The Three Kings in 2020

 

The MXGP class was again very competitive yesterday and the numbers of this class tell a big story. Of course, the injury to Jeffrey Herlings was a bummer, and I can tell you, after he was packed off to the hospital, I just didn’t even feel like following the racing. I was gutted and I can’t even imagine how Herlings and his team felt. But life goes on, and the racing was close and exciting and once again, a number of riders were in contention for the GP victory.

In the end though, while Red Bull KTM factory rider Jorge Prado walked away with the victory, only three men are really contenders for the 2020 MXGP championship, and all three know a thing or two about becoming champion. Unless we get another 2015 scenario, where Romain Febvre survived an injury riddled season, where Cairoli, Villopoto, Desalle, Nagl and others fell out of contention through injury, then one of these guys below will be crowned champion. The great thing is, whoever wins becomes even more of a legend than they already are.

With a combined 16 World championships and 204 Grand Prix victories between them, Antonio Cairoli, Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser belong among the all-time greats. They are also the 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 MXGP champions. We are so lucky in this era to see all three battle for a championship, in an era when the Grand Prix riders have never been faster and more feared.

The good news is, this 2020 MXGP championship is just warming up, and whoever comes out on top will be celebrated for years to come. Let’s take a look at what they have done so far.

Jeffrey Herlings hadn’t dominated the series so far, however he had before Faenza II rolled up a big championship points lead and won four of the six GPs. However, now, with the seventh round held yesterday, the stats level up a little, although “The Bullet” if fit to come back for Mantova in a couple of weeks will still be the favourite to win his fifth World motocross championship. With the four GP wins, five moto wins and 263 points he remains the man in this current crop of Grand Prix riders. Herlings moto results until his practice race yesterday was very impressive, and his riding slower and smarter was working, but the four-time World champion just can’t take a trick when he hits the deck and injury seems just around the corner every time he crashes.

Herlings Results: 1-2-2-1-4-4-3-3-4-1-1-1-DNS-DNS

Antonio Cairoli, the second greatest GP rider of all time is once again being smart and is a close second in the championship points, just 22 points behind Herlings. The Italian has just one race win, one GP win, and 241 points, but being in the right place at the right time is something Cairoli has learnt well in recent years. Cairoli is a very smart rider and while he doesn’t always have the speed at 34 years of age, he knows racking up points is important and just like in 2017 he could easily win a title despite not being the fastest man in the class. The fact the Sicilian has finished with a 17^th, a 9^th and two 7^th places is really unlike Cairoli, but you can see he is warming up to the job at hand and his last five motos have been a little more like the old Tony Cairoli. As I said, being smart is his strong point and nothing would surprise me to see him crowned a 10-time World champion in November.

Cairoli Results: 4-3-7-5-7-17-1-4-9-2-3-3-4-3

Tim Gajser has thrown it away probably more than anyone this year, but he has also shown that he can on his day be the fastest motocross rider in the World. The HRC rider also has five moto wins, but probably one of the biggest surprises is yet to win a Grand Prix, and after seven rounds that is one of the unexpected things until now. The defending champion has looked good enough, but mistakes and that horrible bike problem in Kegums has cost him dearly. I always knew Gajser would come back from that Latvian disappointment, because when it comes to being mentally tough, the Slovenian is right up there. With that final race win yesterday, you can bet he heads to the third and final Faenza GP full of confidence and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go 1-1 and come out of the three Faenza races with the red plate. I don’t think Gajser would be even close to happy with what he has put together in race results so far. I mean he has either looked like a king, or at times the king’s servant. Like Herlings two DNS results, Gajser has two DNF’s, but still without question a championship contender and a chance to pick up his fourth World motocross championship.

Gajser Results: 8-1-1-2-1-5-DNF-5-1-DNF-8-5-1-7

Ray Archer image