MX2

There is no doubt, two men start tall in the MX2 class as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Tom Vialle and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory rider Jago Geerts have dominated the opening five rounds of the series. The championships points are 217pts to Vialle and 209pts to Geerts, with the Frenchman winning rounds two and three, and the Belgian winning rounds one, four and five.

So dominant are the two points leaders, that third placed man Roan van De Moosdijk of the F&H Kawasaki Racing Team is already 64 points behind Vialle and 56 points behind Geerts, after just five rounds.

Vialle has scored 6-1-2-1-1-2-4-4-1-2, while Geerts has gone 1-4-1-7-16-1-1-1-2-1 and is clearly warming up to as the series goes further. While Vialle has been the most consistent, that opening race in rounds three of the series cost Geerts dearly as he crashed on a couple of occasions and finished 16^th. Outside of that, his performances have been rock solid.

At the opening of three rounds in Latvia Vialle looked amazing, going 1-2 and really showing a lot of experience for somebody so early in their career. The 19 year old has hardly made a major mistake and while he has many good people around him, like his father Frederic, a former GP winner, and Joel Smets, the five time World champion, his job starts when the gate drops and he has shown he can handle anything thrown at him.

“It was a good weekend and I’m really happy” Vialle said. “There was a lot of water on the track in the morning, but I felt good on the bike by the time of the races and made great starts. Jago crashed in the first race and then I was comfortable in first position. We had a good fight in the second race, and we passed each other on the last lap. It was decent fight and I was happy to overtake him at the end because it was very hot, and I was pretty tired. I just made a little mistake and he got me back. It was so close but I’m happy to win the overall.”

For Geerts the start of the three legs of Kegums was a complete mess and mistakes reigned supreme as he went up and down the leaders board like somebody on a rollercoaster. He knew he had blown it and needed to get back to his best quickly.

“It was a tough day,” Geerts said. “I had a decent time practice, but in the first race I had two big crashes and only finished 16th so that was not really good. In the second heat, I got a good start in third and working my way up to first. So that was a good race and I just hope I can do the next races like that.”

Having struggled somewhat in the opener, Geerts came back in the second round and showed why many see him as the favourite for the MX2 championship.  His 1-1 performance gave him a lot of confidence and placed more pressure on Vialle to respond.

“Overall, it was a really good day for me. I got my first holeshot of the year in the second heat, so I was really happy with that. I felt good on my bike and on the track, so from here I look forward to racing here again on Sunday and getting closer to leading the championship.”

Vialle on the other hand just didn’t come to terms with the Kegums circuit, despite his brilliance in the opener a few days earlier, he looked confused and his rhythm just wasn’t there.

“I made the starts but struggled a bit with my rhythm. I was able to fight with Mathys (Boisrame) and Roan (Van de Moosdijk) for a little bit although I lost the tow after. We will work a little bit on my suspension setting for next Sunday. We still lead the championship and it is not too bad to take a 4-4 on a track where I wasn’t feeling so good today. Sunday will be a new day and I hope we will be able to fight for the win again.”

His second GP victory in a row meant that Geerts clawed closer to Vialle in the championship points and heading into Italy in a couple of weeks’ time you have a feeling this tight struggled between the two youngsters will remain full of drama and excitement.

“It was a good day for me. In the first race, I didn’t get a great start, but I made a lot of really good passes in the beginning and I think after 10-minutes I was in second. I got really close to Tom (Vialle) and I wanted to make one last move, but I crashed with a lapper. In the second race, I got the holeshot and rode a really good race for the win, so I am happy with that.”

In the third and final GP in Latvia Vialle did respond, and looked much better than the Wednesday, and going 1-2 was enough to make sure he kept his red plate as he heads to the hard pack of Faenza, a circuit that will suit him more than the sand loving Belgian.

“It is close with Jago. We shared the points and the guy who is 3rd behind us is a little bit further. It is quite tough to always fight with the same guy, but I think we can say this is one of his favourite tracks, so I was happy to be there with him winning some races and one GP. Today I didn’t lose points. I’ve improved a lot in the sand since last year. My starts were good all week, so it has been positive in Latvia and I liked the format and doing the three races here. We’ll see what is going on with the calendar now.”

