The surprise of the MX2 FIM Motocross World Championship to-date has been young Belgian Julien Lieber. The Standing Construct Yamaha rider scored a podium finish in Qatar with second place and then a remarkable third position in the second moto in Thailand despite a horror crash in the first race.
Julien Lieber 2015 Thailand crash
“Things were going really well until I crashed on the triple,” he remembers. “The lap before I had come a bit short on the jump so that time I tried to go a bit faster. I still don’t know what happened exactly on the take-off.”
“It was really hard and I didn’t think then that I could ride in the second race,” he continued. “I made some stretches and I think I have a compressed vertebrae on one side. So I had a go at the second moto, started fifth and passed some riders to finish third which is really good. I’m tired now!”
20 years old and perhaps unfairly dismissed by some in terms of his potential after an unhappy spell with Rockstar Suzuki Europe was prematurely ended last summer, Lieber has had a re-birth of confidence, speed and form as part of Tim Mathys Standing set-up. He is currently fourth in the MX2 championship standings after setting new personal best finishes at GP level.
