There is no doubt, many people leading into the opening Grand Prix of the season many had HRC Factory rider Tim Gajser as the early favourite, but the name Maxime Renaux was thrown around on many occasions.

The Monster Energy Yamaha rider, who won the MX2 World championship in 2021 and moved to the MXGP class in 2022 hasn’t had the easiest run since moving to the premier class. Despite going 4-2-2-11-2-5-3-4-1 in his opening nine races in 2022, he missed the German GP and Indonesian GP and finished the season in fourth place in the points behind Tim Gajser, Jeremy Seewer and Jorge Prado, still, not too shabby.

2023 started with a third in the Saturday qualifier in Argentina and a third-place finish in the opening moto of the season. The Frenchman then won round three in Switzerland and was third in the World behind Jorge Prado and Jeffrey Herlings, again impressive.

Motocross is a tough sport though and crash in the Saturday qualification race at the Spanish Grand Prix rocked his season and his career was also in jeopardy, as he picked up a serious foot injury. The same type of foot injury that saw Jeffrey Herlings struggle for two seasons.

“Difficult to accept,” Renaux said at the time. “Yesterday in qualifying race in Spain, after the finish line, I lost the front on the rhythm section and had to put my foot down to not fall. Result is a multiple fracture on the foot/ankle, need to make further exams to decide how to operate and the time of recovery.”

That recovery would see Renaux struggle in 2024 and finally, as he entered this season, he felt his foot was now as good as it was ever going to be. The Yamaha man showed last weekend that he can now fight and give 100%.

"I had been dealing with that injury since 2023. Last year, I underwent an additional surgery, and that was the right decision. My foot will never be the same as before, but it’s good enough to race at the highest level. I don’t feel any discomfort during races. My preparation went really well, and most importantly, I’m happy to be healthy at the start of this championship. I’m ready."

And what a performance in Argentina by Renaux as he went 1-2-1 for the weekend and heads to the MXGP of Spain in two weeks time with the red plate. His 10th Grand Prix victory in what is still a rather young career, compared to many of the veteran riders in MXGP. This 24 year old might just be the future of the class, only time will tell.

Already with one World title to his name, he knows that the likes of Romain Febvre and Tim Gajser won’t make life easy, but with his body now in order, he has the confidence that he can run up front on a regular basis.

“You never really know what to expect at the first round, but to win it is of course amazing. With the team we’ve made a great bike and it’s a nice feeling for me to have the red plates for the first time in MXGP. It’s a fast class this year and the level of competition is very high so I’m looking forward to a great season of racing.”

As he came in from the second MXGP moto, he was all smiles as he celebrated with his team, and thanked his physical trainer for all the work they had done together to get his body in the condition it needed to be to win again.

“It is amazing. It is a bit like a movie, you know. I have worked really well and have a good crew and people, my physical trainer, they always trusted me. This is amazing. It was a nice race the second one, holeshot and I managed the race. We have many races to come, so let’s concentrate on that.”

And racing his MxoN team-mate, Febvre is something he enjoyed, despite their tough rivalry. If there is one thing, we all know, the Kawasaki rider will be fighting hard and he himself knows the perils of injures and big crashes. As for Renaux, one round down and 19 to go means he will know that staying on the bike and being consistent will be as important as being fast.

“This was a great start to the season. It was an awesome race with Romain (Febvre). I know what it’s like to race him. He never gives up, so I had to push to the flag, so it was a super nice race. I really felt good on the track today, comfortable and in control so that was nice. It’s just the start of the season and I am happy to start this way, but now we need to keep building block by block.”

So, onto another man-made track in the sun, and with Spanish speaking people circling the facility. It was a good omen in Argentina, so why not take his success to Cozar in Spain and try and extend that points lead.

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