Whatever happens in Italy over the next couple of months, you can be sure that both the Red Bull KTM Factory team and the Monster Energy Yamaha team will be giving their riders everything they need to fight this battle for the 2020 MX2 championship. Then it is up to Vialle and Geerts to make their magic work. Who comes out on top after the six rounds Italian gaunt could be crowned World MX2 champion.

KEGUMS (Latvia) 17 August 2020 - TAG Heuer has been the official timekeeper of the FIM Motocross World Championship since 2014 and together with MXGP are running the fastest lap competition across each season.

The way it works is; at each and every round of the MXGP series, the rider that sets the best lap time in each class, MXGP and MX2, will receive 1 point in the TAG Heuer competition. The rider that has set the fastest lap at the most rounds throughout the year in both classes, and has the most points, will be award with the special prize!

During the MXGP of Kegums, the third and final GP of the Latvian triple-header, saw Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle set the fastest lap time of the day in MX2, with a 2.02:082 on the opening lap of race one, while in MXGP it was Tim Gajser of Team HRC who clocked in a lap time of 2.00:466 in race one, lap one.

As it stands Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jago Geerts leads the Tag Heuer Fastest Lap Award in MX2, with two points, while in MXGP Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings are tied on two points each.

Find the details below:

MXGP:  Tim Gajser 2.00:466 Race 1 Lap 1

MX2: Tom Vialle 2.02:082 Race 1 Lap 1

Check out MXGP.com home page for the Top 3 TAG Heuer Best Lap competition’s rankings

MXGP is back and are super excited to see the return of the FOX Holeshot competition, that will run throughout the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship season, together with MXGP partner FOX.

The way the competition works is; during both MXGP and MX2 races, the rider who crosses the white line painted on the ground at the exit of the first corner will be awarded 1 point. At the end of the season, the 2 riders, one per category, with the most FOX Holeshot points will win the mega prize!

During the MXGP of Kegums, the first FOX Holeshot of the day went to Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Watson who led the rest of the MX2 field into the first turn on the opening race of the day. Meanwhile in race two in was his team-mate Jago Geerts who was fast out of the gate and claimed his second FOX Holeshot of this season.

In MXGP, Ivo Monticelli of Standing Construct GasGas MXGP added another FOX Holeshot to his growing tally, as he claimed the award in race one. In race two, it was Team HRC’s Tim Gajser who was the first MXGP rider to reach turn one, thus claiming his second FOX Holeshot of 2020.

Watch the FOX Holeshot Films HERE below.

MXGP FOX Holeshot Film

MX2 FOX Holeshot Film

KEGUMS (Latvia) 16 August 2020 – The MXGP of Kegums saw the third and final Grand Prix races of the Latvian triple-header in 2020, which once again treated us to some amazing action from start to finish.

The Latvian trio of races welcomed back the FIM Motocross World Championship after a long five month wait, and with the races concluded here in Kegums, that also concludes MXGP’s time in the Baltic country for the 2020 season.

Today’s racing was once again hard to predict with a really strong line-up of contenders all pushing for their shot on the podium. Though in the end it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings who finally took an overall win in Latvia, while Jago Geerts of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing sealed a back-to-back victory, leaving Kegums with two big trophies to take home back to Belgium.

As the gate dropped for the opening MXGP race of the day, it was Standing Construct GasGas MXGP’s Ivo Monticelli who claimed his second FOX Holeshot of the season. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing pilot Arminas Jasikonis, as well as Team HRC’s Tim Gajser were also right there in the top three, as Gajser quickly moved into the lead.

Bad luck once again for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings who got squeezed on the start straight and had to pick off some riders in order to get back into contention for the race win.

Additionally, the start also saw some more drama, with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Arnaud Tonus and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Antonio Cairoli both going down in the first corner.

Things were not looking much better for Jeremy Seewer of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing who went down hard in turn three. Despite looking in pain, he managed to get back on his factory Yamaha and put in a few more laps, before eventually retiring from the race.

