MXGP Insider No.12: The Rumour Mill

Transmoto’s weekly web-exclusive column, the MXGP Insider, penned by David Bulmer, presented by KTM Australia. 

Breaking rumours in the motocross industry is a tricky business because, obviously, you want to be first person to break the story, but at the same time, you don’t want to piss off the person that you heard the rumour from. It’s a balancing act of keeping the peace, but still trying to get the scoop.

I remember when ‘Ryan Villopoto signing for KRT’ was announced at the Intermot show in Cologne. I was driving back through Lithuania when I got a text from a good friend who said, “It’s about to happen, go for it”. I pulled over at the nearest Hesburger, tethered my laptop to my mobile and racked up internet charges like it was going out of fashion, just to make sure we got their first. Sometimes it works out, other times not so much.

This week, it was confirmed that American “amateur” Darian Sanayei will be riding for Steve Dixon as a replacement for Mel Pocock at the British GP, with a view for the rest of the season if he impresses. Now I heard this at the Trentino MXGP from Steve himself but obviously didn’t want to ruin the chances of it happening with a careless tweet. Riders’ sponsors can get very irate if you tell them something about their rider that they should, but don’t, know. Thankfully though, it all seems to be sorted and I look forward to seeing how he will get on. While I’ve never met the kid, I do know the name as a rider who never really got the attention he deserved, despite amassing a large number of national titles throughout the amateur ranks. In my opinion, he is joining a team that gives him the best chance of success as you only have to look at the fortunes of Zach Osborne compared with Michael Leib or Jimmy Albertson to know that being on an English-based team makes things so much easier.

For me, it also marks the start of what could be a big change in the motocross world, which has all come about due to Ryan Villopoto. Now I don’t believe that many of the top current professionals will think about making the switch to the MXGP circuit as they get too much money from SX. But I think it gives these up and coming amateur riders food for thought as it has legitimised a series which many stateside previously thought was subpar. Suddenly, if Joe Blogs doesn’t get that Pro Circuit ride, he can look across the Atlantic and see if any teams fancy him over there, riding against top quality dudes and travelling around the world. It won’t suit everyone but I’m sure there are a lot of (rich) families who are suddenly looking at these EMX125/250 races as a potential showcase for their son’s talent. I even spoke to the (not so rich) family of one the fastest American youngsters who was intrigued by the EMX150 championship, due to the fact all the bikes and everything like that was taken care of, and it led into a team ride. These next few seasons could be very interesting with many riders swapping continents.

Oh, and before I sign-off, Ryan Villopoto is out of the Spanish GP and Mike Alessi will be riding in England. One is obviously better than the other, but it will be cool to see RV vs Alessi on this side of the Atlantic and further improves the series in the eyes of on looking Americans.