Villars sous Ecot was a new track for the vast majority of the MXGP paddock with the venue last having entertained a major international meeting back in 1988. Even those riders reasonably local to the steep hillside circuit with plenty of jumps, a fast layout and some heavily-angled descents were learning a course that had been upgraded significantly for the track’s first Grand Prix this century. The fresh challenge received a thumbs-down from most of the riders due to the lack of passing opportunities and the short lap-time – just over a minute and a half – while others were more stoic: “The track is short but it is what it is; the same for everyone,” commented HRC’s Gautier Paulin who caught and dispensed team-mate Evgeny Bobryshev for second position in the MXGP Qualification Heat.

Paulin might be the darling of the partisan public in the wake of his role as the fastest French rider in MXGP in recent years and vanquisher of all peers at the 2014 Motocross of Nations but he was not the quickest at Villars. Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre continues to build momentum on the works YZ450FM and after he had passed Rockstar Suzuki’s Clement Desalle on the second corner then ‘461’ was free for his first pole position in the MXGP class.

It was a Yamaha ‘double’ on the day from perhaps the two form riders in Grand Prix at the moment. Standing Construct Yamaha’s Valentin Guillod escaped from the pack in MX2 as Jeffrey Herlings battled to the top ten from a poor start but then had a rare mechanical problem on the last lap and dropped to twenty-fourth, severely limiting his options for victory tomorrow. World Champion Jordi Txier was almost six seconds behind the Swiss and winner of the two previous Grands Prix and dealt with HRC Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser in fine style.

Perhaps the biggest headlines concerned Rockstar Suzuki’s Clement Desalle. The Belgian – who is just four points behind MXGP leader Max Nagl in the standings and has owned six trophies from seven rounds – fell when he clipped a stone in Timed Practice and jolted his right shoulder. Riding with the joint strapped for the Qualification Heat Desalle was in second place on the first lap when he over-jumped the table-top and felt more discomfort. He slowed by the pit-lane and was struck to the ground by Todd Waters and then hit by Nico Aubin in a sickening collision from which he was lucky to escape with a sore knee (that at the moment has been examined at the track with no indication of potential injury). The latest update by Team Manager Joel Smets has the Suzuki man as hoping to compete on Sunday but still unsure of his health and strength.

Red Bull KTM’s Tony Cairoli also had an eventful run as a stone dislodged the 450SX-F’s radiator cap. The Sicilian had to slow and even suffered a minor burn to his arm but once he banged the component back into place he was able to shadow Hitachi Construction Machinery Revo KTM’s Shaun Simpson for eighth place. Team-mate Ken De Dycker finally showed a fast turn as Belgium could look beyond Desalle’s bad luck and Kevin Strijbos continued absence with a painful thumb to see Jeremy Van Horebeek in fourth and De Dycker following hard behind in fifth. Monster Energy KRT’s Tyla Rattray crashed on the first lap going through the uphill waves and was winded and sustained an abrasion to his elbow.

In other news Youthstream announced a new five year deal with the French Federation to keep a round of MXGP in the country and then follow-up with another Motocross of Nations with Ernee set to host the 2015 edition at the end of September and the first in France since 2011 (St Jean D’Angely). The Federation (FFM) also showed off the Nations jersey for the reigning champions and confirmed that all riders from across the globe will be in contention for selection for the 1-2-3 plates at Ernee. In previous years there has been some controversial choices for the team with Marvin Musquin overlooked but national MX Trainer Pascal Finot will travel to the AMA Pro National at Red Bud in early July to cast an eye over the 250SX East Coast Champ as well as Rockstar Husqvarna’s Christophe Pourcel.

Any chance of Wilvo Forkrent KTM’s Steven Frossard being involved for the second year in a row will depend on his progress with the 450SX-F after the British team invested a change of machine after the request by the former MXGP runner-up (in 2011) to switch from the 350SX-F.

A large crowd at Villars were animated at the beginning of the qualification programme as a close race between Livia Lancelot and Kiara Fontanesi was decided by less than two tenths of a second in favour of the home favourite and she increased her championship lead further. Kiwi Josiah Natzke claimed the opening EMX125 moto.