MX2

LOKET (Czech Republic) 21 July 2018 - The FIM Motocross World Championship has raced the first time around the hillsides of Loket today for Qualifying day at the 2018 MXGP of Czech Republic. Returning to pole position were Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Covington.

If Saturday’s Qualifying races were any indication of Sunday’s action the outcome will be unpredictable. While the MXGP class was as competitive as always the MX2 racing was completely unexpected. Aside from the stars of MXGP and MX2 Czech motocross fans were treated to the 2 stroke races of EMX300 presented by FMF Racing, EMX85, and EMX65. The stacked and full EMX gates saw Dennis Ulrich (EMX300), Camden Mc Lellan (EMX85), and Damian Knuiman (EMX65) each win hard fought first races of the two this weekend.

MXGP Qualifying was led by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli into the first turn but it was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Anstie that wowed the crowd by taking the premier spot on the opening lap.

Anstie, who has had a difficult season so far, led Cairoli for 7 laps while Team HRC’s Tim Gajser gave chase in third. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings was 4th off the start and rode comfortably in the position for the majority of the race.

Also in the lead group was Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle with BIKE IT DRT Kawasaki’s Tommy Searle slightly further back. Searle however was passed by Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Jeremy Van Horebeek on lap 2. Van Horebeek showed the speed normally expected of him after a series of challenging races which will make him one to watch Sunday along with the fact his only GP victory came at this track in 2014.

Van Horebeek’s Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP teammate Romain Febvre worked his way through the pack after running in 14th, just behind the returning BOS GP rider Jordi Tixier, on the first lap. Febvre was able to climb his way up to 9th by lap 7.

On lap 8 Cairoli took the lead from Anstie and immediately created a gap which seemingly encouraged Herlings to put in a fast lap and take a spot from Anstie along with Gajser on lap 10. Gajser fought to hold off the “Bullet” but Herlings found his way up the inside of the Slovenian on the far side of the track during lap 12.

With 2 laps remaining Cairoli’s lead was too much for Herlings and at the finish it was Cairoli taking the win, Herlings second then Gajser, Anstie, Desalle and Van Horebeek. The Qualifying win was only the 3rd for Cairoli this season.

Antonio Cairoli: “It was a very difficult week because after Indonesia I did a special scan and we found out that I have two fractures in the metacarpal. We managed to have a good qualification race anyway, hopefully it is going to be good for tomorrow to have two good starts and make it to the podium.”

Jeremy Van Horebeek: “It is a good track for me but I have been struggling with injuries after Valkenswaard and it has been a tough season but I'm starting to feel better and better every weekend. I am starting to get closer to being back in the top five, where I belong so this is a good feeling."

MXGP Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 25:21.539; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:03.910; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:06.971; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:12.011; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:15.511; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:21.477; 7. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:28.697; 8. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +0:29.596; 9. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:48.369; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:49.642

MXGP Photos

Main Photo: Antonio Cairoli

Bottom Photos: 1. Jeffrey Herlings 2. Tim Gajser

The MX2 Qualifying race was full of surprises from the start with Kemea Yamaha Official MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts leading Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Covington while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado and Pauls Jonass had issues.

Covington took the lead from Geerts on the opening lap and started to pull away quickly but the real question was where the MX2 points leaders of Jonass and Prado were. The answer was Prado in 17th and Jonass 18th. Jonass made quick work up to 12th by lap 4 while Prado only gained one position.

In the fight for the top however was KTM Silver Action’s Stephen Rubini in 3rd chased by Honda 114 Motorsport’s Bas Vaessen, STC Racing Husqvarna’s Henry Jacobi, and F&H Racing Team’s Adam Sterry.

Also in a battle for position was JD Gunnex KTM Racing’s Richard Sikyna in 7th and BIKE IT DRT Kawasaki’s fill-in from Brazil, Gustavo Pessoa, in 10th. Between the two of Sikyna and Pessoa was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Thomas Kjer Olsen and Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda’s Marshal Weltin. Olsen made his way forward from 9th and so too did Kemea Yamaha Official MX2 Team’s Ben Watson from 12th.

