Cross Maxime Renaux: “What an honor to bring the title back to Yamaha after Cairoli in 2007”

With the hiring of Maxime Renaux in the Factory team, Yamaha made the leap in quality in the Motocross World Championship going to conquer the MX2 riders title with the Frenchman (he had been missing since 2007, the last one to win it was a certain Antonio Cairoli) and also the constructors’ title. , for a 1-2 overall from perfect season. And from a stellar 2021 season, spiced with 14 podiums in 18 races, Renaux begins to analyze the moment he is going through. In an interview round table with the Italian press, the winner of the MX2 World Championship, Maxime Renaux, talks about his relationship with Yamaha and the future, with a place in the official MXGP team guaranteed.

Maxime Renaux: the MX2 2021 season

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“In 2021 we made a clear step forward in terms of consistency and from a mental point of view”, says Renaux, who has always been a talented driver, but who had never managed to channel his energy in the right direction, giving everything even when he wasn’t strictly necessary. “Now I arrive at the races more relaxed and I can manage my emotions better. Let’s say that I always manage to be myself: when the race goes well I manage not to overdo it and when the race goes bad I can not be too down in spirits because there is no point in getting angry. This constancy of emotions helped me to level my mood. It wasn’t easy to win the title because there were three or four of us playing the championship and anything could happen. Motocross is a very open sport, with unpredictable races and injuries always around the corner. I was able to use the pressure to be even stronger ”.

Maxime Renaux: the transition to Yamaha Factory

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After the third place in the 2020 World Championship obtained with the Yamaha of the SM Action team, the call – indispensable – of Yamaha Factory has arrived. With a factory bike, Renaux was at least equal to team mate Jago Geerts and was able to face Tom Vialle (Ktm) openly. “Landing in an official team changes things a bit – explains Renaux – and this made me become a 100% professional. There are no huge differences compared to a private team, but there are many small things on many issues functional to the final goal, that of winning heats, races and the championship. Now I’m calmer in my head, cleaner in my driving, and this mix has led to consistency in this year’s results ”.

Maxime Renaux: the weak points

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But does a World Champion still have weaknesses? “More than weak points, I would define them as points where we can improve, in 2021 we worked hard on everything. We are at a very high level, but I think we can still work on the technique on the bike, be even cleaner and not ride hard. In MX2 I was one of the most physically powerful and therefore I drove the 250 a little too strong. With the 450 it is better to drive cleaner and less forceful to tire less during the heat and be more effective. The less powerful the bike, the more you have to force the ride, this is obvious ”.

Maxime Renaux: the season finale

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What surprised Maxime Renaux’s season, besides his consistency, is the show of strength shown at the last GPs, when the title had already been awarded and there was no need to get back on the top step of the podium. “I continued to push because I am a person who likes to race – explains the Yamaha official -. I see myself as a horse: when a horse goes out to run he wants to win, period. World champion or not, I wanted to go out on the track and win by doing what I have always loved to do. It was important for a mental issue: I really wanted to show that I was the world champion, a test of strength. Unfortunately I finished second in the last two races because certain race conditions were created (Yamaha was playing for second place in the World Championship with Jago Geerts, fighting with Tom Vialle and Ktm, ed). I wanted to show on the track that the title was mine ”.

Renaux and Yamaha’s success after Cairoli

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Maxime Renaux has entered the history of the Motocross World Championship and of Yamaha for having brought the title back to the Casa dei Tre Diapason from the now distant 2007, from the MX2 title of Tony Cairoli. In fact, since 2008, the streak of Ktm domination has opened, interspersed only with the acute of Tim Gajser with Honda in 2015. Furthermore, for Yamaha it is the first title with the newly developed engine with head rotated by 180 °: ” For all these reasons and also because I have practically always been a Yamaha rider, this title has a particular taste for me. The Japanese manufacturer has made me grow, we have come all the way together with ups, downs and injuries. It hasn’t always been easy, but for this very reason it has been even more beautiful. Being the first world champion with Yamaha after Antonio Cairoli is a great thing that makes me even more proud to have brought Yamaha back to the top of the world ”.

Maxime Renaux and the choice to move to MXGP

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But why not repeat the title? Or try to defend it? “I want to go to MXGP because I feel ready – says Renaux -. I made a good season and a big step forward on many aspects. And so I mentally felt that it was the right time. I am full of confidence, I have won the MX2, so it is the best possible state to go to the premier class. And then I had the opportunity to go to the best Yamaha team in MXGP, I couldn’t say no. Feeling ready with my head, there were all conditions to do so. I am 100% sure of my choice. The 450 is a bike I’ve always liked, I’ve been training with the quattroemezzo since I was 15. It is a bike made for me, because you have to have strength and physique to manage it and I like this very much “.

Renaux and the emotions of the MX2 Motocross title

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The interview round table it closes with a memory, the sweetest of 2021 for the French rider: “In Pietramurata it was a moment of pure emotion. The situation was very special, with Yamaha returning to a title after Cairoli’s. And he does it with a rider who grew up in the Yamaha nursery. All these things have generated a great emotion on the part of everyone. My parents saw me in hard times and it would have been possible to give up, but we never did. This World Cup and those emotions pay off all these hard moments, we are happy to have conquered this title with strength, demonstrating to the whole world that with willpower, determination and dedication you can go back to the top “.