MXGP: Gatedrop predictions!
Andy McKinstry – “It is so hard to make predictions for the MXGP 2016 season! Last year it was supposed to be two men battling for the title – between Villopoto and Cairoli. All eyes were on those two riders the most and then Max Nagl totally stole the show in Qatar! Based on how well he rode at Qatar in 2015 I am betting on Nagl repeating his success in 2016 and winning the opening round!
A whole gaggle of riders will be battling for the podium but I think heading into the season it is between Romain Febvre and Antonio Cairoli challenging for the title and even though both riders have their problems heading into Qatar I am predicting they will both be on the podium in Qatar!
For the championship I am finding it difficult to split Cairoli and Febvre going into the season. I am edging towards Febvre because he is incredibly fast on hard pack and that is Cairoli’s main weakness, there are more hardpack tracks than sand tracks on the calendar. However, Cairoli is an incredibly smart rider and accepts a third or a fourth on a bad day as he always thinks about the championship. Febvre always goes for the win and that could hurt him someday soon – it’s a tricky one but I am going for Febvre for the title!
My third choice for the championship may surprise people but I can’t wait to see Gajser on the 450 and can only see him getting stronger and stronger as the season progresses! He could be a force to be reckoned with, after Febvre won the title in his rookie season so no reason why Gajser can’t finish in the top three in the championship – the MX2 class has a huge amount of talent in it and they don’t get the credit until they move to the MXGP class
MX2 is a bit more straightforward to predict – if a rather fast Dutchman called Jeffrey Herlings can stay fit then he should finally clinch his third MX2 World Championship title. In my opinion it will be between Ferrandis, Jonass, Paturel and Seewer for the second and third positions in the championship. Ferrandis is usually pretty quick at Qatar so I can definitely see him get himself an overall podium. I can also see Anstie start the season with a bang as he will be on high not having to develop a bike for once! Paturel will bring a lot of confidence to Qatar so he could be close to the podium and Covington has showed great speed at the opening round in the previous two years!”.
MXGP
Qatar:
1. Max Nagl
2. Romain Febvre
3. Antonio Cairoli
Championship:
1. Romain Febvre
2. Antonio Cairoli
3. Tim Gajser
MX2
Qatar:
1. Jeffrey Herlings
2. Dylan Ferrandis
3. Max Anstie
Championship:
1. Jeffrey Herlings
2. Dylan Ferrandis
3. Pauls Jonass
Paul McCready – I thought last year was hard to predict but it’s looking even more competitive MXGP in 2016. I find it hard to see past Cairoli for the title, he was in a good position last year despite lack of bike time due to an injured knee but now has a full preseason on the 450. Tony also showed incredible speed at the final round of the championship in 2015, while still injured, just to send a message to Febvre. He is very determined to regain his world title!
Romain Febvre has a dream year in 2015 and it will be hard to match that again in 2016. Expect Febvre and Cairoli to be a notch better than everyone else and hopefully they have the battles everyone wants to see. The number of riders struck by injures the past couple of seasons has had a huge say in the championship outcome and this is why I have picked Simpson for 3rd.
Shaun normally starts the year off steady and always hits form about half way mark, but his preseason form has been great and if he can maintain his typical level of consistency I think he will be able to sneak into the top 3 by the final round.
That still leaves Van Horebeek, Townley, Bobryshev, Paulin, Desalle, Stribjos, Gajser and Tommy Searle who can all win races and pressure Cairoli and Febvre on any given day!
Mx2 is going to be the Herlings show. I think the most we can hope for is Anstie, Jonass and Ferrandis to be aggressive with him in a bid to hold off Jeffrey when he gets bad starts.
MXGP
Qatar
1. Max Nagl
2. Antonio Cairoli
3. Romain Febver
Title
1.Antonio Cairoli
2. Roman Febvre
3. Shaun Simpson
MX2
Qatar
1. Jeffrey Herlings
2. Max Anstie
3. Benoit Paturel
Title
1. Jeffrey Herlings
2. Max Anstie
3. Pauls Jonass
Jonathan McCready Qatar is maybe the most unknown MXGP race in a long time. With Cairoli and Febvre suffering pre-season injuries, and Desalle trying to ride with a broken wrist it gives the rest a chance to step-up and win.
Max Nagl smoked it last year but has been quiet in pre-season. Paulin has been in America searching for his old form while Simpson, Bobryshev and Van Horebeek have been flying in pre-season and then you have Gajser and Townley entering the class, Kevin Strijbos and Tommy Searle could be quick as well but for Qatar I will go for Febvre, Nagl and Bobryshev. For the title I will go for Cairoli to sneak the title back after a titanic battle with Febvre, with Nagl in third now that Desalle is injured.
In MX2 you can’t look past Herlings for the win at Qatar and the title, he is back on form and probably should be in MXGP. Behind him Ferrandis, Jonass and Anstie should be the guys battling and trying to keep Jeffrey honest while Paturel, Seewer, Petrov, Tonkov could threaten the podium at times.
Qatar
1. Romain Febvre
2. Max Nagl
3. Evengy Bobryshev
Title
1. Antonio Cairoli
2. Romain Febvre
3. Max Nagl
MX2
Qatar
1. Jeffrey Herlings
2. Dylan Ferrandis
3. Benoit Paturel
Title
1. Jeffrey Herlings
2. Dylan Ferrandis
3. Max Anstie
