Seewer wins MXGP of Czech Republic | Mitch Evans P7

2022 FIM Motocross World Championship
Round 13 – Loket, Czech Republic

Round 13 of the FIM Motocross World Championship took place in Loket, in the Czech Republic, with Jeremy Seewer and Jago Geerts claiming top honours in the MXGP and MX2 classes respectively.

Thousands of fans from Czech Republic, Switzerland and Slovenia, among others, made the trip to Loket and lined the edges of the circuit as they cheered on their heroes, making for a loud and colourful display throughout the weekend.

It was a big weekend for Yamaha as they went on to win all of the races, with Thibault Benistant and Jeremy Seewer winning the first races in MXGP and MX2, while Jago Geerts and Maxime Renaux were victorious in races two. Additionally, Geerts went on to claim the red plate in MX2 and now leads the championship by eight points over Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle.

A couple of competitors were missing from the grid, as Honda114 Motorsports’ Ruben Fernandez did not line up after a big crash in practice, and Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre made the decision to sit out MXGP race two, due to illness.

After his season-best performance in Indonesia, Mitch Evans came in looking to continue his good form and keep pushing towards the podium positions. After a second in timed practice, things were certainly trending in that direction and a sixth in race one gave him another opportunity to get his best points tally of the season.

A great first lap put the Australian in fifth position, and despite pressure from behind, he maintained his pace and looked well on course to match those results from the previous round. Unfortunately, near the end of the race, the hard, bumpy track took its toll on his hands and blisters caused him to drop a couple of places. Seventh was still a great result and there were a lot of positives to take away from his first motos at the Czech facility.

Mitch Evans – P7

“Overall I am happy with how the races went, going six-seven for seventh overall. Whilst the results weren’t quite as good as my results in Indonesia, I felt that I was able to keep the pace of the top guys and other than the end of the second moto when I had really bad blisters, I felt like I was doing a good job of matching their speed. I was in fifth for the majority of that second moto and if I would have stayed there, I would have been fifth overall so it is all positive. Now I have to let my hands heal a bit before heading to Lommel and doing my first ever laps on that track this coming weekend.”

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jed Beaton looked strong in the first ten minutes of the opening moto as he moved forward decisively from outside the points-scoring positions to sixteenth before broken spokes, the result of contact with another bike, forced him out of the race.

Determined to erase the disappointment he made several spectacular passes to advance from tenth to seventh within two laps and maintained that position, within sight of the top-six, for half the moto before succumbing to chasers in the closing stages to finish tenth. He remains seventeenth in the championship standings.

Jed Beaton – P13

“The first race was just a problem when the wheel was broken; I’d been making passes and was battling for fifteenth-sixteenth so the feeling was already good and the second moto was the best I’ve had for some time. I know I can do it; I just needed that one race for the confidence. It could have been even better if the race fitness had been there but it’s been a tough year coming back from the injury and the last three laps I was pretty done from the heat. But it’s a step in the right direction and I’m looking forward to keeping it up. Lommel’s always tough but it’s the same for everyone, I’ve done a lot of riding in the sand and I’m starting to come back to fitness.”

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2022 MXGP of Czech Republic Video Highlights

MXGP Race One

In MXGP, the Fox Holeshot in race one went to Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer though it was Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado who got himself straight into the lead ahead of Team HRC’s Tim Gajser, Seewer and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Maxime Renaux.

Team HRC’s Mitch Evans also started well as he passed Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing’s Calvin Vlaanderen for sixth.

Seewer then closed in on Prado and Gajser and took second from the Slovenian on the third lap. Gajser looked to respond but could not get the drive. The Swiss then set the fastest lap of the race as he began applying the pressure onto Prado. It took him just three laps to pass him.

Gajser was also improving his pace as he looked to stay with the leaders. The Slovenian managed to pass Prado on lap 10 and focused his attention on Seewer in first place.

For Prado, this was just the beginning as Renaux began to close in. Prado held third place for just a lap before being passed by the Frenchman and by the end of the race was also caught by Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff.

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jed Beaton was forced out of the race as a result of a broken wheel.

In the end, Seewer was able to gold off Gajser and win his third race of the 2022 season. Gajser was second ahead of Renaux, Coldenhoff and Prado.

MXGP Race Two

In race two, the Fox Holeshot went to Prado, though it was Seewer who got himself into the lead, as Renaux, Coldenhoff, Prado and Gajser followed.

Gajser was able to make some fast passes on the opening lap as he got around Prado and Coldenhoff, and found himself on the rear wheel of Renaux and Seewer.

