MX2

KEGUMS (Latvia), 12 July 2015 – Round twelve of the FIM Motocross World Championship was a test of versatility today with temperamental weather and fickle track conditions playing a huge part in the overall results. The day was a battle against the elements but as it turns out it may have been the combination of rain, sunshine and greatsoil here in Kegums that encouraged the blooming of Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Glenn Coldenhoff and Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie.

A new generation of future legends is starting to emerge. Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Glenn Coldenhoff hit a huge milestone today in Kegums when he claimed his first two Fox Holeshots of the season and his first race win, which he combined with a second place finish for his first ever MXGP overall. Amazingly, the kid known as The Hoff is the first MXGP round winner for Suzuki this year despite the brand tenting two of the most distinguished riders in MXGP, Kevin Strijbos and Clement Desalle.

Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin was expected to do well here after his unforgettable performance at the 2014 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations. In race one the Frenchman made life difficult for himself with a bad start, he said “I had a bad start in the first moto and by time I was up to the front Glenn and Kevin were gone, so I just stayed on an easy pace because the riders behind me were quite far too.” Another average start in race two had GP21 at a handicap again, nevertheless the Frenchman managed to surge his way up into third and in doing so set the fastest lap time of the weekend for his second point in the TAG HEUER Fastest Lap competition.

The speed in which Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Romain Febvre is maturing as a rider in MXGP is mind blowing. In race one it looked as though the red plate holder was down and out after being taken down at turn one. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Frenchman’s bike took forever to start, so he lost thirty seconds right off the bat. Where a lot of riders might have thrown in the towel, Febvre just put his head down and started peeling off laps as fast as he could. Despite being in traffic for the entire race, he set the fastest lap time and managed to finish in an impressive eighth. In addition to that remarkable effort, race two saw him take the lead on turn three and blitz everyone for his seventh race win and seventh consecutive podium finish of the season.

It was a mixed day for Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MXGP’s Kevin Strijbos who illustrated the importance of a good start. The Kid got a great start in race one and chased his fellow Suzuki rider Glenn Coldenhoff home for second. Race two painted an entirely different picture for the Belgian as he had to fight his was through the pack to salvage sixth which left him 1 point shy of the podium.

Total respect must be given to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli who managed to finish in the top five despite the suffering he is experiencing with his broken elbow.

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), 34:26.145; 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:05.257; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:45.698; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +1:00.847; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +1:08.496; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:12.170; 7. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:18.466; 8. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +1:19.095; 9. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, Honda), +1:24.412; 10. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:27.896

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 35:49.255; 2. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:02.389; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:03.218; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:24.352; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:31.334; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:42.152; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:44.601; 8. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:46.418; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:48.018; 10. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:49.190

MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 47 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 40 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 37 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 36 p.; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 28 p.; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 26 p.; 9. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, HON), 22 p.; 10. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 20 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 457 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 416 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 391 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 360 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 345 p.; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 291 p.; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 276 p.; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 260 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 243 p.; 10. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 242 p.

MXGP Manufacturer: 1. Suzuki, 474 points; 2. Husqvarna, 467 p.; 3. KTM, 467 p.; 4. Yamaha, 465 p.; 5. Honda, 441 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 289 p.; 7. TM, 76 p.

This weekend was a testament to Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki rider Max Anstie’s ability to ride sand. Anstie grew up racing in the renowned sand of The Netherlands and has always claimed he is one of the best sand riders in the world although he openly admitted that had Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings been on the line this weekend, it wouldn’t have been easy to achieve what he did, “Jeffrey is an amazing rider, he is not the world champion for nothing,” the Brit said. At the end of the day, Herlings was not on the line this weekend and it was Anstie who stepped up to the plate and creamed everyone in all three races, qualifying and both main events for his first overall grand prix win of the season.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass had the fans booming this weekend as he led laps and put in two solid second place finishes for second overall. The hometown hero said “since I was small on my 85cc bike it was always my dream to stand on the podium at a grand prix in Latvia. My fans were so loud, I did feel the pressure but it was fun and I can’t thank everyone enough.”  

Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s last minute replacement rider Harri Kullas was the dark horse and the surprise performer in MX2 this weekend. Nobody could wipe the smile off of the Finnish rider’s face when he landed on the podium for the first time in his career.

From winning the EMX250 round of Latvia here in 2013 Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Jeremy Seewer has made solid progress in his transition to the premier championship. This weekend the super fast Swiss rider finished fourth and fifth for fourth overall.

Meanwhile Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser had to make the best of a bad situation in race one after being taken down at turn one. The Slovenian managed to bounce back for sixth in that race which he followed up with a fifth in race two to round out the top five.

As for the local hero, HSF Logistic Motorsport Team’s Roberts Justs lives so close to Kegums he could go home and make a sandwich in between races if he wanted to. The Latvian struggled with nerves over the weekend, which left him finishing his home grand prix in thirteenth overall.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 35:51.424; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:07.869; 3. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), +0:13.274; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:14.611; 5. Harri Kullas (FIN, Husqvarna), +0:23.594; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:29.166; 7. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:55.725; 8. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), +0:57.750; 9. Roberts Justs (LAT, KTM), +0:58.728; 10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:59.584

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 34:44.364; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:13.123; 3. Harri Kullas (FIN, Husqvarna), +0:21.819; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:24.819; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:28.107; 6. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:30.405; 7. Jens Getteman (BEL, Honda), +0:33.825; 8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:36.567; 9. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:44.559; 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:47.071

MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 50 points; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Harri Kullas (FIN, HUS), 36 p.; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 34 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 32 p.; 6. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 28 p.; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 26 p.; 9. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), 20 p.; 10. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 19 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 423 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 377 p.; 3. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 352 p.; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 351 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 345 p.; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 334 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 312 p.; 8. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 278 p.; 9. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 256 p.; 10. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 205 p.

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 531 points; 2. Kawasaki, 492 p.; 3. Yamaha, 413 p.; 4. Honda, 410 p.; 5. Suzuki, 345 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 307 p.; 7. TM, 44 p.

Click here to obtain the complete results.

All the photos of the MXGP of Latvia will be available here

MXGP LATVIA  – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1540 m

Type of ground: Hard Sand

Temperature: 20°C

Weather conditions: Changeable

Crowd Attendance: 23,000

MXGP is 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.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Latvia

KEGUMS (Latvia), 11 July 2015 - Drizzle has been a constant over the past few days and hasn’t shown a lot of signs of clearing up either. Luckily the amazing circuit of Kegums is sand, one of the only terrains in motocross that is rideable regardless of what the weather is doing. Making a solid start to the twelfth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship were two of the most predictable pole position candidates, Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin and Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie.

The Final of the European Championships EMX85 and EMX65 also kicked off with Rick Elzinga and Kay Karrsemakers dominating the first races of the weekend in their respective classes.

Also taking place today was the seventh round of the European Championship EMX250, which saw Kemea Yamaha Yamalube’s Damon Graulus take his fourth race win of the season.

It was an impressive start to the Qualifying race for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s team of wounded riders Tommy Searle and Antonio Cairoli. Searle held a tight line around the inside to take the holeshot while Cairoli only had twenty-second pick at the gate but railed the outside line and emerged in third behind Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Todd Waters.

Cairoli, who is still struggling with a fractured elbow, went right to work on Waters for second. The duo rubbed plastics a couple of times which resulted in Cairoli nudging Waters out of the main line while going wide open through a fast section of the track. As they headed into the following turn, TC222 went in too hot, buried the front end and was thrown off of his bike. After another crash later in the race, eighteenth was the best he could salvage.

Soon after Cairoli’s mishap, Waters hit a kicker on the tabletop heading into the waves and went down like a ton of bricks, which allowed Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin, who was being hounded by Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Romain Febvre and his teammate Evgeny Bobryshev, to inherit second place.