Going backwards in the standings was Vaessen who fell from 4th to 13th. For Jonass the race didn’t get any easier when he came together with Team HRC’s Calvin Vlaanderen while battling over 11th. Both riders remounted but Jonass was in 24th and Vlaanderen got up in 31st.

Back at the front Covington was long gone but Rubini was under pressure from the relentless speed of Olsen and Watson. Olsen made the pass to take third and Watson was next for fourth before Sterry took 5th.

At the finish Covington took the win followed by Geerts, Olsen, Watson and Sterry. Prado took 10th just behind the returning Honda 114 Motorsports rider Hunter Lawrence while Jonass finished 16th and Vlaanderen 21st.

Thomas Covington: “The Qualifying Race went well as I was second out of the start and just passed Geerts real quick in the second corner, after that it was pretty easy actually, I just found a good rhythm and got a good gap."

Hunter Lawrence: “Everything is all healed up so it is good to be back and not carrying any injury. It is good to be back fit and healthy as I wish to finish the year strong.”

MX2 Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), 24:27.968; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:11.714; 3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:15.934; 4. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:16.865; 5. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:23.106; 6. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), +0:25.817; 7. Henry Jacobi (GER, Husqvarna), +0:29.317; 8. Marshal Weltin (USA, Honda), +0:42.379; 9. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Honda), +0:45.901; 10. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:49.602.

MX2 Photos

Main Photo: Thomas Covington

Bottom Photos: 1. Jago Geerts 2. Thomas Kjer Olsen

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos from the MXGP of Czech Republic will be available HERE

MXGP of Czech Republic – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1,586m

Type of ground: Hard Pack

Temperature: 27°

Weather conditions: partly cloudy with some showers

MXGP will be available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

TIMETABLE

Sunday: 08h45 EMX300 Race 2, 09h50 EMX65 Race 2, 10h25 MX2 Warm-Up, 10h45 MXGP Warm-Up, 11h30 EMX85 Race 2, 13h15 MX2 Race 1, 14h15 MXGP Race 1, 16h10 MX2 Race 2, 17h10 MXGP Race 2

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

FIM Europe

MXGP of Czech Republic

TM RACING announces the end of the collaboration with Samuele Bernardini, after a fantastic journey started in 2013 and crowned by a European Championship in the EMX300 2T class, from an absolute eighth place in the MX2 in 2016 and three fourth places, 2 FOX Holeshots, a race win and the second place overall in the 2017 MXGP of Indonesia, the parties decided to not to continue together.

TM RACING wishes Samuele a fantastic career continuation and thanks him for the years spent together.

Marco Ricciardi Team Manager:"The path made up to last year with Samuele was very satisfying, with ups and downs but in the end we always achieved the goal, our goal was to to bring Samuele to conquer the Top Five of the MX2 in this is his last year in this fantastic class. I wish Samu to find his dimension and work hard to honor the great talent he was given."

This weekend Loket, Czech Republic will host the best riders in the world for the FIM Motocross World Championship and joining the racing will be the future stars of motocross, the EMX85 and EMX65 riders!

Both classes will have full gates with 80 total riders qualified for the weekend. This afternoon all the riders joined together with Youthstream Vice President Mr. David Luongo, FIM Europe Commission Chairman Mr. Eddie Herd, and FIM Europe 1st Deputy President Mr. Martin de Graff for the annual family photo. The eager riders start with Race 1 tomorrow followed by the Champion deciding races on Sunday.

With this year’s MXGP and MX2 championships really exciting and four riders battling for victory, the deep sand of Lommel might be a turning point for one or the other. Jeffrey Herlings and Antonio Cairoli have already a list of victories at the deep sand circuit and Jorge Prado won in the MX2 class in 2017, of the big four only Pauls Jonass lacks a victory at the famous circuit.

Since that 1997 visit Lommel hadn’t really been a regular stop on the Grand Prix calendar. Due to the involvement of the legendary Namur circuit, and stops in places like Neeroteren, Nismes, Genk, and so many others it seemed that Lommel was a little forgotten and was generally just a training facility for the GP riders.

