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DECEMBER <strong>2014</strong> I www.motorex.com<br />
Photo:© S. Taglioni<br />
RACING<br />
REPORT<br />
MOTOCROSS 4<br />
Tony Cairoli takes<br />
title number eight!<br />
MOTO GP 16<br />
TOM Lüthi FIGHTS<br />
HIS WAY BACK<br />
BIKE 26<br />
A successful off-road<br />
year
Photo:© S. Taglioni<br />
<strong>MOTOREX</strong> RACING LAB<br />
The <strong>MOTOREX</strong> <strong>Racing</strong> Lab is responsible for the development and provision of all fluid requirements<br />
of the major racing teams that <strong>MOTOREX</strong> supports. Over recent years the <strong>MOTOREX</strong> <strong>Racing</strong><br />
Lab has established itself as one of the most respected centres of expertise when it comes to<br />
special developments for racing teams.<br />
These special <strong>Racing</strong> Line formulations in attractive premium packaging, combined with our passion<br />
for racing sport, create a completely new dimension for “High performance racing products”.<br />
www.motorex.com<br />
2
EDITORIAL<br />
DEAR MOTOR RACING FRI<strong>EN</strong>DS<br />
Another racing season is drawing to a close, and once<br />
again it has been a “typical <strong>MOTOREX</strong> motorsports<br />
year“. You might even say that <strong>2014</strong> was a lot better<br />
than expected. Not all championships are over yet,<br />
but one thing is already certain: <strong>2014</strong> will go down<br />
in history as one of the most successful years in<br />
motor racing for <strong>MOTOREX</strong>. We will have actively<br />
contributed to ten world championship titles and<br />
won a number of runner-up positions and various<br />
national titles with our partners. These include<br />
several quite unusual achievements. For example, we<br />
supported the winner of the Women‘s World Triathlon<br />
Championship, Gwen Joergensen-Lemieux, and she<br />
used <strong>MOTOREX</strong> Bikeline products for the care and<br />
maintenance of her bicycles on all continents with<br />
the help of our importers.<br />
Together with KTM we won the two most important<br />
motocross world championship titles as well as<br />
finishing as runner-up in the MX2. Tony Cairoli took<br />
his eighth World Championship title, while Jordi<br />
Tixier was able to prevail against Jeffrey Herlings<br />
due to his impressive consistency and lack of injury.<br />
Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey were highly successful<br />
in the supercross and motocross season in the<br />
USA. Roczen‘s crowning glory was to win the AMA<br />
motocross title in the big class – a huge achievement<br />
for the young German!<br />
Enduro racing is one of the core areas of expertise<br />
for <strong>MOTOREX</strong>. With KTM we clinched two world<br />
championships, with Christophe Nambotin and the<br />
young Australian Matthew Phillips winning the<br />
rider‘s title. KTM also won the constructor‘s title<br />
in these two classes, as in the Motocross World<br />
Championship. But there were surprises in the area<br />
of enduro racing, too. The Junior and Youth World<br />
Championship titles went to Team Costa Ligure Beta<br />
Boano <strong>Racing</strong>, which is supported by our Italian<br />
importer, while Danny McCanney and Davide Soreca<br />
won the rider‘s titles on Beta and Yamaha motorcycles.<br />
Life is certainly full of surprises: our privately<br />
funded partners also successfully carried <strong>MOTOREX</strong><br />
green across the finishing line when up against the<br />
factory teams.<br />
Our teams put in a superb effort in road racing, too.<br />
Tom Lüthi tenaciously fought his way through the<br />
season and even achieved two victories in the last<br />
races. Led by the Red Bull KTM Ajo Moto3 Team with<br />
future MotoGP rookie Jack Miller, the Moto3 Teams<br />
have worked hard throughout the season – winning<br />
the Vice Champion Title at the end. Superbike at<br />
World Championship level has seen some initial<br />
success. <strong>MOTOREX</strong>‘s successful involvement is<br />
rounded off with solid results in the American<br />
championship, the British BSB and the German IDM<br />
with Yoshimura Suzuki, GB Moto Kawasaki and HRP<br />
Holzhauer Honda.<br />
But where are we heading now? Will 2015 be another‚<br />
typical <strong>MOTOREX</strong> motorsports year? We can certainly<br />
expect some key changes: Ken Roczen is leaving KTM,<br />
Tom Lüthi will be changing teams and there are new<br />
riders joining Red Bull Ajo KTM. We will also witness<br />
a superb battle between Tony Cairoli and Ryan<br />
Villoporto in the Motocross World Championship,<br />
the MXGP class, in 2015. The two best riders in the<br />
world will be competing against one another on KTM<br />
and Kawasaki. And the good thing is: they both use<br />
<strong>MOTOREX</strong> oil. So we can already look forward to an<br />
exciting new season.<br />
Yours sincerely<br />
Ronald Kabella<br />
3
MOTOCROSS<br />
4<br />
Photo:© S. Taglioni
MOTOCROSS<br />
Photo:© S. Taglioni<br />
Photo:© S. Taglioni<br />
MXGP<br />
THE CHAMPION GOES ONE BETTER:<br />
TONY CAIROLI TAKES<br />
TITLE NUMBER EIGHT!<br />
The name of the first MXGP Motocross World<br />
Championship winner is Antonio Cairoli. This is the<br />
sixth time in succession that the 29-year-old Italian<br />
has won the World Championship in motocross. After<br />
the renaming of the MX1 category MXGP, the factory<br />
rider of the Red Bull KTM <strong>Racing</strong> Team continues to<br />
dominate proceedings with a more than impressive<br />
showing.<br />
At every Grand Prix weekend at virtually every<br />
race track he remains the top favourite for Grand<br />
Prix victory with amazing consistency, laying the<br />
foundations for winning the world championship<br />
title year by year. The Red Bull KTM rider achieved<br />
supreme day victories at nine out of the seventeen<br />
Grand Prix in the <strong>2014</strong> season, as well as putting in a<br />
brilliant performance on six of these occasions with<br />
a superb win in both races. All in all the likeable<br />
Italian took a total of fifteen race victories as well<br />
as finishing in the top three another thirteen times.<br />
This incredible track record enabled him to clinch<br />
his eighth World Championship title early on at the<br />
Goias Grand Prix in Brazil. The exceptionally talented<br />
rider has now chalked up seventy-two Grand Prix<br />
victories on the eternal winners‘ list – and there is<br />
no end in sight.<br />
Off the race track, Antonio Cairoli is an outstanding<br />
ambassador for motocross racing. In his home country<br />
of Italy, the Sicilian was even voted athlete of the year<br />
by Sky channel viewers . Here he came out top despite<br />
being up against such leading figures as Valentino<br />
Rossi, footballers Andrea Pirlo, Mario Balotelli and<br />
Francesco Totti, NBA basketball player Luigi Datome,<br />
swimmer Federica Pellegrini and Giro d‘Italia winner<br />
Vincenzo Nibali.<br />
A special highlight is the exclusive cinema feature<br />
about the career of the eight-times world champion<br />
entitled “Tony Cairoli – the Movie“. The film lasts<br />
70 minutes and has been released in nine European<br />
countries.<br />
5
MOTOCROSS<br />
© Photos: Sarah Gutierrez<br />
KAWASAKI<br />
ON FIRE<br />
MXGP<br />
GAUTIER PAULIN TAKES TEAM FRANCE TO NATIONS TRIUMPH<br />
