Jordi Tixier is the new MX2 World Champion. Photography by Ray Archer/KTM Images
Frenchman Jordi Tixier, of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team, wrapped up the 2014 MX2 World Championship after going 1-3 and taking the overall win at the season final in Leon, Mexico, September 14.
Tixier won the championship in dramatic fashion, as series leader and Tixier’s KTM teammate Jeffery Herlings tried to hold on to the top spot with a not-yet-fully-healed broken femur that he suffered just two months ago. Days before the race, Herlings received clearance from his doctor to race the final round and did so wearing a special brace on the injured leg. Despite finishing 14th in the first moto and Tixier winning, Herlings still held a five-point lead over Tixier going into the final moto of the day and year. Things got interesting when Tixier went down with another rider early in the race, but the Frenchman rallied back to finish third in the moto, with Herlings gritting it out to a 10th-place finish. But it wasn’t enough for Herlings.
Tixier ended up winning the title by just four points over Herlings.
Third in the championship went to Husqvarna’s Romain Febvre.
“In my head I still can’t believe it,” Tixier said after all was said and done. “After I crashed in the first laps of the second moto I thought the championship was over and I tried to give it everything. Then when I crossed the finish line I thought, ‘I did it,’ and it’s really nice to win like this. I was really fast on the track, I caught almost everyone and I rode aggressive.”
“For me it was like I was riding with just one leg,” said Herlings. “Every time I put my foot down or went over a bump the pain was terrible. In the first moto, I was a little calmer and I thought it was already over, but in the second moto, I was just fighting like a warier. Obviously I came up short but that’s life and I’ll try to get the title back next year.”
Going into the Leon final, the MXGP title had already been decided, with Antonio Cairoli, Jeremy van Horebeek, Clement Desalle and Steven Frossard clinching the first four positions in the championship. French rider Gautier Paulin finished off the 2014 season with the overall win in Mexico after trading 4-1 moto finishes with German Max Nagl. Cairoli ended up third overall on the day with a 3-2, while Strijobs was fourth overall with a 2-3. Van Horebeek rounded out the top five overall with a 5-5.
MXGP Race 1 top ten: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 34:33.587; 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:01.205; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:28.257; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:33.591; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:42.340; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:48.044; 7. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:56.187; 8. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +1:05.625; 9. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:08.100; 10. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), +1:08.721
MXGP Race 2 top ten: 1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 35:02.891; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.311; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:02.550; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:03.762; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:40.793; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:43.944; 7. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +0:45.281; 8. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:59.239; 9. Rui Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +1:01.253; 10. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), +1:03.576
MXGP Overall top ten: 1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 43 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 43 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 42 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 42 p.; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 32 p.; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 27 p.; 7. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 27 p.; 8. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 27 p.; 9. Rui Goncalves (POR, YAM), 22 p.; 10. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), 22 p.
MXGP World Championship Classification Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 747 points; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 628 p.; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 572 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 484 p.; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 419 p.; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 400 p.; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 397 p.; 8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 358 p.; 9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 297 p.; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 275 p.
MXGP Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 747 points; 2. Suzuki, 690 p.; 3. Yamaha, 650 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 637 p.; 5. Honda, 550 p.; 6. TM, 338 p.; 7. Husqvarna, 326 p.
MX2
MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 34:58.342; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:02.607; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:04.721; 4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:14.118; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:14.653; 6. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:15.999; 7. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +0:25.354; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:40.218; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:51.118; 10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:57.231
MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 35:32.350; 2. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:06.292; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:07.614; 4. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +0:08.616; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:09.615; 6. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:10.445; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:27.735; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:29.789; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:33.058; 10. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +1:05.672;
MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 45 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 41 p.; 3. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 37 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 36 p.; 5. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 33 p.; 6. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 32 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 25 p.; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 24 p.; 9. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 22 p.; 10. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, HON), 20 p.
MX2 World Championship Classification Top Ten: 1. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 616 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 612 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 570 p.; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 533 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 528 p.; 6. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 455 p.; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 449 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 397 p.; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 359 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 352 p.
MX2 Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 797 points; 2. Kawasaki, 651 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 586 p.; 4. Honda, 538 p.; 5. Suzuki, 488 p.; 6. Yamaha, 484 p.; 7. TM, 6 p.
