GP Bits: MXGP of Portugal | Round Six - Motocross Feature

A completely different ball game from last weekend's mud-fest in Lombardia. If anything the MXGP track in Portugal was dry and dusty.

Finally, Honda HRC rider Tim Gajser had a mistake free weekend to go 1 - 1 for the top step of the podium. But that doesn't mean that Cairoli made it easy.

Even in dry conditions the HRC team run s foam behind Gajser's rear brake pedal. You can also see the dent in the head pipe. This would have been worse without the double layer of material.

Sneaking a bike wash photo, you can see that, unlike many factory bikes at the MXGPs, Gajser doesn't run a carbon tank or subframe.

Gajser and Red Bull KTM's Tony Cairoli had some great on-track battles.

Tony wasn't in full domination mode and had to settle for 2 - 2 moto scores for second overall.

Arnaud Tonus of the Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha MXGP team went 3 - 3 for third overall on the weekend. This is his first podium in a long time and well deserved.

But his gear is a little revealing. We know tight, stretchy pants are in, but these IXS pants show Tonus' bottom end power.

Febvre's bike is pretty similar to what the US Monster Energy Yamaha Team's machines. They both continue to use hydraulic clutches and rely heavily on GYTR parts.

Carbon fiber gas tanks are on bout MXGP and US Yamaha teams. What isn't the same is the exhaust. Akrapovic puts the resonance chamber on the right side where PC has it on the left.

The US 450 team didn't have any holes in the air box at Hangtown, but Febvre's has these cutouts as we've seen before.

Still strange to see the sight glass on a rear brake master.

Compared to pretty much every other team in the paddock, Febvre's rear brake, caliper and disk, are completely unprotected.

Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Clement Desalle put together 6 - 4 moto scores for fourth overall in Portugal.

Another Yamaha rider Jeremy Seewer rounds out the top five with 4 - 10 moto scores.

Calvin Vlaanderen of Honda HRC had to miss the Portuguese MX2 race because of a nagging knee issue that required surgery. But his bike was there. Honda really takes clamp/fork protection seriously with those mega carbon guards. You can also see the extra start button zip-tied to the frame.

A major difference from a stock CRF250R is the custom cases to accommodate the external oil cooler lines. Also, even though GEICO Honda runs Yoshimura exhausts as well, the Euro HRC bikes have resonance chambers for sound where the US team does more in the mufflers to address sound.

Vlaanderen's machine has the stock caliper guard and a carbon rotor protector.

US Motocross needs more custom flags...

Red Bull KTM's Jorge Prado isn't showing any signs of stopping his first place podium run. With 1 - 1 scores, not only does he get the overall, but he gets the red plate as well.

Jorge Prado - “This is the closest to a home GP and so many fans came out and were cheering for me, so I really enjoyed it. I went top of the table today and I think everybody wants a race like this. It was a great weekend. I had two great starts and could make it happen again. We needed to get that red plate.”

Thomas Kjer Olsen of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team had to give up the red plate, but was still second overall on the weekend with 2 - 4 moto scores.

Honda 114 Motorsports rider Mitchell Evans got his second podium in his rookie season with 4 - 3 moto scores for third overall.

F&H Kawasaki Team rider Henry Jacobi had a wide mix of moto scores, 7 - 2, to get him fourth overall on the day.

Cool bit of protection on Jacobi's KX250.

Teammate Adam Sterry's machine gets a scrub down.

Carbon fiber tanks are becoming so popular, yet they are a major factor in a race team's budget. They can cost more than $2,000 each.

The last spot in the top five in the MX2 class was Maxime Renaux of the SM Action Yamaha team, with 9 - 9 moto scores. That shows how inconsistent some of the riders were in the MX2 class this race.

The SM Action team has some Yamaha support. Here are a few details on Renaux's YZ250F.

The cases look to be cerakoted for durability and strength. You can also see that the stock Y-joint where the coolant hoses go into the side of the cylinder is changed. It is cut and welded at a different angle to accommodate a custom coolant line routing.

An Akro exhaust and different color head plugs look to be the only externally visible changes on this side of the bike. Like we said earlier, carbon tanks are expensive and this team looks to have the stock tanks saving them major green.

A vented front number plate helps keep everything cool and doesn't pack full of dirt. He's also running a Brembo master cylinder but the front caliper is still a Nissin unit.