WMX

FRAUENFELD (Switzerland) 10 April 2023 – The second round of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship has ended in Frauenfeld with Big Van World MTX Kawasaki’s Courtney Duncan taking the victory.

This was a tough battle across the board and spanned over Saturday and Monday where riders gave their best to get to the top while also having had to fight against a downpour on Saturday making the track a bit heavier.

In the first race on Saturday, the first lap was eventful as MX Fonta Racing’s Kiara Fontanesi quickly took the lead after the first turns to see RFME GasGas WMX Team’s Daniela Guillen all over a rear wheel making a move early to take the lead off Fontanesi. The two riders were followed by JK Racing Yamaha Charli Cannon and Courtney Duncan, 3rd and 4th respectively after lap 1.
Still in the first lap we saw Nancy Van De Ven of Ceres 71 Racing remake the same mistake as in Sardinia as she crashed quickly and could not restart, missing on good points.

Duncan passed Cannon on lap 2 as the Kiwi looked really quick on her bike and caught the front two Guillen and Fontanesi. Cannon kept her 4th position until the end. 
The front three created a gap with the rest of the pack as a three-way battle went on between lap 2 and 5. Fontanesi eventually took the lead as she passed Guillen on lap 4 while Duncan in 3rd position at the time, tirelessly put pressure on Guillen. Guillen could not contain Duncan’s speed on lap 5 and moved down to 3rd. 

It was then all about Duncan piling pressure on Fontanesi who bravely resisted for 2 laps but Duncan was too quick and finally passed Fontanesi on lap 7 and kept the lead until the end. Fontanesi finished 2nd and Guillen settled for 3rd. 
Getting in 5th place after lap 1 Lotte Van Drunen had to battle to keep this position as she moved down to 7th on lap 4 but fought her way back up, as she overtook Sara Andersen on lap 8 and Fantic Maddii Factory Racing’s Lynn Valk with two laps to go on lap 10, showing her great technique to settle for 5th in the end. Valk had a good run oscillating between 7th and 5th throughout the whole race to finish in 6th position while Andersen rode a similar race and finished 7th.

Britt Jans-Beken and Larissa Papenmeier, 8th and 9th after lap 1, followed each other until Papenmeier managed to pass Jans-Beken on lap 7 to finish 8th while Jans-Beken settled in 9th. 

On Easter Monday, the race 2 started with Van Drunen taking the lead in front Van de Ven and Duncan. 
Van Drunen never got troubled upfront as she increased the gap all way through the second race. Van de Ven 2nd for the first 2 laps could not contain Duncan on lap 3. Van de Ven kept her good pace and tried to make a charge on Duncan on the last lap but Duncan held on to finish 2nd and Van de Ven 3rd.

Behind them Guillen did not start as she wanted and found herself 6th behind Valk. A wonderful and tough battle ensued over 7 laps with Valk resisting every attack from the Spanish rider. At the end of an intense fight Guillen managed to pass but Valk respnded directly to get back to 5th. However on lap 7 Guillen made good another move and this time made her pass stick to get to 5th. Valk kept her 6th place until the end. 

Guillen continued with determination as she breathed pass Fontanesi on lap 8, and finished 4th in the end. Fontanesi was 4th for the first 7 laps and with Guillen overtaking her on lap 8 she remained at a good 5th place. 

Andersen had a strong race throughout as she never got overtaken and kept her 7th place from start to finish. Cannon rode a good pace too as she went 9th in the first 3 laps and capitalised on Papenmeier’s mistake (8th at the time) on lap 4, to go up to 8th along with Giorgia Blasigh who followed Cannon over the whole race to finish at a good 9^th place. Papenmeier fought back after her mistake and went from 13th to 10th overtaking along the way, Danee Gelissen (12th in the end), Shana Van der Vlist (17th in the end) and Jans-Beken (11th in the end) with 2 laps to go to finish 10th. 

In the end, Courtney Duncan was on the top of the podium in front of Lotte Van Drunen in 2nd place and Daniela Guillen 3rd. The second round of the WMX in Switzerland has been very competitive and Duncan showed her quick pace winning her first GP of the season while Van Drunen delivered another strong performance as she takes the Red Plate as she tops the Championship.

