2022 FIM Motocross World Championship
Round 17 – Charente Maritime, France
The MXGP of Charente Maritime ended with Team HRC’s Tim Gajser making his return to the top of the box after an intense second MXGP race, while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle gave the home crowd exactly what they wanted, claiming the GP win and bringing the points gap down to just two, with one round to go.
The Grand Prix in Saint Jean d’Angely also saw Thibault Benistant of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing make his comeback to the podium for the second time in front of his home fans, while Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado claimed his first top three finish after some very tough races.
Of the Australians, Mitch Evans had a great start in moto one, starting lap one in fourth place and looking fast, strong and confident. He defended his position well throughout the race while under pressure from other riders. On lap 14 an unfortunate tip-over dropped Evans down to seventh where he again came under pressure from world-class MXGP competitors, but held onto his position to the end.
Evans had another frustrating moto the second time out. He struggled to find his flow and eventually came home in 11th, giving him ninth overall.
Mitch Evans
“Another weekend where I’m disappointed with how the motos went. I was in a strong position in race one, staying in fourth place for the majority of the race and just a mistake near the end dropped me to seventh. I feel like I’m putting a bit too much pressure on myself to get on the podium, so I just need to focus a bit more on just taking each lap as it comes. Race two wasn’t as easy and another small mistake meant I dropped for seventh to 10th, and in the end, I finished 11th. Of course, I want more, and that’ll be the aim when we head to final round in Turkey in two week’s time.”
Fellow Australian, F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jed Beaton was buried in the pack at the start each time but was able to convert seventeenth on the opening lap of race one into fifteenth at the finish. The Aussie raced just outside the top-ten throughout race two to claim thirteenth at the chequered flag for fourteenth overall on the day.
Jed Beaton
“I’m slowly making progress back towards my pre-injury form but it’s taking time. On Saturday we made some good steps but Qualifying still didn’t go as well as I had hoped and I had to make the most of it from my gate-pick today. I tried to compensate through the first two turns in both races but after that it was difficult. It seems like there was not much passing here once everyone settled; the only changes of position were either really aggressive or mistakes. Hopefully we can end the season on a high; we’ll get some rest this week after three-in-a-row and then go for it in Turkey.“
2022 MXGP of Charente Maritime Video Highlights
MXGP Race One
In MXGP, the first Fox Holeshot of the day went to Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer who led the way ahead of Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre, Team HRC’s Tim Gajser as well as JM Honda Racing’s Ivo Monticelli and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Maxime Renaux.
Team HRC’s Mitch Evans also started well and was quickly by Monticelli as he moved up to fourth, with also Jorge Prado of Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing doing the same shortly after as Monticelli dropped further down the order.
Gajser then got onto the back of Febvre and was pushing the Frenchman for second, while Seewer was 1.367 seconds ahead of the pair. Eventually on lap four Gajser was able to find a way past Febvre.
The Slovenian then focused on Seewer ahead and was able to bring down the gap to just 1.1 seconds, while Prado began to push Evans who was ahead in fourth. At that point, Febvre, was having a lonely, but comfortable ride in third.
Prado then lost some time to Evans, though a mistake from the Australian allowed Prado to get into fourth anyway, as Evans picked himself up in sixth place. He later dropped to seventh after being passed by Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff.
MXGP Race Two
In race two, the Fox Holeshot was won by Prado who was the leading rider ahead of Febvre, Renaux and Seewer. Gajser started down in seventh but made some nice passes in the first few corners to get behind Renaux and Seewer.
The trio then pushed Febvre and were able to pass him by the second lap, as the Frenchman dropped to fifth.
Renaux then closed the gap right down to Prado as he showed the front wheel to the Spaniard, as did Gajser to Seewer. But again, the triple worked wonders for Seewer who managed to stay ahead.
A mistake saw Renaux lose second to Seewer who was fast to react to the opportunity. While Gajser continued to push in fourth, with Febvre also edging closer.
On lap 10, Gajser was able to put a squeeze onto Renaux and move up to third, as Prado continued to fend off Seewer.
In the final two laps of the race, Prado was under immense pressure from Seewer and Gajser. The trio had a bit of a moment in a rut, which allowed Gajser to react and take second from Seewer and then quickly Prado as he moved from third to first on the final lap.