It wasn’t until five times motocross world champion Eric Geboers got involved and decided to bring the circuit back to the Grand Prix scene, and of course the fact Namur was closed.

Funnily enough probably the greatest sand rider of all time, Stefan Everts only won one Grand Prix at Lommel. That coming in the 1994 250 Grand Prix. He had a handful of victories from the Namur circuit, and a good selection from other Belgian circuits, but in his racing era Lommel wasn’t often on the Grand Prix calendar, at least not for the 125 or 250 class where he selected to race.

When Lommel returned to the Grand Prix schedule in 2008 it was Spanish rider Jonathan Barragan who put his name on the winners list with an MX1 overall, while Gert Krestinov shocked the world to win the MX2 overall.

Names like Marvin Musquin (2009 MX2), Ken Roczen (2010 MX2) and Ken De Dycker (2009 MX1), joined Barragan and Krestinov as GP winners, but it was the performances of Antonio Cairoli in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014 that stand out. Cairoli won three GPs and the MXoN overall with 1-1 results and showed he owned the circuit in that era.

Jeffrey Herlings took wins in 2011 and scored 1-2 results in the 2012 MXoN but injured ruled Herlings out of Lommel in 2014 and 2015, with Max Anstie making the most of that, to win both those years, scoring 1-2-1-1 in the process. Shaun Simpson added his name to the Lommel winners list with 1-1 in MXGP in 2015.

In 2016 Kevin Strijbos pulled off an amazing victory in the MXGP class, with 3-3 results, beating home Max Nagl and Antonio Cairoli. In MX2 it was Max Anstie who took victory number three, as Jeffrey Herlings was again out injured. Second in MX2 was Jeremy Seewer and third Petar Petrov.

Last year Herlings added yet another victory to his long list of sand wins, beating Antonio Cairoli and Glenn Coldenhoff. Herlings went 1-1. In MX2 Jorge Prado went 2-1 for the win ahead of Pauls Jonass and Julien Lieber.

Who will in 2018, the brilliant Herlings, or another sand specialist Cairoli? And in the MX2 class can Jonass finally get a victory there?

Copyright: Photo: Ray Archer

LOKET (Czech Republic), 19 July 2018 - The 2018 MXGP season is about to start its 14th round and the action is still in full force! Harder than ever to miss is the titanic battle between the stars of MXGP and MX2. The picturesque Loket circuit is among the world’s best tracks and a longtime staple of the MXGP calendar. The massive elevation change and natural terrain will test the timing and skill of each rider including MXGP’s points leaders, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings and Antonio Cairoli. The race to the title is just epic in MX2 with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass and Jorge Prado now tied coming into the Western portion of Czech Republic.

The 2018 MXGP of Czech Republic will receive worldwide television coverage from its traditional partners with Live coverage of Sunday in various markets such as the US and Canada on CBS Sports and Italy on RAI Sports 2!

The entire event including the MXGP & MX2 Qualifying heats on Saturday, the races of both MXGP and MX2 on Sunday, plus the European classes of EMX300 presented by FMF Racing, EMX85, and EMX65 will all be streamed LIVE worldwide from Loket on www.MXGP-TV.com

As usual you can watch the 26min Behind the Gate in Europe on motorsport.tv & MotorTrend two days after the event. It can also be viewed in the USA/Canada on BeIn and MAV TV, Finland on MTV 3, Croatia on Kreator TV, South America on FOX Sports, Asia on FOX Sports, China on Fox Sports and SINA, and the Africa on Africa XP.

