MXGP

Arminas Jasikonis of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory team lays seventh in the MXGP championship points after two rounds, and a stunning 3-3 last weekend at Valkenswaard helped get him out of the doldrums of a poor opening round in England.

“In my first race in England I crashed three or four times and it was just a disaster,” Jasikonis said. “I needed to ride with my head but instead I pushed too hard, causing more mistakes and crashes. In the second moto, I had a much better start but tangled with my teammate on the first lap and ended up on the ground. I was then almost last so to finish that race in 14th is not so bad. There are positives to take from here despite the result, like my speed in traffic and also my lap times, which were competitive. I know I’m strong and fast and I’m leaving here healthy, so we’ll draw a line under this one and improve.”

After the disappointment of the opening round in England, the tall Lithuanian grew to new heights at the second round in Holland. After winning the Saturday qualification race, many looked at the Husky rider to be a dark horse for a podium finish, and he didn’t let anyone down.

“To bounce back with a top-three result is a real boost for myself and the whole team. We all knew how important a good qualifying result would be here, because being on the outside of the start isn’t a good place to be at Valkenswaard. I rode a smart qualifying race and things came together perfectly. It was a great feeling being the first rider to roll onto the start for today’s opening moto, but I also realised that I needed to put everything together again and get another good result. I got an ok start in that first race and managed to complete a safe first lap and was sat in third. I felt good but it was so easy to make mistakes. I took things a little steadier towards the end, but it was great to get third. Race two was strange because when I was behind Tim, I knew I was in a good place for an overall podium result. I wanted to push harder but knew I couldn’t afford any mistakes. I did crash, and some laps later changed my goggles, but everything worked out perfectly and I got third again. We didn’t change anything for this GP, we just kept working hard, so we’ll just keep on working as we have been and try and back this result up with another strong result in Argentina.”

Now onto Argentina, and the volcanic soil of the Neuquen circuit. Another solid points haul and the Lithuanian can start to think about more podiums and maybe staying closer to the top five in the championship race.

Photo Copyright: Husqvarna

MXGP is happy to keep running the FOX Holeshot competition trough the 20 rounds of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship season, together with MXGP partner FOX.

The way the competition works is; during both MXGP and MX2 races, the rider who crosses the white line painted on the ground at the exit of the first corner will be awarded 1 point. At the end of the season, the 2 riders, one per category, with the most FOX Holeshot points will win the mega prize!

At the MXGP of the Netherlands, taking place on the 8^th of March in the deep sand of Valkenswaard, it was Red Bull KTM Factory’s Jorge Prado and Jeffrey Herlings who got a good start each, crossing the white chalk line first to secure the FOX Holeshot on race one and two, respectively. While in MX2, it was Red Bull KTM Factory’s Tom Vialle who claimed both race one and two FOX Holeshot’s.

Vialle now leads the competition in MX2 with three holeshot’s, meanwhile in MXGP, Herlings, Prado, Henry Jacobi and Jeremy Seewer are all tied on one point. With a long season ahead, it will be interesting to see who wins the awesome FOX prize!

Watch the FOX Holeshots Films HERE below.

MXGP FOX Holeshot Film

MX2 FOX Holeshot Film

Did you know that you can now login to MXGP-TV.com and go behind the gate at the MXGP of the Netherlands with the 26 Min Behind the Gate Special from the second stop of the super exciting 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship Season!

Watch all the race highlights from the MXGP and MX2 races, as the world’s best riders tackle the deep sand of the Euro-circuit in Valkenswaard. The 26 Minute Magazine also features some awesome unseen footage from the Dutch Grand Prix, including our GoPro Track Preview with home rider Roan Van De Moosdijk and team reports from Diga Procross GasGas and JM Honda Racing.

Don’t miss out, log on, and get an exclusive look at all the action from the MXGP of the Netherlands in Valkenswaard!

Roan van de Moosdijk of the F&H Racing Team and Wilson Todd of DRT Kawasaki will each miss the next round of the FIM MX2 World Motocross Championship after sustaining injuries this weekend.

Roan Van de Moosdijk twisted his ankle midway through the first race of the Dutch GP at Valkenswaard, soon after moving into the first six, but bravely continued to finish twelfth in great pain before seeking medical assistance. X-rays at the hospital in Belgium revealed a fracture of the ankle and he underwent an operation the same evening with a metal plate inserted to stabilise the fracture. He will miss the next round of the world championship at Neuquén in Argentina on March 21/22 but both rider and team remain optimistic for a return to racing at the Spanish GP on April 18/19. Roan will visit the doctor again next week and an updated diagnosis of the recovery time will be possible.

