After the opening round of the FIM Motocross World Championship back in March in Argentina, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing rider Maxime Renaux left South America with the red plate firmly mounted to his machine after claiming his third MXGP win of his career. However, since the immense start to the season, the Frenchman has had a dark cloud loom over him with multiple injuries derailing his chances of contesting for the championship.

Renaux sustained two broken metacarpal bones leading up to the second round of the season in Cozar, which required surgery the week of the race… despite this, he still attempted to continue racing to keep his title hopes alive. Whilst battling back to full fitness, he then sustained a hip injury at the Swiss Grand Prix which then caused further complications, subsequently sidelining him for rounds 12 and 13 in Great Britain and Finland. The season as a whole must be a bitter pill to swallow for the former MX2 champion, as when many would throw the towel in early, he continued to plug away to try and turn his season around against multiple setbacks.

We caught up with Maxime after the MXGP of Turkey to discuss his weekend in Afyon, and he provided an open and honest insight into the mental struggles with his season being hindered by injuries, aspirations of retiring to the top, bike set-up in altitude and MXoN! You can watch the interview on the Cult Moto YouTube channel or listen via Spotify.

Feature Image: Yamaha