Gajser was the race leader, with Monticelli holding second and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado in third ahead of Jasikonis. Meanwhile Herlings was up in 7^th after making a decent recovery in the first lap.

Jasikonis then started to close on Prado as he chased second place, while Herlings was also looking to move up in the race as he passed Clement Desalle of Monster Energy Kawasaki MXGP, though Desalle fired straight back making it hard for the bullet to get ahead and catch the leaders.

Herlings then found himself in a battle with Monticelli for fourth place, with Monticelli doing a great job of protecting his position, as Herlings struggled for six whole laps before he passed the GasGas rider.

By the time Herlings passed Monticelli, Jasikonis had also managed to pass Prado for second. Though as Herlings moved into fourth place, Prado was too far ahead of him.

With two minutes and two laps to go, Gajser continued to lead, with Jasikonis second and Prado third. Herlings meanwhile was 32 seconds down on the leader so a race win was looking unlikely.

In the end Gajser took the opening race win, Jasikonis finished in second, Prado was third, Herlings fourth and Romain Febvre of Monster Energy Kawasaki MXGP in the top five.

In race two, this time it was Tim Gajser with the FOX Holeshot as he led the group around the first corner by pitlane. Herlings was having a much better start to the race and was on Gajser’s tail from the get-go as Prado and Cairoli also followed the two leaders.

Herlings wasted no time in the second race as he quickly made a move on Gajser and was the new race leader.

While Cairoli was adding pressure onto his KTM team-mate, he was also coming under fire from Febvre and Jasikonis. Though he managed to catch up to Prado, those two were then locked in a pretty intense battle, that saw Prado block pass Cairoli and Cairoli block pass him back. After several attempts, Cairoli eventually passed the MXGP rookie, Prado, and moved into third.

Gajser then started to catch back up to the #84 of Herlings, though something happened to the Honda rider and he went down, allowing Cairoli through to second.

Meanwhile Jasikonis made some quick passes on Prado and Febvre and was up in fourth, with his energy concentrated on catching Gajser ahead. He then passed Gajser to move into third, though Gajser wasn’t going to let the Lithuanian run away.

As he started to catch the tall Lithuanian, his bike suddenly stopped, forcing the defending world champion out of race two due to an electrical issue.

In the end it was Herlings with the race win, followed by Cairoli who had a strong finish in second, with Jasikonis crossing the line in third place.

Overall it was Jeffrey Herlings who finally claimed a Grand Prix victory in Latvia, with Jasikonis reaching a career milestone with second overall, and Prado also making his first MXGP podium of his rookie season!

As it stands, Herlings continues to lead the MXGP World Championship, with Gajser a further 46 points back, as Jasikonis joins in third just four points behind the factory Honda rider.

Jeffrey Herlings: “The first race was tough. I didn’t have a good jump, I was like fifteenth and then was struggling with arm pump, the riding just wasn’t good. The track was really sketchy overall the last three races with a lot of square bumps. I know it’s going to be a long series, I’ve had a lot of injuries in the past and I try to be at every race, maybe not be dominant but just try to be there and be consistent, until now it’s actually been working out. I haven’t won that much, because when I got here I was 4-4, 3-3 and 4-1 but I’ve been the most consistent over the races and it’s been paying off in the championship. Going into the next race I’ll definitely have to put in some work, try to work a bit more on the starts, work on myself and try to get some more speed and confidence. But I’m happy to finish off this Latvian trip in this way”.

Arminas Jasikonis: “We improved every race day, with a complete week of racing; first race last Sunday was good, I mean could be better but then on Wednesday it got better and now finally we got the podium second, I think one point off the overall win but overall we improved a lot and know where we need to work more to get even better. We know we are on the right tracks and thanks to the whole team for believing in me so much. We had bad luck a lot of times but we never gave up and here we are, we need to be calm and work hard and be better for the next races”.

Jorge Prado: “Sometimes you win, and it doesn’t mean as much as maybe this third place means to me. I had a very tough round to get here with injuries. But all the hard work pays off. I’ve been working really hard and putting my maximum effort every single training… and you know a podium in the MXGP class, I mean it’s the top class of the sport and it’s not easy, not so many riders can say that they’ve been on the podium, so we need to really appreciate every single result so I’m very happy”.

