The tight confines of the Mantova paddock were buzzing with activity yesterday, as various brands opted to showcase their products to the media and silly season discussions were going on beneath each awning.

Contract talks are, of course, a priority for riders, teams and pundits at the moment, as most are keen to push silly season to one side and focus on the task at hand. One deal was actually announced yesterday; Jeremy Seewer will be sticking with the Suzuki World MX2 set-up that has helped mould him into the rider he is today. It is hardly surprising, as he has really thrived since linking up with Stefan Everts in the off-season.

If Jeffrey Herlings does indeed move up (more on that later in the weekend), the boys in yellow would have a potential world champion aboard their RM-Z250. That would be a major coup, as they have struggled with their 250F programme recently. It sounds like the team are also hunting down another title candidate, which is a logical move when you think about it. Just put two and two together, then you will figure out who we are referring to.

Weirdly enough there has been very little buzz regarding who the Suzuki World MXGP team could pick up, despite the fact that it seems unlikely that they will stick with their current lineup. Gautier Paulin is a name that is bouncing around the paddock constantly, but he summed it up last week when he stated that “rumours move faster than papers.” In that same conversation he inadvertently confirmed that he has been in talks with Husqvarna, but then Max Nagl is also negotiating a deal to return to his current seat.

Bear in mind that Max Anstie will automatically step up to the 450F next season, so that could mean three high-profile MXGP riders on white bikes. That would be an interesting development, considering both KTM and Husqvarna were cut to two riders in the premier class for this year.

Anyway, enough of that. What else has transpired in the paddock thus far? I would hope that, by now, you have realised that Romain Febvre will not be racing this weekend and thus his title hopes have virtually evaporated. I did wonder whether Chad Reed would get an upgrade from a production-based bike to something more factory, because of this, but a chat with Mike Gosselaar earlier confirmed that Reed is running a bike that is identical to what he had last week. Quite simply he is happy with that and not really looking for much more.

Pundits have speculated that the track will suit Reed more this week, as the shallow sand resembles what you would find at Millville. Time will tell whether that is true, but you would think the climate would suit him more. The temperatures that we have experienced resemble what you would find in Florida! Those are supposed to stick around all weekend, but then thunderstorms are also expected. Either way, it seems that the weather will play quite a large role in the outcome this weekend.

That is all for our pre-race coverage, as practice is just setting off as I type this. Stay tuned for more reports, updates and analysis as the weekend progresses.

Words: Lewis Phillips | Image: ConwayMX