Livia Lancelot confirms she’ll walk away from MXGP – full focus on WSX
Livia Lancelot has confirmed that she won’t be involved in a Motocross Grand Prix team for the 2023 season. The former WMX world champion has done a great job with the 114 Motosports Honda team with the likes of Hunter Lawrence, Mitch Evans and Ruben Fernandez but Lancelot has decided it’s time for a new challenge.
The team will now fully focus on the World Supercross series which gets underway in October. Dailymotocross.fr caught up with Lancelot to dicuss leaving the MXGP paddock and more.
On the decision of switching focus away from MXGP…
I created this with the help of Giacomo Gariboldi and partners in 2018. I’ve always had goals in my sports life, in my personal life, you’re always running after something. In five years, we have achieved great things in the world but there is very little prospect of development. We’re a basic MX2 team – although we ended up with two 450 riders this year – and Honda doesn’t want to have a Factory MX2 team yet. Taking the place of the Factory 450 team is not possible – necessarily – but becoming a Factory MX2 team was still a goal. When I realized that was not a possibility, I told myself that I had gone around the question. I made podiums in MX2, I had the red plate, I made podiums in MXGP, it will be difficult to do more until we are a Factory team. At some point, you have to make a choice. To do 20 races a year all over the world, always in the same conditions, I no longer want to do it.
On not being able to secure factory support…
Every year, we discuss, we explain to them that as long as we don’t have factory bikes, we won’t be able to fight for a world title, and even for a final top 5 in the championship. If you put a really good rider on your bike and the planets align, you can steal a podium from Factory riders here and there. This is what we had the chance to do in 2021 with Ruben, because Ruben is an exceptional rider and he proves it today by making podiums in MXGP and having a contract with Honda HRC. As long as you’re not a team factory, these things only happen by “chance”, piecemeal. We kept fighting for support, technical support from Honda and so far the Honda factory is focused on the 450. It’s a choice that we understand, that we respect.
On World Supercross and a new adventure for her team…
There were a lot of decisions to make, reflections to have, it was complicated. Today, I am in the Motocross World Championship with riders who can make podiums and I am leaving in a brand new championship, it was not a decision to be taken lightly. It’s a challenge. The advantage of Supercross is that we know all that with the Paris Supercross. It’s madness, you arrive in Paris, you’re in the city center, you walk to the hotel, it’s indoors so whether it’s raining, selling or snowing you’re royal inside. For the mechanics, it’s the same, it’s the best. There is no structure to build, motorcycle to wash, etc, etc. When you do a GP in Lommel under two degrees and the track is a sponge because it’s been raining for 2 months, the team has a crazy job to do. Supercross, it’s much cooler and even if I don’t wash the bikes, I see my guys on a daily basis, and leaving on that is more fun for everyone and this SX side attracted me. There are also fewer trials and this is not negligible. Today when you do 20 races a year, plus the pre-season races, and a few training weekends on tracks abroad, you spend half the year on the tracks. Supercross will be fewer races and that’s one of the little details that made this project stick in my head. plus the pre-season races, and a few training weekends on tracks abroad, you spend half the year on the tracks. Supercross will be fewer races and that’s one of the little details that made this project stick in my head. plus the pre-season races, and a few training weekends on tracks abroad, you spend half the year on the tracks. Supercross will be fewer races and that’s one of the little details that made this project stick in my head.
You can read the full exclusive interview on dailymotocross.fr.
Pic: Thibault Photography