MXGP - Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 35:20.589; 2. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:08.779; 3. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:21.090; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:29.165; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:32.391; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:33.535; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GASGAS), +0:34.644; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:38.291; 9. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:44.978; 10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +0:50.164.

MXGP - Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:26.803; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:07.898; 3. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:12.060; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:23.368; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:27.988; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GASGAS), +0:31.572; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:39.249; 8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:49.115; 9. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), +0:57.135; 10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +1:03.116.

MXGP – Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 43 points; 2. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 42 p.; 3. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 32 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GAS), 29 p.; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 25 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 22 p.; 10. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 21 p.

MXGP – Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 213 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 167 p.; 3. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 163 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 163 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GAS), 146 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 134 p.; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 131 p.; 8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 129 p.; 9. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 120 p.; 10. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 104 p.

MXGP – Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 220 points; 2. Honda, 202 p.; 3. Yamaha, 173 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 169 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 166 p.; 6. GASGAS, 160 p.;

Main Photo: Jeffrey Herlings

Bottom Photos: 1. Arminas Jasikonis; 2. Jorge Prado & Antonio Cairoli

In MX2 race one, it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Watson who pulled the FOX Holeshot in the race and was closely followed by Tom Vialle of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, Mathys Boisrame from F&H Kawasaki Racing and Maxime Renaux of SM MC Migliori - J1 Racing.

Jago Geerts from Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing and F&H Kawasaki Racing’s Roan Van de Moosdijk were also not far behind the top three on the opening lap.

Renaux then went down out of third and was dropping down the order, meanwhile Geerts started to close in on Van de Moosdijk, and then went after his team-mate who was in second.

Mikkel Haarup from F&H Kawasaki Racing had another tough race as we saw him go down in the early stages out of eighth and was showing down in 30^th.

Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee rider Conrad Mewse was also having a superb rider in fifth place, which he retained until the chequered flag dropped on lap 17.

On lap 4, Geerts moved past Watson for 2^nd, while Vialle continued to lead the race with a 5 second gap over P2.

The second Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milawaukee rider Bas Vaessen was also having a tough riding, as he crashed out of 18^th, which was unfortunate for him as he was already struggling with a painful back.

Though back at the front it was Vialle who was leading the race, with Geerts slowly closing in on the KTM rider, with Watson also managing to keep a steady gap on Van de Moosdijk who was behind him in 4^th place.

2 laps to go and Geerts put on a charge for the race win, though as he edged closer to Vialle, backmarkers started to play a part, with the factory Yamaha rider eventually going down after colliding with one, though fortunately still managed to stay in second which is exactly where he finished the race, with Watson in third.

The 2^nd MX2 race saw another Monster Energy Yamaha Factory machine in front but this time it was Jago Geerts. Mewse had another strong start, followed by Simon Laegenfelder of Diga Procross GasGas Factory Juniors and Vialle right there as well.

Geerts then continue to lead Mewse with Vialle catching up to #426 and applying the pressure for second place. Vialle then moved into second and set his sights on the race leader.

Meanwhile Watson was down in 7^th, ahead of Renaux and Moosdijk, with those three guys going at it, trying to pass for P7.

As Vialle pushed to catch Geerts, he made a mistake and almost lost it, though he managed to hold on. Van de Moosdijk then tried to close in on Renaux for 5^th and that’s when the battle between those two began.

Though Renaux caught second wind and started to close to the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Jed Beaton. Both riders then caught on to Mewse, with the Brit having to fight hard to keep them behind him. Eventually Renaux managed to move into 3^rd as Nathan Crawford of Honda 114 Motorsports was seen walking back to the pits and was out of race 2.

As Van de Moosdijk was able to get a good drive on the wave section, passing Renaux for 3^rd place, Beaton also lost a position to Watson who moved up into 6^th position.

3 laps to go and Vialle’s pitboard read “close the gap” as he pushed for the second race win, though in the end he didn’t manage to do it and it was Geerts who crossed the line first.