Seewer’s time in the lead was short, as Renaux charged past his teammate by the end of the first lap and began to open up a gap to the rest of the field.

Meanwhile, Evans, once again, started well and was pushing Coldenhoff for fourth, while further down the order Vlaanderen was making some nice passes as he made his way through the field.

The Yamaha rider first passed Valentin Guillod of iXS Hostettler MXGP Team, then later made a move on Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Mattia Guadagnini and then Beaton, followed by Evans as he ultimately finished in sixth just behind Prado.

There was not many other passes, as Renaux looked totally in control and was not letting Seewer or Gajser come any closer. In the end, the Frenchman won with a 3.257 second advantage over his teammate as Gajser crossed the line third ahead of Coldenhoff and Prado.

A 1-2 result gave Seewer his second Grand Prix win of the season, as Renaux made one epic come back from injury with second overall, his sixth podium of the year, ahead of Gajser who was third.

Gajser continues to lead the MXGP standings with a 125-point advantage over Seewer, while Prado remains third ahead of Renaux who is fourth.

Jeremy Seewer – P1

“It’s incredible to win this one, even though I feel like I could have gone 1-1 but I just made one mistake too much. I was a bit quicker, but Maxime (Renaux) was riding really well, and although I tried to catch him, I couldn’t make it happen, so I took the GP win, which is amazing after a tough week. I feel like I was not perfectly prepared for this one but I’m not giving up, there are still a few rounds left and I will fight for as many points as possible. We will see what we get and I will try to win some more.”

Maxime Renaux – P2

“To come back like this after such a bad injury wasn’t easy. We really made some big steps with the physio to be able to be here in good shape. It’s just amazing. I could not have dreamed of a better return to racing. To get a race win and be second on the podium is just fantastic. I am just super grateful because it could have been much worse and I am still not done for the championship, so I just hope to continue like this to the end of the season.”

Tim Gajser – P3

“It was a tough day out on the track today. I never really felt comfortable and couldn’t push like I wanted to, and so I couldn’t close that gap on the riders in front. It was still good to get on the podium, and I still remain 125 points ahead in the championship, so in that respect I am happy, but I wanted to perform a little bit better for all the fans that came to support me. It was great to see and hear them all around the track and I appreciate everyone of them for making the journey to come and see me ride.”

Glenn Coldenhoff – P4

“First moto today was good. I was pushing hard but stayed a bit too long behind (Jorge) Prado. I had the pace of the guys in front of me, except for Jeremy (Seewer) who just had a little bit more. In the second one my start was not bad, but (Tim) Gajser passed me on the first lap, and I passed Prado, but was just a little bit off the pace and also didn’t feel too well. I was struggling a little bit. In the end 4-4 is still a solid result, but I want more than that.”

Jorge Prado – P5

“It was a tough weekend, but I felt good physically. My riding was not too bad either. I just need to put everything together to make sure that I am fighting for the victory. I am looking forward to getting back to work with my team this week and I know that the next race will be better.”

Mattia Guadagnini – P9

“I am pretty happy about my day. I think that I can do more at the moment – I am feeling so good on my MC 450F. My starts are quite good too, as we saw in the qualifying race yesterday, but I just made a few mistakes. I was happy with the passes that I made in the first moto and then I struggled with some arm pump in moto two. We will keep working to be closer to the top five! I am expecting more from myself now.”

Ben Watson – P11

“I’ve had a solid weekend and generally had a good feeling on the bike from first practice. P9 in Qualifying was not so important for the gate here but it’s always good for the confidence to have a good result on Saturday. I put in a solid first moto after starting around tenth and I had a much better start in sixth in race two but I was a little wary of Glen and Gajser in the air ahead of me going into turn two. I moved a little to the right, caught a sharp edge and lost the front end so I was last. I had a really good first lap, then coming over the finish line in traffic someone hit me from behind so I lost all those places again. After that I just kept plugging away and made some good passes to come away with thirteenth; the result should have been better but I leave with a good feeling about my riding headed for Lommel next weekend. It’s a tough one and anything can happen but I’ve had four podiums and my first win in MX2 there.”

MXGP Overall Result

MXGP Championship Standings

MX2 Race One

In the opening MX2 race, it was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Thibault Benistant who grabbed the Fox Holeshot as he led Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Simon Längenfelder and Tom Guyon of Team VRT KTM VERITISE.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jago Geerts managed to get himself into third quickly, as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle started in around 11th position.

Ship to Cycle Honda SR Motoblouz rider Stephen Rubini had a good opening lap as he made some nice passes to land himself in third as Geerts dropped back to fourth, while Vialle was up to seventh.

