Jed Beaton in winning form at MXGP of Lombardia

2020 MXGP

Round 9 – MXGP of Lombardia, Mantova

Round nine of the FIM Motocross World Championship concluded with the MX2 and MXGP action for the MXGP of Lombardi, with Jeremy Seewer reaching an incredible career milestone as he claimed his first MXGP overall victory and stood on the top step of the MXGP podium

Jeremy Seewer took the overall victory, with Glenn Coldenhoff taking second and Jorge Prado on the third step of the podium. Jeremy Seewer’s last GP win is back in 2017 when he stood at the top step on the podium at the MXGP of Sweden, Uddevalla in MX2 class.

With an eighth and a race win, Gajser now leads the MXGP Championship by five-points over Antonio Cairoli and Jeremy Seewer is just a further 11 points behind.

Australian Mitch Evans had a rough weekend in the MXGP class, with a crash in Race 1 leaving him unable to finish the race, while Race 2 saw him return to claim ninth. He leaves Lombardia in 11th overall in the standings.

In MX2, Thomas Kjer Olsen made an epic return to the podium with his first overall victory of the season, with teammate Jed Beaton only a single point off the round overall. Ben Watson was also having a good day, standing on the third step of the box.

Despite missing out on the podium, Tom Vialle continues to lead the championship now by 30-points over Geerts and Renaux, while Beaton sits in fourth, just nine-points off Renaux.

Jed Beaton

“I can’t explain how happy I am to have won the second moto today. I had a great start in race two and got into the lead early on lap three. I then had a clear track and just focussed on my lines. As the race wore on I got a little nervous but kept it together. I did make a few mistakes but held on for the win. It’s been a tough year until this point and it’s all coming together now. The team have been great and I’m so happy and pleased for them, too. I’m looking forward to Wednesday now.”

Bailey Malkiewicz went 10-23 in the weekends races, while Nathan Crawford went 30-16, with the two Aussie riders now 15th and 21st in the standings respectively.

In the WMX Courtney Duncan had a mixed weekend, claiming the first race win, before a massive crash in Race 2 snapped her ‘bars, ending what seemed like a dominant performance, that would have handed her another overall win and extended the championship lead.

Instead Larissa Papenmeier took the overall with consistent second places, while Nancy Van De Ven took the Race 2 win. Papenmeier now leads the standings from Van De Ven by 10-points, with Fontanesi in third, a further three points behind. Duncan is now fourth, with only four-points separating second through fourth, and 14-points to first.

MXGP Race 1

In the opening MXGP race it was Jeremy Seewer with the first FOX Holeshot of the day, as he led Prado and Brian Bogers. Meanwhile Gautier Paulin and Mitch Evans from Team HRC went down in the first corner, with Paulin riding into the pits. The Frenchman quickly re-joined the race but was quite far down the field with a lot of work to do in order to get back into the points.

Seewer then continued to lead the way, with Prado second and Antonio Cairoli finding a way through into third ahead of Bogers, with Glenn Coldenhoff doing the same to steal fourth on the opening lap.

Prado then set the fastest lap of the race, going 1.6 seconds faster than Seewer who continued to lead the way by just 1.2 seconds. While his teammate, Paulin, was moving fast, as he caught on to the back of the field to begin his fight through the pack.

Arminas Jasikonis got out of the gate in the top 10 and was making his way through as he caught on to the back of Evgeny Bobryshev as the two began to battle. The tall Lithuanian was eventually able to make the pass and then set his sights on Bogers, who had dropped to sixth.

As Gajser struggled to find a way to pass Alessandro Lupino for 12th, the battle at the front was close as just four seconds separated Seewer, Prado and Cairoli, with 16 minutes plus 2 laps on the clock.

Making a good recovery, Paulin moved into the top 20 on lap 6 to get himself back into point scoring positions, as his teammate, Seewer, set the fastest lap of the race – a 1:54.504 and continued to lead the way.

Seewer had clearly found a good rhythm in the race as he followed with another fastest lap and that time extending the gap to Prado, as 2.7 seconds separated the two.

