DARE GASGAS DREAM OF MXGP TITLE?

Here we are, 12 rounds into the 19-stop 2023 Motocross World Championship, and Red Bull Factory GASGAS Racing’s Jorge Prado has amassed a whopping 104-point lead over second place in the premier MXGP class. So, is it too early to dream; too premature to think that GASGAS is on-track for its first ever premier-class Motocross World Championship title?

Well, since the ‘re-activation’ of GASGAS at the end of 2019 (when the Spanish brand was purchased by KTM), they’ve won world titles in TrialGP, EnduroGP and Junior 125cc World MX (just last week in the hands of young French sensation, Mathis Valin); they’ve won races in MXGP, AMA Supercross and Pro Motocross; they’ve claimed podium places in Moto2, Moto3, MX2 and WMX; and they’ve won the Dakar Rally and FIM World Rally-Raid Championship. But, while it sure looks like two-time MX2 World Champion, Jorge Prado, is on track to give GASGAS its maiden premier-class Motocross World Championship title this year, there’s been zero talk about the title or record books from GASGAS team riders or personnel.

Having missed out on an Overall trophy just once during the series’ first 12 rounds, Prado’s consistency will definitely stand him in good stead for the final seven rounds. But as we all know, a 100-point lead guarantees nothing in the cutthroat sport of MXGP (just ask Josh Coppins about his crushing world title loss back in 2007!). And with the series heading to the bottomless sand of Belgium’s Lommel this weekend – a track feared by riders across the globe, and notorious for shaking up the series’ points – Prado and his GASGAS crew are very intentionally not counting their chickens just yet.