Vialle was second, with Van de Moosdijk third, followed by Renaux and Watson who finished in the top 5.

Overall it was Jago Geerts who took a back-to-back win in Latvia, with Tom Vialle managing a second overall and Roan Van de Moosdijk third! In the championship standings Vialle is still the series leader with 217 points, with Geerts a further 8 points back and Van de Moosdijk there as well on 153 points.

Unfortunately, today we didn’t see Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen due to his shoulder injury, which puts his championship contention in danger. 

Jago Geerts: “It was a good day for me. It the first race I didn’t have the best start, but then I was able to make a lot of passes, after 10 minutes I think I was in second and then in the end I was coming closer to Tom but on the last lap I wanted to try to make one last move, but then the crashed with a lapper. Still second. Then in the second race got the holeshot and just rode a really good pace all race and I could win so I was really happy with that. It’s my third GP win so it was a good day”.

Tom Vialle: “It was much better than the other day. In the practice I was already feeling pretty good and in the first race I led all the race and I was really happy to win it. The second one was also really close to Jago. Then 3 laps before the finish I lost a little bit of time with one lapper and afterwards it was really difficult but no, I’m actually really happy I did not lose any points today so it’s really good for the championship”.

Roan Van de Moosdijk: “Latvia has been great for me. Three podiums in a row. Today was tough though, two bad starts but the first race I didn’t managed to get in a rhythm so I stayed there fourth. In the second race I started outside the top 10, maybe even top 15, and I was really happy about my riding so I just want to keep it like this, get this momentum going and looking forward to the next race”.

MX2 - Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 35:38.327; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:24.000; 3. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:26.607; 4. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), +0:46.884; 5. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:54.222; 6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +1:01.541; 7. Alberto Forato (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:09.778; 8. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Honda), +1:16.546; 9. Nathan Crawford (AUS, Honda), +1:18.402; 10. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Yamaha), +1:18.946.

MX2 - Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), 35:50.720; 2. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:17.633; 3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), +0:28.173; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:30.025; 5. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:31.000; 6. Jed Beaton (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:41.847; 7. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), +0:56.591; 8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Yamaha), +1:02.988; 9. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:35.063; 10. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Honda), +1:38.768.

MX2 – Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 47 points; 2. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 47 p.; 3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 38 p.; 4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 33 p.; 6. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 25 p.; 8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 24 p.; 9. Alvin Östlund (SWE, HON), 24 p.; 10. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, KAW), 18 p.

MX2 – Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 217 points; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 209 p.; 3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 153 p.; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 149 p.; 5. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 148 p.; 6. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, KAW), 128 p.; 7. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 127 p.; 8. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, KAW), 101 p.; 9. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 95 p.; 10. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 92 p.

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. Yamaha, 230 points; 2. KTM, 220 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 187 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 161 p.; 5. Honda, 101 p.; 6. GASGAS, 67 p.

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos from the MXGP of Kegums will be available HERE

MXGP of Kegums – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1790m

Type of ground: Hard Sand

Temperature: 28°

Weather conditions: sunny

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM

MXGP of Kegums

KEGUMS (Latvia) 16 August 2020 – Infront Moto Racing are excited to share a new collaboration that will see 100%®, an independent premium sports brand, become an MXGP Official Supplier.

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In addition to seeing top riders wearing 100%® goggles, the three-year deal will see 100%® visible at all European MXGP events, with a large inflatable structure visible for the fans at home via MXGP-TV as well as the fans at the track. At the first two opening rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Great Britain and the Netherlands, there was an awesome 100%® display area in the paddock that demonstrated the brands’ new heights in innovation. We look forward to similar activations in future seasons, when restrictions are eased.

100%®, based in San Diego, California, is a leading distributor of performance goggles and eyewear, technical apparel and sports protection. 100%® empowers today’s most demanding athletes with the performance technologies and gear they need to compete at the top of a wide variety of sports. The roots of the 100%® brand date back to the early 1980’s when the popular logo graced the factory racing equipment of the biggest names in motocross. Today, 100%® is inspiring a new generation of athletes and asking them: “How much effort do you give?”