Roan van de Moosdijk: "Unfortunately I broke my ankle yesterday halfway the first race while I was riding solid in sixth. I didn't crash, I just hit the ground really hard and twisted my left ankle. I still managed to finish in twelfth place but as I came over the line I straight away felt something was not right. Luckily I have no pain and I got operated Sunday night; it was a clean cut so there should be no big problems. On the nineteenth I have to go back to the hospital for a new examination and then we see how much times is needed to recover. Thank you to all the well-wishers, the F&H Racing Team and Kawasaki for their support." 

DRT Kawasaki’s Wilson Todd was injured at the first corner of the same race when he was involved in a multiple pile-up. The Australian was run over by several riders and sustained broken fingers. DRT team owner Steve Dixon has stated that the team will now miss the Argentina GP but they remain optimistic that Wilson can return to racing in Spain.

Wilson Todd: “I joined in on the first turn pile-up and got ran over. Some broken fingers and cuts. We will be back! “

Copyright: Photo: Kawasaki Racing

There is no doubt about it, from the last few years, two young motocross riders have shown they are the fastest in the World. Last weekend’s Grand Prix at the Euro-circuit in Holland, Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser again showed us why they have seven Motocross World Championship titles between them.

Herlings, known as “The Bullet”, put together a 2-1 performance for the GP victory, and Gajser, went 1-2 for second place. What we have all learnt now, as we head into round three at the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina around the Neuquén circuit, both these multiple time champions will be pushing for more than just a GP win, the mental game has just begun. Herlings is confident he has what it takes to take the 2020 MXGP championship.

“I think mentally I am strong and confident,” Herlings said. “And I have peace and silence and being okay to just win and not dominate anymore. Last weekend was great, and I am so happy that I could keep my brain relaxed, keep it together and accept second and then when the possibility is to win, we take it. Tim is going to be this strong again and also on hard pack, then we got a battle on our hands and I might have to step up my game. He has been impressive at both locations so far, both have been muddy and different conditions, different to normal conditions. Places like Russia, he will be really good. A lot comes from starts, a lot comes from confidence, and with him, that gate pick, to come out that good, it is all confidence and when you don’t have confidence, it wouldn’t work out, so I know he has a lot of confidence. He is good, I have said it to you before, he is a three-time World champion and he will be good. If you ask me today, he is the biggest challenge for the championship, but maybe the others will also come.”

As for Gajser, the HRC factory rider and defending MXGP champion also knows there is nothing between the two and he laughs off the comments that his rival was the fastest man on the planet.

“Even on the 450, when Jeffrey moved to MXGP, he wasn’t 100% and I was, or he was 100%, and I wasn’t 100% in 2017 and 2018 and he was riding amazing and feeling good. We haven’t come together both feeling good and we will see this year. It isn’t just me and Jeffrey, we have Tony with a lot of experience. He struggled with something in the pre-season races, but I know he will be there this season, also Prado coming from MX2, he will be strong. Also, a lot of other guys like Febvre, Seewer, Desalle, Jonass, Jasikonis, so many guys. It will be an interesting season.”

So now, with two race wins each, and nothing in between the championship points you just know that the drama will build, and these two legends of the sport will fight again, and again. Who takes out Argentina might get a slight advantage in the war of mental strength, but we all know, this battle is long but over.

Photo Copyright: Ray Archer

TAG Heuer has been the official timekeeper of the FIM Motocross World Championship since 2014 and together with MXGP are running the fastest lap competition across each season.

The way it works is; at each and every round of the MXGP season, the rider that sets the best lap time in each class, MXGP and MX2, will receive 1 point in the TAG Heuer competition. The rider that has set the fastest lap at the most rounds throughout the year in both classes, and has the most points, will be award with the special prize!

This weekend at the MXGP of the Netherlands, it was Team HRC’s Tim Gajser and SM Action MC Migliori – J1 Racing’s Maxime Renaux who set the TAG HEUER best lap of the weekend.

Find the details below:

MXGP: Tim Gajser in Race 1 Lap 1 with 1.54:287

MX2: Maxime Renaux in Race 1 Lap 1 with 1.51:570

Check out MXGP.com home page for the Top 3 TAG Heuer Best Lap competition’s rankings.

VALKENSWAARD (The Netherlands) 8 March 2020 - The opening round of the European Championship EMX250 has concluded here in Valkenswaard, with Bastian Boegh Damm leaving the Dutch round as the championship leader.

In race one, it was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory rider Kay De Wolf who grabbed the holeshot, closely followed by Bastian Boegh Damm of W-Z Racing, but was quickly pushed down to third by Gianluca Facchetti, rider for Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing. Meanwhile Jorgen-Matthias Talviku was in around fourth place. Facchetti tried to muscle his way into the lead in the early stages but Boegh Damm was not going to let that happen.