On lap 10 of the race the top 10 was led by Seewer, as Prado, Cairoli, Coldenhoff, Calvin Vlaanderen, Jasikonis, Desalle, Bogers, Van Horebeek and Gajser followed behind. Gajser then put on a late charge, as he passed Febvre for 10th, then stole ninth from Bogers and went after Van Horebeek. With just 3 laps to go, the Slovenian moved himself in eighth where he eventually finished the race.

Things at the front of the field didn’t change in terms of positions, as Jeremy Seewer went on to win the first race of the day, with Prado second and Cairoli third. Mitch Evans struggled to recover from going down in the first corner, finishing 18th.

MXGP Race 2

In race two, it was Prado who claimed his 8th FOX Holeshot of the season, as he led Romain Febvre, Gajser, Paulin and Seewer. Meanwhile Cairoli had a bad start to the race and was showing down in 19th position.

The race began with drama, as Seewer crashed out of fifth while trying to pass Paulin and eventually re-joined around the top 10. Though at the front of the field, Febvre was starting to push for a pass on Prado as he set the fastest lap of the race and the two then pushed each other for the next few laps.

Coldenhoff then showed his intentions for the race as he clocked the fastest lap of the race on lap 3, while behind were Paulin, Gajser and Febvre.

Further down the field and the race 1 winner, Seewer, found a way to get around the number #25 of Clement Desalle for 19th with 17 minutes plus 2 laps to go of the race.

Febvre pushed for the lead, though he got caught out by Gajser who swiftly moved into second before going after Prado for the lead. Seewer was also moving up the field as he passed Lupino for 8th. Jasikonis went down and out of sixth place, with the Husqvarna rider being taken away by the medics to the nearby hospital for further checks.

Gajser then pulled away from the group as he extended the lead to 5.8 seconds, with Prado second and Febvre still third. Paulin were also there with Coldenhoff and Seewer. Cairoli’s bad luck continued as he was forced to come into the goggle lane while in 12th, losing two positions in the process, which was not the race he had hoped for.

Eventually Gajser crossed the line to take the win in the second MXGP race, with Coldenhoff and Seewer inheriting second and third, with Prado, Paulin and Febvre receiving a penalty for not respecting a waved yellow flag which saw them drop some positions changing the final podium standings.

Mitch Evans had a much improved race, finishing ninth, without the dramas of an early crash setting him back, as happened in Race 1.

Jeremy Seewer – P1 (Overall)

“I just won my first MXGP. Amazing. It’s in the books and it’s a big milestone in my career. Everybody dreams of winning an MXGP round, especially at the level we are racing right now, so it’s amazing. Especially the first race, I won the start then led every lap to the finish. The second race it didn’t go as planned but still I was lucky today, I was at the right place at the right time and now celebrating an overall.”

Glenn Coldenhoff – P2

“Second overall is a good result, for sure. I’d have liked to have been at the front of the battle rather than at the back of it, but it is what it is. I had a good feeling today which is important. It’s quite hard to pass on this circuit and everyone is similar in speed but luckily I had decent starts and was able to move forwards, especially in race two. The first moto was ok but once I was into fourth, I fell into a rhythm behind Cairoli and was unable to make a pass. Overall, good points, second overall after a couple of guys jumped on a yellow flag and up to fifth in the championship. I’m looking forward to Wednesday.”

Jorge Prado – P3

“The victory was in my hands today. I feel I deserved it. It was a very good day and to win twice in this very tough class in my first year is something to be happy about. I sweated my shirt in that second moto to stay in second place. My speed wasn’t quite as good as the first moto but I’d made steps in recent weeks with my physical condition and the bike was working so well. I can take confidence from the way we finished.”

Tim Gajser – P4

“The first race didn’t start very well as I was back in the pack and it was tough to come through the field and pass the riders as everyone is very fast. I managed to come back to eighth but I was a little disappointed because I know that the start makes all the difference. For the second race, I put a lot of focus on the start and I managed to come out of the first corner around fifth and then I made a couple of quick passes which put me into third. I was following Romain and Jorge for around 15 minutes, before I was able to make two passes to get myself into the lead. I pulled a good gap, controlled the race to take the win and I’m super happy with how it turned out. Obviously getting the red plate is a big bonus and I will try my best to hold onto it until the end of the season.”