That move by the Slovenian secured him the overall victory ahead of Seewer who was forced to settle for second, while Prado made an emotional return to the box after some tough GPs in the second half of the season.
Gajser is already champion, and Seewer solidified his silver medal this weekend, while Prado still has Coldenhoff just four points behind him in the standings and will need to deliver another top result to end the year with a medal.
Tim Gajser – P1
“Wow, what a last couple of laps! I worked hard all moto to try and find places to make the passes and on the last lap I knew I had to get it done. Winning this overall, after last weekend winning the championship is just such a nice feeling. I came in with the pressure gone and I think it showed in my riding this weekend. Of course, it wasn’t easy because this track really didn’t offer up too many passes but I feel like this result really reminded everyone just how fast I can go. A big thank you to the team and everyone for such a good weekend. Since winning the title last weekend, I have received so many messages of support and I am just really happy with how everything is going. I can’t wait for Turkey!”
Jeremy Seewer – P2
“Being second today is a little bit disappointing because I felt like I could have won this GP or gone 1-1, but sometimes racing goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t. I had a strong race in the first moto, and I was also strong in the second race too, but it was just hard to pass out there and I didn’t manage to make it happen. Tim (Gajser) just rode really smart and in the end, I made a bad line choice, and he got me. I’m feeling really good at the moment, and I am happy to finish this year second after a few tough rounds at the start of the season. I am very happy with where I am at. I am looking forward to Turkey and also the Motocross of Nations too.”
Jorge Prado – P3
“Yeah, three laps is a big difference to two [laughs]. But I can be happy with the third place today, especially after the second race. Got the Fox Holeshot finally, back to my normal self from the start. And then I was pushing and trying to not waste too much energy. I knew it was tough to pass, I knew it yesterday but if I got the start and keep my lines and kept a good rhythm, I knew it would be tough for the guys behind me, so that’s what I did… I’ve been struggling a lot since Lommel, it was one of the best moments of the season and then I got COVID and went into this hole that it looked like I couldn’t get out. Finally, this weekend I feel better, I could not train during the week, so I don’t even know how I can manage to really be strong the entire second race, but now we have two weeks, let’s do some training and feel healthy, that’s the most important for me at the moment. And then hopefully we can do something like this in Turkey or even better is possible.”
Romain Febvre – P4
“My speed was good today even if I was not the fastest. It was important to get good starts; my first one was good but Seewer got the holeshot and I was second until Gajser passed me. I was able to follow them for several laps so I made a gap to the rest of the pack and I was satisfied with third as my speed was not quite high enough to challenge for the win. Between the races I had stomach troubles and couldn’t eat anything and I paid for that in the second race. I was not at my best; my start was good but I made several mistakes during the opening laps. I was able to follow the leaders but I didn’t have enough energy to pass Renaux for fourth so I just missed the podium again.”
Maxime Renaux – P5
“I made some improvements over the weekend, but I do feel a little bit disappointed because it’s a home GP for me and in front of the home fans, you always want to perform. I didn’t have the best feeling on the track yesterday, but I managed to bounce back quite well today. Fifth and fourth in the motos is quite a decent result, but still disappointed to miss the podium. Still, I will take the experience and bank it to put together a strong title campaign next year.”
Glenn Coldenhoff – P6
“I felt alright here in Saint Jean d’Angely, but the start is everything at this track. I missed the start in both races, and that cost me a lot of points. I am really disappointed about that. I think I dropped to fourth in the championship, so now I have to really go for it in Turkey because I really want that championship medal.”
Pauls Jonass – P8
“The second race was a big step forward for me. I have been working really hard with the team to get closer to the front, so to follow the top five for a lot of the race felt really nice. There is only one round to go, but I am still pushing hard to get good results. I was really comfortable in Turkey last year.”
Mattia Guadagnini – P12
“When I practice starts, they are so good. I was better this week and really happy with my progress in the first moto. It was difficult to make passes on this track though. I know that I can be inside of the top five; I want to finish this season on a high and take momentum into the Motocross of Nations. I am learning a lot that I can take into next season.”