Check the guides below to find out how you can watch the MXGP of Czech Republic:

USA- CANADA

CBS Sports Network

Sunday 22 July – MX2 Race 2 – 10:00 am ET (07:00 am PT) - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 11:00 am ET (08.00 am PT) - Live

EUROPE

EUROSPORT 2

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 14:00 – CET – Live

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 1 – 15:00 – CET - Delayed

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 16:00 – CET - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 17:00 – CET - Live

Motorsport.tv

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 1 – 13:00 – CET - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 14:00 – CET – Live

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 16:00 – CET - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 17:00 – CET - Live

BELGIUM

PLAY SPORTS 1

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 14:00 – CET – Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 17:00 – CET - Live

BULGARIA

BNT

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 15:05 – Bulgarian Time - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 18:05 – Bulgarian Time - Live

FRANCE

EUROSPORT 2

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 14:00 – CET – Live

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 1 – 15:00 – CET - Delayed

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 16:00 – CET - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 17:00 – CET - Live

La chaîne l’Equipe

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 21:00 – CET - Delayed

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 22:00 – CET - Delayed

Motorsport.tv

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 1 – 13:00 – CET - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 14:00 – CET – Live

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 16:00 – CET - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 17:00 – CET - Live

ITALY

RAI Sports 2 HD

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 14:00 – CET – Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 17:00 – CET - Live

NETHERLAND

NOS

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 14:00 – CET – Live Streaming

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 17:00 – CET – Live Streaming

PORTUGAL

Sport TV 5

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 1 – 12:00 – GMT+1 - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 13:00 – GMT+1 - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 15:00 – GMT - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 16:00 – GMT - Live

SLOVENIA 

Sport TV1

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 1 – 13:00 – CET - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 14:00 – CET – Live

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 16:00 – CET - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 17:00 – CET - Live

UK

Motorsport.tv

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 1 – 12:00 – GMT+1 - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 13:00 – GMT+1 – Live

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 15:00 – GMT+1 - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 16:00 – GMT+1 - Live

FOX SPORTS Indonesia

Monday 23 July  – MX2 Race 1 – 12:00 HKT – Delayed

Monday 23 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 13:00 HKT – Delayed

Monday 23 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 14:00 HKT – Delayed

Monday 23 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 15:00 HKT – Delayed

ASIA

FOX SPORTS SEA (Hong Kong – Macau – Thailand – Singapore – Indonesia)

Monday 23 July  – MX2 Race 1 – 12:00 HKT – Delayed

Monday 23 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 13:00 HKT – Delayed

Monday 23 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 14:00 HKT – Delayed

Monday 23 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 15:00 HKT – Delayed

FOX SPORTS 3 SEA(Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore,  Thailand, Malaysia

FOX SPORTS SEA (Hong Kong – Macau – Thailand – Singapore – Indonesia)

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 1 – 19:00 HKT – Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 20:00 HKT – Live

Sunday 22 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 22:00 HKT – Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 23:00 HKT – Live

CHINA

STAR Sports  China

Monday 23 July  – MX2 Race 1 – 12:00 HKT – Delayed

Monday 23 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 13:00 HKT – Delayed

Monday 23 July  – MX2 Race 2 – 14:00 HKT – Delayed

Monday 23 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 15:00 HKT – Delayed

BRAZIL

BANDSPORTS

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 1 – 09:00 – Brazil timing - Live

Sunday 22 July  – MXGP Race 2 – 12:00 – Brazil timing – Live

MXGP will be available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

All the photos from the MXGP of Czech Republic will be available HERE

TIMETABLE

Saturday: 09h50 EMX300 Free/Time Practice, 10h40 EMX65 Free Practice, 11h00 EMX85 Free Practice, 11h30 MX2 Free Practice, 12h00 MXGP Free Practice, 13h00 EMX65 Time Practice, 13h30 EMX85 Time Practice, 14h00 MX2 Time Practice, 14h40 MXGP Time Practice, 15h25 EMX300 Race 1, 16h25 MX2 Qualifying Race, 17h10 MXGP Qualifying Race, 17h50 EMX65 Race 1, 18h25 EMX85 Race 1

Sunday: 08h45 EMX300 Race 2, 09h50 EMX65 Race 2, 10h25 MX2 Warm-Up, 10h45 MXGP Warm-Up, 11h30 EMX85 Race 2, 13h15 MX2 Race 1, 14h15 MXGP Race 1, 16h10 MX2 Race 2, 17h10 MXGP Race 2

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Czech Republic

Team HRC’s Brian Bogers has officially started with the rehabilitation process after being forced to an eight-week stop following a second injury to the same right-foot bone he fractured in November 2017. Ten days ago, the cast keeping the lower leg, ankle and foot immobilised was removed; after an extensive check, Bogers received a very positive evaluation from the specialist who performed the foot surgery last May.

