2012 Contenders for the FIM World MX1 ChampionshipGeoff Meyer decided to look at riders who might fight for the MX1 Championship, which Antonio Cairoli has won in the last three years.Of course the man himself is Antonio Cairoli. He has to be the favorite to defend his title and move closer to the tally of 10 World Championships held by Stefan Everts. The Sicilian has proven in the last seven years that he is special and to take a Championship from him you will need to be 100% on your game as Christophe Pourcel was in 2006 and Tyla Rattray was in 2008. Of course Cairoli lost to Pourcel in 06 by just a handful of points, while Rattray was in a torrid battle with Cairoli and Tommy Searle in 2008 when Cairoli injured his knee in the Grand Prix of South Africa.
The rider who has given Cairoli the biggest problems in the last couple of years has been Belgian strongman Clement Desalle. At the start of this year Desalle was clearly the strongest rider in the MX1 class, but as Cairoli recovered from a slight knee injury, the mistakes from Desalle started to surface. Can Desalle continue to improve in 2012? If he can, then it might make for one of the greatest battles of all time. Frenchman Steven Frossard is one rider who continues to impress. His debut year in MX1 was amazing with GP victories and consistent results. He has the same fighting mentality as Cairoli and Desalle, and it’s going to take a big effort from the Italian and Belgian to stop him winning more Grand Prix’s in 2012. Russian hero Evgeny Bobryshev showed so much speed in 2011 and really shocked the World with his Grand Prix victory in Germany. Probably the most popular rider in the paddock, Bobryshev spends his weekends smiling and joking around, but once the business end of the day starts, he is 100% committed to winning races. Can he continue his progress in 2012 on the all new Honda 450cc machine? The second Italian in the group is David Philippaerts and the 2008 FIM World MX1 Champion will be looking for improvement on his 2011 results. Things didn’t go right for Philippaerts this season with a late season injury dropping him out of contention for the World Championship. What Philippaerts does have though is speed and determination and it will be his biggest friend as he lines up against the likes of Cairoli, Desalle, Frossard and Bobryshev in 2012. |