Courtney Duncan: “It was a pretty good round! The track was deep and I put myself in a very good position from the start. It feels amazing going forward into the Championship”

Main Photo: Courtney Duncan

Bottom Photos: 1. WMX Podium, 2. Lotte Van Drunen

WMX - Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Courtney Duncan (NZL, Kawasaki), 24:10.055; 2. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GASGAS), +0:18.530; 3. Daniela Guillen (ESP, GASGAS), +0:32.373; 4. Charli Cannon (AUS, Yamaha), +0:39.418; 5. Lotte Van Drunen (NED, Kawasaki), +0:41.450; 6. Lynn Valk (NED, Fantic), +0:53.977; 7. Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), +1:04.870; 8. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Yamaha), +1:11.407; 9. Britt Jans-Beken (NED, KTM), +1:38.530; 10. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, Yamaha), +1:39.096;

WMX - Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Lotte Van Drunen (NED, Kawasaki), 24:28.136; 2. Courtney Duncan (NZL, Kawasaki), +0:09.115; 3. Nancy van de Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:10.011; 4. Daniela Guillen (ESP, GASGAS), +0:30.292; 5. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GASGAS), +0:33.282; 6. Lynn Valk (NED, Fantic), +0:36.647; 7. Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), +0:51.825; 8. Charli Cannon (AUS, Yamaha), +0:53.521; 9. Giorgia Blasigh (ITA, KTM), +1:08.408; 10. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Yamaha), +1:24.599

WMX - Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 47 points; 2. Lotte Van Drunen (NED, KAW), 41 p.; 3. Daniela Guillen (ESP, GAS), 38 p.; 4. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GAS), 38 p.; 5. Charli Cannon (AUS, YAM), 31 p.; 6. Lynn Valk (NED, FAN), 30 p.; 7. Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), 28 p.; 8. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 24 p.; 9. Giorgia Blasigh (ITA, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Britt Jans-Beken (NED, KTM), 22 p.;

WMX – Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Lotte Van Drunen (NED, KAW), 86 points; 2. Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 85 p.; 3. Daniela Guillen (ESP, GAS), 85 p.; 4. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, GAS), 61 p.; 5. Charli Cannon (AUS, YAM), 58 p.; 6. Lynn Valk (NED, FAN), 58 p.; 7. Britt Jans-Beken (NED, KTM), 52 p.; 8. Sara Andersen (DEN, KTM), 50 p.; 9. Nancy van de Ven (NED, YAM), 42 p.; 10. Giorgia Blasigh (ITA, KTM), 42 p.

All the photos from the MXGP of Switzerland will be available HERE.

You can find the complete results HERE.

MXGP OF SWITZERLAND PRESENTED BY iXS QUICK FACTS:

Circuit length: 1500m

Type of ground: Hard Pack

Temperature: 15°

Weather conditions: Sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 43000 - from Friday until Monday included

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM

Frauenfeld
 

MONACO (Principality of Monaco) 5 April 2023 – The FIM Motocross World Championship third round is coming back to Switzerland after 4 years and it will mark the first stop of the season in Mainland Europe. MXGP is heading to Frauenfeld for the MXGP of Switzerland Presented by iXS on the 8^th and 10^th April, being Easter day of break on the Sunday 9^th. 

The riders will come back to a brand-new circuit at Frauenfeld which will add to the challenge as they will have to adapt to the new design. The Swiss track has hosted the MXGP series three years in a row between 2016 to 2018 and it was pretty successful for KTM in the MXGP class as Antonio Cairoli won in 2016 while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings won back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.

Along with MXGP and MX2, the supporting classes will also be competing in Switzerland with the second round of the FIM Women's Motocross World Championship and the first round of the season for the FIM Motocross European Championship EMX125 presented by FMF.

In WMX, RFME GASGAS WMX Team’s Daniella Guillen won her first GP of her career in Sardinia with a 2-1 and showing a strong and skilful riding throughout the weekend. Other riders to watch will be the young Lotte Van Drunen who started the season incredibly by winning the first race of the season and finishing second overall while Ceres 71 Racing’s Nancy Van de Ven showed that we can count on her to be competing for the top spot again this year as she finished second in race 2, despite a crash on race 1 and DRT Kawasaki’s Courtney Duncan going 4-3 and the third place overall.

In EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing, it will be really open this year with many new riders coming to the category for the first time. This first round will be a good time to get some clues on who will be fighting for the top spots this season.

This season, the circuit of Frauenfeld will be hosting MXGP of Switzerland Presented by iXS for the 4^th time in its history. The last edition was 4 years ago and Jeffrey Herlings was the one who took the victory in front of Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre and Clement Desalle. The Dutchman was on his way to win his first World Title in the MXGP class. 

Coming into the third round of the season, we are already seeing that this season is going to be very competitive with many riders showing great skills and determination throughout the first two rounds. Herlings is coming to Switzerland with plenty of confidence as he won the last GP in Sardinia, winning his 100^th GP along the way. The ‘bullet’ is showing that he is already up to speed after missing the 2022 season and being 2^ndoverall in the Championship standing. 

The Red Plate holder Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado has been riding superbly so far, taking the maximum points in RAM Qualifying Races in Argentina and Sardinia and winning 2 races out of 4, the Spaniard is on a great form and is determined to win his first GP this season. Having won the last edition in Switzerland in MX2 will certainly help him in his quest to keep the Red Plate.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff, 2^nd on the last podium in Sardinia with a 5-1 has shown that he is finding his rhythm on his new bike while his teammate Maxime Renaux and Romain Febvre, 3^rd and 4^th in the Championships respectively, both showed loads of quality ridings since the season started and will definitely fight for the top spots this season even if they both narrowly missed the podium so far in 2023.