Bogers will now focus on regaining muscle mass in his right leg and get the full movement of the joints, in order to pave the road for a future return to action.

Brian Bogers: Since the last surgery on 7th of May I had to wear a cast for eight weeks: it is now off, and the foot is feeling really good. I am pain-free and that’s the most important thing now! In five weeks I will have another check at the hospital and in the meantime, I’m working out to rebuild all the muscles in my right leg. If my muscles will be strong again by then, then I will try to ride the bike again; I have to be patient for a bit more time, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!”

Copyright: Photo: Honda Racing

LOKET (Czech Republic) 18 July 2018 – The FIM Motocross World Championship is back in action this weekend at the iconic Loket circuit in the West of Czech Republic. After a week off the bikes, riders, and teams are back in Europe and ready to continue their 2018 quest at the MXGP of Czech Republic, the 14th round of FIM Motocross World Championship.

Over 11,000 kilometers separates this weekend’s circuit from the last stop in Semarang, Loket is a traditional style of motocross track with massive and natural elevation change surrounded by nature with a castle for a backdrop. The venue will host the hottest of title fights between Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s MXGP stars Jeffrey Herlings and Antonio Cairoli and their MX2 Red Bull KTM counterparts Pauls Jonass and Jorge Prado.

Adding to the weekend of World Championship racing is the FIM Europe classes of EMX300 presented by FMF Racing, EMX85, and EMX65. The EMX300 class boasts an entry list of over 45 riders including Verde Substance KTM’s Brad Anderson, GL12 Racing’s Mike Kras, Greg Smets, and Czech Republic’s own Vaclav Kovar. The future stars of motocross also line up in EMX85 and EMX65 for their unique event to crown European Champions.

Heading into the MXGP of Czech Republic Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings has again extended his points lead after missing round 11 of the series with injury. Herlings now has had an additional week to return to his top form and leads the points chase by 24. Loket has been a place of up and down results for the Dutchman with 2 MX2 overall wins, a 4th in MXGP last year along with a 2nd in 2011 and an 11th in 2010.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli is last year’s MXGP of Czech Republic winner and has been the main competitor to Herlings all season. The pairs’ battles have captivated the fans, after a week of rest and recovery many hope the Sicilian will return to winning form this weekend. Aside from last year’s win Cairoli has claimed Czech victory on 3 other occasions and reached the podium 4 more times.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle is the only other rider to win a Grand Prix in 2018 and may be able to repeat the performance this weekend. Desalle has been able to win on the soil of Loket 3 different years and was a close second last season. The hard soil and elevation change is also not unlike that of Russia’s Orlyonok circuit which hosted his lone win earlier this year.

Taking over 4th in the championship standings after strong racing in Asia is Team HRC’s Tim Gajser. Gajser has been raising his level and battled for race wins at the last round. No stranger to winning the 2016 MXGP champ has been absent of the podium on several occasions earlier this year and will be looking to keep his Honda at the front. Loket is one of Gajser’s closest GP to home where many TG243 fans will make the trip to watch their MXGP idol who has been on the podium here the last two visits.

On a mission to rebound from what was arguably his worst weekend of the year is Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Romain Febvre. Febvre was looking extremely fast mixing it up at the front of the pack in Asia before crashing out of MXGP race 1 and falling on the start of race 2. Febvre’s misfortune was likely temporary however seeing the prior GPs were consistent improvements over his early season. Febvre was 6th last year, 3rd in 2016 and won the Czech GP in 2015.

Other riders to watch include Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin and Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP Team’s Jeremy Seewer. Paulin has 1 victory to his belt from Loket while Seewer was second overall in MX2 last season and the year prior.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 583 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 559 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 447 p.; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 410 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 400 p.; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 389 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 329 p.; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 295 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 280 p.; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, TM), 227 p.

