MX2 Preview: A new world champion is coming!
A new world champion will be crowned in 2020. None of the riders in this championship have a world title to their name. And then it concerns a title in the Grand Prix circus, we are not counting the youth title. We look ahead to the championship and see the battle between Thomas Kjer Olsen and Tom Vialle. Hopefully Jago Geerts can also join the battle and what about Roan van de Moosdijk and his teammate Mathys Boisrame?
New factory team on behalf of Husqvarna:
Last year it was announced very early that JM Racing (Jacky Martens) will no longer run the Husqvarna factory team from 2020. The Belgian was replaced by long-term business partner Kay Hennekens. The owner of Negaan has set up his own team and he immediately takes a big approach! Hennekens immediately goes for the world title with Thomas Kjer Olsen and Jed Beaton. The Dane Kjer Olsen is our favorite for the title, but it won't be easy. The biggest problem for the vice-champion is his height! It is also an important season for Australian Beaton because last year he failed to make much of an impression after a serious leg injury sustained in Matterly Basin.
Another rookie at KTM:
Last year KTM took a big gamble to include Tom Vialle in the factory team. This year the Austrian team is repeating that again with Rene Hofer. The Austrian will be the teammate of Vialle and Jeffrey Herlings. Hofer is made of the right stuff, after all, he has already won many youth titles! For Hofer it is mainly about gaining experience, that no longer applies to Vialle. Last year he managed to take a GP victory in Sweden. The Frenchman is certainly a contender for the title and we think Kjer Olsen's biggest challenger!
Yamaha goes for the title:
The name of KEMEA Racing no longer officially appears, the Belgian team is the official Yamaha factory team for 2020 with Geerts and Ben Watson. Both are of course going for the title, will Geerts succeed in bringing the MX16 world title back to Belgium after 2 seasons? In 2003, trainer Steve Ramon won the title on a Champ-KTM. For the last Belgian world champion we have to go back to 2008. Then Sven Breugelmans won the MX3 World Championship with JM Racing.
Honda has new names:
Although Honda does not have a real factory team, we still see four riders competing for this brand. The Italian Team Assomotor-Honda-Redmoto has Stephane Rubini under contract, he returns to the World Championship after an EMX season. His teammate is the Swede Alvin Ostlund who did not make much of a difference last year. The French 114 Motorsports of Livia Lancelot will compete with Bailey Malkiewicz and Nathan Crawford.
Can Kawasaki compete for GP victory again?
Although it is not a factory team, the Dutch F&H Racing Team can count on support from Japan in 2020. After all, the team name has been changed to F&H Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team! Van de Moosdijk will switch to the Grand Prix after winning the European 250cc Championship. The Eindhove native still has a contract with the Moordrecht team until 2021. Because Adam Sterry and Henry Jacobi are both 23 years old, they did not return to the team and Marc de Reuver had to look for new names. They were found with Mathys Boisrame and Mikkel Haarup! Boisrame won the EMX250 in 2018 and finished his first full GP season in ninth. Haarup was active for IceOne Racing for years, but his first GP season yielded much less than expected. Based on De Reuver, we expect a lot from both riders, hopefully the team led by Nathalie Fase can celebrate their first GP victory in 2020!
Suzuki remains absent:
Suzuki will also be conspicuous by its absence from the FIM World Championship in 2020! The arrival of GasGas is new, the German Team Diga Procross will deploy two riders! Both riders will make their debut in the World Championship. Sydow already has GP experience, but his teammate Simon Langenfelder is really a rookie! In fact, the German skips the EMX250 and makes the jump from the EMX125 straight to the World Championship!
Debutants:
The aforementioned Hofer, Malkiewicz, Crawford, Sydow, Langenfelder and Van de Moosdijk are debutants, but there are more! Alberto Forato comes over from the European 250cc Championship, where the Italian finished third behind Van de Moosdijk and Stephane Rubini. In addition to Beaton, Malkiewicz and Crawford, another Australian will be in action; Wilson Todd crosses over to 'Europe' for the Dixon Racing Team. From England, Josh Gilbert will ride for a full season, he was born in 1997 so this is his last chance in this class! Kevin Horgmo, Jere Haavisto and Tom Grimshaw will also play their first full season at the highest level.
Lowlanders:
In addition to Geerts, we see two more Belgians in action, Cyril Genot will compete for the Swiss IXS-STC Racing Team on a Yamaha. Nathan Renkens is taking a step back, he will compete in MX2 with his own team! From the Netherlands we start with two KNMV riders; Van de Moosdijk and Bas Vaessen. Later in the season Davy Pootjes will be added, the 22-year-old rider will switch to Kawasaki this season!
Last year in MX2:
The age limit of 23 years remains in force for the time being, so there are riders who will ride their last MX2 season this year. Pauls Jonass, Armins Jasikonis and Anton Gole have already made the switch to MXGP but can still compete in MX2. This is the last year for Kjer Olsen, Watson and Alvin Ostlund. Dylan Walsh, who left for Down-under, would also be ready for the last MX2 season!
It will start on February 29 and March 1, we will of course report everything that happens in the 2020 World Cup! Don't miss anything and read everything on MXMag.be!!
By: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Photo: #ShotbyBavo
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