Regarded as the biggest challenger to multiple champion Antonio<br />
Cairoli, smart Frenchman Gautier Paulin started the <strong>2014</strong> MXGP with a<br />
bang by winning the night race in Qatar. For the time being, however,<br />
this remained the highlight of the season for the 24-year-old. After race<br />
victories in Italy, Bulgaria and the Netherlands, Paulin suffered a bad<br />
fall and was forced to drop out of seven Grand Prix. After his injury<br />
absence he steadily worked his way back among the leaders and won<br />
his second Grand Prix victory of the year at the final in Mexico at the<br />
close of the season.<br />
With the momentum of this Grand Prix win, Paulin then went to<br />
Kegums in Latvia for the MX of Nations. Here the Kawasaki factory<br />
rider pulled Team France‘s chestnuts out of the fire as team leader on his<br />
KX 450 F. He set the benchmark with two superb race victories, thereby<br />
laying the foundations for the Équipe Tricolore‘s overall victory.<br />
6
MOTOCROSS<br />
MXGP<br />
STEV<strong>EN</strong> FROSSARD PUTS IN A STRONG MXGP<br />
SEASON AND TRIUMPHS AT THE MX OF NATIONS<br />
Paulin‘s fellow countryman and team colleague in the Kawasaki Factory Team KRT Steven<br />
Frossard put in a powerful performance throughout the entire MXGP season and was<br />
eventually rewarded with fifth place in the World Championship ranking. The highlight for<br />
the 27-year-old was a second place on the podium at the Finnish Grand Prix. His potential<br />
is reflected in a total of eight podium placements in individual races. Frossard brought the<br />
season to a perfect close with the French team at the MX of Nations in Latvia. With superb<br />
individual performances and outright victory in the open category, he made a crucial<br />
contribution to the overall victory of the French.<br />
© Photos: Sarah Gutierrez<br />
7
MOTOCROSS<br />
TEAMFIGHT<br />
THROUGH TO THE LAST ROUND<br />
Photo:© S. Taglioni<br />
VS.<br />
MX2<br />
JORDI TIXIER CLINCHES THE MX2 WORLD<br />
CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE IN A DRAMATIC FINAL RACE<br />
The MX2 Motocross World Championship in Leon,<br />
Mexico, produced a season finale that offered<br />
unbeatable edge-of-seat action and drama. The key<br />
players were two-times world champion and title<br />
defender Jeffrey Herlings from the Netherlands and<br />
his French challenger and team colleague Jordi Tixier.<br />
Jeffrey Herlings dominated the MX2 season, taking<br />
the victory of the day in all the races he entered. He<br />
was unable to take part in the third Grand Prix of<br />
the year in Brazil due to injury but quickly went on<br />
to regain leadership in the World Championship,<br />
consolidating this to a terrific lead of one hundred<br />
and forty-five points. He was therefore all set in<br />
Loket, Czech Republic, to clinch his third successive<br />
World Championship title early on. But things turned<br />
out differently: the 20-year-old broke his femur in a<br />
charity race and it looked as if his title dreams had<br />
been dashed.<br />
Nonetheless, the Red Bull KTM factory rider performed<br />
the incredible feat of fighting his way back for the big<br />
showdown against his team colleague Jordi Tixier.<br />
With enormous fighting spirit, the Frenchman had<br />
minimised the gap during Herlings‘ absence in the<br />
three Grand Prix prior to the season finale and was the<br />
only challenger left.<br />
In a finale that offered unbeatable edge-of-seat action<br />
and drama, Jordi Tixier eventually came out on top<br />
against the less-than-100% title defender and won<br />
by the slimmest possible margin of just six World<br />
Championship points. It was the 21-year-old‘s biggest<br />
triumph of his career since winning the Junior World<br />
Championship title in 2010. For the Red Bull KTM<br />
Factory <strong>Racing</strong> Team this meant another double World<br />
Championship win in the MX2 category.<br />
8
MOTOCROSS<br />
MXGP<br />
CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE FOR SHAUN SIMPSON AND D<strong>EN</strong>NIS ULLRICH<br />
Shaun Simpson (Hitachi Construction<br />
KTM UK) and Dennis Ullrich<br />
(KTM Sarholz <strong>Racing</strong> Team) both put<br />
in excellent performances during<br />
the course of the <strong>2014</strong> season. At<br />
national level in particular the two<br />
KTM riders were almost unbeatable<br />
and their dominance allowed them<br />
to clinch the championship titles.<br />
Simpson won the British Motocross<br />
Championship while Ullrich successfully defended his title at the ADAC MX Masters in<br />
Germany. The two also put in an impressive showing at the Motocross World Championship.<br />
Simpson, 26, the last Grand Prix winner in the MX1 category in Lierop (Holland) in the<br />
previous season, demonstrated his capabilities in the MXGP with three top-three placements,<br />
even climbing the day‘s podium in the deep sand at Lommel, Belgium.<br />
Photos:© R. Archer<br />
As one of the youngest riders in the<br />
MXGP at just twenty-one years of<br />
age, Dennis Ullrich‘s highlight of<br />
the season was at the Czech Grand<br />
Prix in Loket. He had previously<br />
attracted some attention with the<br />
occasional top ten placement, but<br />
in Loket he finished a sensational<br />
fourth place up against the world‘s<br />
best.<br />
At the MX of Nations in Kegums,<br />
Latvia, Simpson put in a fine<br />
support performance for the<br />
British team, while Dennis Ullrich<br />
likewise did an excellent job.<br />
Originally from Swabia but now<br />
based in the Saarland, Ullrich achieved an impressive<br />
fifth place in the overall rankings along with his<br />
17-year-old team mate Henry Jacobi (KTM Sarholz<br />
<strong>Racing</strong>) and Max Nagl.<br />
MOTOCROSS / SUPERMOTO SWITZERLAND<br />
HOME GAME IN SWITZERLAND<br />
<strong>MOTOREX</strong> is also active in the world of motor sports in Switzerland, providing support for<br />
both competition organisers and teams. As official partners of KTM and Husqvarna, the<br />
<strong>2014</strong> motocross season was a great success with no fewer than 4 national titles. While the<br />
experienced rider from western Switzerland, Killian Auberson, took his 3rd title as Swiss<br />
champion in the Inter MX2 category at the age of only 22, KTM Switzerland is always<br />
particularly interested in unearthing new talent. With another 3 titles, the work of Philippe<br />
Dupasquier and his team was richly rewarded. In the Kid 65cc category, Joel Elsener won<br />
the national title while in the Minis 85cc category, Maurice Chanton took 1st place. The<br />
resounding success was completed by Cyrille Flury’s victory in the Junior 2-T category and<br />
there is no doubt that in the coming years, these riders will continue to be in the spotlight in<br />
the MX Open and MX2 categories.<br />
© Photo: Stephan Bögli<br />
In the Supermoto category, Husqvarna is highly prominent. In the Supermoto Prestige<br />
category, Philippe Dupasquier became Vice-Champion of Switzerland while his son Jason<br />
claimed victory in the Youngster 85 category.<br />
9
AMA NATIONALS / SUPERCROSS<br />
© Photos: S. Cudby<br />
ROOKIE SEASON<br />
TRIUMPH<br />
AMA NATIONALS<br />
K<strong>EN</strong> ROCZ<strong>EN</strong> WINS THE US MX CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
In no time at all the 20-year-old from Thüringen<br />
