The Grand Prix of Mexico saw the first clash of swords between the current powerhouses of the MXGP class—Honda Gariboldi and HRC’s Tim Gajser and Monster Energy Yamaha and reigning world champion Romain Febvre—with both riders sharing a moto triumph and second position, but Gajser claiming the second race for his third overall victory in five rounds. He also has a 50 percent moto win ratio in his maiden season in the premier division. It’s Febvre, a rookie just last year, versus the new kid (although reigning MX2 champion) this year and now just three points between them in the standings. Nineteen-year-old Gajser will not only grow further in stature and confidence after this latest success but also nestle happily in the fact that he got the better of the feisty Febvre when it counted and through some of the deepest and most technical ruts seen in 2016 so far.
The flat, purpose-built circuit in the Parque Metropolitano of the city of Leon welcomed MXGP for the third year in a row. An earlier date in the Grand Prix schedule meant that the rain and changeable climate experienced in 2015 were swapped for more humid and higher temperatures that hovered around the high 80s, low 90s. The long trip from Argentina and the fact that this was the fourth flyaway for MXGP in five rounds this season (after treks to Qatar, Thailand and Patagonia) took its toll on the entry list and even caused the paddock some headaches with various bike containers delayed at customs. The hard-pack was rough and rutted and became even trickier by the time of the second motos with the watering creating slick areas and the sun then cooking some of the radiator-deep gashes in the soil to concrete status.
Fast and gnarly, the track created several look-through-your-fingers moments for the leaders and despite a choice of lines, riders talked of the difficulty of passing and the deceptively restrictive nature of the terrain. It was this limitation that Febvre claimed unhinged his quest to go 1-1. The Frenchman had earlier made the best of a mediocre start (the teams using practice and qualification to optimise engine settings to cope with the increased altitude and also making first-gear starts) to barrel into second place and then shut down a six second gap to leader Gajser, who had brake trouble and was put-off by a flapping left radiator plastic that had dislodged through contact with a rut wall. Febvre would go on to win.
Gajser was into the lead again by the second corner of the second moto, but again found a shadow with the blue Yamaha and Febvre determined to make up for his mistakes in Argentina the previous Sunday that caused him to break a sixteen-event podium streak by finishing fourth. For spectators it presented a tasty duel with the only two riders to have earned MXGP victory in 2016 going again for top spoils. Despite nearing the rear wheel of the Honda in the formative stages, Febvre was not able to make a challenge and even dropped away considerably in the closing laps.
“I started the second race well and we’d changed the bike a little bit for that but Tim was in the lead very quickly and it was difficult out there,” he said. “I was faster in the beginning but had different lines and once he changed them also it was hard to pass. I made a few mistakes and the gap was bigger. I kinda gave up a little bit and I was disappointed about that.”
Gasjer was unhindered both from his bike and from any presence behind it and continues to demonstrate his potency on the CRF450RW even in a range of tracks and circumstances. “We were riding pretty fast and had a good pace and he was really pushing me almost until the end,” the young Slovenian remarked. “We are just five races into the season with many to come. I hope to keep enjoying it.”
Filling a distant third was Rockstar Husqvarna’s Max Nagl. That’s the German’s third podium in a row, although the former GP winner might be concerned about the twenty-seven second deficit to Gajser. Behind HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle in fifth and the Belgian showed increased competitiveness to indicate he will soon be a player for podium contention. Red Bull KTM’s Tony Cairoli claimed his sixth place represented a “day to forget.” The Sicilian grasped neither the starts nor a feeling on the track to eye a possible second podium result. Other riders were also far from their A-game with Jeremy Van Horebeek, Kevin Strijbos, Glenn Coldenhoff and Shaun Simpson (luckily uninjured after falling in the second moto and being launched into next week by Alessandro Lupino—who apparently broke his nose in the incident) all keen to escape the circuit and the event and begin to think about the next fixture.