Brian Bogers – P13
“Saturday was not too good for me, for some reason, but I made some steps forward today. My starts let me down, but I was still happy with my riding at different points. It was obviously not the best weekend, compared to what we have been doing recently, but we learnt a lot. I am looking forward to ending on a high in Turkey.”
MXGP Overall Result
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Bike | R1 | R2 | Total |
| 1 | Gajser, Tim | SLO | HON | 22 | 25 | 47 |
| 2 | Seewer, Jeremy | SUI | YAM | 25 | 20 | 45 |
| 3 | Prado, Jorge | ESP | GAS | 18 | 22 | 40 |
| 4 | Febvre, Romain | FRA | KAW | 20 | 16 | 36 |
| 5 | Renaux, Maxime | FRA | YAM | 16 | 18 | 34 |
| 6 | Coldenhoff, Glenn | NED | YAM | 15 | 13 | 28 |
| 7 | Vlaanderen, Calvin | NED | YAM | 13 | 14 | 27 |
| 8 | Jonass, Pauls | LAT | HUS | 10 | 15 | 25 |
| 9 | Evans, Mitchell | AUS | HON | 14 | 10 | 24 |
| 10 | Forato, Alberto | ITA | GAS | 12 | 11 | 23 |
| 11 | Fernandez, Ruben | ESP | HON | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| 12 | Guadagnini, Mattia | ITA | GAS | 7 | 9 | 16 |
| 13 | Bogers, Brian | NED | HUS | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| 14 | Beaton, Jed | AUS | KAW | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| 15 | Van doninck, Brent | BEL | YAM | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 16 | Watson, Ben | GBR | KAW | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 17 | Jacobi, Henry | GER | HON | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 18 | Koch, Tom | GER | KTM | 2 | 5 | 7 |
| 19 | Kullas, Harri | EST | YAM | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| 20 | Monticelli, Ivo | ITA | HON | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 21 | Herbreteau, David | FRA | GAS | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 22 | Brumann, Kevin | SUI | YAM | 1 | 1 | 2 |
MXGP Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Bike | Total |
| 1 | Gajser, Tim | SLO | HON | 721 |
| 2 | Seewer, Jeremy | SUI | YAM | 615 |
| 3 | Prado, Jorge | ESP | GAS | 557 |
| 4 | Coldenhoff, G. | NED | YAM | 553 |
| 5 | Renaux, Maxime | FRA | YAM | 540 |
| 6 | Bogers, Brian | NED | HUS | 406 |
| 7 | Fernandez, R. | ESP | HON | 380 |
| 8 | Vlaanderen, C. | NED | YAM | 379 |
| 9 | Jonass, Pauls | LAT | HUS | 350 |
| 10 | Evans, M. | AUS | HON | 296 |
| 11 | Van Horebeek, J. | BEL | BET | 265 |
| 12 | Watson, Ben | GBR | KAW | 260 |
| 13 | Forato, A. | ITA | GAS | 250 |
| 14 | Van doninck, B. | BEL | YAM | 249 |
| 15 | Jacobi, Henry | GER | HON | 216 |
| 16 | Febvre, Romain | FRA | KAW | 212 |
| 17 | Tixier, Jordi | FRA | KTM | 197 |
| 18 | Beaton, Jed | AUS | KAW | 190 |
| 19 | Guadagnini, M. | ITA | GAS | 170 |
| 20 | Östlund, Alvin | SWE | YAM | 107 |
MX2 Race One
In the opening race of the MX2 category, the Fox Holeshot went to SM Action Racing Team YUASA Battery’s Andrea Adamo, though Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Thibault Benistant wasted no time and was quickly into the lead as Adamo lost a couple of positions to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle and then Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jago Geerts who went from fifth to third within the first lap.
The Belgian then looked to apply the pressure onto Vialle who was just ahead of him, but the Frenchman was keen to stay ahead and blocked every opportunity for Geerts.
Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Roan Van De Moosdijk made a mistake and crashed down to 17th, while Benistant was looking to break free of the two championship rivals behind him.
Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Simon Längenfelder was fourth and looking to edge closer to Geerts and Vialle who continued their fight for second. This urged both riders back onto the rear wheel of Benistant and the top three were separated by just 2.026 seconds.