has pulverised all records and clinched the coveted<br />
AMA national title in the USA at his first attempt.<br />
He already put in an outstanding supercross season<br />
performance but went one better in the outdoor<br />
season to take home a much deserved overall victory.<br />
In the supercross races he opened the season with a<br />
bang, winning the opening race in Anaheim on the<br />
KTM SX-F 450 – an amazing feat and the first win by<br />
a rookie at the start of a season since 2009. For the<br />
entire duration of the race, Roczen demonstrated his<br />
incredible potential by holding out against multiple<br />
SX champions Ryan Dungey, James Stewart, Chad<br />
Reed and Ryan Villopoto. As the season continued<br />
he achieved another impressive win at the final<br />
in Atlanta and six more podium positions as well<br />
as leading the interim standings over a period of several weeks,<br />
ultimately finishing an outstanding third in the final ranking of the<br />
AMA Supercross Series. Since these results count equally towards<br />
the Supercross World Championship, Roczen happily took world<br />
championship bronze.<br />
He quickly showed himself to be a title contender in the outdoor season,<br />
too. Coming in a supreme second two more times at the finishing<br />
line and on the day‘s podium at the opening event at Glen Helen, he<br />
more than underpinned his title ambitions with another remarkable<br />
showing in the second round in Hangtown. Here he won both races by a<br />
clear margin, gaining his first of a total of five individual day wins. Over<br />
the season as a whole he won eight race victories, climbed the day‘s<br />
podium ten times and achieved twenty-one top-three placements. Like<br />
the season as a whole, the finale in Utah was incredibly exciting. Roczen<br />
remained cool and rode without any risk to take positions three and<br />
four in the greatest triumph of his amazing career.<br />
10
AMA NATIONALS / SUPERCROSS<br />
SUPERCROSS<br />
RYAN DUNGEY WINS TWO TIMES SILVER<br />
The 2010 supercross champion of the Red Bull KTM<br />
Factory Team, Ryan Dungey, collected silver and<br />
bronze in the <strong>2014</strong> season. After an exciting battle<br />
the US boy clinched second place in the supercross,<br />
only to be outclassed by winner Ryan Villopoto. The<br />
24-year-old from Tallahessee in Florida won the race<br />
in Indianapolis and climbed the podium a total of ten<br />
times.<br />
He was a solid title contender in the AMA Nationals<br />
up to the last round in Utah but was ultimately<br />
outperformed by German team colleague Ken Roczen<br />
and had to make do with silver. Dungey had a very<br />
well balanced season, clinching four day and six race<br />
wins, also finishing in the top three a total of twentyone<br />
times - just like Roczen. Having made it onto the<br />
day podium at eleven out of twelve events, he was<br />
just fourteen points away from achieving his third<br />
outdoor triumph after 2010 and 2012.<br />
After the AMA Nationals, Dungey wore the US colours<br />
at the MX of Nations in Kegums (Latvia). He finished<br />
fourth in the MXGP category, contributing to the US<br />
team‘s bronze in the overall ranking.<br />
© Photos: S. Cudby<br />
11
<strong>EN</strong>DURO<br />
<strong>EN</strong>DURO 1<br />
CHRISTOPHE NAMBOTIN RULES THE ROOST<br />
Christophe Nambotin faced one of his toughest seasons in the Enduro World Championship during <strong>2014</strong>. But<br />
you wouldn’t guess that too easily. Dropping down into the Enduro 1 category, Nambotin left his established<br />
home in Enduro 3 and his trusted KTM 300 EXC two-stroke to begin his first season of competition in the<br />
Enduro 1 category. Immediately the Frenchman proved more than capable on his KTM 250 EXC-f and silenced<br />
his critics by winning the first five days of the series. A couple of uncharacteristic mistakes in Greece,<br />
Finland and Sweden allowed his closest rivals to draw false hope when he slipped back to second. But at the<br />
penultimate round of the championship in Italy the KTM rider got back to his winning ways and clinched the<br />
title on his way to claiming victory during the final four days of the year.<br />
© Photos: Future7Media<br />
<strong>EN</strong>DURO 3<br />
BATTLE OF THE BRAVE<br />
BETWE<strong>EN</strong> PHILLIPS AND CERVANTES<br />
While Nambotin had things mostly his own way in E1, the battle for supremacy in the<br />
Enduro 3 class raged between KTM teammates Ivan Cervantes and Matt Phillips. Cervantes<br />
had his sights set on collecting title number five while Phillips – fresh from his junior title<br />
in 2013 – was keen to prove himself in the senior ranks.<br />
At rounds one and two it was the Cervantes’ show<br />
as the Spaniard out foxed everyone to secure victory<br />
in the first five days of the series. But on day two in<br />
Greece momentum swung in Phillips’ favour when<br />
the young Australian claimed his first victory as<br />
Cervantes suffered a broken bone in his ankle. With<br />
no time to recover, Cervantes struggled through<br />
Finland and Sweden while Phillips grew stronger<br />
and stronger. Entering the penultimate round in Italy,<br />
Phillips was in the driving seat and appeared to be<br />
on his way to the championship. But a badly broken<br />
foot saw him retire from day two, leaving things on<br />
a knife-edge for the final round showdown in France.<br />
With it all to play for between the duo, it was Phillips<br />
who held the upper hand and marched his way to the<br />
<strong>2014</strong> Enduro 3 World Championship.<br />
© Photos: Future7Media<br />
12
<strong>EN</strong>DURO<br />
<strong>EN</strong>DURO YOUTH / <strong>EN</strong>DURO JUNIOR<br />
DANIEL MCCANNEY AND DAVIDE SORECA<br />
WIN FOR BOANO RACING<br />
A last minute switch to the Costa Ligure Beta Boano<br />
<strong>Racing</strong> Team proved more than fruitful for Daniel<br />
McCanney in the Enduro Junior ranks. Instantly gelling<br />
with his new machine, the Beta rider immediately<br />
became a force to be reckoned with. <strong>Racing</strong> his way to<br />
victory in the first four days of the series, McCanney<br />
took control of the points lead and never looked back.<br />
Going on to win a further four days while never<br />
missing out on a podium result, McCanney clinched<br />
the Enduro Junior World Championship in style.<br />
© Photos: Christiano Morello<br />
© Photos: Christiano Morello<br />
Boano <strong>Racing</strong> enjoyed continued EWC success in <strong>2014</strong><br />
when their youngest rider Davide Soreca wrapped<br />
up the 125 Youth Cup category. In a closely fought<br />
championship, Soreca held his nerve during the final<br />
round of the series in France to see himself crowned<br />
world champion.<br />
SWISS <strong>EN</strong>DURO CHAMPIONSHIP:<br />
A LONG DUEL<br />
© Photo: Stephan Bögli<br />
In the Enduro Inter Open category, the season was marked by an absorbing<br />
duel between Christophe Robert of Husqvarna and Cédric Evard of<br />
Suzuki which went down to the wire. In the end, the more experienced<br />
Christophe Robert took the national title while Cédric Evard, in only his<br />
first season in the international category, sent out a message to his rivals<br />
that he will be in the mix for the victory in the future.<br />
13
RALLYE<br />
© Photo: M. Maragni © Photo: C. Barni<br />