In the 250s it is a stuck-on-repeat tale and five Grands Prix and ten motos in a row now for Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings with the Austrians looking secure in more than just one series. The Dutchman has a dwarfing 58-point lead in the MX2 class which means a two moto cushion already. In Mexico, he exercised caution in the first laps of the opening race, wary of the watered surface, but then checked out and was pushing to the rate that he set his fastest lap on final circulation while some thirty-three seconds clear (almost repeating the distinction in the second moto).
As clouds moved over the Leon layout he put the Grand Prix beyond doubt after leading into the second corner of moto two and disappearing. For Herlings Mexico represented another digit in the career stats list, another hefty bonus, another small step to the haven of a third title and also closure with Leon. In 2014 he turned out at the season-closer (and inaugural meeting in the Guanajuato region) barely able to walk with a still-broken femur and also nursing an infection to try and hang onto the championship he had fronted all season. It wasn't to be, and Jordi Tixier won a memorable climax to a dramatic title story. Herlings shed tears that day and they wouldn't be the first through injury frustration (he missed Mexico in 2015 due to the dislocated hip that trashed another title shot) but it was a hardened and wiser character that understatedly enjoyed his latest spoils at Leon.
“It is never easy but we definitely do our best and winning is what matters,” Herlings said. “I feel that I am at the level I was before I broke my femur [in 2014] so I am looking to the rest of the season and I know there is a long way to go and remember well the last two [seasons]. My confidence is growing every week. The guys are going fast but until now I have been able to make some difference and I hope I can keep this rhythm and winning streak going.”
Teammate Pauls Jonass, who also lost a chance at an MX2 crown in what was a duel with Tim Gajser through a major crash at Leon last September, was again tasting Mexican soil with mistakes in both motos that put the Latvian fourth overall. Team Suzuki’s Jeremy Seewer popped up in the top three for the fourth time in a row and consolidated second place in the championship standings with the same position on the Mexican podium. Third belonged to ecstatic Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Vsevolod Brylyakov (finishing a career-best second in the first moto and then rallying from an early crash to sixth in the second) who lifted his very first GP trophy.
“It feels like a long wait to make the box and I’m really happy to be with people around me at the moment,” commented the 20-year-old who pushed through to prominence in 2015 until a shoulder injury ended his campaign. He is only five races into a first, blossoming term with the British Kawasaki crew. “I still cannot believe it has happened to be honest.”
His predecessor in the Steve Dixon-run set-up, Max Anstie, should have gone 2-2 but a DNF two laps from the end of the first moto meant the Brit missed what could have been his first rostrum on the works Rockstar Energy Husky. Elsewhere Wilvo Standing Construct Yamaha’s Aleksandr Tonkov ensured that two Russians breached the top five of the MX2 classification and his efforts were notable considering his position from last place in the gate due to a technical problem on Saturday.
MXGP quietens down now in terms of logging serious air mileage. The series will reach the four corners of Europe until the American double-bill in September but teams will be able to stash the freight and travel cases for the better part of four months. Next up are three races back to back in Latvia, Germany and Italy starting with the visit to 2014 Motocross of Nations site Kegums in two weeks.
