Thunderstorms and rainfall battered the city of Leon and the Parque Metropolitano where the flat and hard-pack Grand Prix track welcomed MXGP for a second year. It was dismaying on Friday to ‘rally’ and wheelspin our way into the paddock through a muddy single lane entry point to the facility, and then breathe a sigh of relief when we managed to slide the car into a parking spot. The circuit featured some cosmetic changes compared to 2014 in terms of the track layout but the complex was still rough and perfunctory without much hint of ‘world championship’ class about it.
Twelve months ago the harsh edges to Leon as Grand Prix host had been softened and partially disguised by the enthusiasm of the crowd and the utter drama of the MX2 championship dispute between Red Bull KTM teammates Jeffrey Herlings and Jordi Tixier. For this second edition the public were still very keen to welcome back MXGP (the signing session in a new shopping centre on Friday afternoon was busy and chaotic) and Red Bull KTM were still mired in the tension of a close season finale.
Pauls Jonass chucked his gauntlet down for the final two races and four motos of the MX2 chase. The Latvian powered to a comprehensive Pole Position – his first ever – after a holeshot and performance in which the 250SX-F seemed to suffer less compared to the other bikes with the 1800m elevation. The eighteen year old did comment that his factory machine felt like a “125” in practice but his speed was impressive and with no shortage of aggression. Watched by mentor Stefan Everts – a man who aged in the to-fro of Herlings and Tixier a year previously – Jonass gave rival and new series leader Tim Gajser food for thought. Several people in the press room remarked just how ‘on edge’ the Slovenian was riding and he looked concerned after taking fourth position behind decent rides by Julien Lieber and Thomas Covington, commenting that the HRC CRF250RW was not quite exhaling properly yet; certainly not enough for his throttle-heavy riding style.
1-0 to Jonass and it will be interesting to see what happens to that 13 point gap through the motos tomorrow.
It wasn’t only the bikes that were gasping for air. Both Glenn Coldenhoff (fifth) and Evgeny Bobryshev (fourth) seemed to suffer in the heat and thanks to what was a pleasant reversal of the weather forecast that had originally predicted more rain. In MXGP Romain Febvre (who celebrated his world championship win in Assen with a party Sunday night, some jet-skiing on Monday back near his home in Lommel and then a two day test in Italy with Yamaha) benefitted from his team’s proactivity towards 2016 with a blast and escape in the style of Jonass. He was untouchable, while crashes for Jeremy Van Horebeek and Todd Waters meant Saturday was a hard exercise for some. Second place belonged to the 2014 winner here Gautier Paulin but the Frenchman was pushed all the way to the flag on a one-liney and fast layout by Shaun Simpson, who had mistimed his gatedrop but was buzzing about his speed on the works 450SX-F (the plastics of which were changed from the ‘9’ of Ken De Dycker on Friday morning). The recently crowned British Champion set his fastest lap on the final circulation as he got to within a bike length of the Honda.
There was no getting away from the fact that the gates was just over half full in both classes in Leon and there were only seventeen finishers in the MXGP Qualification Heat. It was a concerning sight and highlighted both the perils of the sport and the tendency to move the final stages of a long championship far away from a very Eurocentric base.
On one hand having a Grand Prix in Mexico can only benefit the riders from this country and region of the world (if properly supported by the Federation) much in the same way that MXGP visiting Latvia for over half a decade has produced at least two top ten runners at the highest level; one of those now on the threshold of potential championship success. The rate of injuries and the slimming abilities of teams to continue to meet the costs of Grand Prix were stark reasons for the low-turn out in South America. It is a situation that will be tempered slightly next week at Glen Helen for the Monster Energy U.S. Grand Prix but what percentage of that initial FIM list for round eighteen actually materialises in the gate remains to be seen. When asked on his thoughts of the roomy start line around him Febvre commented: “It is the end of the season and some overseas GPs for the private teams is very difficult. I can understand that. I think last year was even worse. For myself I’m really happy that I took the title at Assen in Europe with all my friends and family there.”
Photo by Ray Archer
MXGP Qualification Heat
1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 24:54.626; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:04.494; 3. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:05.179; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:19.327; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:22.708; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:23.115; 7. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +0:26.360; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:33.268; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:00.147; 10. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:03.372; 11. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), +1:03.860; 12. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, Honda), +1:32.908; 13. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 14. Andres Benenaula (ECU, Honda), -1 lap(s); 15. Alexis Garza (MEX, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 16. Eduardo Andrade (MEX, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 17. Donovan Garcia (MEX, Suzuki), -1 lap(s); 18. Eduardo Martinez (MEX, Suzuki), -9 lap(s);