After leading the early stages of the race, Searle started to fade ever so slightly which gave Paulin the opportunity to pounce with a textbook move up the inside as they entered a 180 degree turn. Febvre capitalized on Paulin forcing Searle off line and went by too.

Paulin and Febvre then went neck and neck all the way to the finish with less than a second separating them at the checkers. GP21 took his second qualifying heat victory of the season, while Febvre had to settle for a close second but can sleep easy tonight knowing he made a solid statement as the fastest rider in the race in terms of lap times.

Bobryshev eventually got around Searle, who had a few hairy moments, for third while Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s rookie Glenn Coldenhoff put in a solid ride to round out the top five.

MXGP Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), 24:54.038; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:00.359; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:26.663; 4. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), +0:27.892; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:28.298; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:30.087; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:31.388; 8. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +0:38.978; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:40.011; 10. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, Honda), +0:46.458

With the gates slamming to the ground for the MX2 Qualifying Heat it was Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie who put the sand skills he boasts to good use. The last time Anstie won a qualifying race in the FIM Motocross World Championship was at the MXGP of Belgium last year, which he ended up winning out right for his first ever MX2 grand prix overall.

Chasing Anstie all the way to the finish was Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser who is yet to prove himself in sand this year after having a shocker at the MXGP of Europe in Valkenswaard back in April. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass also got off to a killer start and rode a lonely third all the way home.

Meanwhile back in fourth, Dutchman, HSF Logistics Motorsport Team’s Brian Bogers put in a solid performance as he tried his best to hold off two of Switzerland’s finest Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube’s Valentin Guillod and Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Jeremy Seewer.

Guillod used his super smooth style and scrubbed around the outside of Bogers for fourth, while Seewer left it until the final hour but finally managed to make a pass stick with less than a quarter of a lap to go to round out the top five.

MX2 Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 25:08.559; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:07.435; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:18.068; 4. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:21.383; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:30.081; 6. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:31.857; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:49.053; 8. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), +0:51.361; 9. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:54.881; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), +0:56.436

Click here to obtain the complete results.

All the photos of the MXGP of Latvia will be available here

MXGP LATVIA  – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1540 m

Type of ground: Hard Sand

Temperature: 17°C

Weather conditions: cloudy with showers

TIMETABLE

Sunday: EMX65 Warm-up 08:50; EMX85 Warm-up 09:05; EMX250 Warm-up 09:20; EMX65 Race 2 09:50; EMX85 Race 2 10:30; MX2 Warm up 11:10; MXGP Warm up 11:30; EMX250 Race 2 12:00; MX2 Race 1 13:15; MXGP Race 1 14:15; MX2 Race 2 16:10; MXGP Race 2 17:10.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Latvia

During the MXGP of Latvia you can WIN some awesome prizes by participating in the GET, ATHENA Photo Competition.

What you have to do:

1.     Find any ATHENA or GET Logo

2.     Take a photo of it

3.     Upload it to the Athena Photo Competition app on MXGP’s Facebook page, CLICK HERE.

Logo’s can be found on the rider’s gear, on the bikes, on the team trucks, and around the paddock of MXGP on various other banners and advertising panels.

The most voted picture will win and OGIO backpack and can be go on to the final draw to win:

• Two VIP passes to any 2016 MXGP round of your choice
• Go Pro prize pack
• Ogio Prize

Find an Athena or GET logo, snap a pic and upload it to Facebook.

Don't forget to VOTE for your favourite photo on our Athena GET photo competition:http://mxgpathena.pgtb.me/rdBQ6b

And don’t forget to follow @Athenasocial on Facebook and Twitter and hashtag #MXGP & #AthenaLive

Check out the first GoPro Lap of Kegums, MXGP of Latvia, with Pauls Jonass and Roberts Justs.

We talk retirement, Ryan Villopoto & the Monster Energy US GP with Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Tyla Rattray.

The timetable for the MXGP of Latvia which is taking place this weekend in Kegums has been changed. 

Click HERE to download the upated Timetable.