FIM World Motocross Championship
Round 5 - MXGP of Leon
MXGP Overall | |||
1. | Tim Gajser | 22-25 | Hon |
2. | Romain Febvre | 25-22 | Yam |
3. | Max Nagl | 20-20 | Hus |
4. | Evgeny Bobryshev | 18-18 | Hon |
5. | Clement Desalle | 16-16 | Kaw |
6. | Antonio Cairoli | 15-12 | KTM |
7. | Valentin Guillod | 12-13 | Yam |
8. | Tommy Searle | 9-15 | Kaw |
9. | Jeremy Van Horebeek | 10-14 | Yam |
10. | Kevin Strijbos | 14-10 | Suz |
11. | Glenn Coldenhoff | 11-11 | KTM |
12. | Christophe Charlier | 8-9 | Hus |
13. | Shaun Simpson | 13-4 | KTM |
14. | Milko Potisek | 7-8 | Yam |
15. | Jose Butron | 5-7 | KTM |
16. | Steven Lenoir | 4-6 | Hon |
17. | Alessandro Lupino | 6-3 | Hon |
18. | Eduardo Andrade | 2-5 | Yam |
19. | Kei Yamamoto | 3-2 | Hon |
MX2 Overall | |||
1. | Jeffrey Herlings | 25-25 | KTM |
2. | Jeremy Seewer | 20-20 | Suz |
3. | Vsevolod Brylyakov | 22-15 | Kaw |
4. | Pauls Jonass | 18-18 | KTM |
5. | Aleksandr Tonkov | 16-16 | Yam |
6. | Petar Petrov | 15-13 | Kaw |
7. | Benoit Paturel | 13-14 | Yam |
8. | Samuele Bernardini | 14-12 | TM |
9. | Max Anstie | 3-22 | Hus |
10. | Jorge Zaragoza | 11-11 | Hon |
11. | Calvin Vlaanderen | 12-10 | KTM |
12. | Alvin Ostlund | 10-9 | Yam |
13. | Thomas Covington | 9-7 | Hus |
14. | Henry Jacobi | 7-8 | Hon |
15. | Davy Pootjes | 6-6 | KTM |
16. | Christopher Valente | 5-5 | KTM |
17. | Roberts Justs | 8-2 | KTM |
18. | Carlo Gomez | 4-4 | Yam |
19. | Oscar Sanchez | 2-3 | Kaw |
20. | Damon Graulus | 1-0 | Hon |
MXGP Series Standings | |||
1. | Romain Febvre | 219pts | Yam |
2. | Tim Gajser | 216pts | Hon |
3. | Antonio Cairoli | 171pts | KTM |
4. | Evgeny Bobryshev | 170pts | Hon |
5. | Max Nagl | 165pts | Hus |
6. | Jeremy Van Horebeek | 162pts | Yam |
7. | Kevin Strijbos | 127pts | Suz |
8. | Shaun Simpson | 122pts | KTM |
9. | Glenn Coldenhoff | 104pts | KTM |
10. | Tommy Searle | 98pts | Kaw |
11. | Valentin Guillod | 97pts | Yam |
12. | Clement Desalle | 79pts | Kaw |
13. | Christophe Charlier | 72pts | Hus |
14. | Jose Butron | 61pts | KTM |
15. | Milko Potisek | 59pts | Yam |
16. | Ben Townley | 49pts | Suz |
17. | Alessandro Lupino | 46pts | Hon |
18. | Tanel Leok | 40pts | KTM |
19. | Gautier Paulin | 37pts | Hon |
20. | Steven Lenoir | 29pts | Hon |
MX2 Series Standings | |||
1. | Jeffrey Herlings | 250pts | KTM |
2. | Jeremy Seewer | 192pts | Suz |
3. | Pauls Jonass | 166pts | KTM |
4. | Aleksandr Tonkov | 163pts | Yam |
5. | Petar Petrov | 132pts | Kaw |
6. | Benoit Paturel | 126pts | Yam |
7. | Vsevolod Brylyakov | 121pts | Kaw |
8. | Samuele Bernardini | 117pts | TM |
9. | Alvin Ostlund | 89pts | Yam |
10. | Max Anstie | 82pts | Hus |
11. | Brent Van doninck | 78pts | Yam |
12. | Jorge Zaragoza | 78pts | Hon |
13. | Thomas Covington | 70pts | Hus |
14. | Roberts Justs | 65pts | KTM |
15. | Calvin Viaanderen | 60pts | KTM |
16. | Davy Pootjes | 48pts | KTM |
17. | Dylan Ferrandis | 44pts | Kaw |
18. | Ben Watson | 39pts | Hus |
19. | Damon Graulus | 37pts | Hon |
20. | Henry Jacobi | 37pts | Hon |