Clement Desalle – P5

“Not a bad weekend for me with fifth overall! My starts were average but in the first moto I made some good early passes; then I lost two positions due to a mistake but I passed a few guys again to finish seventh. I changed my strategy for the second start but that was not such a good idea; I was eleventh, came back seventh and finally was classified fifth overall. The most important aspect of the weekend is that I’m happy with my riding; I have no more pain in my back and the feeling is better so that promises well for the upcoming races.”

Mitch Evans – P13

“It wasn‘t the greatest day, although qualifying went quite well. I wasn’t feeling overly comfortable on the bike as I hadn’t ridden since Tuesday as I’ve been unwell but I was happy with qualifying. Unfortunately in race one I crashed in the first turn and then crashed a couple of laps later and was fighting all moto long to score some points. In moto two I didn’t get the best start either but didn’t crash, so I was still in a position to get a top 10 finish. I fought through to ninth and felt a lot better but I need to work on my starts and then I’ll be able to battle with the guys at the front of the races.”

MX2 Race 1

In the opening MX2 race of the day, it was Mathys Boisrame who claimed his first FOX Holeshot of the season with a flying start. Though Tom Vialle wasted no time, as he quickly jumped into the lead with Ben Watson also getting a good start and battling at the front in P3.

Teammate Jago Geerts, was not having the same kind of luck as he was down outside the top 10 with quite a bit of work on his hands. Vialle then continued to lead the way, with Renaux in second and Boisrame, Watson and Roan Van de Moosdijk rounding out the top five.

Watson was caught by Van de Moosdijk, which dropped him down to fourth and then Thomas Kjer Olsen was the next rider to pass #919, as he dropped to fifth.

Vialle then went on to set the fastest lap of the race – a 1:57.083, while Van de Moosdijk started to close in on his teammate and eventually passed him for third. All while Geerts was making a good recovery as he caught on to the back of Watson and managed to pass him a couple of laps later.

Riding a race of his own, Vialle then extended his race lead to 10.336 seconds over Renaux, who was being caught by Van de Moosdijk and Olsen. There was then two separate battles in the race as Renaux, Van de Moosdijk and Olsen battled for second while Boisrame, Watson, Geerts and Jed Beaton from Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing fought for fifth.

Beaton then made a little mistake as he exited the pitlane corner, and caught by the Stephen Rubini, who had just passed Bailey Malkiewicz of Honda 114 Motorsports for ninth in the race.

Back at the front, the battle for second continued with Renaux, Van de Moosdijk and Olsen, all separated by just a couple of seconds, with just a few laps to go.

Geerts then made a mistake, fell out of sixth position and looked to have picked himself up in 11th position, as Olsen started to apply the pressure onto Van de Moosdijk, eventually managing to pass him and move into third with just 2 laps to go. And he quickly got Renaux too, putting on a great charge towards the end of the race.

Eventually, Vialle crossed the line to with the opening MX2 race with a nice 6.233 second margin to Olsen who was second and Renaux hanging on to third.

MX2 Race 2

In race two, it was Watson who claimed the second FOX Holeshot of the day as he led Conrad Mewse, with Beaton, Geerts and Alvin Ostlund rounding out the top five. Beaton was looking impatient early on as he fought for a way past Mewse, while Watson led 2.116 seconds ahead.

Race one winner, Vialle, didn’t have the best start to the race and was sitting in 7th place, just ahead of Renaux and Olsen. Beaton made a swift pass on Watson to move into the lead, setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 2 of the race. Geerts then found a way past Mewse for third and was having a much better ride this time around.

Watson stepped it up a gear as he set the fastest lap of the race and was starting to go after the win once again by which point just 1.2 seconds separated first and second in the race.

Further down the field Geerts found himself in trouble as he crashed out of third and was back up in ninth going after Olsen who was in eighth just ahead. He was eventually able to pass the Husqvarna rider and set his sights on the riders ahead and Mikkel Haarup was his next victim. He passed the Dane moments later as Olsen looked to do the same.

10 minutes on the clock and the top 10 was made up of Beaton, Watson, Mewse, Ostlund, Renaux, Vialle, Geerts, Olsen, Haarup and Van de Moosdijk.

Geerts then went after Vialle, who he also passed and then caught on to the back of Renaux. Renaux made a mistake which allowed Geerts to get a better drive and pass him for fifth. And the passes just kept on coming as he moved into fourth.