The next lap saw Facchetti fall from third to sixth, but then two laps later was able to make up for lost time, passing KTM Liamski’s Liam Everts. The Italian followed Isak Gifting towards the leaders, as they caught the back of Talviku who was in second.

On lap nine, Gifting was able to make a move on Talviku for second, with Kay De Wolf moving back up to fourth where he would finish the race. In the end it was Boegh Damm who crossed the finish line in first, 22.743 seconds ahead of Gifting in second and Talviku third.

Race two saw De Wolf take another flyer out of the gate as he led the second race. Gifting was there in close second and at one point made a move on De Wolf, who immediately responded passing the Swedish rider back. Pushing for the lead, Gifting made a mistake and fell a few positions and by lap two it was De Wolf, Team SM Action – M.C.Migliori – J1Racing’s Andrea Adamo, Talviku and Boegh Damm who made up the top 4.

BUD Racing’s Pierre Goupillon was also having a good ride, as he made several attempts to pass Gifting for P5. As Talviku pushed to pass Adamo for second, has a huge crash, which sees the Estonian drop down the order to outside the top 20, allowing Beogh Damm through into 3^rd.

12 minutes to go and Boegh Damm flies past Adamo for second place, while Gifting was also looking to do the same. At this point the podium was all to play for as Beogh Damm was on track for 1^st overall.

Two laps later and De Wolf continued to lead, but by then he was 16.959 second ahead of Boegh Damm. Talviku was also making a comeback in P19, pushing so score as many points as possible.

Gifting crashed out of 4^th with 10 minutes go, allowing Thibault Benistant of Hutten Metaal Yamaha Racing to move up a position. A few laps later Benistant continued his racing momentum as he then passed Adamo for P3 with 3 minutes + 2 laps to go.  But Adamo doesn’t let go so quickly and the two actually bang bars, before Benistant is able to fully secure the position.

In the end it was Kay De Wolf who officially won the second race, but due to jumping on a waved yellow flag, the young rider was penalised which saw him drop down to P11. This promoted Boegh Damm to the race win, and with that he also took the overall victory. Talviku came back up to 18^th place following his crash earlier in the race.

Bastian Boegh Damm: “It’s amazing. In the first heat I had the biggest gap and I just rode my own race while on the second race I had a good start, made some passes even if it was a hard morning as I was a bit sick last night. I’m so happy with my overall. I wish to thank my team as I have a fantastic people behind me”

EMX250 - Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:1. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), 29:58.958; 2. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), +0:22.743; 3. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, Husqvarna), +0:27.086; 4. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:29.598; 5. Lion Florian (GER, KTM), +0:34.531; 6. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, Yamaha), +0:35.941; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:36.834; 8. Andrea Adamo (ITA, Yamaha), +0:41.825; 9. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), +0:46.433; 10. Glen Meier (DEN, Yamaha), +0:57.302.

EMX250 - Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), 29:38.873; 2. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:01.820; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, Yamaha), +0:08.612; 4. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:10.181; 5. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), +0:17.307; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:24.199; 7. Lion Florian (GER, KTM), +0:25.008; 8. Marcel Conijn (NED, KTM), +0:28.929; 9. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), +0:39.706; 10. Tomass Sileika (LAT, KTM), +0:43.715.

EMX250 – Top 10 Overall Classification: 1. Bastian Boegh Damm (DEN, KTM), 50 points; 2. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), 34 p.; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, YAM), 33 p.; 4. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 32 p.; 5. Lion Florian (GER, KTM), 30 p.; 6. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 29 p.; 7. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), 28 p.; 8. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 28 p.; 9. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, HUS), 27 p.; 10. Jorgen-Matthias Talviku (EST, HUS), 23 p.

EMX250 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 50 points; 2. Husqvarna, 38 p.; 3. Yamaha, 37 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 1 p.

Main Photo: EMX250 Start

Bottom Photos: 1. Bastian Boegh Damm; 2. EMX250 Podium

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos from the MXGP of The Netherlands will be available HERE

MXGP OF THE NETHERLANDS – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1630m

Type of ground: SAND

Temperature: 11°

Weather conditions: cloudy with showers

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 26,500

The next round of the EMX250 will take place in Agueda, Portugal on April the 26^th.  

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM Europe

MXGP of the Netherlands

VALKENSWAARD (The Netherlands) 8 March 2020 – Larissa Papenmeier secured her first overall victory of the season and she did so in style with a 3-1 result here in Valkenswaard for round two of the Women’s Motocross World Championship!

In the opening race of the weekend, the WMX class saw a new winner, as Kiara Fontanesi rode her way to first position around the rough sand of Valkenswaard. Fontanesi had a good start in race one and led every lap of the race to secure her first victory of 2020. Meanwhile beginning in second was Nancy Van De Ven who battled with Larissa Papenmeier for the majority of the race, with the two riders briefly swapping positions.