After winning his first GP in Argentina Team HRC’s Ruben Fernandez was not at his best during the MXGP of Sardegna as the Spaniard crashed few times and could not find a way to ride back up the ranking order. He will surely look for redemption in Switzerland and be prepared to display a great performance this weekend.

Riding at home this week, Jeremy Seewer from Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team is the rider who will want to get back to the top after combining high and lows so far this season with 17-3 in Argentina and 7-6 in Sardinia. The swiss was often fighting for the first places but crashed too many times to remain consistent. Riding in front of his fans could be the perfect opportunity to really kick-start his season.

The other home riders Team Ship To Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz’s Valentin Guillod and JK Racing Yamaha’s Kevin Brumann will be the ones to be carried by the home crowd and could use that to get some great opportunities to score big points. Guillod with two top 20s so far has shown some glimpse of his potential and could capitalise on riding at home while Brumann could really kickstarts his first full MXGP season this weekend at Frauenfeld.
 

Championship Standings

1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 100 points;
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 93 p.;
3. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 78 p. ;
4. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 78 p. ;
5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 75 p.;
6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 65 p.;
7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 63 p.;
8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 57 p.;
9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 56 p.;
10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 55 p.;

2018 MXGP of Switzerland MXGP Top 3:

1. Jeffrey Herlings
2. Romain Febvre
3. Clement Desalle        

Main Photo: MXGP Start MXGP of Switzerland 2018
Bottom Photos: 1. Jeffrey Herlings, 2. Jeremy Seewer

In 2018, it was Jorge Prado who clinched the victory in Frauenfeld in front of Standing Construct Honda MXGP’s Pauls Jonass and Hunter Lawrence. With none of these riders still present in this category, the 2023 edition of the MXGP of Switzerland will see a new MX2 winner.

The start of the 2023 campaign in MX2 has seen the near total dominance of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts so far. The Belgian won the first 2 GPs with a perfect 1-1 in Argentina and 2-1 in Sardinia, along with topping both RAM Qualifying Races. However, like Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant fighting with Geerts in Argentina, Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf showed his great potential in Sardinia as he went 1-2 and could have been the one to win the GP. Benistant also got to the last step of the podium for the second time this season. This demonstrates that de Wolf and Benistant are up there with Geerts and could be the ones to upset the Belgian’s lead so far.

Just behind the trio are teammates Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Simon Laegenfelder, 4^th and 5^th respectively, who also have shown that they can compete at time with the front three. Adamo is consistent so far with 2^nd place overall in Argentina and 6^th in Sardinia while Laengenfelder improved on his 7^th place on the first round by going 3-7 in Sardinia and getting the 4^thoverall. 

The other riders who could well battling for the top points will be F&H Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo, Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Roan Van de Moosdijk and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Liam Everts who are 6^th, 7^th and 8^th in the Championships respectively and have all found themselves fighting at the top at one point during the first two rounds. They all could use their experience of this beginning of the campaign to find the ways to move up in the Championship standing after Switzerland.

Championship Standings

1. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 117 points;
2. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 87 p.;
3. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 86 p.;
4. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 83 p.;
5. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 79 p.;
6. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 68 p.;
7. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 67 p.;
8. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 61 p.;
9. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 52 p.;
10. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 40 p.;

2018 MXGP of Switzerland MX2 Top 3:

1. Jorge Prado
2. Pauls Jonass
3. Hunter Lawrence

Main Photo: MX2 Start MXGP of Switzerland 2018
Bottom Photos: 1. Jago Geerts, 2 Kay de Wolf

TIMETABLE 

SATURDAY: 08:00 EMX125 Free Practice Group 1, 08:25 EMX125 Free Practice Group 2, 08:50 WMX Free Practice, 09:20 EMX125 Qualifying practice Group 1, 09:55 EMX125 Qualifying practice Group 2, 10:30 MX2 Free Practice, 11:00 MXGP OAT Free Practice, 12:10 WMX Qualifying Practice, 12:45 MXGP Wildcard Free/Qualifying practice, 13:45 MX2 Time Practice, 14:20 MXGP OAT Time Practice, 15:05 WMX Race 1, 15:45 EMX125 Race 1, 16:35 MX2 RAM Qualifying Race, 17:20 MXGP RAM Qualifying Race.

Monday: 09:45 WMX Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 11:30 EMX125 Race 2, 13:15 MX2 Race 1, 14:15 MXGP Race 1, 16:10 MX2 Race 2, 17:10 MXGP Race 2.

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM

FIM Europe

Frauenfeld