© Photo: Future7Media<br />
RALLYE<br />
MARC COMA<br />
RETURNS TO THE TOP IN RALLYE<br />
Doing no wrong in <strong>2014</strong>, KTM’s Marc Coma proved himself the master of rallye by winning both the Dakar and<br />
the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. Missing the Dakar Rallye in 2013 due to a shoulder injury,<br />
Coma returned to the most demanding race in motorsport intent on winning. Enjoying a flawless fortnight of<br />
competition, he rode his way into the record books as a four-time champion of the event.<br />
With the Dakar Rallye his, Coma then set his sights towards winning back the Cross-Country Rallies series he<br />
lost in 2013. Travelling to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Italy, Brazil and finally Morocco, the KTM rider was a<br />
model of consistency. Never dropping outside of the top two and despite not needing to win the final round in<br />
Morocco, Coma crossed the finish line as the race winner and the newly crowned champion.<br />
14
SUPER <strong>EN</strong>DURO / <strong>EN</strong>DURO EXTREME<br />
SUPER <strong>EN</strong>DURO<br />
NO STOPPING TADDY BLAZUSIAK INDOORS<br />
Yet again there was no stopping KTM’s Taddy Blazusiak<br />
as he charged his way to a record breaking fifth<br />
consecutive FIM SuperEnduro World Championship at<br />
the start of <strong>2014</strong>. Always the rider to beat indoors – no<br />
matter which side of the Atlantic Ocean he lines up to<br />
a race on – Blazusiak again led everyone home in <strong>2014</strong>.<br />
Kicking things off with a perfect score at round one<br />
in Great Britain, he was unable to secure the winning<br />
result he hoped for on his home turf in Poland at round<br />
two.<br />
With the series moving to Brazil and Mexico for<br />
rounds three and four, Blazusiak returned to the top<br />
step of the podium in Brazil to the delight of the fans.<br />
Back in Europe for the penultimate round in Spain, the<br />
KTM rider delivered a master class of riding and won<br />
all three of the main events. With a comfortable points<br />
lead in hand entering the final round of championship<br />
in France, Blazusiak easily secured a double win to<br />
wrap up his fifth world title.<br />
© Photo: Future7Media © Photo: drp Productions<br />
Joining Blazusiak on the championship podium in<br />
third, Jonny Walker (KTM) capped off a strong indoor<br />
series with a race win at the final round in France.<br />
<strong>EN</strong>DURO EXTREME<br />
JONNY WALKER MAKES HIS MARK IN HARD <strong>EN</strong>DURO<br />
<strong>2014</strong> was a year to savour for KTM’s Jonny Walker.<br />
Firmly finding his feet in Hard Enduro, the young<br />
Brit took on and beat Graham Jarvis in the two most<br />
important races of the year – Erzberg and Romaniacs.<br />
Having missed out on a podium result in both races<br />
during 2013, Walker more than made up for it this<br />
year. Determined to fight his way onto the top<br />
step of the podium in Erzberg, Walker delivered a<br />
jaw-droppingly impressive ride to victory. Leading<br />
from the off, the KTM rider made short work of the<br />
notoriously steep climbs and descents that the “Iron<br />
Giant“ had to offer. Crossing the finish line clear of<br />
all his rivals, Walker picked up his second career<br />
Erzberg victory.<br />
© Photo: Future7Media<br />
Moving on to Romaniacs in Romania, Walker focused on keeping that winning momentum rolling along. A race he had yet to<br />
win, he began the four-day event in fine style by securing victory on day one. With the race lead his, he kept his cool for the<br />
remainder of the week as Jarvis did everything possible to chase him down. Going on to win the penultimate day’s action,<br />
Walker kept everything in check during the fourth and final day to become this year’s Romaniacs champion.<br />
15
MOTOGP<br />
MOTO2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
TOM LÜTHI<br />
FIGHTS HIS WAY BACK<br />
After the winter tests, Swiss racer Tom Lüthi was<br />
regarded as one of the favourites to win the Moto2<br />
World Championship title and everything was still<br />
going to plan after he finished third at the opening<br />
World Championship race in Qatar. But after this,<br />
nothing seemed to go his way. Lüthi struggled with<br />
the set-up of his Suter MMXIV and on many tracks the<br />
German Kalex chassis was superior to the Swiss Suter.<br />
Since Lüthi was not the only Suter rider to have<br />
problems, the constructors in Turbenthal made<br />
some improvements. Eskil Suter brought in a lot of<br />
equipment for his teams to test and this soon bore<br />
fruit. Lüthi initially stayed with the original frame,<br />
however. Not until he realised that the other Suter riders were getting<br />
faster did he switch to the new frame. From the Czech GP onwards, the<br />
125cc World Championship winner of 2005 was once again able to keep<br />
up with the leaders and won the Japanese GP in Motegi and the season<br />
final in Valencia.<br />
In the meantime it was announced that Lüthi‘s Interwetten team<br />
would be merging with the Technomag team after the <strong>2014</strong> season,<br />
thereby creating a Swiss super team with Tom Lüthi and Dominique<br />
Aegerter. Before the season final, the two future team partners were<br />
just seven points apart in the World Championship table. In the final<br />
showdown the two of them battled it out for fourth position in the<br />
World Championship and the honour of being the best Swiss rider, with<br />
Lüthi retaining the upper hand.<br />
© Photos: Paddock GP <strong>Racing</strong><br />
16
MOTOGP<br />
MOTO2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
SUPERB MAVERICK VIÑALES FINISHES THE SEASON ROOKIE<br />
OF THE YEAR<br />
Spanish ex-World Championship winner and team owner Sito Pons<br />
was in a far from enviable position at the end of last year. Although<br />
his team with Pol Espargaró won the Moto2 World Championship and<br />
Esteve “Tito“ Rabat finished third in the World Championship rankings,<br />
he was left without a rider. Espargaró moved up to the MotoGP and<br />
Rabat defected to the competition. But it didn‘t take Pons long to find a<br />
replacement – he hired Maverick Viñales and Luis Salom, the two most<br />
promising shooting stars from the Moto3 class. The selection proved to be<br />
a resounding success. Moto3 World Championship winner Viñales was<br />
the surprise of the season, winning his second Moto2 GP on the Circuit<br />
of the Americas in Austin. Though he still had a lesson or two to learn<br />
after this, he gradually improved in strength and after finishing second<br />
in Barcelona, Assen and Indianapolis he was ready for a superb winning<br />
streak to finish off the season. The 19-year-old Spaniard won three of the<br />
last five GPs and finished third in the World Championship. His meteoric<br />
rise did not go unnoticed: Suzuki is going back into the MotoGP next year<br />
and team manager Davide Brivio has recruited Viñales as one of the two<br />
factory riders.<br />
© Photos: Friedemann Kirn, Two World Media<br />
© Photos: Gold and Goose<br />
MOTO3 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
JACK MILLER BECOMES WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RUNNER-UP<br />
AFTER A HUGE BATTLE<br />
After his move to the Red Bull Ajo<br />
KTM team, Australian Jack Miller<br />
was already a big favourite in<br />