For much of the race, we saw Geerts get creative, as he tried different combinations and lines to get every advantage possible on Vialle, but the Frenchman was smart to block every attempt by the Belgian, as he also made sure that Benistant remained in his sights.
In the end, Benistant was able to stay focused and mistake-free to take the race win, despite struggling with a shoulder injury, while Vialle and Geerts crossed the line in second and third ahead of Längenfelder and Big Van World Kawasaki’s Mikkel Haarup.
MX2 Race Two
In the second, it was home rider Tom Guyon of Team VRT KTM VERITISE who took the Fox Holeshot, though Vialle took the first opportunity that he had to get by Guyon and into first place. Benistant followed too, as Guyon dropped to third ahead of Moosdijk and Haarup.
Geerts started the race in sixth and was pushing hard to get by Haarup, who was not making it easy for the Belgian. Eventually, Geerts passed Haarup, who then crashed and got going in 16th, while the Belgian focused on chasing down Moosdijk.
Guyon started to fade which allowed Moosdijk and Geerts to close in and as Geerts was lining up a pass on the Dutchman, his front end slipped, and he went down. He picked himself up in seventh, but his race only got worse as he crashed once more, though was able to finish in seventh nonetheless.
In the final few laps, there was a nice battle forming between Moosdijk, Diga Procross KTM Racing Team’s Liam Everts and F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo for fourth, as Horgmo squeezed by the Belgian to move up to fifth, though could not get around Moosdijk by the end of the heat.
Vialle ended up winning the race ahead of Benistant, as Guyon rounded out the French 1-2-3, while Moosdijk and Horgmo crossed the line in fourth and fifth.
Vialle and Benistant ended the weekend tied on 47 points, but a race victory in the second race for Vialle was the decider in terms of who would get the honour of the top step. Vialle got his second GP win on the bounce, while Benistant made his comeback to the box in second ahead of a disappointed Geerts in third. Guyon was fourth overall, just two points off the podium.
Heading into the final round of the 2022 season, Geerts leads the championship by just two points ahead of Vialle, while Längenfelder is safe in third and is on track for the bronze medal.
Tom Vialle – P1
“It was an incredible weekend! It’s a special for one always in France with so many fans coming to watch the race. And it’s for sure a little bit of extra pressure for us the French riders, because we don’t want to crash or something… But it was great. I had a great feeling on the track already on Saturday, I won the qualifying race. And yeah, to be honest, the first race wasn’t so easy because Thibault was just in front, I couldn’t find a way to pass him and when I tried to change lines, I was a little bit slower. So, I just followed Thibault as Jago was pushing me from the back, so it was not an easy one. In the second race, I started second and passed into the lead already after the first corner. I could gap a little bit to Thibault and just finish nice to win the race.”
Thibault Benistant – P2
“If you told me last weekend that I would finish second this weekend, I would not believe you. I am a bit disappointed in one way, because I would have liked to have finished the season strong, but in the end it’s still good to finish second here in France. It was super crazy with the fans, and I really enjoyed my weekend.”
Jago Geerts – P3
“It was quite a difficult weekend. I had three average starts, so that made life difficult. My speed was good and I was feeling good all weekend, but just the starts made it tough. I needed to take a lot of risks to make passes because the track was really one-lined and hard to pass. The first heat was okay, but the second heat was not the best. Luckily, I am still in the lead with one round to go. So, I’m ready to lay it all on the line in Turkey and do my best there.”
Simon Langenfelder – P6
“I had a good start in the first moto today. I was riding in fourth and it was quite a lonely race! I tried to save a bit of energy towards the end, seeing as I was alone. I had a bad start in the second moto and then got taken out on the first lap. I went from last to tenth with some good lap times. I think that I could have been on the podium, without that crash. The good thing is that I have secured third in the championship now.”
