Weekend watch: MXGP and US MX!
The US nationals are back this weekend on one of the best tracks on the calendar with the High Point Nationals and the man to beat will once again be Eli Tomac but with Ken Roczen having another two weeks to build his fitness and Marvin Musquin needing to get some points back the motivation should be high on a track that should suit the former GP racers.
With Zach Osborne out of the 250 title running Aaron’s Plessinger seems the most likely to challenge Jeremy Martin and with the East coast swing of the series upon us, Plessinger will be looking to get the wins and pressure Martin as he looks to win two titles in the same season.
Pic: Star Yamaha
Dylan Ferrandis is expected to be making his return to action following his horrific supercross track and while he may need a couple of races to get back up to speed he will be looking at making some podiums sooner rather than later with the MXoN closing in!
The big news of the week however was in MXGP with championship leader Jeffrey Herlings breaking his collarbone and missing this weekend’s highly anticipated showdown with Antonio a Cairoli in the Italian sand. Herlings was intent on getting revenge after their duel last year that saw Cairoli win and Herlings suffer heat exhaustion.
Pic: Youthstream
Herlings however is remaining positive and says he will try and ride next weekend with a freshly plated collarbone in a bid to race in Indonesia. Even if Cairoli wins both motos this weekend Herlings will still have the a 12 point lead in the championship as the serie heads for two flyaways in Indonesia.
The absent KTM man means an extra podium place up for grabs and that shoud remotivage the rest of the pack, don’t be surprised to see guys like Max Anstie and Shaun Simpson add themselves into this mix for a podium if they get the starts in Italy.
MX2 is again boiling down to a KTM duel with Jonass getting the heat from his young teammate Prado. Both are excellent in the sand so the KTM duel could well be coming from MX2 now not MXGP and it could be a big battle as Prado appears to have the momentum in the championship at the halfway point and has the lead down to just 16 points. Jonass can’t really play it too safe either with Prado’s sand skill.
Watson.Pic: Nigel McKinstry
It should be a good chance for Ben Watson to get a podium if he can sort his starts out! Watson is excellent in sand and starts have been the only thing preventing him from more podiums in recent weeks. Conrad Mewse is also a dab hand in the sand and British fans should have plenty to cheer with his return to form last week in France.
Jago Geerts is the story of the season so far though, a second place in moto two gave him fourth in France but he had a Maths exam, this week and now heads to Ottobiano to test himself in his favoured sand conditions – quite the seven days for the 18 year old MX2 rookie!
Pocock and Barr battle for the red plate. Pic: Revo Husqvarna
EMX2 is all to play for and Martin Barr, who slipped from first to third in the standing, is 22 points behind new leader Boisrame but Barr is brilliant in sand and will be expecting to get some strong results this weekend as will the always consistent Mel Pocock, now second in the series 13 points behind Boisrame with a second EMX2 titles firmly in his sights.
Feature Pic: Ray Archer
