MX2

What an incredible track and venue here at the Dirt Track, a sector of the world famous Charlotte Motor Speedway, in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the penultimate round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will get underway tomorrow evening.

As an indication that the event is ripe and ready for action, Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Lenny Batycki invited the reigning AMA Motocross and Supercross Lites Champion, and North Carolina native, Cooper Webb to the start gates where the media could capture him participating in the first gate drop. Youthstream Director, Mr. David Luongo and FIM/CMS Director Tony Skillington were also in attendance.

Mr. Batycki mentioned that the event has already generated a lot of interest with the pre-race day ticket sales indicating that a new fan base has been reached with more than ten different nations taking interest in the event that will pin the best of America and the best of Europe against each other. “70% of the tickets already sold are to fans that have never been here at the Charlotte Motor Speedway,” he said.

After the gates fell for the first time, Webb returned to the start line where he was bombarded by the press eager to get a few words with the star regarding the track, the competition, and his participation in the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, among other things.

Following on, the cream of MXGP and MX2, such as Clement Desalle, Jeremy Van Horebeek, Glenn Coldenhoff, Shaun Simpson, Benoit Paturel, Brent Van Doninck, Jordi Tixier, Kevin Strijbos, Jake Nicholls, Arminas Jasikonis, Jeremy Seewer, Bas Vaessen, Jose Butron, Samuele Bernardini, Alvin Ostlund and Ivo Monticelli, went out to the Stewart Haas Racing headquarters where the man in charge of Stewart Haas Racing Sponsor Services, Mr. Eric Maycroft, took the boys on a tour where they were able to see inside the work shop.

Mr. Maycroft showed them the gym and explained how the mechanics need to keep fit in order to work on Nascar’s as it requires a lot more strength than most people realized. Some of the riders gave the ‘mechanic life’ a whirl, and agreed that some of the things the mechanics are required to do are strenuous. The tour at the factory ended with a stop at the gift shop before they going out to the Charlotte Motor Speedway oval where they were given the opportunity to be a passenger.

‘Where racing lives’ is the slogan out here at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and we couldn’t agree more. We can’t think of a more fitting place to host the seventeenth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship. It’s going to be fantastic.

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 31 August 2016 - Prof. Marjan Olfers, one of the key contributers to FIM Europe Working Group on 'Minimum Age for International Motorsport' has been invited by FIM Europe 1st Deputy President Martin de Graaff to attend the FIM Motocross World Championship in Assen, The Netherlands. Marjan Olfers is Professor of Sports and Law at the Free University in Amsterdam and is recognised as one of the world ́s leading experts in this important scientific field.

The above mentioned working group consists of representatives from European Federations, being experts in medical science, training and coaching. Prof. Fabio Pigozzi, Rector of the University of Rome “Foro Italico” delivered also an important part to the results of the working group.  

FIM Europe is organizing a successful Motocross Championship in the classes 65cc, 85cc and 125cc, as of the age of 8 years. The working group has not identified binding European legislation that would ban riders of this age from competing.

Prof. Olfers has presented the survey to Youthstream President Giuseppe Luongo, whose company is the promoter of the World and the European Motocross Championship.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe

Photo: From left, Dr Wolfgang Srb, FIM Europe President, Prof. Marjan Olfers, Mr Giuseppe Luongo, Youthstream President, and Mr Martin de Graaff, FIM Europe 1st Deputy President.

CHARLOTTE (United States of America), 31 August 2016 - If you love the Motocross of Nations because it’s almost the only chance you can see the best of America racing the best in the world, then you’re not going to want to miss the penultimate round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the Monster Energy MXGP of Americas, which will take place at The Dirt Track, at Charlotte Motor Speedway, this Friday, and Saturday night!

