Motocross has never been a sport of sissies. And yet, there are some riders that have earned our respect for rising up after the most terrible and dangerous falls. One of them is Pauls Jonass, a Latvian Superman and world ex-champion. After taking a season off to lick the bruises and heal the bones, he’s fully back in the game. Is he ready to run for the gold once again, despite the bad crashes? Let’s have a closer look at this MX badass.
Pauls Jonass is the first Latvian who has earned the MX2 World Champion title. Even before that, he has collected all the medals by becoming a multi-time champion of the Baltic States and two-time World Junior champion. At the age of 18, Pauls secured a spot in the KTM Factory Racing team, sporting a fellow KTM for five years. But the year of 2021 came with huge news as Pauls became a part of the GASGAS Factory Racing. This season, he’s racing an awesome MC 450F as the Latvian looks forward to re-establishing himself as one of the world’s best. And we have a feeling that he might just succeed.
The Mindset of a champion
They say that a good MX rider is never made without countless falls, broken bones and serious scars. In this case, Pauls Jonass has earned the MX badass title for many times before. He has experienced some of the toughest and most terrifying falls in motocross history, and yet he’s still racing. During the season of 2016, Jonass was forced to miss almost half of the races due to a serious head injury. He was left in the 5th place overall that year. However, that wasn’t a big of a challenge for this MX hero as he went straight for the MX2 World Champion title just a year after. Now that’s impressive, right? Sadly, that wasn’t the end of this bad fall era.
Video: Pauls Jonass crash MXGP of Leon Mexico 2015
2020 was supposed to be the breakout year for Jonass. However, an ultimate training crash ended his season way too early. It took long months of rehabilitation, but we have already learned that this guy is simply unstoppable. As Paul admits, “motocross is not a sport where you can be afraid”. Now he’s back to full fitness, ready to bang bars and fight for podiums when the gates drop. It is clear that his desire for success is stronger than ever. And with this kind of mindset, Pauls will surely reach all the goals he sets for himself, whatever it takes.
Hey, Pauls – in case you ever need the coolest custom dirt bike graphics on this planet, you know who to call. But meanwhile we’ll be looking forward for your great results this season and beyond.
FUN FACTS about Pauls Jonass
Nickname: Bonis, Paulski
First bike: LEM
Favorite track: Agueda in Portugal
Has stepped on pedestals so far: 39 times