Gajser, Ducati and Fontanesi star in MX Prestige; now the World Championship: French GP schedule

MXGP and MX2 restarting after the break, first event instead for WMX: presentation and schedule for the French GP.

Tim Gajser absolute dominator as a special guest in the Italian Prestige at Fermo, with fresh momentum for the restart of the MXGP Motocross World Championship after the spring break. As for Italy, very good Valerio Lata, still the king of MX2, and Ducati also performed well, with Simone Mancini and Ferruccio Zanchi on the podium again in the 250 class, and let’s also mention Alessandro Lupino, still battered after the crash in the previous round but almost on the overall podium in MX1. For the Slovenian champion, it’s another important boost in the ongoing growth process with Yamaha; for the Italian riders and brand, the hope is that it’s a key push to do better in the World Championship... Finally, let’s add that the queen of the Italian series, Kiara Fontanesi, unstoppable even in the Marche round, arrives particularly fired up for the first event of the new WMX world season, kicking off this weekend at Lacapelle-Marival, the French track returning to host knobby tires for the first time since 2021.

MXGP chapter. Tim Gajser won every race and consequently the overall round at Fermo: he couldn’t have done better in his Italian cameo! And he will certainly be one of the protagonists in the world series, as will the unleashed Jeffrey Herlings, who is sweeping the competition in various national championships, with the exception of last weekend’s Dutch Masters round: he was “only” 2nd behind a spirited Kay De Wolf, a rookie definitely to keep an eye on, given his big progress despite one round fewer than the others. Watch out for the home riders: reigning champion Romain Febvre, attack-minded rookie Tom Vialle, and Maxime Renaux.

Moving to MX2, the just-mentioned Dutch Masters round sidelined Cas Valk: after leaving TM to switch to Chambers Racing’s KTM, he suffered a nasty crash and a fracture in his right leg. He won’t be the only absentee, but there’s also a blow for Italy, back in MXGP: Mattia Guadagnini has suffered another fracture to the same shoulder already injured multiple times, with recovery times very uncertain. Finally, the curtain also rises for the women: the WMX World Championship gets underway and the chase is on for two-time champion Lotte van Drunen, fresh off several MX2 wild cards and even having scored her first points in the category. Kiara Fontanesi will be no less fierce, the reigning world vice-champion with a new world title in her sights, doubly precious as it would be her first as a mom.

It’s not yet clear whether there will be any live broadcasts on Rai networks; in the meantime, here’s the weekend programming, fully live on mxgp-tv.com (subscription required).

Saturday, May 23
9:50 WMX Qualifying Practice
15:00 WMX Race 1
16:35 MX2 Qualifying Race
17:25 MXGP Qualifying Race

Sunday, May 24
9:45 WMX Race 2
13:15 MX2 Race 1
14:15 MXGP Race 1
16:10 MX2 Race 2
17:10 MXGP Race 2

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