The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team, formerly titled Wilvo Yamaha MXGP, has worked from the ground up to earn its place at the top of the Yamaha Racing MXGP pyramid. From humble beginnings representing Yamaha as a satellite MX2 team in 2016, the team had a management reshuffle going into 2017 and made the move up to the premier class, MXGP.
After a hard-fought first year in MXGP with riders Shaun Simpson and Arnaud Tonus, where Simpson was the only Yamaha rider to win a Grand Prix, the team retained both riders for 2018 and enhanced their efforts with a third rider in the form of two-time MX2 World Championship runner-up, Jeremy Seewer.
Seewer made solid progress and finished eighth in his rookie term aboard the YZ450F and was drafted into the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team formerly run by Yamaha legend Michele Rinaldi for the following season.
In 2019, the Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha MXGP team lined up as one of the strongest teams in the paddock with the slick duo of Tonus and its newest recruit Gautier Paulin. Both Paulin and Tonus quickly became podium threats, accumulating 10 podium finishes in the first 12 rounds and challenging for a championship medal. At the same time, Seewer went from strength to strength, making six podium appearances on his way to finishing the year as the MXGP series runner-up, while Paulin fell 8-points short of the bronze medal and finished fourth. Tonus made a strong return to racing after a full year off and ended the 2019 season inside the top five.
In 2020, Seewer retained his ‘second in the world’ ranking with three impressive race wins, a maiden Grand Prix win and six podium finishes.
2021 saw the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team welcome highly acclaimed Dutchman Glenn Coldenhoff to the fray. Despite facing the challenge of a global pandemic and some health issues, both Seewer and Coldenhoff proved their potential, with Coldenhoff tying for victory at the MXGP of Italy. At the same time, Seewer ended his season with a stunning Grand Prix win at 16th round of the series in Garda-Trentino.
Season 2022 was one for the history books! The team welcomed 2021 MX2 World Champion Maxime Renaux for his first full season inside the premier class and celebrated its most successful season ever, highlighted by the MXGP of Finland in Hyvinkää, a round at which all three riders swept the podium. In addition, the team helped Yamaha secure the MXGP Manufacturer’s World Championship crown for the first time since 2015 with its contribution of 14 race wins, 22 podium finishes and five Grand Prix victories between the three riders Seewer, Renaux and Coldenhoff.
As a result, all three riders will remain with the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team in 2023, racing the premier class of the FIM Motocross World Championship, with all three riders targeting the MXGP crown aboard the Factory YZ450FM.
