Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing will leave development of the company’s FC350 to Dean Ferris and Jacky Martens for the 2015 FIM MXGP Motocross World Championship as the team look to push for top results with Max Nagl, Todd Waters and Nathan Watson on the bigger 450cc motorcycle.
“All our guys have the freedom to choice which bike they’d prefer to race but they are all ‘450 riders’ and so it is an obvious move for us,” claims Team Manager Antti Pyrhonen. “Max likes having that extra power and rides with a lot of torque so it is the best solution for him,” he added commenting on the German who won the Grand Prix State of Goias for the penultimate round of the ’14 season and is due to become a father for the first time any day now.
IceOne originally pushed the 350 into MXGP with Tyla Rattray in 2014 but through a combination of injury and poor luck could not place the motorcycle on the podium and are still waiting for their first silverware in the premier class since becoming the works Husky team this time last year. Australian Ferris will now be the focal point for the 350’s evolution while Red Bull KTM’s Tommy Searle will steer the sister machine in ‘orange’.
IceOne, like almost every other factory crew, will head to the Italian island of Sardinia in January with their FC450s for the opening round of the Italian Championship and are committed to the series that will run three weeks in a row from February 1-15. Depending on weather conditions they will either test in southern Spain or head to Italy in the first weeks of the year.
While Nagl waits on news of his expanding family, Waters is back in Australia and using the climate difference to train and ride ahead of his second season as an MXGP competitor. “We are in close contact all the time and I’m happy to see he has his confidence back after the injury,” says Pyrhonen.
“Todd was making good progress up until his broke his leg and then when he came back he did an ADAC MX Master race for us and some testing before flying home. It was his first year in Europe so it was important for him to get back and see his family again while also thinking about 2015. He should be back in Belgium in January.”
Of the team’s first working weeks and months with Nagl Pyrhonen only had positive feedback: “A very good rider and very professional; I have really enjoyed these last few months. We started with some basic settings on the bike but then worked up to an advanced level. I can now safely say that he is extremely happy with the bike.”
