MX2 GP Preview

MX2

It seems to many that the MX2 division is a clear cut - Ken Roczen will dominate en route to his first world title. The 2010 runner up is the favourite based on his speed at the end of last season where he ended as the fastest rider in the world. The mecurial 16 year old talent has switched to the Red Bull Factory powerhouse KTM team and has Stefan Everts now in his corner. With early AMA supercross racing as added experience, it seems that Roczen should win the title.

However GP titles are not won on paper, and with the form fellow teenage sensation Jeffrey Herlings has been showing in the pre-season races, the flying Dutchman could well be the equal of Roczen this year. With his first full season behind him, the fastest sand rider in the world just needs to equal Ken’s speed on the hard tracks and match his consistency to potentially claim the title. There are some experts within the GP paddock that believe Herlings is even better than Roczen, with both riders on the same team this season, we are about to find out the answer.

The other main championship contenders are CLS Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Tommy Searle and Rinaldi Yamaha’s Gautier Paulin. Paulin was on the pace last season until he broke his leg one week before the GPs started. He came back mid season and won the GP of Lierop at the end of the year. With a full winters preparation Paulin will be very fast, and barring more injurys should be challenging for podiums and wins all year. The tall Frenchmen is always cool, calm and collected, and this could well be his last year in MX2 before his highly anticipated move to MX1 so his motivation will be very high.

Tommy Searle returns from an injury hit time in the USA where he never really showed the speed and potential that took him to two consecutive runner up positions in the GPs in 2007 and 2008. Tommy is back with his trainer Kirk Gibbons, has a good professional team around him again and is living at home in England. That combination seems to already be agreeing with Searle, who has been in stunning form in the pre-season. Tommy is still only 21 but he has been at the front of the GPs since he was 16, he has the experience, the talent and the desire to be Britain’s first World Champion since mentor Jamie Dobb won exactly ten years ago. The MX2 class has changed a lot since Tommy went to the USA in 2009, Tommy used to be the young pretender, now he will be battling the young pretenders for the title!

Zach Osborne will be considering himself as a title contender in 2011. The Virginian native has been the most successful American rider in GPs since Mike Brown ten years ago. He had the best season of his career last season, finishing fourth in the World and being crowned British Champion. Osborne will hope to continue that momentum this year and has lost  alot of weight in the off season to compete with his rivals. His Wild Wolf Cosworth Yamaha is a fire breathing animal that has been designed around Zach’s high revving riding style. The American has the machine and the experience, if he can improve his sand riding and up his raw speed just a little to match Herlings and Roczen, he shouldn’t be far away from being a title contender.

New team-mate to Osborne is Arnaud Tonus, and he could be the dark horse for 2011. Smooth as silk with a very natural riding ability, the Swiss teenager has adapted very quickly to the Yamaha, winning British Championship races over Osborne already this season.  Tonus was team-mates with Roczen last year on the factory Suzuki, all that knowledge brought him his first GP podium at the end of the year and this season he will be expecting more of the same and maybe even some GP wins. Tonus should not be underestimated in 2011.

Jeremy Van Horebeck is the third member of the factory KTM team and while very talented and smooth, Van Horebeck seems to lack the self-belief to challenge for the title this year, but under the guidance of Stefan Everts expect Van Horebeck to make big improvement throughout the season.

Max Anstie is a bit of an unknown quantity in the GP paddock. Having spent his formative teenage years in the USA, Max now 18, is back in Europe with the CLS Pro Circuit Kawasaki team. He is on the best team of his short career, and has shown some blistering speed in the USA but also had some big crashes. Whether going to the USA has really helped Max fully develop his potential outdoors is questionable as his schoolboy rivals  (Roczen and Herlings) seem to have went to a higher level by staying in Europe and racing the GPs.  Anstie will believe he has the speed to run with his former rivals, and there is no doubting his talent, but GP racing is very different to what he is used to in America and Max also has to remain healthy for the full season. If he can adapt quickly and remain healthy, Max could come into his own in 2011 and maybe even win a GP.

Other riders who will add to the excitement at the front are the Yamaha duo of Harri Kullas and former European Champ Christophe Charlier. Kullas was a solid top ten guy last season and will be hoping for more in 2011. Charlier was disappointing in 2010, after beating both Herlings and Rozen in the Europeans in 2009, but he had some injuries so hopefully the Frenchman can remain injury free in 2011 and show his potential.

Staying with the French theme, Valentin Telleit is the new rider at Factory Suzuki. The 2008 Euro Champ has bucketloads of talent but again injuries have hampered his progress. Expect to see Telleit challenging at the front more and more as the season goes on.

Team Jacky Martens KTM has retained the services of World number five Joel Roelants. Roelants is fast but usually starts the year slowly, he will need to get out of the traps early this year if he wants to improve on his fifth place in the championship. Jordi Tixier is the latest in the long line of French hotshots and the 125 World Champ from 2010, looks very promising. 2011 will be a learning year but expect some stand out performances!

Team Husqvarna are back in MX2 with Ricci racing with riders Alessandro Lupino and American Michael Leib. Lupino has shown flashes of speed but will be looking to be a top ten rider in 2011. The same will go for American Leib who is embarking on his first full year of GP racing.

Britain’s Jake Nicholls was looking good for Roger Magee's HM Plant/Reb Bull KTM UK team, but he has broken his ankle and won’t be back in action until June.