MXoN 2014
When the champagne had long
since trickled down the steps of
the podium, the fans dispersed
back to Riga for more cheap
beer. The circuit went from being
a heaving celebratory mass to a
deserted and scarred landscape
of ruts, lines, berms and rubbish.
p. Monster Energy
p. Monster Energy
So what will the Ķegums
Motocross of Nations be
remembered for?
The standout element was the
superb performance by Monster
Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s
Gautier Paulin. As the leader
of Team France and having to
defend a selection policy that had
omitted the popular figure of Red
Bull KTM’s Marvin Musquin and
eventual MX2 World Champion
Jordi Tixier, Paulin shouldered
the attention and the pressure
to escape unrivalled for two
victories. The 24-year-old had
previously won in Italy in 2009 (his
first major outing on a 450cc bike)
and also in front of a partisan
crowd at Saint-Jean-d’Angély
in 2011, but this 1-1 in Latvia
required a whole new level of
skill. A preview to Gautier’s form
and speed had been observed
by some of us across the more
technical parts of the Leon circuit
in Mexico two weeks earlier at the
finale of the MXGP season. Paulin
departed the Kawasaki Racing
Team with an entirely memorable
outing at Ķegums and forced
critics of the French threesome
– who brought the Chamberlain
Trophy to their land for only the
second time in the competition
– to start munching on their own
words. Paulin’s KX450F will be
ridden by USA’s Ryan Villopoto
for the 2015 MXGP, while ‘21’ can
start thinking about HRC status
for the next two years.
The 1-1 was the pillar of the Gallic
scorecard, but