Duncan followed behind in a distant fourth and tried to stay ahead of Shana van der Vlist, who finished fifth, with Line Dam in sixth place.

In race two, it was the Yamaha of Papenmeier who got a good jump out of the gate and led the way into the first corner. The German was followed by DRT Kawasaki rider, Courtney Duncan, Lynn Valk, Tahlia Jade O’Hare and Nancy Van De Ven, meanwhile race one winner Fontanesi was down in eight position.

Bad luck for BUD Racing Team’s Amandine Verstappen who crashed out in the opening lap. She did re-join the race but was three laps down from the leaders and finished in 36^th.

Meanwhile the battle was on out front, with Valk making a swift move on the championship leader, but Duncan didn’t let Valk run away for long, as she passed her back on the next lap. Fontanesi was also making moves, as she was already in 6^th and charging to for O’Hare. Jumping big over the IPONE jump and passing the Australian rider on lap 2.

Van De Ven then made a move on fellow Dutch rider, Valk, passing the Yamaha rider in the exact same spot that Fontanesi made a pass on O’Hare.

While Papenmeier continued to lead and made her way through traffic, both Duncan and Van De Ven were able to get closer. Moments later Van De Ven squeezed past Duncan, who was also battling back markers. Then Van De Ven charged for Papenmeier as she went after the race win. Though this ended badly, with the Dutch rider going down with 2 minutes and 2 laps to go, giving up her chance to battle for the overall.

In the end it was Papenmeier who was victorious, also taking the overall win here in the Netherlands. Second in the race was Duncan followed by Van De Ven and Fontanesi.

Larissa Papenmeier: “It was awesome. Second heat I took the holeshot and I just pulled away, I felt very good on my bike. I really trained a lot during the winter and I just felt comfortable, I wish to thank my family, my team, my sponsors. The season is long, next stop is in Spain so let’s see what we can do there”.

WMX - Race 1 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, KTM), 24:52.910; 2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:00.912; 3. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Yamaha), +0:07.719; 4. Courtney Duncan (NZL, Kawasaki), +1:04.770; 5. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), +1:08.385; 6. Line Dam (DEN, Yamaha), +1:52.464; 7. Lynn Valk (NED, Yamaha), +1:59.671; 8. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, Suzuki), +2:12.182; 9. Britt Jans-Beken (NED, KTM), +2:14.614; 10. Anne Borchers (GER, Suzuki), +2:31.745.

WMX - Race 2 – Top 10 Classification: 1. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Yamaha), 26:24.710; 2. Courtney Duncan (NZL, Kawasaki), +0:21.693; 3. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:22.301; 4. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, KTM), +0:31.462; 5. Lynn Valk (NED, Yamaha), +0:42.279; 6. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), +0:44.880; 7. Line Dam (DEN, Yamaha), +1:26.892; 8. Tahlia Jade O'Hare (AUS, KTM), +1:31.830; 9. Anne Borchers (GER, Suzuki), +1:34.255; 10. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, Suzuki), +1:47.243;

WMX - Overall Top 10 Classification: 1. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 45 points; 2. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, KTM), 43 p.; 3. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 42 p.; 4. Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 40 p.; 5. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Lynn Valk (NED, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Line Dam (DEN, YAM), 29 p.; 8. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, SUZ), 24 p.; 9. Anne Borchers (GER, SUZ), 23 p.; 10. Britt Jans-Beken (NED, KTM), 22 p.

WMX – Championship Top 10 Classification: 1. Courtney Duncan (NZL, KAW), 90 points; 2. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, YAM), 85 p.; 3. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, KTM), 80 p.; 4. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 78 p.; 5. Lynn Valk (NED, YAM), 66 p.; 6. Line Dam (DEN, YAM), 54 p.; 7. Shana van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 50 p.; 8. Mathilde Martinez (FRA, KTM), 39 p.; 9. Anne Borchers (GER, SUZ), 39 p.; 10. Tahlia Jade O'Hare (AUS, KTM), 36 p.

WMX – Manufacturers: 1. Kawasaki, 90 points; 2. Yamaha, 89 p.; 3. KTM, 80 p.; 4. Suzuki, 44 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 9 p.

Main Photo: WMX Podium - MXGP of The Netherlands

Bottom Photos: 1. WMX Start ; 2. Larissa Papenmeier

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos from the MXGP of The Netherlands will be available HERE

MXGP OF THE NETHERLANDS – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1630m

Type of ground: SAND

Temperature: 11°

Weather conditions: cloudy with showers

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 26,500

Next Round of the WMX 2020 series will take place in Intu-Xanadù, Spain on April the 19^th.

LINKS

Infront Moto Racing

FIM

MXGP of the Netherlands