the previous season, clocking best<br />
times on his factory KTM on all<br />
tracks. Miller continued to perform<br />
superbly when the World Championship<br />
got underway, winning<br />
three out of the first five races. But<br />
then not only did the new factory<br />
Hondas gain in strength as a<br />
result of enormous development<br />
efforts carried out this year but<br />
Miller also started losing out in the<br />
hard-fought position battles of this<br />
closely contested class. He was also<br />
touched by his World Championship<br />
rival Alex Márquez – brother<br />
of MotoGP World Championship<br />
winner Marc Márquez – on the<br />
wet track in Aragón, causing him<br />
to fall. As a result he only finished<br />
runner-up despite a fantastic end<br />
to the season with wins at his<br />
home GP in Phillip Island as well as<br />
at the final in Valencia. However,<br />
the Australian is making history<br />
in another way: Next year he will<br />
be riding with LCR Honda, making<br />
him the first Moto3 racer to move<br />
straight up to the MotoGP.<br />
Not only has Danny Kent returned<br />
from Moto2 to the smallest World<br />
Championship class, the Husqvarna<br />
brand also celebrated its return<br />
to the Motorcycle World Championship<br />
this year. The 20-year-old<br />
Englishman achieved his first podium<br />
position in Brno and went on<br />
to finish eighth in the World Championship.<br />
17
ROAD RACING<br />
WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
SURPRISE WIN BY EUG<strong>EN</strong>E LAVERTY<br />
The World Superbike Championship got underway with an unexpected sensation this year: Despite being up against the fullblooded<br />
Aprilia, Ducati and Kawasaki factory teams, the supposedly inferior Voltcom Crescent Suzuki Team won the opening race<br />
in Phillip Island, Australia with new recruit Eugene Laverty – runner-up in the 2013 World Superbike Championship.<br />
Lavery was soon stopped in his tracks, however. Although he also made into onto the podium in Malaysia, falls, technical problems<br />
and the sheer overpowering dominance of the competition pushed him back to a final ranking of tenth by the end of the season.<br />
Laverty still achieved his own personal goal, however, and will be riding a Honda in Team Aspar in the MotoGP next year. The<br />
second new rider on the team, Alex Lowes, also made it onto the podium twice with a second place in Assen and a third place in<br />
Donington, finally finishing the World Championship in eleventh position.<br />
© Photos: Roger Lohrer<br />
SUPERSPORT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
KEVIN COGHLAN PUTS IN A FINE PERFORMANCE IN<br />
A LARGE FIELD<br />
The Supersport World Championship is an exciting and fiercely competed contest, and this year eight<br />
riders from five countries riding different brands opted for <strong>MOTOREX</strong> products: They were Ratthapark<br />
Wilairot, Jack Kennedy, Raffaele de Rosa, Nacho Calero, Kevin Coghlan, Alexej Ivanov, Roberto Tamburini and<br />
Alessandro Nocco.<br />
On his Yamaha, and with technical support from Kubiak & Mohr from Germany, Kevin Coghlan was actually<br />
leading the championship after two races, ultimately finishing fourth. The two former Grand Prix riders<br />
Raffaele de Rosa and Ratthapark Wilairot achieved ninth and 12th position respectively on the PTR team‘s<br />
Hondas, with Wilairot also riding in the Moto2 World Championship at the end of the season.<br />
18
ROAD RACING<br />
WORLD <strong>EN</strong>DURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
S<strong>EN</strong>SATIONAL<br />
SUCCESS<br />
FOR THE BOLLIGER TEAM<br />
If there were a special trophy for sheer tenacity and perseverance, it<br />
would have been won for years by legendary Swiss team boss Hanspeter<br />
“Hämpu“ Bolliger from Ruppoldsried. With his small but enthusiastic<br />
and experienced private team he has been competing for more than 30<br />
years against the overpowering factory teams of the World Endurance<br />
Championship - with great success.<br />
Once again this year he was able to show the giants a thing or two<br />
with his riders Horst Saiger, Roman Stamm, Daniel Sutter and Gaston<br />
Garcia Blasco, achieving third place in the World Championship -<br />
having been runner-up in 2005 and 2010 and finishing third in 2009.<br />
The team made it on to the podium both at the famous Bol d‘Or 24-<br />
Hour Race and the 8 Hours of Oschersleben.<br />
© Photos: Roger Lohrer / Fabrizio Foiadelli / Kenji Fujime<br />
19
ROAD RACING<br />
AMA SUPERBIKE<br />
AN IMPRESSIVE ROGER HAYD<strong>EN</strong> FINISHES SECOND<br />
Team Yoshimura Suzuki Factory <strong>Racing</strong> was<br />
reinforced at the beginning of the year with the<br />
internationally experienced Roger Hayden, younger<br />
brother of ex-MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden,<br />
and the 31-year-old from Owensboro, Kentucky<br />
quickly spearheaded the team in its fight for the<br />
US Superbike title. Making the podium in eight out<br />
of twelve races, he put in an increasingly strong<br />
performance in the second half of the season.<br />
He especially demonstrated that he is a force to<br />
be reckoned with in the future by winning the<br />
championship final at New Jersey Motorsport Park.<br />
Columbian Martin Cardenas also achieved podium<br />
positions four times as well as winning the race<br />
in Fontana, which does not count towards the<br />
championship. However, his hopes of a title fight<br />
were dashed after falls in Barber, Mid-Ohio and<br />
New Jersey and he finished the season sixth in the<br />
championship. Team junior Chris Clark, 23, made up<br />
for this with a very consistent performance, making<br />
it onto the Superbike podium for the first time at<br />
Barber Motorsports Park and finishing fourth in the<br />
championship.<br />
With the KTM RC8 being used in a championship<br />
for the last time, former supermoto specialist Chris<br />
Fillmore took it to an eighth overall final placement<br />
at its farewell appearance, only narrowly missing<br />
the podium in Mid-Ohio, for his team KTM/HMC<br />
Superbike <strong>Racing</strong>.<br />
© Photos:Brian J. Nelson<br />
IDM SUPERBIKE<br />
DANNY DE BOER SAVES THE DAY<br />
With Michael Ranseder finishing second in the 2013 championship and<br />
having won four championship titles in recent years, the HRP Holzhauer<br />
team was entertaining legitimate title hopes this year.<br />
However, the 28-year-old Austrian fell far short of expectations. After<br />
Ranseder‘s prolonged spell of poor form and five falls in eight races, team<br />
boss Jens Holzhauer opted to look ahead and invest in the future. He<br />
replaced Ranseder with 21-year-old Czech Jan Halbrich.<br />
Meanwhile 24-year-old Dutchman Danny De Boer, who had been hired<br />
at the start of the season, gradually established himself as a stable<br />
top-ten rider and finished the championship well above expectations<br />
in sixth place.<br />
20
ROAD RACING<br />
INTERNATIONAL SPANISH CHAMPIONSHIP<br />
JESKO RAFFIN DOMINATES<br />
© Photo: Pons <strong>Racing</strong> Team<br />
18-year-old Swiss rider Jesko Raffin was the<br />
sensation of the FIM CEV, the international Spanish<br />
championship now held on tracks in three countries<br />
and regarded as the training ground for the GP since<br />
it has the same promotor. In the Moto2 class he won<br />