As the race progressed, Vialle found himself in trouble and was slowly crawling down the order, as he came under fire from Van de Moosdijk, and Isak Gifting who was making his debut on the Diga Procross GasGas Factory Juniors for his first race in MX2.

As Renaux tried to fend off Van de Moosdijk, Geerts found himself in more trouble as he crashed out once again. Though in the end it was Jed Beaton who claimed a career first race win in MX2, with Ben Watson finishing second and Conrad Mewse third.

Thomas Kjer Olsen – P1 (Overall)

“I’m pretty surprised. I went into the race not really knowing that I was on the podium, it was just a crazy battle out there and I’m really happy about my riding. I wanted to be up there in the front and that’s what we will work on for the next race. I had a rough few races and the confidence was not really there but I felt this week just went better and better. I got my confidence back on the bike that I had last year and the confidence that I should have had from the beginning. I’m just super happy to get this overall as it’s been a long time since I’ve been up there and it’s an amazing feeling.”

Jed Beaton – P2

“I can’t explain how happy I am to have won the second moto today. I had a great start in race two and got into the lead early on lap three. I then had a clear track and just focussed on my lines. As the race wore on I got a little nervous but kept it together. I did make a few mistakes but held on for the win. It’s been a tough year until this point and it’s all coming together now. The team have been great and I’m so happy and pleased for them, too. I’m looking forward to Wednesday now.”

Ben Watson – P3

“It feels really really good to be back on the podium. It’s been a long time coming and it is now my third, it’s just finding those missing pieces that prevent me from being here more often. In training I have been feeling really good, and during the races it has been a bit of a struggle. Even today, I was down this morning and not feeling good at all, but I just managed to take two good starts and that played a big part in today. I was especially happy to have a solid second moto to get back on the podium.”

Roan van de Moosdijk – P5

“I was consistent again but I know the results could be even better. I ended Qualifying second, close to pole after leading for a long time, and I could make good passes to third in the first race after a top-five start but the last three laps my goggles were stuck so I couldn’t see; I had to slow down and Olsen could pass. My start was not so good – around fifteenth – in race two and I had to ride strongly to get to sixth as it is really difficult to pass here. You can try different lines to the rider ahead but he just closes the door on you time-and-again so you need a really special attack mode; we need two good starts on Wednesday to battle up front. “

Tom Vialle – P6

“A holeshot and good first moto win even though the track was quite difficult and sketchy in some places. In the second moto I had contact with another rider and that gave me a problem with my front wheel and it didn’t feel so stable. I just rode to take some points. I need to work on two good starts for Wednesday. At least we took more points for the championship: that was important. We need to keep focused for the rest of this week.”

WMX

The FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship made its much-anticipated return in Mantova today, for round three of the championship, with New Zealand’s Courtney Duncan carrying in a five-point lead over Papenmeier, who was in turn five-points ahead of Fontanesi.

The last time we saw the WMX action was back in March in Valkenswaard and now after five months the ladies made their comeback and they did so with a bang, as Larissa Papenmeier took her second overall victory of the season and also clinched the red plate as she became the new championship leader, with Duncan crashing in Race 2 and snapping her handlebars, ending any chance of finishing Race 2 or winning the round overall, despite a strong Race 1 win.

Courtney Duncan

“It was an up and down day for me, which started off really well as I won the first race and felt pretty good. I had a comfortable lead and maintained it. I’d made some passes on the opening laps and made my way into second. I wasn’t too far off the lead when I had a massive crash. I ran back to the bike but the handlebars were snapped so there was no way of finishing, which resulted in a DNF. “That’s the way life goes sometimes it doesn’t always go to plan. I can dwell on it, or I can go back to work on Tuesday and continue to fight. That’s what I’m going to do, I’m going to show up on Tuesday and give it everything I’ve got.”

WMX Race 1

As the gate dropped for the first WMX race, it was Sara Andersen, Duncan and Kiara Fontanesi who were the three riders out in front. Meanwhile the top qualifier, Van De Ven was all the way at the back of the field alongside Lynn Valk in 21st and 22nd.

Back at the front and Duncan wasted no time to move into the lead, as Anderson came under fire from Fontanesi. The two then battled for a couple of laps, before Fontanesi quickly moved past her before washing the front which also caught Andersen out. This allowed Britt Jans-Beken from Lakerveld Racing to move into second and Line Dam to inherit third.