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac, Autotrade Monster Energy Yamaha JGR Racing’s Justin Barcia, Monster Energy 360 Fly Chapparal Yamaha’s Chad Reed, Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s trio of Adam Cianciarulo, Joey Savatgy, and Austin Forkner are bound to be super spoilers at this round where Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings are hoping to wrap up the titles so they can race with clear minds next weekend at Glen Helen Raceway.

The coolest thing about having a race on a one-off man-made track in Charlotte is that it’s an equalizer. The Americans don’t know the circuit and nor do the Europeans, so it will come down to who can adapt the quickest. The track is surrounded by grand stands that guarantee amazing views of the track, which will be sick for the fans that come out and offer their full-throated support for the fastest riders in the world.

If everything goes to plan, Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser should clinch the MXGP title this weekend, which will make him the first rider to take back-to-back titles in different classes since Greg Albertyn when he won the 125cc title in ’92 and the 250cc title in ’93. Gajser didn’t just push the boundaries this year; he leapt right over them and left them in the dust. The Slovenian is nothing short of incredible and it’s going to be exciting to see how his raw speed stacks up against the stars of America this weekend.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli tends to like these new venues, and has recently been on the pace. Last year he came back from injury and tried to race Glen Helen where he randomly set the fastest lap times in the races, but pulled out because ‘he wasn’t fit enough’, in his words. This time round, he’s fit, and he’s fast, he will be a podium threat.

There’s a good chance that Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre is already thinking about 2017, when he can have another shot at the title. The same can be said for fellow Frenchman Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin, who spent the winter out here in the United States training with the most famous trainer in the industry, Aldon Baker. While both Frenchies are frustrated with how their year has panned out, they are hard-core racers and will be in it to win it here at The Dirt Track.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle finally watered his grass after a two-year drought when he topped the box at the MXGP of The Netherlands last weekend. Desalle has been through the wringer this year with injury and at the same time, he has been trying to adapt to a new bike. He mentioned in the press conference last weekend that it has taken longer than he expected to feel comfortable on the bike, but they’ve finally found a set-up that works for him. We’ll give him a ‘watch this space’ label for this round.

Arguably one of the most anticipated riders to race MXGP this weekend is Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Eli Tomac who has never raced a round of the FIM Motocross World Championship before, although he has raced the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations in 2013 and 2014.

It’s always exciting to see Autotrade Monster Energy Yamaha JGR Racing’s Justin Barcia on the entry list and the same can be said for Monster Energy 360 Fly Chapparal Yamaha’s Chad Reed who will be back to try his hand at MXGP, except this time it will be on American soil.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Dean Wilson is likely going to be out to prove a point this weekend since he was not picked to represent Team Great Britain at the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. So that could make for an interesting race between he and his fellow Brits Wilvo Virus Performance KTM’s Shaun Simpson and Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Tommy Searle.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 653 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 588 p.; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 542 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 522 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 494 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 477 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 347 p.; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 342 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 326 p.; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 307 p.

“Those guys are going to be fast,” Jeffrey Herlings said about the American’s entering MX2 this weekend, “I just want to get the championship, that’s the most important thing, but of course I want to win as well,” he took a deep breath, “I don’t know, we will see how it goes, I just want the title, that’s the main thing.” Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings’ has one thing on his mind, and he won’t be able to relax until that title is in hand. It can’t come soon enough for the Flying Dutchman who has been to hell and back over the last two years.

Out to beat ‘The Bullet’ will be Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha’s Cooper Webb and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s duo of Adam Ciancarulo and Joey Savatgy. Webb is a familiar face, he’s been over to Europe a couple of times, while Ciancarulo and Savatgy will be racing the FIM Motocross World Championship for the first time.

There is a new wave of young talent coming through. In Europe the hottest prospect following his epic MX2 debut last weekend is Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado, while stateside, it would appear it’s Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner. Both of these kids know how to rip and are in the process of setting the world on fire. Also making his MX2 debut this weekend will be Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s American EMX250 vice champion Darian Sanayei who will be on the Studio Show on Friday night with fellow American Cooper Webb, and Spanish talent Jorge Prado.

