At the most recent round of MXGP - in Sweden - Jeremy Van Horebeek's final comment of the day was that he is looking forward to finishing the season strong and that there are plenty of opportunities left to make a return to the podium.
In 2016, he landed in the USA and rolled up to the Charlotte Motor Speedway with some new-found speed and aggression. He was one of the fastest riders all weekend long and managed to land on the box for the second time in that season. The Belgian ace is hoping to bring that sort of intensity to the Monster Energy MXGP of The USA this weekend, at the unfamiliar track and venue in Jacksonville.
"I have been training in Lommel," Van Horebeek said. "It was good because we have Assen coming up, so it's good to ride in the sand. I don't think it will be extremely hot, I think only around 30 degrees Celsius, so I think we have been riding in worse heat already this year. It's always tough when it's hot, but I think it's manageable. I haven't seen the track, I don't even know what kind of dirt it is, whether it is hard-pack or sand, I have no clue. It doesn't matter, we have to ride it anyway. So I am looking forward to going there, it's somewhere new and it should be good."
One of the most exciting ventures for Yamaha has been redesigning the all-new 2018 YZ450F - and this weekend, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing USA's Cooper Webb will be making his debut on the cutting-edge machine, while Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP's Shaun Simpson will be lining up for his second Grand Prix on the new piece of kit.
The 2016 AMA Lites Champion Cooper Webb - who won the MX2 Grand Prix of America's in Charlotte last year after a gripping battle with Jeffrey Herlings - has just completed his rookie season in the premier AMA 450cc National Championship. He finished seventh overall.
Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP's Arnaud Tonus will miss this round of the FIM Motocross World Championship as he is still experiencing an immense amount of pain from the broken rib he suffered at his home Grand Prix in Switzerland three-weeks ago.
Main Photo: Romain Febvre
