe, like Villopoto, there is work to be done. Nevertheless the red plate went back to it customary home on the 84 KTM. Full credit to Standing Construct Yamaha’s Julien Lieber for a first career podium in just his third race for the Belgian team.
Heat and humidity lies ahead for round two and the third Grand Prix of Thailand. Si Racha gives way to a new circuit in Nakhonchaisri, just west of Bangkok.
MXGP Moto1
1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), 34:52.985; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:01.221; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:18.550; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:24.809; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:34.810; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:42.395; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:47.295; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:56.052; 9. Ryan Villopoto (USA, Kawasaki), +0:59.609; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +1:03.179; 11. Steven Frossard (FRA, KTM), +1:07.347; 12. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +1:09.114; 13. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +1:10.638; 14. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:11.962; 15. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:12.855; 16. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), +1:37.678; 17. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +1:40.068; 18. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +1:47.302; 19. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +1:53.060; 20. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Honda), +1:56.702;
MXGP Moto2
1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), 35:00.295; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:06.023; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:08.752; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:12.787; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:17.740; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:24.676; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:36.357; 8. Ryan Villopoto (USA, Kawasaki), +0:40.816; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:03.294; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +1:07.182; 11. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:11.081; 12. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +1:18.154; 13. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:19.054; 14. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:24.312; 15. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +1:31.028; 16. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +1:38.714; 17. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +2:09.010; 18. Rui Goncalves (POR, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 19. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Honda), -1 lap(s); 20. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, Honda), -1 lap(s);
MXGP Overall and Championship
1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 50 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 44 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 38 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 38 p.; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 32 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 29 p.; 7. Ryan Villopoto (USA, KAW), 25 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 25 p.; 9. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 24 p.; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 21 p.; 11. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 17 p.; 12. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 17 p.; 13. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 14 p.; 14. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 14 p.; 15. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 11 p.; 16. Steven Frossard (FRA, KTM), 10 p.; 17. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KAW), 9 p.; 18. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 8 p.; 19. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 5 p.; 20. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 4 p
MX2 Moto1
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 33:51.825; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:02.674; 3. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:04.052; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:11.387; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:12.575; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:14.559; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:28.803; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:29.400; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:36.823; 10. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:40.860; 11. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:45.606; 12. Mel Pocock (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:56.654; 13. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), +0:58.421; 14. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:01.119; 15. Jens Getteman (BEL, Honda), +1:03.623; 16. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:05.328; 17. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Honda), +1:12.500; 18. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:25.974; 19. Anton Lundgren (SWE, Husqvarna), +1:51.326; 20. Roberts Justs (LAT, KTM), +1:57.682;
MX2 Moto2
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 33:56.613; 2. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:02.731; 3. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:05.065; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:10.885; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:11.093; 6. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:18.511; 7. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:20.689; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:26.731; 9. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:30.798; 10. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:54.200; 11. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), +1:00.062; 12. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Honda), +1:02.697; 13. Jens Getteman (BEL, Honda), +1:10.646; 14. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:16.746; 15. Roberts Justs (LAT, KTM), +1:16.887; 16. Gradie Featherstone (GBR, Suzuki), -1 lap(s); 17. Viacheslav Golovkin (RUS, KTM), -1 lap(s); 18. Artem Guryev (RUS, KTM), -1 lap(s); 19. Damon Graulus (BEL, Yamaha), -6 lap(s); 20. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), -10 lap(s);
MX2 Overall and Championship
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 42 p.; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 38 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 32 p.; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 31 p.; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 29 p.; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 28 p.; 9. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 27 p.; 10. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 21 p.; 11. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), 18 p.; 12. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 15 p.; 13. Jens Getteman (BEL, HON), 14 p.; 14. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), 14 p.; 15. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, HON), 13 p.; 16. Mel Pocock (GBR, KAW), 9 p.; 17. Roberts Justs (LAT, KTM), 7 p.; 18. Gradie Featherstone (GBR, SUZ), 5 p.; 19. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 5 p.; 20. Viacheslav Golovkin (RUS, KTM), 4 p.;