virtually every race on his Kalex – except where the<br />
competition brought him down – and achieved a<br />
supreme title win. In the junior team of Spanish ex-<br />
World Champion Sito Pons he clearly outperformed<br />
Pons‘ son Edgar, though the latter put in a fine showing<br />
himself by winning the opening race after Raffin‘s<br />
fall and subsequently making it onto the podium two<br />
more times. Raffin‘s superior form and the untiring<br />
work of his manager Marco Rodrigo have now borne<br />
fruit: The up-and-coming talent from Zurich will be<br />
riding a Kalex for the SAG team in the Moto2 World<br />
Championship next year.<br />
BRITISH SUPERBIKE<br />
SPECTACULAR DEBUT FOR CHRIS WALKER<br />
AND JAMES ELLISON<br />
The GBmoto team took on a major challenge this year and became<br />
the official Kawasaki team in the fiercely contested British Superbike<br />
Championship. With two highly experienced riders – 42-year-old spectators‘<br />
favourite Chris Walker and 34-year-old ex-World Endurance<br />
Championship winner James Ellison – the team on the green Kawasaki<br />
ZX-10 Ninjas caused quite a spectacle.<br />
In order to keep the things exciting right through to the final, the<br />
BSB has a unique points system whereby the six title contenders are<br />
selected from the first 19 races. Chris Walker became the oldest rider in<br />
BSB history to win a place among the six finalists with a second place<br />
in the opening race of the season and two other podium finishes. James<br />
Ellison put in an even better showing at first, making the podium in<br />
all of the first six races, but he fell at high speed at Brands Hatch and<br />
suffered a complex fracture of the right upper arm near the shoulder<br />
joint. He had to undergo surgery and was out of the running for six<br />
weeks. After his return, it took Ellison another month to regain full<br />
physical fitness. Nonetheless, with two second places at the final in<br />
Brands Hatch he demonstrated that without injury he would have been<br />
a very hot title favourite.<br />
21
CAR<br />
BLANCPAIN <strong>EN</strong>DURANCE SERIES<br />
BREAKTHROUGH YEAR FOR THE EMIL FREY RACING TEAM<br />
<strong>2014</strong> can be regarded as the breakthrough year for the<br />
Emil Frey <strong>Racing</strong> Team: Its independently prepared<br />
Jaguar XK is the only privately developed racing car in<br />
the world to have become established in the booming<br />
GT3 category. Fredy Barth‘s team achieved its greatest<br />
success to date at the closing event of the Blancpain<br />
Endurance Series, the 1000-kilometre race at the<br />
Nürburgring: In a field of 40 sports cars, the purely<br />
Swiss driver line-up of Fredy Barth, Lorenz Frey and<br />
Gabriele Gardel finished ninth in the class despite<br />
being up against seasoned factory teams.<br />
They also achieved ninth position in the team ranking<br />
at the end of the season, which consisted of three<br />
3-hour races (Monza, Italy, Silverstone, England and Le<br />
Castellet, France), the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps,<br />
Belgium and the 1000-kilometre race at Nürburgring,<br />
Germany. Fredy Barth summed up positively after<br />
the last race at Nürburgring: “We‘re the only private<br />
manufacturer to have made it to this top-class<br />
professional league. That‘s something to be proud of.<br />
We managed to keep up the pace with competitive lap<br />
times. Our Emil Frey GT3 Jaguar did an excellent job.<br />
That‘s very motivating for the future.“<br />
ETCC<br />
SUCCESSFUL RACING SEASON AND PROCAR CUP FOR RIKLI<br />
The tradition-steeped racing team from Wangen an<br />
der Aare has become a fixed feature at the European<br />
Touring Car Championship and can look back on<br />
another successful year of international racing.<br />
The Honda Civic FD driven by both Peter Rikli and<br />
Andrina Gugger was further improved, though of<br />
course unable to match the BMWs as established<br />
World Championship cars. Nonetheless, Peter Rikli<br />
achieved four podium positions and even managed to<br />
finish an overall third out of 14 drivers in the class,<br />
making him the best non-BMW driver.<br />
One of the team‘s highlights was the DTC/Procar Series in Germany.<br />
Peter Rikli won both races as a starter at the Nürburgring while team<br />
colleague Dario Pergolini from Liechtenstein was also able to collect<br />
points. “Of course I‘m thrilled we‘ve been able to pick up another Procar<br />
cup,“ said a delighted Rikli, who has his sights set on many more cups<br />
in <strong>2014</strong>.<br />
Andrina Gugger is increasingly displaying her<br />
touring car skills and likewise put in good lap times,<br />
though she failed to make it onto the podium due to<br />
a run of bad luck on the technical side. Nonetheless,<br />
third position overall is certainly an impressive<br />
achievement. “We can be quite happy with ourselves<br />
as we go into the winter break. In spite of the<br />
significant weight disadvantage as compared to other<br />
cars in the same class we did an excellent job with an<br />
independently developed racing car,“ says Peter Rikli.<br />
22
CAR<br />
WEC, LMP1<br />
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE FOR BUEMI<br />
Finally a top-class car! It was not hard to imagine what the <strong>MOTOREX</strong> brand<br />
ambassador from the canton of Vaud must have been thinking at the opening<br />
of the WEC season in Silverstone. Two seventh-place finishes were the best he<br />
managed in 55 Formula 1 races for the Toro Rosso racing team between 2009 and<br />
2011. Things steadily improved after he changed to sports cars and the Toyota<br />
LMP1 team in 2012. This year it was time to reap the rewards of all the hard work: Toyota<br />
turned out to be the dominating car in the first year of the newly introduced efficiency<br />
regulations, so the season started with two victories in a row – first in Silverstone and then<br />
at the second race in Spa-Francorchamps. Although the team were hot favourites going into<br />
the 24 Hours of Le Mans, an accident put paid to any hopes of victory early on. Nonetheless<br />
Buemi and his team colleagues Anthony Davidson and Nicolas Lapierre still managed to<br />
finish third after the repair. After another third place in the rain chaos of Austin, the third<br />
victory of the season at the Toyota home race in Fuji put Buemi and Davidson firmly back<br />
on course for the World Championship title which was then clinched in dry weather in the<br />
penultimate race of the season.<br />
ELMS<br />
SIGHTS ALREADY SET ON THE ELMS LMP2 TITLE IN 2015<br />
Even before the season started it was beyond dispute<br />
that the team from Marly FR was among the best in<br />
the European Le Mans Series (ELMS). In <strong>2014</strong>, however,<br />
Benoît Morand‘s team‘s blue LMP2 went on to become<br />
one of the most feared opponents. The team came<br />
tantalisingly close to its first victory in the second<br />
race of the ELMS in Imola. Just a few minutes before<br />
the end of the four-hour race, however, ex-F1 driver<br />
Christian Klien dropped out with engine damage<br />
while in the lead. The wait finally came to an end in<br />
the penultimate race in Le Castellet in the south of<br />
France: Klien, Swiss driver Gary Hirsch and Pierre<br />
Ragues dominated the proceedings to give Morand<br />
