After triple-headers in Latvia, Faenza and Mantova, the world motocross championship heads to Arroyomolinos, near Madrid, in Spain, for an intense single round of action at a track that no one has raced on before.
Built near the impressive Xanadu shopping mall on the south-west outskirts of Madrid, not much is known about the track, but it is likely to be in the same ilk as recent circuits in Turkey and China which were well-received by the MXGP riders.
Only a few locals have had the privilege of riding the track, so all the contenders will be coming in with no advantage, including New Zealand’s Dylan Walsh, currently 22nd in the world standings, but with the weather forecast looking promising, it should be a great venue for another weekend of racing with the EMX125 and EMX250 on Saturday 10th, followed by MX2 and MXGP on Sunday 11th.
Both MXGP class leader Tim Gajser and his Honda team-mate from Australia, Mitch Evans (the pair pictured above), are showing good form right now, with Gajser winning the most recent round of the MXGPs in Mantova last Sunday.
It was the reigning world champion Gajser’s first overall the season but it extended his lead to 11 points as he continued to hold onto the red plate.
The overall victory also included his eighth moto win of the season and he’ll be looking for more of the same when they take to the track on Sunday morning.
Evans also showed his excellent speed in Mantova by grabbing his joint-best overall of the season by going 4-8 for fifth. He has been improving ever since the restart and this track is another opportunity for him to keep that ball rolling as the season enters its hectic final chapter.
While there are still seven rounds left, those are taking place in only three different venues over just 28 days with triple-headers in Lommel and Arco di Trento rounding off the season.
Both those tracks are extremely familiar to the majority of the MXGP paddock, so this weekend is a completely new challenge and one that Team HRC are fully prepared for.
“It’s always exciting to go to a new circuit, especially after riding three races at the same track,” said Gajser.
“I’ve seen a few videos and photos of the terrain and it looks hard pack so it’ll be nice to ride that again after the sand in Mantova. Obviously, it was great to get an overall victory at the last round and I’ll be looking to maintain that momentum for this weekend and then hopefully for the last six rounds in Lommel and Trentino.”
Photo courtesy Honda Europe
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MXGP standings after round 11 of 18:
- Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 399 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 388 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 369 p.; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 341 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GAS), 341 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 304 p.; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 285 p.; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 263 p.; 9. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 262 p.; 10. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 248 p.; 11. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 228 p.; 12. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 197 p.; 13. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 137 p.; 14. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 127 p.; 15. Henry Jacobi (GER, YAM), 118 p.; 16. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 116 p.; 17. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, GAS), 105 p.; 18. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, YAM), 82 p.; 19. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 73 p.; 20. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 71 p.; 21. Benoit Paturel (FRA, HON), 45 p.; 22. Dylan Walsh (NZ, HON), 41 p.; 23. Tanel Leok (EST, HUS), 41 p.; 24. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HUS), 33 p.; 25. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 31 p.; 26. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), 31 p.; 27. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 26 p.; 28. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 25 p.; 29. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, KTM), 19 p.; 30. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 18 p.; 31. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA, KTM), 15 p.; 32. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 15 p.; 33. Thomas Covington (USA, YAM), 15 p.; 34. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 13 p.; 35. Harri Kullas (EST, HON), 11 p.; 36. Lars van Berkel (NED, HUS), 9 p.; 37. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, YAM), 9 p.; 38. Brent Van doninck (BEL, HUS), 5 p.; 39. Zachary Pichon (FRA, HON), 2 p.; 40. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 2 p.; 41. Anton Gole (SWE, HON), 2 p.