Rockstar Energy IceOne Husqvarna’s Max Nagl has yet to register a top five finish in MXGP this season and Team Manager Antti Pyrhonen believes the German only needs one of his distinctive rapid starts to kick his third campaign with the factory crew into a higher gear.

The 29 year old has had a difficult time getting away from the new metallic start gate in 2017 and through a combination of circumstances (he was one of several to fall victim to the mud in Indonesia) has only managed a best overall classification of eighth so far.

Pyrhonen insists that the former world championship runner-up and Husqvarna’s first Grand Prix winner in the premier class is not in crisis but needs front-running laps to find his form.

“Max is good. He works hard, which is clear,” the Finn said. “He is not riding badly but somehow we’re struggling with starts a lot. Max has always ‘lived’ with his starts; he fires up when he is at the front and that is when he is at his best. When he rides in a ‘sandwich’ then it is tough for him. So the starts are hard for us at the moment but Max is working and co-operating great.”

Pyrhonen also hinted that the new metallic grid material was also a factor in contributing to #12’s malaise away from the line in what is arguably MXGP’s most competitive roster in the modern era. “We just need to get going out of the gate and with the metal grill and his 68kg and our power we still haven’t got it yet and that we keep our front wheel down: it seems more simple to say it than it is to fix it! I know when he gets his first holeshot of the season he will be right up there. The ultimate thing for me, and what I am looking for, is to have the IceOne Husky train going at the front.”

IceOne celebrated their first victory of the year and maiden success with Gautier Paulin and the FC450 at the Grand Prix of Europe; the fourth different winner and brand of motorcycle from the six rounds of MXGP so far.

Photos by Ray Archer