2011 witnessed one of the most assured debut campaigns in the short history of the MX1-GP class as Steven Frossard gelled instantly with the factory YZ450F and captured two wins and five podiums on his run to second place in the championship standings.

The Frenchman was a natural fit for the 450cc machine after several years plying his trade in MX2-GP and his speed and potential was evident immediately from the pre-season races when he claimed the Italian MX1 Championship for Monster Energy Yamaha. A podium finish in his maiden outing at the Grand Prix at Bulgaria hinted that Frossard was ready to be a protagonist from the outset and his wins in Sweden and (emotionally) in France were undoubted season highlights. ’11 was blighted only by his absence from the final round in Italy after a crash during the European Grand Prix the previous week caused a chest injury. Frossard also regrettably missed being part of the French team at the Motocross of Nations the same month.

Growing up Steven took time to make a splash in his native France where the motocross scene was sizzling with talented riders. He claimed the junior title at 18 but sealed the adult Elite Championship just three years later, proving his evolution might have been later than others but was impressively quick nonetheless. Frossard was not intimidated by Grand Prix and took points in his first races during 2007. He pushed further up the pack in 2008 and broke into the top ten before grabbing his first podiums (Portugal, Britain, Germany and Brazil) and moto victories (Bulgaria and Germany) in 2009. Frossard again demonstrated his ability to learn and evolve and turned a weakness – his sand riding – into a positive during 2010 where he took rostrum finishes at Valkenswaard in the Netherlands and through the fine loam of Kegums in Latvia. 2010 also brought about his first Grand Prix victory, achieved at Uddevalla in Sweden, as well as another jump up the overall ranking to 3rd. 2010 would be ‘183’s last in the MX2-GP having reached the age limit for the class imposed from last year.