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LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM

100%®

KEGUMS (Latvia) 15 August 2020 – The EM250 and EMX Open races have concluded rounds four and three of the European Championships here in Kegums, Latvia, that saw Thibault Benistant of Hutten Mataal Yamaha Racing take his third consecutive overall victory in the EMX250 class, meanwhile in EMX Open it was Kim Savaste of 137 Motorsport who stood on the top step of the podium.

In the opening EMX250 race it was Meico Vettik who was flying out of the gate become the early race leader. Though he did come under pressure straight away from Tom Guyon of Team VRT Nordpesca Holland.

Gianluca Facchetti of Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing got a brilliant start and was running second in the race, while his team-mate Thibaul Benistant was down in 10^th on the opening laps.

Bastian Boegh Damm from WZ-Racing was also having a much better ride, as he was behind Facchetti.

As Vettik and Facchetti broke free from the rest of the field, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory rider Kay de Wolf was not far behind the group, as Guyon found himself in trouble after being tagged by another rider and going down.

As Facchetti edged closer to the race leader, the race took an unexpected turn for the Yamaha rider who was forced to retire from the race due to a bike issue.

As de Wolf continued to make his way through the field, with 12 minutes + 2 laps to go, we saw the 15-year-old rider challenge Vettik for the lead. Not long after he made a move on Vettik pushing him to the outside and that’s when he became the new race leader.

With not long left on the clock, Benistant was pushing hard as he passed Hakon Fredriksen of Yamaha SM Action MC Migliori – J1 Racing. He then went after Vettik, and after that he caught and passed Tim Edberg.

On the last lap, Benistant was charging for de Wolf. The Husqvarna rider tried his best to fend off the series leader though that wasn’t enough, and Benistant was able to take the opening race win. Second was de Wolf, with Edberg in third.

In race two, it was Vettik once again who was the leading guy around the first corner. Meanwhile Guadagnini was in second, closely followed by Joel Rizzi from PAR Homes RFX Husqvarna.

Though Guadagnini wasted no time on that win, as he quickly moved into the lead, with Facchetti following in tow, to push Vettik down to P3.

De Wolf was also there in 4^th as he searched for lines to make a pass on Rizzi ahead of him. He managed to do this shortly after and then set his sights on P3, as Facchetti got passed by Vettik.

A couple of laps later and Vettik lost second position, with De Wolf and Fredriksen both going through.

Jorgen-Matthias Talviku of ASA United Husqvarna was not having a good race, as he went down pushing to make a pass, which saw him drop out of P5.

By lap 7 Benistant was making his way back up the field and was already on the back of Vettik. A lap later he finally was able to make a pass and move into 4^th. Though being 20 seconds doing on the race leader and with 5 minutes plus 2 laps to go, it was going to be a dash to the end.

2 laps to go and Guadagnini continued to lead, with de Wolf in P2 and Fredriksen in 3^rd. Benistant was now all over the back of the rider in P3, though he was not able to do so before the chequered flag. 

In the end it was Mattia Guadagnini who took the race win, followed by de Wolf and Benistant who moved up in the results order due to Fredriksen being receiving a penalty.

Overall it was Thibault Benistant who took the overall round victory at the third and final Latvian event, with de Wolf finishing second on the podium and Guadagnini in P3.

Benistant now continues to lead the EMX250 Championship and is 38 points ahead of Mattia Guadagnini, with Isak Gifting third with 128 points.

Thibault Benistant: “The two races were tough because I started really bad and I needed to push hard to comeback. In the first race I managed the win but in the second one, everybody was really fast so I came back to only fourth, one guy took a penalty from fifth place so I win the overall, I’m happy about this, for me it’s not my victory because I didn’t win myself but it’s still good”.

Kay de Wolf: “I didn’t have the best starts in both races and then also had to work my way up and that was quite tough to pass a lot of people but we tried to keep going forward and work as hard as possible”

“It’s been quite tough, I still feel like I’ve won it but on paper Thibault won it so I want to say congratulations” he added.

Mattia Guadagnini: “The first race was tough because I had a bad start and then I came back to fourth so yeah it was a tough race to come from the back. The second race was easier because I got the good start finally, I was second, passed for the lead and then just found some good lines and tried to keep a bit of a gap to second; that was the race, and it was a good one”.

