TIXIER (MX2) & PHILLIPS (E3) 2014 FIM WORLD CHAMPIONS!

Two thrilling season finals secure another two world championship titles for KTM. On Sunday, the Australian KTM factory rider Matthew Phillips settled the E3 title at the final round of the Enduro World Championship in France. Shortly afterwards, Jordi Tixier gained the MX2 championship with a paper-thin lead against his injured teammate Jeffrey Herlings - for both of them it is the first world championship title.

Jordi Tixier 2014 MX2 World Champion
The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team came away with 1-2 in the MX2 World Championship with factory riders Jordi Tixier of France and the injured Dutch rider Jeffrey Herlings finishing just four points apart on their KTM 250 SX-Fs in the final race of the season in Leon, Mexico. The MX2 title completes the set for the Austrian brand after Red Bull KTM’s Tony Cairoli of Italy wrapped up the MXGP title with his KTM 350 SX-F last weekend in Brazil. Tixier: "In my head I still can't believe it. After I crashed in the first laps of the second moto I thought the championship was over and I tried to give it everything. Then, when I crossed the finish line I thought, 'I did it' and it’s really nice to win like this. I was really fast on the track; I caught almost everyone and I rode aggressive." Herlings: "For me it was like I was riding with just one leg. Every time I put my foot down or went over a bump the pain was terrible. In the first moto I was a little calmer and I thought it was already over, but in the second moto I was just fighting like a warrior. Obviously I came up short, but that's life and I'll try to get the title back next year." Herlings at just 20 years old last week is already a double MX2 World Champion.

The season concludes with the Motocross of Nations in Kegums, Latvia on September 28.

Matthew Phillips 2014 E3 World Champion KTM enjoyed more Enduro World Championship success in France this weekend with a thrilling conclusion at the Brioude circuit with two KTM Factory Racing riders fighting out for the E3 title on their KTM 300 EXCs. Australian Matthew Phillips eventually managed to edge the advantage over team veteran Ivan Cervantes of Spain by just nine points. Both riders were still nursing injuries.

The KTM factory team’s Christophe Nambotin had already settled the E1 title on the KTM 250 EXC-F at the last round in Italy.

Phillips: “It’s been a tough season for me with my foot injury, but to be crowned Enduro 3 World Champion is amazing. I knew that as long as I could start the race in France I could go for the title, which is what I did. Winning the E3 class on day one was probably my best performance of the championship. I guess that win took some of the pressure off – I knew that on day two it was all about getting a result that would give me the title. To come straight out of the junior class and win in my first year of senior competition is great. Roll on 2015.”

KTM Factory Team Manager Fabio Farioli was a happy man, saying his riders had done ‘a great job’ this season. “It was a good season for us and at the same time, from the point of injuries, it was one of the worst for us. But we ended up with all our riders on the podium except Meo, who is still working on his rehabilitation.”

Riders and teams are now preparing for the classic International Six Days Enduro (ISDE), the oldest offroad event on the FIM calendar. It is being hosted by San Juan, Argentina, November 3-8, 2014.

Results MX2 Leon 1. Jordi Tixier (FRA), KTM (1-3) 2. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda (5-1) 3. Valentin Guillod (SUI), KTM (6-2) 4. Romain Febvre (FRA), Husqvarna (2-7) 5. Arnaud Tonus (SUI), Kawasaki (4-6) Other KTM 11. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), KTM (14-10)

Final Standings MX2 after 18 of 18 rounds 1. Tixier, 616 points (2014 MX2 World Champion) 2. Herlings, 612 3. Febvre, 570 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA), Kawasaki, 533 5. Gajser, 528

Final Manufacturers Standings MX2 after 18 of 18 rounds 1. KTM, 797 points 2. Kawasaki, 651 3. Husqvarna, 586

E3 Results Brioude 1. Ivan Cervantes (ESP), KTM (2-1) 2. Matti Seistola (FIN), Sherco (5-2) 3. Matthew Phillips (AUS), KTM (1-3) 4. Aigar Leok (EST), TM (4-4) 5. Fabien Planet (FRA), Sherco (3-5)

E3 Standings after 16 of 16 rounds 1. Phillips, 229 points (World Champion 2014) 2. Cervantes, 220 (Vice World Champion 2014) 3. Seistola, 155 4. Mathias Bellino (FRA), Husqvarna, 148 5. Leok, 138

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