It is no surprise that 10 years ago, there was not a single rider from this years MXGP championships involved in the 450 class. Well, actually, there was one, an Italian fella called Alessandro Lupino. While Lupino still only looks 25 and until a couple of years ago sounded 15, he is the most experienced of the current crop of MXGP competitors.

A year later Romain Febvre joined the MXGP class as did Glenn Coldenhoff. What I would like to do is go through the sand results of the top MXGP riders starting in 2015, as Lupino only did one race in 2014 and that was on the hard pack of Trentino.

As we enter the sand race in Sardinia, I thought maybe we can take a look at which riders have won sand races in the MXGP class. There is a slight surprise to who has the most, with Tim Gajser with 15 and Jeffrey Herlings with 12. Of course Herlings has missed probably two years of racing in MXGP due to injuries and started a year after Gajser (Gajser entered MXGP in 2016 and Herlings 2017). Still, impressive by the current MXGP champion and another stat that just makes his legacy all that more impressive.

Of course Herlings and Prado have a lot of sand wins in the MX2 class, while from memory Gajser has one in sand in Sweden from his MX2 days. Febvre has his only MX2 victory on the hard pack of Mexico, so not a lot of sand wins for the current MXGP riders in MX2 either, outside of Herlings and Prado. 

From MXGP alone, below are the sand wins and as mentioned, it is a little surprising that it is in fact Tim Gajser with the most sand wins since 2015. Now retired Antonio Cairoli also won a bunch of races in the sand, probably the most in MXGP, but that stat is for another day. Lets now concentrate on the current MXGP boys.

2015: Romain Febvre shocked the World to capture the MXGP championship in his rookie year and in that season he also broke the run of titles of Antonio Cairoli, who had won in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Febvre also won eight of his 15 Grand Prix’s and two of those came in the sand, the first at Uddevalla in Sweden and the second at Mantova in Italy. For Coldenhoff 2015 saw him win his first 450 GP, in the sand of Latvia.

Febvre Sweden, Italy. Coldenhoff Latvia.

2016: This year saw the arrival of MX2 World champion Tim Gajser and like Febvre the year before, he would win his first MXGP championship in his rookie year. Febvre won the MXGP of Valkenswaard in a bit of a shock, while Gajser won the next round in Argentina, which could be considered “sand”. Gajser also won in Latvia, Mantova, while now retired Kevin Strijbos win in Lommel. The final sand race of that season was Assen and won by also retired Clement Desalle.

Febvre Valkenswaard, Gajser Argentina, Latvia, Mantova.

2017: Gajser continued to shine in the sand winning in 2017 in Argentina, while retired Gautier Paulin won in Valkenswaard. Jeffrey Herlings won in Latvia, while Antonio Cairoli won in Ottobiano. Herlings won in Lommel and Gajser at Uddevalla and Herlings in Assen.

Gajser Argentina, Sweden, Assen. Herlings Latvia, Lommel, Assen

2018: Herlings dominated the sand winning in Argentina, Latvia, Lommel, Assen, while Cairoli won at Redsand and Ottobiano.

Herlings Argentina, Latvia, Lommel, Assen.

2019: A year later Cairoli won in Argentina, Valkenswaard, Mantova, while Gajser won in Latvia and Lommel and Coldenhoff won in Sweden.

Gajser Latvia, Lommel. Coldenhoff Sweden

2020: Herlings won Valkenswaard, Coldenhoff Latvia I, Cairoli Latvia II and Herlings Latvia III. Jeremy Seewer got his first sand win with victory at Mantova I, Febvre took Mantova II and Gajser Mantova III. Gajser won Lommel I, Prado won Lommel II and Cairoli won Lommel III.

Gajser Mantova III, Lommel I. Herlings Valkenswaard, Latvia III. Seewer Mantova I. Febvre Mantova II. Prado Lommel II

2021: Gajser won at Oss in Holland, Latvia, Febvre won in Lommel, Herlings won Riola Sardo, Mantova I and Mantova II.

Herlings Riola, Mantova I and Mantova II. Gajser Oss, Latvia. Febvre Lommel.

2022: Last year, the sand races were won by Gajser in Mantova, Argentina, Latvia, Calvin Vlaanderen in Riola Sardo, Brian Bogers in Lommel, Seewer in Sweden and Coldenhoff in Finland.

Gajser Mantova, Argentina, Latvia. Seewer Sweden. Coldenhoff Finland. Bogers Lommel. Vlaanderen Riola Sardo

Current Riders - MXGP Sand Winners

Tim Gajser 15

Jeffrey Herlings 12

Romain Febvre 4

Glenn Coldenhoff 2

Jeremy Seewer 2

Jorge Prado 1

Bogers 1

Vlaanderen 1

Bavo Swijgers image