Team Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer had a weekend to forget in The Netherlands, so there’s no doubt he can’t wait to get on the line and put that weekend to bed.

Back to home soil for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Covington, the new hero on the block after he won race one in Herlings’ back yard last weekend. Covington tends to ride better at the fly-aways, so it’s easy to count on him for an impressive ride this weekend, while his teammate Max Anstie will also be looking to make shapes this weekend.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 644 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 568 p.; 3. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 460 p.; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 447 p.; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 403 p.; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 378 p.; 7. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 351 p.; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 349 p.; 9. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 341 p.; 10. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 320 p.

All the photos of the Monster Energy MXGP of Americas will be available HERE

TIMETABLE

Friday: MX2 Free Practice 15:45; MXGP Free Practice 16:15; MX2 Time Practice 17:45; MXGP Time Practice 18:30; MX2 Qualifying Race 20:40; MXGP Qualifying Race 21:20.

Saturday: MX2 Warm up 15:00; MXGP Warm up 15:20; MX2 Race 1 17:15; MXGP Race 1 18:15; MX2 Race 2 20:10; MXGP Race 2 21:10.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

Monster Energy MXGP of Americas

The Fox Holeshot award runs across the entire MXGP season. The way it works is 1 point is awarded for each race holeshot. He who has the most points in MXGP at the end of the season will win the grand prize of €10,000 while he with the most points in MX2 will win the grand prize of €5,000.

At the MXGP of The Netherlands which was held in Assen on August 28th Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo Antonio Cairoli and Glenn Coldenhoff took the FOX holeshots in Race 1 and Race 2 respectively.

Meanwhile in MX2 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado took both FOX holeshots on his MX2 debut.

Watch the MXGP of the Netherlands ‘Fox Holeshot’ films here below.           

MXGP of The Netherlands FOX Holeshot MXGP Film

MXGP of The Netherlands FOX Holeshot MX2 Film

The YZ125Cup is the heart of Yamaha Racing's bLU cRU program, focused on growing Yamaha's young and talented riders and integrating them into the top motocross classes in the Yamaha family.

Six of the top YZ125Cup riders from around Europe made their way to the Netherlands at the end of August to watch the final European round of the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship in Assen. The six bLU cRU members received VIP passes to tour the race paddock and have the chance to meet with YZ125Cup Masterclass Instructor David Philippaerts, and enjoy lunch and dinner with Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team riders Jeremy Van Horebeek and Romain Febvre, Wilvo Standing Construct Yamaha Racing Official MX2 rider Alvin Östlund and Kemea Yamaha Racing Official MX2 Team riders Benoit Paturel, Brent Van Doninck and Maxime Renaux.

The YZ125Cup is nearly upon us, and the SuperFinale at the VELTINS-Arena on October 8th is only a few weeks away. Already across Europe the top young talents from the bLU cRU are finishing their national championships and preparing to join the top 46 YZ125 riders in Germany for their chance at a professional contract in 2017.

Meanwhile many national championships have already closed, and a full update of the YZ125Cup qualifiers is coming soon. Four countries are still racing, and soon the selected riders from Italy, Norway, Sweden and Finland will know if they are among those going to the VELTINS-Arena.

Sweden's long summer days make for perfect motocross weekends. Young YZ125Cup rider Tim Edberg made his bid to join the starting line-up at the VELTINS-Arena with a third overall on the tough sandtrack at Finspång in the Swedish Championship.

Quick starts and excellent acceleration in the opening laps put Edberg among the top three in Finspång, but a mid-moto highside threw the unlucky Swedish teenager from his line and dropped him back to nearly 20th. Hard work, steady focus and a reliable YZ125 brought him back to finish eighth in the first race, and a solid fourth in the second put him fourth overall and third in Sweden's YZ125Cup with one race to go.

