Published on 23 February 2017

Gatedrop MX2/MXGP 2017 Predictions!

MX2 

Jonathan McCready: Where do you start in this class?! Only Thomas Covington has won a GP with the rest going for their first ever wins, and everyone will going for their first ever world title! It might come down to who can handle the pressure best and avoid the big crashes. Pauls Jonass has a lot of speed but Seewer has the consistency and seems to get quicker every year. Benoit Paturel also has the speed to win if he gets the starts but they are not usually his strong point.

I think it is hard to look past the consistency of Jeremy Seewer, he might not be the fastest every week but he shouldn’t be far away if he can handle the pressure. I think the youngsters like Jordge Prado, Hunter Lawrence and Conrad Mewse will be in the mix but might not be able to put a whole season together just yet. But if anyone can it might be Prado!

Qatar

1. Jonass
2. Seewer
3. Covington

MX2 championship

1. Seewer
2. Jonass
3. Paturel

Andy McKinstry: “This weekend is what everyone has been waiting for, the MXGP series is back at Qatar! Honestly, this has to the hardest year to try and make predictions, there is so much talent in both classes!

In MX2 I am going with Pauls Jonass to grab glory at Qatar and get his season off to a great start. However, consistency wins titles which makes me think it’s between Paturel or Seewer for the title. I am going with Paturel, I feel he gets over-looked and is quite underrated. If he improves as much this year as he did last year then he will be right up there! Between the three, Jonass, Seewer and Paturel it’s so hard to pick, Prado can’t be discounted either as he is possibly the most talented out of the three.

I am tipping Brent Van Doninck to have a successful season with a full winter’s preparation behind him. He was fast in Qatar last year and I am tipping him for the podium at the first round whereas I think Paturel will start the season slowly but get better each and every round. Thomas Covington is also fast at Qatar so he could push for a podium at round one”.

MX2 – Qatar:

1. Pauls Jonass
2. Jeremy Seewer
3. Brent Van Doninck

MX2 – Championship:

1. Benoit Paturel
2. Jeremy Seewer
3. Pauls Jonass

Paul McCready: “Covington may just surprise a few people this year and I expect him to be close to the front at Qatar, a track where he has shown his speed before! He got his first win at Assen and has had a couple of years to adjust to the tracks and living away from home.

I believe the championship will come down to Seewer and Jonass though. Speed verses consistency one could say. However Seewer showed big improvements last year with Stefan Everts who also has improved the Suzuki MX2 machine. Incidentally, with Everts previously being Jonass’s mentor at KTM it could end up an exciting rivalry between the two riders.”

MX2 – Qatar:

1. Pauls Jonass
2. Jeremy Seewer
3. Thomas Covington

MX2 – Championship:

1. Jeremy Seewer
2. Pauls Jonass
3. Benoit Paturel

MXGP

Jonathan McCready: It’s hard to look past the big four of Cairoli, Herlings, Gajser and Febvre for this title but the likes of Desalle, Paulin, Nagl, Van Horebeek could be knocking on the door as well. Add in Anstie, Simpson, Tixier, Strjbos, Bobryshev, Jasikonis, Tonus and Searle, and it will be an achievement to get a top five result never-mind a podium this season!

For the title I think Cairoli’s consistency might win the day and on his pre-season form he might start the year with a bang in Qatar too! Although if Nagl or Gajser dominate round one like they did the last two years would anyone be surprised?! If Herlings can stay uninjured he would be my pick for the title, but he is already racing hurt and his crashes might just cost him even if he is the quickest. Gajser will be there all year but defending the title is harder than winning it the first time. If he wins this will be the best title of his career! It’s hard to leave Febvre out of the top three but his starts might just make things too difficult to run with Cairoli and co. week-in, week-out with such a deep field.

Qatar

1. Cairoli
2. Gajser
3. Nagl

Championship

1. Cairoli
2. Gajser
3. Herlings

MXGP

1.

Andy McKinstry: “Jeffrey Herlings will make the move to the MXGP class, at long last! After his crash in Italy and at one stage being a doubt for the first round I can’t see him winning the first round in Qatar, I think it’s important for him to finish in the top five both the moto’s and get used to life in MXGP before going crazy, the championship won’t be won at the first round. I am going with Gajser to win the first round at Qatar as the track really suits him and he was so impressive there last year. Cairoli looks good in pre-season and will challenge but I think he will just miss out to Gajser. One thing is for sure, they can’t afford to let Herlings win in Qatar or it could be a long season for the rest of his riders, if he stays fit of course!

Two rookies have won this class in the last two years, I am predicting that trend to continue and Herlings to win the title. Cairoli and Gajser won’t be far away either! It is so hard leaving Romain Febvre leaving out of my predictions as he has the speed but I feel like his starts could let him down”.

MXGP – Qatar:

1. Tim Gajser
2. Antonio Cairoli
3. Jeffrey Herlings

MXGP – Championship:

1. Jeffrey Herlings
2. Antonio Cairoli
3. Tim Gajser

Paul McCready: Talk about a lottery. Ten riders into three positions just doesn’t work… believe me, I’ve been trying!

Max Nagl for the win at Qatar, you heard it here first. Max has had a quiet but good off season and is very much the underdog. No one is talking about him, but that’s the way he likes it… remember 2015?

I’m looking at my picks and not having Jeffrey Herlings in there feels odd, but he could not even ride one pre-season race without getting injured and the last time he finished a championship without missing races through injury was 4 years ago in 2012. Jeffrey will get plenty of wins, but can he take finishing fourth or fifth at some races when he isn’t feeling comfortable instead of pushing anyway and crashing?

MXGP – Qatar:

1. Max Nagl
2. Antonio Cairoli
3. Tim Gajser

MXGP – Championship:

1. Antonio Cairoli
2. Tim Gajser
3. Romain Febvre