2017 MXGP of Czech Republic MXGP top 3:

1. Antonio Cairoli
2. Clement Desalle
3. Tim Gajser

The MX2 Championship is just as strongly contested as that of MXGP and is now tied between the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders, Pauls Jonass and Jorge Prado. Each hold 550 points but while Prado has more overall GP victories Jonass still claims the red plate with more race wins.

Jonass will be especially interesting to watch this weekend with the pressure for the title on a track that has taken its toll on the Latvian. Last year Jonass took the overall win but ended his season here in 2016. Jonass was dominant early this year but since has had to work through some up and down performances.

On the other hand Jorge Prado has been strong nearly every weekend with the main exception coming from the season opener in Argentina. Prado has been able to match the pace of Jonass if not beat it on many occasions and with the help of a long list of Fox Holeshots is the reigning champs biggest challenger. Prado has his only professional result at Loket coming from last season where he took 5th overall.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen and Thomas Covington have been the thorn in the side of both Jonass and Prado. Each of the Husqvarna riders have put themselves between the title contenders as they strive for their own wins. Olsen and Covington both have seen success this year however neither have done to well in Loket with the exception of Covington’s podium last year.

Perhaps the next rider to claim his career first win is Kemea Yamaha Official MX2’s Ben Watson. Watson has consistently been one of the fastest riders in the MX2 category but the results haven’t quite shown such. Watson’s start struggles seemed to have been remedied at the last two rounds but he was still unable to have a standout performance. Watson has 2 overall results in MX2 from Loket with a 22nd last year and a 20th in 2015.

Making his way to the front of everyone’s minds after winning the MXGP of Indonesia is Team HRC’s Calvin Vlaanderen. While Vlaanderen reached the podium prior in the season few were more impressive than his back to back Asian performances. Vlaanderen’s three previous results from Czech Republic can be expected to be improved this weekend with 16th in 2017, 23rd in 2016, and 17th in 2014.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 550 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 550 p.; 3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 422 p.; 4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 412 p.; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, HON), 369 p.; 6. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 331 p.; 7. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 286 p.; 8. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 255 p.; 9. Henry Jacobi (GER, HUS), 223 p.; 10. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 218 p.

2017 MXGP of Czech Republic MX2 top 3:

1. Pauls Jonass
2. Jeremy Seewer
3. Thomas Covington

All the photos from the MXGP of Czech Republic will be available HERE

TIMETABLE

Saturday: 09h50 EMX300 Free/Time Practice, 10h40 EMX65 Free Practice, 11h00 EMX85 Free Practice, 11h30 MX2 Free Practice, 12h00 MXGP Free Practice, 13h00 EMX65 Time Practice, 13h30 EMX85 Time Practice, 14h00 MX2 Time Practice, 14h40 MXGP Time Practice, 15h25 EMX300 Race 1, 16h25 MX2 Qualifying Race, 17h10 MXGP Qualifying Race, 17h50 EMX65 Race 1, 18h25 EMX85 Race 1

Sunday: 08h45 EMX300 Race 2, 09h50 EMX65 Race 2, 10h25 MX2 Warm-Up, 10h45 MXGP Warm-Up, 11h30 EMX85 Race 2, 13h15 MX2 Race 1, 14h15 MXGP Race 1, 16h10 MX2 Race 2, 17h10 MXGP Race 2

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Czech Republic

England’s Adam Sterry of the F&H Kawasaki team might not have everything going his way, and while he is in 14^th place in the MX2 championship points, injuries have made life difficult for Sterry, meaning his score tally from round seven until round 11, but the Kawasaki rider performed much better in the two Indonesian rounds and got himself back on track.

His 24 points at the last round held in Semarang two weeks ago proved to be his second-best GP of the season, and only his 27 points in the Portuguese GP, held at Agueda was better. Now working with former GP rider Marc de Reuver Sterry is finding his feet once again.

