Valentin Guillod

Swiss motocross racer

Valentin Guillod
NationalitySwiss
Born (1992-12-18) 18 December 1992 (age 31)
Fribourg, Switzerland
Current teamTeam Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz
Bike number92

Valentin Guillod (born 18 December 1992)[1] is a Swiss professional Motocross racer. Guillod has competed in the Motocross World Championship since 2010 and is a three-time grand prix winner in the MX2 class.[2]

Guillod was the 2013 European Motocross Champion in the EMX250 class.[3] He has represented his country at the Motocross des Nations ten times.

He is the 2023 French Elite Motocross Champion in the Elite MX1 class and is a five-time Swiss Motocross Champion throughout his career.[4]

Career

250 career

Guillod first appeared in the European Motocross Championship on 2009. In the following season, he was able to take two overall wins on the way to third place in the final standings of the EMX2 class. This came alongside making his grand prix debut in the MX2 class of the 2010 FIM Motocross World Championship in the Czech Republic.

These performances allowed him to make his full-time MX2 World Championship debut in 2011 for the KTM Scott Racing Team. However, he was only able to compete in the first four rounds of the series with a best position of fifteenth. He was kept on by the same team for 2012 where he scored consistently throughout the season, finishing in an eventual twenty-first position in the final standings. Guillod was, for the first time, selected to compete for Switzerland at the Motocross des Nations in 2012.[5]

For 2013, Guillod dropped into the EMX250 class of the European Motocross Championship, riding for his own Guillod Motorsports team. After a season long battle with compatriot Jeremy Seewer, Guillod was able to win the title picking up five overall wins and never finishing off of the podium along the way. He helped Switzerland to eighth position in that season's Motocross des Nations, stepping up to the 450 to race in the MXGP class. These performances were enough for Guillod to be signed for a full-time ride in the MX2 class of the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship with Standing Construct KTM. This would result in a breakthrough season at world championship for Guillod. A final championship standing of seventh was backed up by his first two overall podiums in Czech Republic and Mexico.

2015 would be Guillod's final season in the MX2 class due to the under-23 age rule. Staying with the Standing Construct team who switched to Yamaha machinery,[6] Guillod took three Grand Prix victories in Spain, Great Britain & Czech Republic finishing fourth in the final standings. In an opening part of the season dominated by Jeffrey Herlings, Guillod managed to outright beat the Dutchman in race two in Great Britain. At that season's Motocross des Nations, Guillod again rode in the MXGP class and formed part of the Swiss team who finished fifth.

450 career

For Guillod's first season in the MXGP category, he would sign for the Kemea Yamaha team.[7] He had a consistent season, scoring points in all but three races and collecting a third place in race one in Great Britain.[8] Ninth place in the final standings was followed up by helping Switzerland finish sixth at the 2016 Motocross des Nations. Guillod changed teams for the 2017 FIM Motocross World Championship season, joining the Assomotor Honda team.[9] The move saw his fortunes take a downturn, only competing in ten rounds of the season due to a hand injury and never breaking the top-10.[10] He dropped down the 250 to ride the MX2 class in the 2017 Motocross des Nations for Switzerland, helping them to another fifth-place finish. Guillod returned to the Standing Construct team for MXGP in 2018,[11] however, this would once again only be a part campaign due to pre-season leg injury.[12]

For 2019, Guillod stepped back from racing at world championship level full time, focussing instead on the Swiss Motocross Championship (where he became champion in the MX Open category) as well as the ADAC MX Masters in Germany. Despite racing outside of the FIM World Championship, Guillod represented Switzerland for the eighth time at the 2019 Motocross des Nations. The COVID-19-hit 2020 world championship season would see Guillod return to the MXGP class full-time with the Honda SR Motoblouz team.[13] His results improved as the season went as he was able to return to the top-ten in the final few rounds. 2021 would see Guillod join the new Swiss-based Hostettler Yamaha squad, competing in MXGP as well as both the MX Open and MX2 classes of the Swiss Motocross Championship.[14] Dominating both Swiss Championship classes, Guillod also competed at the 2021 Motocross des Nations, recording his highest ever individual overall.

2022 would see Guillod mix a full-time presence in the Swiss Motocross Championship across both classes with racing in the French Elite Motocross Championship and a part campaign in MXGP. He once again became a double national champion dominating both classes and was runner-up in France. In addition, a return to form closer to his earlier career was noticeable in MXGP. Out of ten races started, Guillod was able to score top-ten results in six of them, including a sixth-place finish in the first race in Turkey. To round the season off, Guillod competed in his tenth Motocross des Nations.

Guillod signed for the Ship to Cycle Honda Motoblouz SR Team for a full-time return to the MXGP class in 2023.[15] He continued to show the improvements from the previous season, posting consistent top-10 finishes in MXGP for ninth in the final standings and winning the 2023 French Elite Motocross Championship. Making his eleventh appearance for Switzerland at the Motocross des Nations, Guillod helped his country to sixth overall.

