MXGP of Sweden: 25th August 2019
At the end of seven hard-fought races, the Swedish Grand Prix saw Mattia Guadagnini and Maxxis become European champions of the 125 class. A very important recognition both for the Italian rider of the Husqvarna Maddii Racing team, who maintained his mastery of the situation throughout the whole championship and for the Maxxis MX-ST tyres, which, for their debut in the continental championship, emphasized the high level of performance and reliability achieved in a short time.
Guadagnini, thanks to the previous results, had reached the final appointment with 20 points ahead of the French Tom Guyon. So, on the Uddevalla circuit, characterized by a compact but slippery ground, he only had to manage the race and settle 3rd to win the title.
Mattia Guadagnini: “I am super happy; I can’t believe it. It is amazing, I don’t know what to say. I want to thank all the people who helped me. It was an amazing season, almost perfect. I had very good races and I just had to control the second race and have fun. I want to thank the team and my family and everyone who helped me.”
Alberto Forato, the other rider of the Husqvarna Maddii Racing, arrived in Sweden to compete for the EMX250 title wearing also the MX-ST MaxxCross tyres. Forato won the bronze medal, which repays him for a season characterized by highs and lows and that will give him the possibility to aim higher in the next competitive season.
Alberto Forato: “I had a good start to the season with four wins and then I had little issues. Today I enjoyed a lot riding. I’m third overall in the championship and I’m happy with it even if I was hoping to be Champion”.
It wasn’t the best round for the Spanish rider Iker Larranaga of the KTM Marchetti racing, who also rode with the MaxxCross MX-ST in the MX2 class. After finishing 13th in the first race, he had to withdraw in the next one, keeping however, his 14th place in the overall championship.
To conclude the European Motocross Championships in the 125 and 250cc categories, we come away with one Maxxis rider as European Motocross Champion and a podium ending for the other: a very impressive result from the MaxxCross MX-ST’s maiden season in competition.
MXGP of Italy: 18th August 2019
The 15th weekend of the Motocross World Championship was set up at the historic Imola racetrack, where a compact ground circuit, with slippery and stone-covered sections, was built.
A particularly difficult terrain to manage gave satisfaction to the Maxxis Racing Service as the MaxxCross MX-ST provided excellent results in terms of traction and directionality, accompanying Iker Larranaga to the top ten of the MX2 class.
In the first race the KTM Marchetti Racing team rider made a good start and, thanks to his high pace, got the 4th place in four laps, but unfortunately a mistake caused him to lose ground and he settled at the 7th position. In the second race he again took advantage of the potential of his Maxxis-shod SX-F 250 KTM to get himself in 5th place, which he maintained until some mistakes penalized him by four positions, two of which he recovered, ending 7th.
Thanks to these two good placings, Larranaga thus secured the 6th place overall, which confirms the potential and the constant growth of the Spanish rider.
MXGP of Belgium: 4th August 2019
The difficult Belgian track of Lommel hosted the penultimate round of the European 125 championship. The race confirmed the potential of the leader Mattia Guadagnini and Maxxis tyres for the EMX125 title.
It was a perfect day for the Italian rider in the run-up to the European title; with Maxxis Maxxcross MX-ST tyres on his Husqvarna at the front and MX-SM on the rear both of which are particularly suited to loose ground. Guadagnini won the first race in great style with a ‘lights to flag’ victory, and finished second in the last race, only due to an initial error that caused him to lose the first position. In both races he was still ahead of Guyon, so he will reach the Swedish GP with the reassuring 20-point lead that could allow him to win the title already after the first race.
A more challenging race for Alberto Forato and the European title of the 250 class. The Venetian rider, with Maddii Racing team’s Husqvarna and using MaxxCross MX-ST on the front tyre and MX-SM on the rear, had a fall in the 1st race and finished 9th, but in the next race made an amazing recovery and even though he started in the 16th position, he finished 2nd.
It was a difficult MX2 race for the Marchetti Racing team’s rider Iker Larranaga. He was equipped with the KTM SX-F 250 and wheeled with the same MaxxCross as the other Maxxis riders but couldn’t recover from bad starts and finished 17th overall.
MXGP of Czech Republic: 28th July 2019
The 13th World stage of the Motocross World Championship saw Iker Larrañaga continuing his seasonal growth and almost reaching the top ten of the MX2 class. Larrañaga opened the Czech race with a promising 10th place in the timed practice session and then finished 12th in the qualifying race after recovering from the 20th position.
Extremely motivated to improve his result from the first race, Iker took full advantage of the power of his KTM and the grip guaranteed by his MaxxCross to start in the top places. In the beginning, he held on to 5th place but in the middle of the race, he had a physical decline that caused him to drop a few positions. In the final, he managed to recover and ultimately finished 7th. Unfortunately, in the following race, a mistake at the start relegated him to the last position, from which he finished at the 16th place and thus closing 11th overall.
MXGP of Asia: 14th July 2019
Having finished 12th in the first of two Indonesian rounds, Iker Larranaga made a return to the MX2 class of the Asian Grand Prix, which was held on the spectacular Semarang circuit, located in the central island of Java.
In the first race, he fell victim of a crash that broke his race pace and didn’t allow him to place better than 15th. However, in the second race, Larranaga got the start in the top ten and despite a mistake that put him to 11th place, he managed to recover up to the 9th, thus securing the 12th place overall of the day.
MXGP of Indonesia: 7th July 2019
The MXGP of Indonesia was the 11th World race. In the event, the Maxxis rider Iker Larranaga with his KTM SX-F 250 repeated the result of the German GP, conquering the 12th place of the MX2 class.
