MXGP’s silly season could revolve around a string of ‘No.2’ riders – for want of a better phrase. Tony Cairoli, Jeffrey Herlings, Gautier Paulin, Romain Febvre, Tim Gajser are all set with their factory teams for 2018 and Clement Desalle is expected to re-sign with the Monster Energy Kawasaki squad while Suzuki will elevate Jeremy Seewer into the premier class (due to the Swiss star ‘aging-out’ of MX2 and by virtue of his contract that allows a Suzuki-based intro to MXGP) and will likely give another shot to lofty Lithuanian rookie Arminas Jasikonis (still only twenty and very much an athlete that Team Principal Stefan Everts can mould and work with).
This means that athletes like Evgeny Bobryshev, Glenn Coldenhoff, Max Nagl, Jordi Tixier, Jeremy Van Horebeek, Kevin Strijbos and Tommy Searle will be hunting around the four corners of the paddock for the best saddle and resources. Arnaud Tonus also has a one year deal with Yamaha and the satellite Wilvo set-up (where Shaun Simpson is encamped for 2018) but with an option for another campaign and allegedly the manufacturer is already advancing talks with the Swiss after some exciting flashes of speed and promise in his maiden MXGP ‘go’.
For the supposed ‘no.2’ comes a slightly decreased layer of pressure. For an athlete like Glenn Coldenhoff simply competing on a works Red Bull KTM brings its own form of expectation (Searle was released from the team on the back of injuries and a lack of results…just to show that racing at this level is not always forgiving, easy or patient). The Dutchman knows that presenting a ‘face that fits’ and blending well into a working group is just a percentage of the job. He also needs to post results that ensure the 450 SX-F is seen among the front-runners and is read near the top of world championship standings. He won’t have the same orientation for the grand prize as teammate and multiple title-winner Cairoli but cannot afford to slacken for a moment. And especially in these key months when final thoughts and verdicts are delivered for the future: not only on whether a contract will be offered but the terms that it carries. One alleged victim of this scenario was Jeremy Van Horebeek who took a deal to remain a Yamaha rider for 2017 but after a middling and momentarily controversial 2016 and was not placed in the same sphere as when he was a serial podium finisher and world championship runner-up in 2014.
Following the buffeting wake of the teams’ main championship hope doesn’t mean the second rider in works squads do not have their own hefty agendas. Top five and top three finishes and podium shots remain the goal, as anyone would expect and of the calibre of rider mentioned above. The ‘second’ athlete also has to have the potential to step into the breach: Honda need to know they can still rely on Bobryshev to deliver if Gajser suffers injury, that Van Horebeek can push Yamaha ahead if Febvre struggles (such is the case so far in 2017) and Tixier can show signs of improvement and progress as an MXGP competitor to help Desalle evolve the KX450F and boost Kawasaki’s own presence.
Often this position also involves a slightly different orientation compared to the team or brand’s desire for success. As HRC General Manager Roger Harvey points out with regards to Bobryshev, who has been in official Honda colours since 2011 and with a multitude of podium finishes although just one GP win and some wall-head-banging injuries. ‘He has a lot of knowledge about how we develop the bikes and he can give great feedback. They [the Japanese] use him a lot in that area and for testing.’
Bobby, Nagl, Tixier, Searle, Strijbos, Van Horebeek, Coldenhoff and Tonus have all won Grands Prix. They have all endured injury woe. They have all been responsible for respective chunks of stories or small slices of history for certain brands. And if 2017 has shown anything so far then the parity of the premier class is damn tight with only one or two individuals able to apply any kind of stamp on MXGP. Desalle’s pedigree ensures that his signature will probably start the roll. Clement has twenty Grand Prix successes to his name – second only to Cairoli this decade – and his potency means he is a flagship rider for any brand or an amazing ‘no.2’ if someone has the chequebook clout and the means to ensure competitiveness for the Belgian.
After that – honestly – it is hard to foresee too much movement. A few sideways swaps could occur, especially if one rider needs or wants a change of scene but Harvey also illustrates the view of the manufacturers by explaining the case surrounding Bobryshev: ‘When you look at who else is available then who can deliver better results? Now we have ‘Bobryshev and consistency’ as two words that go together! Why change something for the sake of it?’
There is one element of the annual transfer ‘season’ I haven’t addressed: Americans. I believe there is a slight reluctance now in MXGP to consider talent from across the water after the adjustment ‘turbulence’ Ryan Villopoto tried to negotiate and the tepid showings from the likes of Mike Alessi and Chad Reed in recent seasons. The cultural diversity not only within the nineteen-twenty rounds of MXGP but in the variation of circuits and their own particular and peculiar demands between the world and American series’ means it would take a special character and skill set to land in Europe and be able to make a significant dent in the MXGP results sheets. AMA competitors would also hanker after the sort of wage that made their SX/MX deals worth all that extra commitment and calendar congestion.
I would still love to see individuals like Trey Canard, Dean Wilson, Broc Tickle, Justin Barcia seek a Grand Prix ride and take on the great challenge. Those with the aptitude such as Zach Osborn and Jimmy Albertson showed that the transfer does not have to be like a scale up K2 (and youngsters like Thomas Covington and Darian Sanayei are making a decent fist of it). Their inclusion would also bring fresh impetus and sense of unknown to the MXGP field.
Exactly what each brand is currently looking for when it comes to their 2018 roster and beyond (will someone want a stop-gap solution until twelve months time when Herlings, Paulin, Febvre and even Cairoli come up for renewal?) remains within the walls of race truck meeting rooms. But it will be curious to see if any shuffling of the deck brings some new narratives for a season planned before the culmination of the present edition: such is the fast shift of the racing world.
Photos by Ray Archer