its first ELMS race victory. The crowning conclusion<br />
to a great season was finishing second in the final<br />
race in Estoril and third in the overall championship:<br />
If the team had not dropped out in Imola they would<br />
even have clinched the title. So it is hardly surprising<br />
that Benoît Morand was voted “Man of the Year“ by<br />
his ELMS colleagues.<br />
The goal for 2015 is clear: The team aims to take a small step forward<br />
and set its sights on the ELMS title. And with a little luck it might be<br />
possible to put in a respectable showing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans<br />
in the World Endurance Championship. In <strong>2014</strong> the team clinched an<br />
excellent sixth place among 17 LMP2 teams, finishing an impressive<br />
tenth in the overall rankings.<br />
© Photo: P. Savet / VSA<br />
REMUS F3 POKAL<br />
TITLE CUP FOR THOMAS AMWEG<br />
Thomas Amweg left his personal stamp on this year‘s Remus Formula 3<br />
Cup. The 29-year-old from Ammerswil in the canton of Aargau won ten<br />
out of the fourteen races on the calendar this year. He could probably<br />
have done even better. But in Brno, Czech Republic, Amweg was not in<br />
the starting line-up for races 9 and 10. He therefore only actually failed<br />
to win twice: in the second race at the Red Bull Ring and in the first race<br />
at Hockenheim. The Zeller driver still made it onto the podium on both<br />
occasions, however. All in all, Amweg achieved an impressive score<br />
of 283 points. Polish driver Jakub Smiechowski came second with 156<br />
points - well behind Amweg. The latter‘s title win was decided at the<br />
penultimate race of the season in Imola.<br />
© Photo:Urs Gehrig<br />
23
CAR<br />
X-BOW BATTLE DAYS<br />
© Photos: Joel Kernasenko<br />
ARE YOU READY TO RACE?<br />
THE X-BOW BATTLE!<br />
In 2010 KTM came up with a special idea for customer<br />
racing: The aim of the “X-BOW BATTLE“ was to offer<br />
affordable yet attractive motor racing for all owners<br />
of a KTM X-BOW. The concept behind it was to have<br />
several classes so as to allow all the different versions<br />
of the KTM X-BOW to enter a racing series. Nobody was<br />
to be excluded and nobody was to be forced to spend<br />
unreasonable amounts of money on their car to meet<br />
regulation requirements. With the support of KTM,<br />
Georg Silbermayr took on the task of establishing the<br />
series, which kicked off at the end of April 2010 with 16<br />
starters at the Salzburgring in Austria.<br />
Over the years the “X-BOW BATTLE“ concept has<br />
turned out to be a resounding success: Starter fields<br />
have constantly increased in size and some drivers<br />
have even switched over from other series to drive<br />
the Austrian racing car. At the end of 2010, the efforts<br />
of all those involved eventually led to an invitation<br />
on the part of ITR to put in a guest appearance at the<br />
DTM on the Adria Raceway: Thirty drivers put in an<br />
impressive showing, which in turn resulted in a direct<br />
invitation to a further guest appearance in 2011. Here<br />
again – this time at the Eurospeedway Lausitz – there<br />
was edge-of-your-seat racing action to add that special<br />
“orange touch“. The crowning glory finally came in<br />
2012 when the “X-BOW BATTLE“ was held as part of<br />
the DTM at the Red Bull Ring – right on the doorstep, so<br />
to speak, since the supersports car on which the racers<br />
are based is built less than 50 kilometres away from<br />
Spielberg in Graz, Styria! As the appearance in front<br />
of a home audience went down so well, the “BATTLE“<br />
was included in the programme once again in 2013<br />
and <strong>2014</strong>.<br />
By the time it came to its fifth year, however, the<br />
series had undergone radical change. Not in terms of<br />
excitement and action - the race-track drama was more<br />
captivating and spectacular than ever before, with<br />
the field of up to 40 starters moving ever more tightly<br />
together in terms of performance. It was the regulations<br />
that had been consistently revised as time went on,<br />
ultimately turning the various X-BOW versions into<br />
uniform brand cup cars. Initially there was a reduction<br />
from three classes to two, and then the decision was<br />
taken to create a single set of regulations and one class<br />
only. Finally the move was made to Michelin slick tyres<br />
in 2013, and <strong>MOTOREX</strong> joined as the lubricant partner<br />
at the start of the <strong>2014</strong> season. A comparison of the<br />
brand cup racing cars – known as KTM X-BOW RR –<br />
with the cars of other racing series clearly illustrates<br />
the enormous increase in performance: The times<br />
24
CAR<br />
achieved in the “BATTLE“ are now in the range of<br />
the GT3 race cars in the ADAC GT Masters or Porsche<br />
Carrera Cup cars – with the difference that the KTM<br />
X-BOW is not fitted with any aids such as ABS, traction<br />
control or sequential transmission to make the driver‘s<br />
job easier. So the KTM X-BOW RR is one of the very few<br />
automobiles to offer pure, unfiltered motor racing!<br />
But the “X-BOW BATTLE“ organizers are not content<br />
to rest on their laurels, so the next new development<br />
is due for the 2015 season: For the first time the<br />
“BATTLE“ will take place together with the “X-BOW<br />
ROOKIES CHALL<strong>EN</strong>GE“. A racing series for motor racing<br />
newcomers, up-and-coming drivers or amateurs from<br />
other racing series who would like to get a taste of the<br />
Austrian supersports car on the race track or prepare<br />
for the “X-BOW BATTLE“. You can join for a season from<br />
a sensational price of just EUR 19,500 (not including<br />
VAT) with a program of six events consisting of two<br />
races each. The cars are directly supported by KTM<br />
and drivers do not have to fear hidden costs. The price<br />
includes vehicle hire, tyres, fuel, wear-and-tear parts<br />
and maintenance of the 270-hp<br />
“newcomer cars“ – also fitted with<br />
Michelin slicks – so participants<br />
only have to take care of personal<br />
equipment such as helmets and<br />
overalls. And equal opportunity<br />
is ensured of course: The cars are<br />
allocated by means of a draw before<br />
the start of the racing weekend and<br />
changes to the set-up stipulated by<br />
factory driver Reini Kofler are not<br />
permitted. If this has aroused your<br />
interest and you fancy taking the<br />
wheel yourself, visit www.ktm.<br />
com/xbow for full details!<br />
THE X-BOW BATTLE & X-BOW ROOKIES CHALL<strong>EN</strong>GE <strong>2014</strong> DATES:<br />
16 - 19 APRIL 2015: BARCELONA / SPAIN<br />
08 - 09 MAY 2015: PANNONIARING / HUNGARY (+ ROOKIES)<br />
29 - 30 MAY 2015: RED BULL RING / AUSTRIA (+ ROOKIES)<br />
26 - 28 JUNE 2015: NÜRBURGRING / GERMANY (TRUCK GP + ROOKIES)<br />
24 - 25 JULY 2015: SLOVAKIARING / SLOVAKIA (+ ROOKIES)<br />
11 - 12 SEPTEMBER 2015: RIJEKA / CROATIA (+ ROOKIES)<br />
09 - 10 OCTOBER 2015: BRNO / CZECH REPUBLIC (+ ROOKIES)<br />
25
BIKE<br />
MOUNTAINBIKE<br />
A SUCCESSFUL OFF-ROAD YEAR FOR <strong>MOTOREX</strong> RIDERS<br />
In the fields of mountain biking and road cycling, the <strong>MOTOREX</strong> Bike<br />
Line range has gained considerable renown over the years within the<br />
international cycling community thanks to the numerous victories and<br />