Kevin Horgmo – P7
“It was just me that was off yesterday but we made some changes to the settings this morning and I turned it around today. I was just unfortunate in race one when I collided with another rider at turn one and went straight into the fence. A start crash can always happen and was out of my control. I had good rhythm after a few laps and was strong at the end so I was confident for race two but my start was not so good and I had to work my way through the field again. I was riding some solid laps and even got close to van de Moosdijk for fourth until I made a small crash on the last lap.“
Roan van de Moosdijk – P9
“The first moto was not too good. I was running fifth or sixth and felt good, but I crashed in a turn. I struggled to get back into a rhythm after that. I did everything that I could to get ready for the second moto. I took fourth early on in that one and stayed there for the whole moto. I was happy to end the weekend on a good note!”
Mikkel Haarup – P10
“We battled really well in the first moto but in the middle of the race I started to feel tired and had to slow the pace and settle for fifth. We weren’t even sure if I would be able to start the second moto as I felt very ill with fever and stomach ache but I managed to finish the race and score some more points. It’s annoying because I had good speed but we can’t change it; I guess my body needs some rest after a heavy schedule before we bounce back in Turkey.”
Kay de Wolf – P11
“I was really struggling in the first moto and just could not find a rhythm. It did not click for me, but the second moto was better. I did not have the best start, yet I came from tenth to eighth on a track that most guys struggled to pass on. It was a tough weekend. We made the best out of it and will take what we have learnt into next year.”
MX2 Overall Result
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Bike | R1 | R2 | Total |
| 1 | Vialle, Tom | FRA | KTM | 22 | 25 | 47 |
| 2 | Benistant, Thibault | FRA | YAM | 25 | 22 | 47 |
| 3 | Geerts, Jago | BEL | YAM | 20 | 14 | 34 |
| 4 | Guyon, Tom | FRA | KTM | 12 | 20 | 32 |
| 5 | Everts, Liam | BEL | KTM | 14 | 15 | 29 |
| 6 | Laengenfelder, Simon | GER | GAS | 18 | 11 | 29 |
| 7 | Horgmo, Kevin | NOR | KAW | 11 | 16 | 27 |
| 8 | Adamo, Andrea | ITA | GAS | 15 | 12 | 27 |
| 9 | Van De Moosdijk, Roan | NED | HUS | 8 | 18 | 26 |
| 10 | Haarup, Mikkel | DEN | KAW | 16 | 9 | 25 |
| 11 | de Wolf, Kay | NED | HUS | 7 | 13 | 20 |
| 12 | Teresak, Jakub | CZE | KTM | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| 13 | Rubini, Stephen | FRA | HON | 13 | 2 | 15 |
| 14 | Pancar, Jan | SLO | KTM | 10 | 3 | 13 |
| 15 | Karssemakers, Kay | NED | KTM | 2 | 10 | 12 |
| 16 | Rizzi, Joel | GBR | YAM | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| 17 | Weckman, Emil | FIN | HON | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 18 | Ambjörnson, Leopold | SWE | HUS | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 19 | Lambillon, Florent | BEL | SUZ | 3 | 4 | 7 |
MX2 Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | Bike | Total |
| 1 | Geerts, Jago | BEL | YAM | 710 |
| 2 | Vialle, Tom | FRA | KTM | 708 |
| 3 | Laengenfelder, S. | GER | GAS | 564 |
| 4 | Horgmo, Kevin | NOR | KAW | 503 |
| 5 | Benistant, T. | FRA | YAM | 481 |
| 6 | Haarup, Mikkel | DEN | KAW | 435 |
| 7 | de Wolf, Kay | NED | HUS | 410 |
| 8 | Adamo, Andrea | ITA | GAS | 410 |
| 9 | Rubini, S. | FRA | HON | 373 |
| 10 | Everts, Liam | BEL | KTM | 286 |
| 11 | Pancar, Jan | SLO | KTM | 257 |
| 12 | Gifting, Isak | SWE | KTM | 255 |
| 13 | Guyon, Tom | FRA | KTM | 179 |
| 14 | Van De Moosdijk, R. | NED | HUS | 176 |
| 15 | Karssemakers, K. | NED | KTM | 176 |
| 16 | Guadagnini, M. | ITA | GAS | 172 |
| 17 | Fredriksen, H. | NOR | HON | 125 |
| 18 | Mewse, Conrad | GBR | KTM | 113 |
| 19 | Teresak, Jakub | CZE | KTM | 107 |
| 20 | Sydow, Jeremy | GER | KTM | 104 |