"We already made progress last weekend and they did a good job with the track here. I didn’t feel so great on Saturday and didn’t ride so well but I was much better today. I held sixth place for most of the first race before I lost two positions when I made a mistake three laps from the end, but it was still a solid race. My first lap was again really good in race two but then I made a small mistake and that put me a long way back. Two times top ten was the goal at the last round, and that’s what we achieved.”

In the first of two Indonesian rounds Sterry made mistakes, but still walked away satisfied with his improvement and return to some type of form. The difficult and rough circuit played its part in the performances of Sterry, and a big mistake nearly cost him dearly.

"It was a tough weekend, but I've come through it with two scoring rides. I hit the gate at the start of the qualification on Saturday, and I did it again in the first race on Sunday. It wasn't easy to make passes here, but I came all the way back to ninth. I was a little disappointed with race two; the track was getting really rough and I jumped right off the track, but I came back to finish eleventh."

And now it’s off to Loket in the Czech Republic, where Sterry might just continue his climb up the points table. Being safely back in Europe and knowing the confidence is coming back is all the British rider can think about as he remains happy with his progress.

“I’m happy to be flying home safe from the two Indonesian rounds as we’ll now visit some of my favourite tracks like Loket. I’m excited about that, and the entire team will keep working together to achieve even better results."

Now it will be the next step, that will be some top ten results in Loket, and fight for top fives and podiums sooner, rather than later. With a bunch of rounds still remaining, Sterry knows he has the time to get back to where he wants to, and with full support from his team, it is without question he has the tools to make it happen.

Copyright: Photo: Kawasaki

The FIM Motocross World Championship is back in action this weekend for the 14th round of the season taking place in Loket, Czech Republic. Timetable as well as the Entry Lists of the event are available for download in PDF format here below.

TIMETABLE

MXGP Entry List

MX2 Entry List

EMX300 Presented by FMF Racing

EMX85 Entry List

EMX65 Entry List

The two weekends in Indonesia proved to be a really great experience for many of the riders and paddock people. Some took short holidays between the two GPs and one of those was nine times motocross world champion Antonio Cairoli who loves to travel and makes sure he gets the most out of the visit to Indonesia. Making a short trip to Bali, riding around the island on a scooter and recharging his batteries is the way the Italian

“I find it good, I like to travel the world for the world championship. For the factory teams it is good, it is a demanding schedule, but we are a world championship and I think we need to visit these places.”

FIM Motocross commission president, Tony Skillington, who also loved the adventure to Indonesia is more than a little excited for what 2019 brings with the MXGP championship. A long-time fan of the sport, the always smiling Skillington knows that expanding the sport is great for everyone involved.

“I am very happy and pleased that our promotion partner Youthstream has managed to source contracts in these very important motorcycle markets. I think it is a clear indication that the motocross world championship has a place in the promotion of world motorcycling and I think it is great where we come to these countries, where the motorcycle is a daily activity for the family’s daily life. To witness and see this, is quiet fascinating.”

Youthstream vice president David Luongo also knows the value of such a trip and is working hard to make sure we continue to visit such beautiful places and help the sport grow even more than ever.

“People who don’t travel, don’t really understand how popular our sport is outside of Europe, but it isn’t just in Indonesia, it is also in South America, when we come here, the people are like virgin fans, they are so happy to see the best riders in the world, and they are so happy to see the tourists and this experience is unique, we don’t have this anywhere in Europe. In the city here, I never saw so many people excited for this. The promotion for this event in Semarang, I have never seen this type of promotion in Europe, but we want this. It is a huge investment in time and people to make the track and the paddock and you have to respect these organizers outside of Europe.”

So now with everyone back in Europe, we head to Loket, in the Czech Republic. Another stop in this amazing 2018 season, and for sure a totally different experience than our Asian adventure.

The battle between Jeffrey Herlings and Antonio Cairoli in the MXGP class, and a similar fight in MX2 between Pauls Jonass and Jorge Prado will return in Loket, and once again the motocross fans will be able to enjoy what has been sensational racing.