The twice-delayed 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship was finally able to launch by heading all the way to Russia. Among the hassle and uncertainty in Orlyonok, there was a slice of perfection and a tease of what could come to pass…

WORDS: ADAM WHEELER
PHOTOS: RAY ARCHER

MXGP unwrapped the show and carried freight for at least seven factory teams and 25 riders—21 of whom have experience walking a Grand Prix podium, 16 as winners—all the way to Orlyonok in Russia to finally get the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship rolling. The 1,500-mile journey from central Europe to the picturesque site on the banks of the Black Sea was hardly out of the norm for a series that has visited Qatar and Argentina in recent years in an attempt to escape the inclement late-winter climate in Europe. This time it was the lingering heat of the global pandemic.