For the particular type of terrain with which the compact circuit was built, the Spanish rider chose the MaxxCross MX-ST for both wheels for the best performance. In the qualifying race of Saturday Larranaga placed 11th, and in both Sunday races, the Marchetti Racing team rider finished 12th, improving his Championship standing from 20th to 19th.
MXGP of Germany: 23rd June 2019
In the first race, Guadagnini started as the leader and kept his position throughout. In the second race, the Husqvarna Maddii Racing rider had contact with an opponent and reported a problem to the gear lever that strongly slowed him down towards the end – he was relegated to 13th position. He, therefore, closed the German GP 4th overall.
It was a difficult race for Alberto Forato, who lost his red table of the EMX250 class due to two third places that weren’t enough to counter the competitiveness of Stephen Rubini. Rubini is now the leader of the Championship with 10 points ahead of Forato. However, Forato tested the Maxxis prototype – MaxxCross MX-SI rear – designed to optimize performance on very hard terrains, from which his feedback was incredibly positive.
“We have developed the MaxxCross MX-SI rear model to offer even more accurate performance on more consistent terrain and, despite his initial prototype status, the response was more than positive according to Alberto Forato. Now we are continuing in development and we will probably use it again in the Swedish Grand Prix at Uddevalla” – Sjoerd Fokkens, Maxxis Technician.
In the MX2 class, the KTM Marchetti rider Iker Larranaga (equipped with MaxxCross MX-ST front and rear), closed 12th overall after finishing both races in 13th position.
MXGP of Latvia: 16th June 2019
After an unlucky race in Russia where he lost the title from Stephen Rubini, Alberto Forato rediscovered his grit and determination and returned to the top of the EMX250 at the Latvian Grand Prix, riding for team Maddii Racing Husqvarna and equipped with Maxxis tyres.
Team-mate Mattia Guadagnini also raced in Kegums. He showed off his potential crossing the finish line in 2nd and thus closing his EMX250 race in 6th position overall.
Spanish rider Iker Larranaga also had a promising performance in the competitive MX2 class, who finished 14th overall with his Marchetti KTM equipped with MaxxCross MX-ST front and rear.
“Forato today made a masterpiece because recovering in both starts from the last positions in such terrain was not easy, but thanks to his willpower, he gained the red leader’s plate of the championship. It was a great satisfaction for us at Maxxis. MaxxCross performance quality was also confirmed by the surprising result of Guadagnini, who demonstrated to be ready to compete in the 250 class as well”. – Sjoerd Fokkens, Maxxis Technicia
MXGP of Russia: 9 June 2019
Following a very hot weekend in Russia at the Orlyonok track in the Tuapse region of South-Western Russia, the Maxxcross MX-ST has received more high praise despite a less-than-ideal weekend of racing.
Races this weekend included the EMX250 and the EMX2t, putting plenty of Maxxis tyres to the track. Larranaga of Marchetti KTM made for interesting racing, from a crash in Race 1 to a P12 finish in Race 2.
Alberto Forato, Championship leader of EMX250 (until this weekend) struggled through Race 1, crossing the line in P14, and clawing it back in Race 2 despite suffering contact early on, to finish the race in P4, which unfortunately placed him 8th in the weekend results dropping his Championship position to second place; a two-point difference between Forato and his French competitor.
“Even though the race terrain was one of the most feared of the season, the MaxxCross performed very well according to the riders, who reported excellent grip and traction.” – Sjoerd Fokkens, Maxxis Technician
MXGP of France: 26 May 2019
The MXGP of France proved to be an exciting weekend, featuring EMX125 as a supporting championship meaning that Mattia Guadagnini was back! Equipping his Husqvarna with MX-ST front and rear for the mid-soft terrain of the Saint-Jean d’Angely circuit, Guadagnini demonstrated the bite of the tyres by climbing from an initial P9 to cross the Monster finish line in third place, and in Race 2 managed to finish a place higher again, in P2.
Forato also chose to equip his Husqvarna with the MX-ST front and rear, earning him a P4 finish in Race 1 and, despite a stunted start in 19th place, a 3rd place finish in Race 2.
MXGP of Portugal: 19 May 2019
After Trentino, the Agueda circuit in Portugal provided a difficult weekend for the riders on Maxxis tyres. Iker Larranaga of Marchetti KTM in the MX2 opted for the MX-ST front tyre for agility and precision, with the MX-SM to carve through the clay-based track. Unfortunately, there was not much time to confirm whether this was the right choice as, after qualifying 13th, Larranaga injured his hand in Race 1 and was unable to participate in the rest of the weekend.
Meanwhile, Andrea Gorini of Mr. Mandrile Racing, a Yamaha team in the EMX2t, put up a good fight, finishing Race 2 in P11, but unable to replicate his podium of the British round. The team anxiously await the next round for a chance to experience the true grip of the MX-SM and the MX-ST.
MXGP of Lombardia: 12 May 2019
The hard sand track of Mantova, Lombardia, presented another opportunity for the Maxxis riders to mix and match their front and rear tyres. Guadagnini dominated yet again equipped with the MX-ST front and rear on the Saturday’s dry ground, and the MX-SM (sand tyre) rear with MX-ST (soft terrain) front on the Sunday. The switch paid off, with Guadagnini owning the Championship consistently throughout the weekend.
Iker Larranaga of the Marchetti KTM team managed to qualify 13th in the MX2 before finishing Race 1 in an impressive 7th place, dropping by only a couple of places for Race 2 to P9.
To read more news on the events of the MXGP, head over to the MXGP website.