Honours

European Motocross Championship

  • EMX250: 2013 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  • EMX2: 2010 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

French Elite Motocross Championship

  • Elite MX1: 2023 1st place, gold medalist(s), 2022 2nd place, silver medalist(s)

Swiss Motocross Championship

  • MX Open: 2019, 2021 & 2022 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  • MX2: 2021, 2022 1st place, gold medalist(s)
  • Inter Open: 2010 & 2013 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
  • Junior 125: 2008 2nd place, silver medalist(s)

Career statistics

Motocross des Nations

Year Location Nation Class Teammates Team Overall Individual Overall
2012 Belgium Lommel   SUI Open Arnaud Tonus
Jeremy Seewer
19th 18th
2013 Germany Teutschenthal   SUI MXGP Jeremy Seewer
Killian Auberson
9th 8th
2014 Latvia Ķegums   SUI MXGP Jeremy Seewer
Arnaud Tonus
7th 8th
2015 France Ernée   SUI MXGP Jeremy Seewer
Andy Baumgartner
5th 6th
2016 Italy Maggiora   SUI MXGP Jeremy Seewer
Arnaud Tonus
6th 10th
2017 United Kingdom Matterley Basin   SUI MX2 Arnaud Tonus
Jeremy Seewer
5th 7th
2018 United States Red Bud   SUI MXGP Killian Auberson
Jeremy Seewer
19th 15th
2019 Netherlands Assen   SUI MX2 Jeremy Seewer
Cyrill Scheiwiller
11th 9th
2021 Italy Mantova   SUI Open Arnaud Tonus
Mike Gwerder
8th 4th
2022 United States Red Bud   SUI MX2 Jeremy Seewer
Kevin Brumann
9th 16th
2023 France Ernée   SUI Open Jeremy Seewer
Arnaud Tonus
6th 4th

FIM Motocross World Championship

By season

Season Class Number Motorcycle Team Race Race Wins Overall Wins Race Top-3 Overall Podium Pts Plcd
2010 MX2 173 KTM 2 0 0 0 0 0
2011 MX2 173 KTM KTM Scott Racing Team UG 8 0 0 0 0 20 33rd
2012 MX2 173 KTM KTM Scott Racing Team UG 29 0 0 0 0 121 21st
2014 MX2 92 KTM Standing Construct KTM 34 0 0 4 2 449 7th
2015 MX2 92 Yamaha Standing Construct Yamaha 36 3 3 9 6 511 4th
2016 MXGP 92 Yamaha Kemea Yamaha Racing Team 36 0 0 1 0 352 9th
2017 MXGP 92 Honda Team Assomotor Honda 19 0 0 0 0 61 21st
2018 MXGP 92 KTM Standing Construct KTM 19 0 0 0 0 97 21st
2019 MXGP 13 Honda KMP Honda Racing 2 0 0 0 0 14 38th
2020 MXGP 92 Honda Honda SR Motoblouz 32 0 0 0 0 88 24th
2021 MXGP 92 Yamaha Hostettler Yamaha Racing 26 0 0 0 0 49 29th
2022 MXGP 92 Yamaha iXS MXGP Team 10 0 0 0 0 100 21st
2023 MXGP 92 Honda Team Ship to Cycle Honda Motoblouz SR 34 0 0 0 0 363 9th
Total 287 3 3 14 8 2225

Grand Prix Wins

GP wins
Amount of GP-wins Date Grand Prix Place
MX2-class
1 10 May 2015 Spain Talavera de la Reina
2 24 May 2015 Great Britain Matterley Basin
3 26 July 2015 Czech Republic Loket

References

  1. ^ "Valentin Guillod Bio". mxgp.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Valentin Guillod". mxgpresults.com. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  3. ^ "EMX250 Lierop: Seewer stürzt, Guillod Europameister!". Matthias Dubach. speedweek.com. 8 September 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  4. ^ "MX1 Championship Results" (PDF). elite-motocross.fr. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  5. ^ "MOTOCROSS des NATIONS 2012 Entry List!!!". mxbars.net. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Yamaha presents their 2015 squads". Motocross World Championship. Youthstream. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Valentin Guillod talks MXGP in 2016". Adam Wheeler. dirtbikerider.com. 5 August 2015. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Guillod Is Great At Matterley Basin". automobilsport.com. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Honda reveals Assomotor Honda Team for 2017 MXGP season". mxgp.com. Youthstream. 18 October 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Crockard explains Guillod luck and Honda Europe dilemma". On-Track Off-Road. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Valentin Guillod signs with Standing Construct KTM". motocrossplanet.nl. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Valentin Guillod injury update – confirms leg break". dirtbikerider.com. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Valentin Guillod Secures 2020 MXGP Ride". Chase Stallo. racerxonline.com. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  14. ^ "News: Hostettler Yamaha". Lewis Phillips. mxvice.com. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Valentin Guillod MXGP with Honda SR Motoblouz in 2023". mxbars.net. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.