Italy and Finland are also still competing, with races through September set to clinch their spots at the YZ125Cup SuperFinale. Ten nations have already completed their championships.

Spain will send Gervasio Cañas, Hugo Arriazu and Enric Vendrell to Germany. Arriazu finished on the second step of the podium four times, and was overtaken in the final moto of the series by Vendrell who stepped up from a string of thirds.

Belgium's tough National Championship has produced three candidates for the YZ125Cup, including Matthew Lefevre, Ryan Bonnewijn and Thibault Maroit. Nearby France produced YZ125Cup winner Calvin Fonvieille, and will send three more: Alexis Colignon, Anthony Calistri and Jeremy Hauquier.

In Germany the YZ125Cup ran in conjunction with the 125 National Championship, and series winner Ben Gosepath will come to the VELTINS-Arena together with Theo Praun. From Switzerland the three bLU cRU members who will compete in the SuperFinale are Flavio Wolf, Jan Müller and Janik Vogel.

Dutch teenager Jeroen Bussink won the YZ125Cup in the Netherlands, with Max Schwarte taking the second spot for the SuperFinale. In the United Kingdom it's Tom Grimshaw, Bill Moynes and Jordan Hearn set to come to Germany in October.

Andrei Poponut is the only bLU cRU representative from Bulgaria, with Skordas Stylianos and Dimitrios Touratzidis the two winners from the YZ125Cup held in Greece. Portugal will send Bruno Charrua after his top performance in the YZ125Cup.

The YZ125Cup is a pan-European championship for teenagers from 12-16 years of age. Riders must race the 2016 season on a Yamaha YZ125 in one of 15 selected FIM-approved national championships. 

The top scoring riders registered for the European YZ125 Cup in each national championship will be invited to the 2016 SuperFinale on October 8th at the VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen  Germany, for a chance to compete in front of a huge crowd.

The top six SuperFinale riders, joined by two wildcards, will then win a multi-day Master Class with DP19 Yamaha Official MX Team Manager, MXGP Rider and 2008 MX1 World Champion, David Philippaerts. 

Experienced motocross professionals who mentor the YZ125Cup riders during the Master Class will observe and select one talented new Yamaha rider to receive a full professional contract and YZ125 bike for the 2017 EMX125 season.

KTM Diga Junior Racing is very pleased to announce Miro Sihvonen has decided not to leave the familiar environment of his current Team. In 2017 Miro will work further on sharpening his strengths and to improve on his shortcomings. 

Reaching an agreement for 2017 already now, will give both the Team as well as Miro the necessary peace of mind and confidence to focus on the remaining sportive challenges of the 2016 season.

Miro had the opportunity to celebrate, at the 2016 MXGP in Assen, his first ever appearance in the MX2 World Championship class and being only two points behind the leader, he is also still a serious candidate for the 2016 ADAC MX Masters title, in Youngster class, at the last race in Holzgerlingen.

Finally, Miro Sihvonen has been nominated, by his Federation, as rider of the Team Finland for the 2016 Monster Energy Motocross of Nations which will take place in Maggiora the 23rd and 24th September.

CHARLOTTE (United States), 30 August 2016 - You can’t miss the star-studded penultimate round of the FIM Motocross World Championship this Friday and Saturday night, September 2^nd & 3^rd, at The Dirt Track, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States where the best motocross in the world will take on some of the best riders in America such as Eli Tomac, Justin Barcia, Chad Reed, Adam Cianciarulo, Cooper Webb, Joey Savatgy and Austin Forkner.

There is a good chance that Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings will lock up the titles this weekend too.

Please download here below the official Timetable and the MXGP and MX2 Entry Lists for the Monster Energy MXGP of Americas night race, round seventeen of the FIM Motocross World Championship.