Meanwhile Duncan was pulling away as she already had a nice 16.838 second gap over Jans-Beken, while Papenmeier was able to pass Dam for third. The German then moved quickly and was already up into second on lap three. Andersen and Fontanesi were making a good comeback after their crashes and were up in 5th and 6th, all while Valk passed Shana Van Der Vlist and Jamie Astudillo for 10th.

Though once again we saw Andersen and Fontanesi go at it with just 5 minutes plus 2 laps to go, with the Italian eventually finding a way past the Dane. Keen to put on a good performance at her home round, Fontanesi then went after Jans-Beken.

Duncan then continued to lead the way with a comfortable 24.667 second lead over Papenmeier. With 4 laps to go, Fontanesi put on a charge as she went purple in sector one as she cut down the 3 second gap between herself and Dam. It didn’t take long for her to catch on to the back of the Yamaha rider as she got the drive on the Monster Energy table-top and clinched 3rd.

In the end it was Duncan who took an impressive win, followed by Papenmeier and Fontanesi.

WMX Race 2

In the second race, Van De Ven was keen for redemption and managed to do just that as she took the holeshot and was the early race leader, followed by Andersen and Duncan. Meanwhile Fontanesi didn’t get the best start after a mistake in the first corner.

Duncan though was not one to waste time once again, as she slipped past Andersen for 2nd as she put on the charge for Van De Ven. And Fontanesi was wasting no time either as she was already up in the top 10 within a couple of laps.

All eyes drew to the front as Duncan had a huge crash on one of the tabletops with her bike taking most of the impact. With snapped handlebars, the defending world champion was unable to fight back and was forced out of the race, which ultimately cost her the championship lead too.

As the race progressed Van De Ven continued to lead Andersen and Papenmeier, as Papenmeier put on the charge for the Dane, as she knew a second place would be enough for the overall. Eventually she was able to do just that on lap 5 of the race.

Fontanesi was then locked in a battle with Van Der Vlist and Dam for fifth as the three of them were on the rear wheel of each other, though Fontanesi was the one to come out on top as she was both of the riders to move up two positions.

3 laps to go and Van De Ven was still the rider to beat as she maintained a nice 13.962 second margin to Papenmeier who was still second and Andersend third. And by the time the chequered flag dropped there was no change in the leaders as Van De Ven took the race win here in Mantova.

In terms of the overall, it was Larissa Papenmeier who took the overall victory, with Nancy Van De Ven 2nd and Kiara Fontanesi finishing third on the podium. As it stands, Papenmeier now leads the championship by 10 points, with Van De Ven 2nd and Fontanesi 3rd. Meanwhile following an unlucky crash in race 2, Duncan drops to 4th in the standings just a point behind Fontanesi.

Larissa Papenmeier – P1 (Overall)

“For sure it’s a nice feeling. When I’m riding, I’m not really thinking about the championship and what could happen. I knew that second place was enough to win but I actually didn’t think about the red plate, so I tried to keep it smooth, tried to make no mistakes and it was really good. I had a good feeling and I liked the track, it’s a bit bumpy so I’m looking forward to Tuesday.”

Nancy Van De Ven – P2

“I couldn’t really find my own rhythm in the first race because I crashed and I had to come back from last and it’s pretty hard to come through the pack because everybody is fighting for their place as well so you have to pass everybody but fifth was not too bad. I knew I needed to take a better start in the second race and I took the holeshot, I could make my own race and I didn’t have to watch behind, I could do what I could and I took the race win.”

Kiara Fontanesi – P3

“I’m happy to be on the podium for sure but at the same time I’m disappointed because I feel really well on the bike and I have a really strong physical condition, I proved it myself today where I had to push really hard coming from the back in both races with such a short break in between the races and I felt really great, the only problem is what happened in the races. The first race it was my mistake and I crashed and had to come back. In the second race I tried too hard in the first corner not to touch the rider next to me and the bike stopped, it didn’t start immediately so, I was basically last and I was pushing really hard. I know that I was three seconds faster than all the girls on the track so that’s good to know and good to me but it’s not enough for what we’re looking for.”