It was all champagne showers here last year for both riders that are leading the championship. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre won in MXGP while Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser won in MX2, which means this weekend will be a true test of the best.
Not only is the grand prix victory on the line, so is the championship lead. Gajser seems to be in his element at the moment, he’s been insanely fast and incredibly smooth and in turn has won the last three grand prix’. Meanwhile Febvre seems to be a little bit frustrated. With that said, it has been said that a podium finish isn’t enough for the defending champion. He wants to win! Which is understandable and believable if you watch the intensity he rides with. In saying that, he seemed pretty happy to be on the box last weekend after spending the majority of it fiddling with bike settings.
As per usual, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli is coming in as the most winning-est rider. He has won three grand prix’ here in Teutschenthal as well as both races at the 2013 Nations for the overall in his class. Last weekend in Latvia, the Italian came oh-so close to topping the box for the first time in almost a year. He went on to express his frustration of being knocked to the second step of the podium saying, “I want to win,” with an immediate repeat, “I really want to win, I want to win bad.”
And then there is the local, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl, who seems to be reinvigorated and ready for a win. The traditional hills of Teutschenthal are bound to be riddled with Nagl fans, who is yet to win at this venue. Imagine if he gets the job done this weekend? Ze Germans might actually topple the fences in excitement.
For Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle, this track has had some bittersweet memories with both the bitter and the sweet occurring on the same day. At the 2013 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, the Belgian crashed on the first corner in the final race and broke his shoulder. That was the bitter. The sweet part came on the same day when he was able to stand on top of the podium as the winner of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, which for any rider lucky enough to do so, is one of the best moments of their careers. Putting the cherry on top of the cake, he also won the MXGP overall in 2014.
Rounding out some key points for the MXGP class, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek always seems to be lurking around the podium, inside the top five, yet has only got up there once, in Thailand. While in other news, we also have to make mention of Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev, who was the breakout star in 2011 when he won both motos in the premier class for his first ever grand prix victory. Even to this day, it is his only overall win, so another is must be on the cards some time soon.
2015 MXGP of Germany MXGP Top 3
1. Romain Febvre
2. Gautier Paulin
3. Kevin Strijbos
MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 260 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 259 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 213 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 203 p.; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 200 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 197 p.; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 143 p.; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 142 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 121 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 116 p.
Images by MXGP