EMX250 - Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), 29:33.630; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:03.241; 3. Tim Edberg (SWE, Yamaha), +0:10.007; 4. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:16.534; 5. Meico Vettik (EST, KTM), +0:18.634; 6. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, Yamaha), +0:19.115; 7. Lion Florian (GER, KTM), +0:24.591; 8. Lorenzo Locurcio (VEN, Kawasaki), +0:25.781; 9. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Husqvarna), +0:29.226; 10. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), +0:38.624.

EMX250 - Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), 29:50.126; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:04.059; 3. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:06.753; 4. Meico Vettik (EST, KTM), +0:40.046; 5. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), +0:46.143; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Husqvarna), +0:46.377; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:48.075; 8. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, Yamaha), +0:05.560; 9. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), +0:48.912; 10. Maximilian Spies (GER, Husqvarna), +0:50.062.

EMX250 – Top 10 Overall Classification: 1. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 45 points; 2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 44 p.; 3. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 43 p.; 4. Meico Vettik (EST, KTM), 34 p.; 5. Tim Edberg (SWE, YAM), 30 p.; 6. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, YAM), 28 p.; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 24 p.; 8. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Lion Florian (GER, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Joel Rizzi (GBR, HUS), 17p.

EMX250 – Top 10 Championship Classification: 1. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 174 points; 2. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 136 p.; 3. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), 128 p.; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 127 p.; 5. Tim Edberg (SWE, YAM), 91 p.; 6. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 89 p.; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 87 p.; 8. Meico Vettik (EST, KTM), 84 p.; 9. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), 79 p.; 10. Hakon Fredriksen (NOR, YAM), 72 p.

EMX250 Manufacturers: 1. Yamaha, 179 points; 2. KTM, 168 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 164 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 51 p.

Main Photo: Thibault Benistant

Bottom Photos: 1. Kay de Wolf; 2. Mattia Guadagnini

In the EMX Open class, it was Kim Savaste with the holeshot in race one, as he was closely followed by Karel Kutsar and Toms Macuks of Rodeo Racing Team.

Early on in the race Savaste was able to pull a gap on the rest of the field as Macuks applied the pressure onto Kutsar, who later crashed dropping down to 6^th place.

Miro Sihvonen then moved up to 3^rd, with Karlis Kalejs, Cornelius Toendel of JWR Racing as well as Kutsar right there with him.

By lap 5, Kutsar was making a comeback as he was starting to apply the pressure onto Toendel, as Domantas Jazdauskas was looking to do the same with Andero Lusbo for P8.

As Savaste extended his lead to 8 seconds over Macuks and Sihvonen, Kutsar found himself in trouble again losing two more positions which saw him drop to 7^th place.

Toendel was having good ride in 4^th, after two unlucky rounds that saw him crash out of top positions and DNF the races, so it was good for the Norwegian to finally get a solid result as that was where he also finished in the race.

Towards the later stages of the race Kutsar made another mistake allowing Jazdauskas through, though with 2 laps to go, he managed to pick up another position to finish the race in 6^th place.

In the end it was Kim Savaste who claimed the first race win, with Macuks a further 10 seconds down and Sihvonen crossing the line in third.

In the second EMX Open race, it was once again Savaste who was flying out of the gate, with Kutsar right there in second. Juuso Matikainen and Nathan Dixon of PAR Homes RFX Husvarna were also right there in 3^rd and 4^th with the leaders.

Once again Savaste had already pulled a small gap on Kutsar, with Macuks right there behind him as he made up two positions.

Greg Smets was having a solid ride at the beginning of the race before going down and having to fight back from outside the top 15. Though he did manage to pick off some positions as he came back to 8^th in the race.

Dixon then made his way up into 4^th having made a pass on Matikainen, though a couple of laps later the Brit came under pressure from Toendel and Sihvonen dropping to P6. The Husqvarna rider finished the race there, though a problem with his bike, resulted in a failed noise test which dropped his result to P11.