Please click HERE to download the Timetable of the event

MXGP Entry List is available for download HERE

MX2 Entry List is available for download HERE

And don’t forget the Monster Energy MXGP of Americas will be available LIVE and on Demand on http://www.mxgp-tv.com/

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

Monster Energy MXGP of Americas

ASSEN (The Netherlands), 28 August 2016 – The raucous crowd created a spine-tingling atmosphere here at the historic Dutch TT Circuit, Assen, for round sixteen of the FIM Motocross World Championship, where Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings topped the box in their respective classes.

Things couldn’t get any crazier than they did here today at the MXGP of The Netherlands. From Mother Nature unleashing her fury with an epic thunderstorm which was so gnarly it’s practically indescribable, to Jeffrey Herlings being beat fair and square in the sand, to Tim Gajser DNF’ing, to Jorge Prado finishing in the top three on his MX2 debut, the list goes on.

Assen was also the host of the FIM Veteran Motocross World Cup today where Sweden’s Mats Nilsson successfully defended his crown with a double moto victory ahead of Holland’s own Ton Van Grinsven, while another Swede in the form of Robert Forsell rounded out the top three.

Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle didn’t just want to get the monkey off of his back. He wanted to throw it at the wall, which he finally managed to do this weekend with his first grand prix win since the MXGP of Germany 2014. “Finally I am back on top of the box,” he said, “it’s really special, especially in the sand because while I know I can ride in the sand, a lot of people don’t believe it so much, so I am happy to do it here.”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli is renowned for his ability to find good lines no matter how treacherous the track conditions are, and we were reminded of that as he used his craftiness to win the final race of the day, which paired with his fourth in race one, landed him on the second step of the podium.

While it wasn’t an overall victory for the eight-time world champ, in many ways it was the biggest achievement of the day since he clawed back a whopping 34 points on the championship leader, Tim Gajser, which means the championship will at least live another week. Tony now trails Tim by 65 points, so is the title still possible? “Anything is possible,” he said, “there are still 100 points left in the championship, we know it’s difficult but we want to win so we will see what the others do, that’s all we can do.”

Speaking of the championship leader, Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser, he didn’t look as bummed as you would expect considering he lost 34 points today. Instead he took a realistic approach and said, “I’m disappointed, but it’s motorsport and things like this can happen at anytime. I just need to learn from everything that happened today.” Gajser finished eighteenth overall after struggling to keep the bike on two wheels in race one, and failing to finish race two after he caught an edge in the wave section and was chucked off his bike, which ended up in the fence with a broken throttle house and a dangling front brake.

It was an epic day for the Dutch hero Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff who achieved a bunch of firsts this weekend. The Hoff landed on the box for the first time this season, with his last podium appearance being right here in Assen. He also took his first Fox Holeshot of the year and set the fastest lap of the day for his first point in the Tag Heuer fastest lap competition. “It was an amazing weekend, I really enjoyed it and I’m happy I made it, and also for the fans” he said.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl rode to the conditions today and was one of very few riders to stay up right. As a result, he finished fourth overall.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek and Wilvo Virus Performance KTM’s Shaun Simpson rounded out the top six in that order, although both results don’t reflect the way they were riding today. Van Horebeek was on the cable and had a podium finish in sight before his spectacular crash, right over the ‘bars in the wave section, the same place Tim binned it, while Simpson tangled with Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin in race two after cleaning everyone up in the first race for his first race win of the season.

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 34:23.278; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:08.511; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:15.649; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:16.595; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:32.529; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:35.717; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Husqvarna), +0:42.884; 8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:49.112; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, KTM), +0:56.148; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +1:00.466

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:18.739; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:02.106; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:03.267; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:05.370; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:24.762; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:34.969; 7. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki), +0:37.170; 8. Tanel Leok (EST, KTM), +0:57.508; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:59.272; 10. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:05.532

MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 44 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 43 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 33 p.; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 31 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Tanel Leok (EST, KTM), 25 p.; 8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 24 p.; 9. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 23 p.; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 22 p

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 653 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 588 p.; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 542 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 522 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 494 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 477 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 347 p.; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 342 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 326 p.; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 307 p.