Benistant had the constant pressure of Längenfelder and despite setting some fast laps, could not shake the German. Further behind, Geerts battled with Rubini and finally after seven laps, he was able to make the pass stick.

Vialle meanwhile started to fade as Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf passed him and then so did SM Action Racing Team YUASA Battery’s Andrea Adamo and DIGA Procross KTM Racing’s Liam Everts.

Big Van World MTX Kawasaki’s Mikkel Haarup was the next rider to push Vialle further down the order, as the Frenchman found himself down in 10th by lap 9. Haarup was able to get around Adamo soon after that.

In the end, Benistant was the race winner, Längenfelder crossed the line in second, while Geerts ended his lonely ride in third ahead of Rubini and de Wolf. Vialle finished 10th.

MX2 Race Two

In race two, it was Geerts with the Fox Holeshot that time around with Vialle, Längenfelder just behind. It did not take long for Vialle to find his way into the lead as he passed Geerts and took control by the end of the first lap.

Once again, F&H Kawasaki Racing’s Kevin Horgmo and Rubini started well in fourth and fifth, though Rubini was caught by Benistant who was looking to make his way up the order after a poor start.

de Wolf meanwhile made up two spots after he got around Jeremy Sydow of Raths Motorsports and Tomas Kohut of Osicka MX Team for eighth.

Vialle and Geerts maintained a steady gap that was less than two seconds for much of the race, until lap 10, when Vialle made a mistake and went off the track, which allowed Geerts into the lead.

Benistant then caught Horgmo and passed him for third, while Jan Pancar of TEM JP253 had a very good race in sixth after passing de Wolf in the early stages of the race.

Geerts went on to win the race, Vialle finished second ahead of Benistant and Horgmo.

A 2-1 result gave Geerts the overall win over his teammate Benistant who finished second, while Längenfelder celebrated his fourth podium of the season.

With Vialle finishing 10th in race one and behind Geerts in race two, this meant that for the eighth time this season we saw the red plate change hands as Geerts now leads the MX2 Championship by eighth points, while Längenfelder remains third.

Jago Geerts – P1

“I’m really happy with today. In the first race I struggled a little bit on the track, so before the second heat we made a small change on the bike, and I took the holeshot. I did make a small mistake on the first lap and Tom (Vialle) passed me, but after that I felt strong on the bike and good on the track. After 15-minutes I passed Tom back and pushed hard to win the moto. I also got the Championship Lead back, so it’s going to be nice to ride in Lommel at my home GP with the red plate next weekend.”

Thibault Benistant – P2

“I’m a bit disappointed because of the second race because my start was not bad, but I touched with the other guys in the first corner, so I had to start from a bit behind. I tried to push but on this track is not easier to make a comeback. I managed to fight back to fourth but for sure I wanted to win the second one to make it happen, the double race victory. But it wasn’t meant to be this weekend, so I will continue to work to be better in the next few races.”

Simon Längenfelder – P3

“It was a good weekend! I was consistent and had two good starts. They were not perfect, but definitely good. I was feeling like I could make a pass for the lead in moto one, but he just did not make any mistakes. 2-3 for third overall is quite good! I took a lot of points too. Now we are looking forward to the sand next weekend.”

Kevin Horgmo – P4

“Neither start worked out as I would have wished but we managed to get up there with some good work through the first few turns. The first race was really solid in fourth and I was fourth again almost all of the second moto but I was starting to make mistakes near the end after two tough races. But overall it was a big advance from the difficulties we had yesterday and the podium was close. I just need to work for that; two holeshots next weekend in Lommel would be nice.”

Tom Vialle – P5

“It was quite a tough day actually and the track here was really demanding. I made a mistake in the second turn of the first moto and that didn’t help me; for the rest of the race I couldn’t really push or attack the downhills. I just did the best I could. We made some changes for the second moto, a few suspension adjustments, and I felt much better. I was just behind Jago and we fought all moto. It was a positive end to the day. I only lost a couple of points for the championship and it looks like it’s going to go to the end so we’ll keep fighting.”

Mikkel Haarup – P7

“We had to start from the party tent after yesterday but we gave it everything today and came away with seventh. Particularly in the first moto I worked my way so hard through the pack but starting outside the top-twenty from that outside gate was tough and towards the end I was done from the effort. But that’s racing; it can’t always go as planned and we kept on fighting for decent points. The result could have been better but I enjoyed myself out there and gave it 100%; I’m a tough guy and must have made fifteen to twenty passes each moto. There was never a time when I gave up and hopefully we can turn it around results-wise at Lommel next weekend.”

MX2 Overall Result

MX2 Championship Standings – Top 25