Towards the later stages of the race, Karel Kutsar was able to move into the lead as Savaste dropped to P3, allowing local hero Macuks to move up into 2^nd place.

With 3 laps to go, Kutsar had a comfortable 4 second lead over Macuks, which is exactly how they finished in the race.

Kim Savaste finished third and with that took the overall victory in the EMX Open class, with Macuks joining him on the podium in P2, and Kutsar making it 3/3 podiums with a 3^rd overall.

Karel Kutsar continues to lead the EMX Open Championship with 131 points, followed by Kim Savaste who is on 122 points and third is Miro Sihvonen with 101 points.

Kim Savaste: “I don’t really know myself either about what happened in race 2, I was feeling so good in the beginning of the second race but then out of nowhere something hit me. I didn’t have any issues with the bike and of course I’m really disappointed about that, even though I got the overall victory, I don’t feel like the second race was a good one, so just a lot to do for the next races”.

Toms Macuks: “Of course I feel better than the last round when I got disqualified in race one and then a big crash in the second race; now I was riding with a bit of an injury and with big pain in my chest so I couldn’t give 100% but 2-2 for the podium is quite okay”.

Karel Kutsar: “The first race was really bad for me. I had a good start but then I crashed in the same corner two times, one time I jumped and hit a hard landing and hit my wrist; in the final lap I lost my rear breaks so tried to take sixth place. The second race was much better, got a good start and then Kim pushed really hard so I tried to hold my own speed and hold a good rhythm, finally I caught him and passed him and won the race; I’m really happy about that second race”.

EMXOpen - Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), 29:21.676; 2. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), +0:10.857; 3. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, Husqvarna), +0:14.123; 4. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, Honda), +0:31.538; 5. Andero Lusbo (EST, Husqvarna), +0:45.083; 6. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), +0:52.287; 7. Juuso Matikainen (FIN, Husqvarna), +0:55.005; 8. Karlis Kalejs (LAT, Husqvarna), +0:56.519; 9. Stefan Ekerold (GER, Suzuki), +1:00.158; 10. Domantas Jazdauskas (LTU, Husqvarna), +1:03.053.

EMXOpen - Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), 29:34.382; 2. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), +0:19.579; 3. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), +0:26.336; 4. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, Husqvarna), +0:37.816; 5. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, Honda), +0:55.201; 6. Juuso Matikainen (FIN, Husqvarna), +1:06.444; 7. Rene Rannikko (FIN, Husqvarna), +1:15.502; 8. Greg Smets (BEL, KTM), +1:17.324; 9. Szymon Staszkiewicz (POL, KTM), +1:24.982; 10. Simeo Ubach (ESP, Husqvarna), +1:29.255.

EMXOpen - Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), 45 points; 2. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, HUS), 38 p.; 5. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, HON), 34 p.; 6. Juuso Matikainen (FIN, HUS), 29 p.; 7. Greg Smets (BEL, KTM), 23 p.; 8. Andero Lusbo (EST, HUS), 23 p.; 9. Karlis Kalejs (LAT, HUS), 22 p.; 10. Rene Rannikko (FIN, HUS), 21 p.

EMXOpen - Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), 131 points; 2. Kim Savaste (FIN, KTM), 122 p.; 3. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, HUS), 101 p.; 4. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), 94 p.; 5. Stefan Ekerold (GER, SUZ), 93 p.; 6. Andero Lusbo (EST, HUS), 93 p.; 7. Juuso Matikainen (FIN, HUS), 83 p.; 8. Karlis Kalejs (LAT, HUS), 75 p.; 9. Domantas Jazdauskas (LTU, HUS), 67 p.; 10. Greg Smets (BEL, KTM), 67 p.

EMXOpen Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 150 points; 2. Husqvarna, 114 p.; 3. Suzuki, 93 p.; 4. Yamaha, 39 p.; 5. Honda, 38 p.

Main Photo: Kim Savaste

Bottom Photos: 1. Toms Macuks; 2. Karel Kutsar 

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos from the MXGP of Kegums will be available HERE

MXGP of Kegums – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1790m

Type of ground: Hard Sand

Temperature: 26°

Weather conditions: Sunny

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