titles it has won.<br />
As a technical partner of the very best UCI teams both in XCO (crosscountry)<br />
including Multivan Merida, BMC Mountainbike, Uniors Tools,<br />
Ghost and Stöckli and in DH (downhill) with Team Trek World <strong>Racing</strong>,<br />
the <strong>2014</strong> season once again saw a rich haul of titles to add to the evergrowing<br />
list of trophies.<br />
During the European Championships held from 5 to 8 June in St. Wendel,<br />
Germany, the <strong>MOTOREX</strong> brand won no fewer than three medals. In<br />
the men’s Eliminator category, the Swiss 2012 World Champion in the<br />
discipline Ralf Näf, riding for Team BMC, won a magnificent silver medal<br />
while in the XCO Elite category, an Olympic discipline, the gold medals<br />
were won by Tanja Žakelj of Team Uniors in the women’s competition<br />
and the inevitable Julien Absalon of Team BMC in the men’s race.<br />
This year’s mountain bike world championship was held in Norway in<br />
the resort of Hafjell-Lillehammer from 2 to 7 September. Under an everpresent<br />
sun, the riders offered the numerous spectators an absolutely<br />
unforgettable show.<br />
In the descent discipline, Team Trek World <strong>Racing</strong> had 3 riders with<br />
hopes of a medal. With the experienced Neko Mulally (USA) and Brook<br />
Macdonald (NZ) in the men’s Elite category, a podium finish was a<br />
strong possibility. In the end, the two Team Trek riders had to settle<br />
for 4th and 5th place, less than 3 seconds off the gold medal time! The<br />
entire team was disappointed not to win yet another medal following<br />
the previous day’s junior race in which the talented 17-year-old Laurie<br />
Greenland from Bristol (England) took a magnificent 2nd place to offer<br />
Team Trek a silver medal.<br />
In the women’s cross country event, the Slovenian<br />
Tanja Žakelj of Team Uniors just missed out on a<br />
podium, finishing fourth. Often at the front of the<br />
pack throughout the season, Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå<br />
of Team Merida Multivan was keen to make her<br />
mark in front of a crowd that was totally behind<br />
her. The likeable Norwegian had every chance of<br />
adding another trophy to her impressive collection.<br />
Finishing 9th, Gunn-Rita was unable to hide her<br />
disappointment.<br />
© Photo: Team Lampre Merida<br />
The men’s elite race offered the best chance of<br />
winning one or more medals. Although they<br />
managed only one medal between them, no fewer<br />
than 5 riders supported by <strong>MOTOREX</strong> finished in<br />
the top ten places of this competition. José Antonio<br />
Hermida took 9th place for Team Merida while the<br />
Team BMC riders Ralf Näf, Lukas Flückiger and Moritz<br />
Milatz claimed 10th, 7th and 4th places respectively<br />
with Milatz only 5 seconds off the podium. Victory<br />
and the gold medal went to one of the leading lights<br />
of the <strong>2014</strong> season, the Frenchman Julien Absalon. It<br />
should also be noted that Mathias Flückiger of Team<br />
Stöckli finished a disappointing 19th place in these<br />
World Championships, a result that the Swiss rider<br />
was quick to put behind him by winning the first<br />
edition of the Swiss Epic race between Verbier and<br />
Zermatt only a week later.<br />
© Photo: Grega Stopar<br />
© Photo: Matthew DeLorme<br />
© Photo:Marius Maasewerd / EGO-PROMOTION<br />
26
BIKE<br />
MOUNTAINBIKE<br />
JULI<strong>EN</strong> ABSALON, AN EXCEPTIONAL RIDER!<br />
© Photo: Maxime Schmid<br />
Following an absorbing season-long duel with the<br />
Swiss Nino Schurter, the 34-year-old French rider Julien<br />
Absalon once again left his mark on the <strong>2014</strong> crosscountry<br />
season. With an unparalleled list of triumphs<br />
to his name including two Olympic gold medals, 4<br />
World Championships, 2 European titles, 5 World Cup<br />
wins and 11 national titles, the rider from Saint Amé<br />
(Vosges) was as motivated as ever for the <strong>2014</strong> season.<br />
Having won the French and European titles as well<br />
as taking first place in the final standings of the UCI<br />
MTB World Cup, Julien Absalon had a single aim for<br />
the World Championships in Lillehammer: to win a<br />
5th gold medal. Having claimed 3<br />
successive titles in 2004, 2005 and<br />
2006 wearing the colours of Team<br />
<strong>MOTOREX</strong>-Bianchi, the Team BMC<br />
Mountainbike <strong>Racing</strong> rider gave his<br />
main rivals absolutely no chance,<br />
taking first place ahead of Nino<br />
Schurter and the Italian Marco<br />
Aurelio Fontana.<br />
The right technical choice!<br />
Throughout his career, Julien<br />
Absalon’s most significant victories<br />
have all come with a Hardtail<br />
mountain bike model (front<br />
suspension and rigid rear frame).<br />
In Norway, however, the multiple<br />
World Champion opted for the brand<br />
new BMC Fourstroke FS01 29-inch<br />
model with full suspension. After<br />
the race, Julien Absalon admitted<br />
that “this technical choice played<br />
an essential role in today’s success<br />
and I am really pleased to win a<br />
new rainbow jersey 7 years on.”<br />
© Photo: Maxime Schmid<br />
ROAD RACING<br />
DEVELOPM<strong>EN</strong>T PHASE IN <strong>2014</strong><br />
<strong>MOTOREX</strong> is also present on the international road racing scene with numerous different<br />
teams. Throughout the year, the Lampre Merida and Raleigh teams are present at all the<br />
major international races. Having joined Team Lampre Merida at the beginning of the <strong>2014</strong><br />
season, the 2013 world road racing champion Rui Costa claimed his 3rd consecutive overall<br />
victory in the Tour de Suisse. Naturally, the entire Lampre Merida team benefitted from the<br />
Portuguese rider’s qualities and experience throughout the season.<br />
© Photo: BettiniPhoto<br />
WOM<strong>EN</strong>’S TRIATHLON<br />
A YEAR OF HIGHLIGHTS<br />
Gwen Jorgensen only took up triathlon in 2010, earning seven top-ten<br />
finishes in her very first year. A year later, she took second place in the<br />
World Championship series in London. However, <strong>2014</strong> was to be her<br />
greatest triumph: Jorgensen won four consecutive major World Triathlon<br />
Series races, a feat no triathlete before her has ever achieved. With a<br />
commanding victory in the season’s finale in Canada, she then won the<br />
short-distance World Championship. She also enjoyed considerable success<br />
over the Olympic distance in <strong>2014</strong> winning the American Championship.<br />
On a personal note, Gwen Jorgensen brought the season to a successful<br />
end in October with her wedding. We would like to congratulate her on a<br />
spectacular year all round!<br />
© Photo: Competitive Image / Paul Phillips<br />
27
<strong>MOTOREX</strong>.<br />
AND IT RUNS LIKE A CHARM.<br />
A motorcycle is not just a vehicle – it stands for passion, sportiness and pure<br />
driving pleasure. Unless the mechanics let you down. That‘s why the <strong>MOTOREX</strong><br />
MOTO LINE offers you a unique, specialised line of lubricants and care products<br />
that are all easy to use and effective. Find out more about how our partnership<br />
with world-class racing teams and leading motorcycle brands ensures greater<br />
reliability, higher performance and enhanced safety: www.motorex.com