Entertaining Friday ahead of the MXGP Switzerland 2024

 

The MXGP of Switzerland paddock, which takes place this weekend in Frauenfeld, was already a hive of activity today. Before the Swiss round of the 2024 Motocross World Championship is officially opened and held on Saturday and Sunday, August 24 and 25, the riders and teams first had to complete the administrative and technical scrutineering of the special motorcycles with studded tires. They were also allowed to train on a small area in the paddock on a low flame. The local heroes are already "on fire".

 

In the afternoon, there was also a press conference at which the Team Switzerland squad for this year's Motocross of Nations, the annual MX season highlight, was officially presented. The squad includes Jeremy Seewer, Valentin Guillod, Arnaud Tonus, Kevin Brumann and Nico Greutmann. Who will ultimately represent the Swiss Confederation on October 5 and 6 in Matterley Bassin in the south of England will be announced at a later date.

 

 

But now it's show time for the MXGP of Switzerland 2024. "It's finally starting," said Jeremy Seewer, the current fifth-placed rider in the top MotoGP class, shortly after arriving in the paddock. He continued: "I'm always pretty busy on Friday, because there's a lot going on for me. I have a lot of appointments and still have to finalize everything organizational. But I'm already happy with my home Grand Prix."

He described his current emotional state with the following words: "Overall, there is a lot of anticipation and you can feel the good mood everywhere. The weather is still good too. I definitely have a good feeling about this weekend."

 

On Sunday, the local hero from Bülach, just over 20 kilometers from Frauenfeld, will contest his 205th Motocross Grand Prix in total and his 200th in a row, which is unique. "This is a really big coincidence and really cool. I didn't know that myself until Tuesday because I don't count things like that. But that's what statisticians are for. It's definitely something historic, but I'll ignore that when I'm driving. I'll do my best, as always."

 

 

Of course, the other top Swiss rider in the MXGP class, Valentin Guillod, will be doing the same. After finishing seventh overall as the best Swiss rider last year, he rejoiced on Friday ahead of the major event with the following words: "Of course, it would be nice to repeat that, but a home GP is nice in itself. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing all the fans."

 

He added somewhat jokingly, but with a lot of truth: "I hope to have the same energy as Willy in the future." He was referring to Willy Läderach, the tireless campaigner for the MXGP of Switzerland and CEO of the host MXGP Suisse AG. Above all, the 83-year-old himself hopes that Peter will also have a big motocross heart on Sunday.

 

 

The third, not quite but quite, regular in the top class of the World Championship, Kevin Brumann, would be happy and satisfied if he could roughly repeat his 17th place from last year. He commented: "I know that I will at least have a certain amount of extra energy from a home race. Let's see what comes out of it."

 

Arnaud Tonus, who won the first heat in Frauenfeld in 2017, is back at the start as a wild card rider. He said in the run-up to this year's Swiss motocross festival: "Yes, I have really good memories of Frauenfeld, especially of my heat win back then. I like the ground here, which usually helps me to achieve good results. I'm super happy to be part of this event again. It's very special to have a GP here. I will bring everything I have to the table and try to make the Swiss fans happy."

 

 

In the EMX250 framework and European championship class, Swiss fans are resting their hopes on Nico Greutmann. He naturally also wants to climb even higher on the career ladder and said of a possible promotion to the World Championship: "That's the goal we're working towards." This means that another rider from the next generation of Swiss riders is already in the starting blocks.

 

So now it's time for everyone to sleep again and enjoy the MXGP of Switzerland 2024 in Frauenfeld from Saturday!