MXGP Manufacturers: 1. Honda, 689 points; 2. Yamaha, 628 p.; 3. KTM, 617 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 557 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 453 p.; 6. Suzuki, 337 p.

“It was a nightmare!” were the first words that came out of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings mouth at the Press Conference today despite taking his thirteenth grand prix win of the season, and the sixtieth of his career. Yes, sixty as in six-zero, 60, grand prix wins at the tender age of twenty-one years old. The Bullet did look a little bit rusty today, and it definitely was a shock to the system for almost every single fan to see him lose a race in the sand. Turns out he is human after all!

A lifetime in the shadow of fellow Dutchman Jeffrey Herlings, Brian Bogers packed a torch this weekend and outshone The Bullet in race one when he came from dead last after eating it at turn one, to challenge his fellow countryman for second place, and most impressively set the fastest lap of the race. In race two, the HSF Logistics Motorsport KTM rider put in yet another solid ride which landed him on the second step of the podium for the second time this season.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado looks like he is THE name to watch over the next couple of years. He’s got that special kind of talent that doesn’t come along every day, even Jeffrey Herlings said so, “I’m not surprised to see Jorge here, he is an amazing talent, the same like myself and Roczen when we were his age.”

It was a random day for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing with their American star Thomas Covington proving ‘impossible’ is nothing when he beat the Sand King, Herlings, in race one but binned it in race two and struggled to regroup thereafter. Max Anstie almost pulled his seventh Fox Holeshot of the season in the opening race of the day but hit a wet patch, which was so deep it stopped him dead, despite the fact he was full throttle at the time. While his bike stopped, his body didn’t and he slid forward, hit the ‘bars and did the most epic slow-mo face plant of the season. Covington finished sixth while Anstie logged enough points for fourth.

In addition to Prado’s exploits, the performances of Bodo Schmidt Husqvarna’s Thomas Kjer Olsen and Team Suzuki World MX2’s Bas Vaessen adds to the argument that the European Championship EMX250 series’, which is run along side the premier championships, MX2 and MXGP, is the breeding ground of future champions. Vaessen was phenomenal is race one, footing it with Herlings in a race-long battle for third before crashing with one lap to go. Kjer Olsen, the EMX250 champion, put in two top five rides for fifth overall.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), 36:09.602; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:21.780; 3. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:22.221; 4. Lars van Berkel (NED, Husqvarna), +0:42.129; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:45.426; 6. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, KTM), +0:56.001; 7. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:01.428; 8. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:03.254; 9. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +1:21.887; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:32.916.

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:07.512; 2. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:34.735; 3. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:37.375; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:45.073; 5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:58.943; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +1:07.701; 7. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +1:15.245; 8. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +1:16.572; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +1:18.937; 10. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:39.988.

MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 47 points; 2. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 31 p.; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 31 p.; 5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 30 p.; 6. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 30 p.; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 27 p.; 8. Bas Vaessen (NED, SUZ), 25 p.; 9. Lars van Berkel (NED, HUS), 25 p.; 10. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 23 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 644 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 568 p.; 3. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 460 p.; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 447 p.; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 403 p.; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 378 p.; 7. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 351 p.; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 349 p.; 9. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 341 p.; 10. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 320 p.

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 740 points; 2. Suzuki, 579 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 569 p.; 4. Yamaha, 552 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 549 p.; 6. TM, 341 p.; 7. Honda, 293 p.

Click here to obtain the complete result

All the photos of the MXGP of The Netherlands will be available HERE

MXGP of The Netherlands – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1500m

Type of ground: Sand

Temperature: 25°C

Weather conditions: Changeable

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 32,000

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.

NEXT ROUND

The next round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will take place next week, on Saturday 3rd September at the Dirt Track in Charlotte, North Carolina.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of The Netherlands