The first flyaway MXGP round of 2022 did not take long to get here. Just in round three, the World Motocross Championship had its lone Grand Prix in the western hemisphere in Argentina. Although not a surprise, attendance wasn’t 100 percent for this trip. That was abundantly clear in the MX2 class, with just 17 total riders taking the gate on Sunday. But as the saying goes, the show must go on, and in 2022 that show is staring Tim Gajser, who looked to start out the year 3-0 in the MXGP Class.
Be sure to catch up on all of our Motocross coverage.
Playing to Your Audience
This was the first GP held in Argentina in a few years due to the pandemic, and the people came out in droves for the series’ return. Special kits have been prevalent in AMA Supercross to this point, but the first notable MXGP one-off kit came from Jeremy Seewer. The Monster Energy Yamaha rider showed out in an Argentinian Men’s Football Team kit, which did not disappoint.
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MX2 Class Recap
Moto 1
Tom Vialle beat out Jago Geerts for the holeshot by the skin of his teeth in Moto 1. Once things got settled in, Kay De Wolf and Simon Laengenfelder found themselves behind that lead pair. In an odd moment, Laengenfelder went down on the exit of the uphill-downhill section. Seconds later, De Wolf went down as well on the ensuing roller. The latter’s crash was bad enough to keep him out the rest of the day. At the end of the Moto, Geerts erased a near three-second gap to Vialle, then proceeded to make the winning move on the final lap, for his first Moto win of 2022. Vialle still ended up in second, with Mattia Guadagnini of Red Bull GasGas in third.
Moto 2
Moto 2 would be red-flagged right out of the gate due to a rough-looking accident. Gianluca Facchetti went down in turn two hard after running into the back of Geerts, forcing a restart. The winner out of this situation was Laengenfelder, who got the holeshot on the second attempt, denying Vialle a 2-for-2 day. After the opening lap, however, the German GasGas rider slowly fell back from that point on, to as low as fifth by the end of things. Soon enough it would be a Geerts-Vialle rematch in the early goings, and the No. 28 was all business. After Vialle got by the Belgian, he led the next 15 laps en route to a 2-1 day, good enough for the Grand Prix win.
MX2 Class Top 10 Results
1st No. 28 Tom Vialle 2-1
2nd No. 93 Jago Geerts 1-2
3rd No. 11 Mikkel Haarup 4-3
4th No. 101 Mattia Guadagnini 3-4
5th No. 426 Conrad Mewse 6-9
6th No. 38 Stephen Rubini 8-8
7th No. 80 Andrea Adamo 11-6
8th No. 104 Jeremy Sydow 10-7
9th No. 516 Simon Laengenfelder 13-5
10th No. 24 Kevin Horgmo 5-13
MXGP Class Recap
Moto 1
Henry Jacobi pulled off a holeshot from the middle of the gate in the opening ‘GP Class Moto and had a wild ride to get there. He was all over the place before overshooting the corner, and as a result, his lead lasted no time at all. Moving to the point would be the rookie Maxime Renaux, who in turn was passed corners later by Pauls Jonass. The Latvian Husqvarna rider then tried to get away, with Gajser and Jorge Prado in the back half of the top five in the early goings.
Jonass would lose the lead eventually, but it ended up being Renaux who got back by him to put his YZ450 on the point. Furthermore, the rookie beat Gajser to win his first-ever 450 Moto win. Five motos into the season, Renaux is the only rider within a Motos worth of points of Gasjer as well.
Moto 2
For the first time since roughly 1500 B.C, Prado went a full Grand Prix without a holeshot. It was Gajser who did the honors here in Moto 2. In fact, this was his first holeshot since the tail end of 2020 in Italy. The 243 took advantage of this great start and turned on the afterburners. More or less, this Moto ended in the opening 10 seconds, but positions two on back were still up for grabs.
The surprise here ended up being Prado, who fell out of a podium spot, first being passed by Renaux, then later on by Ruben Fernandez. Gajser’s 2-1 ended up being good enough for the Overall, as there are no signs of him slowing down any time soon. Or at least until Jeffrey Herlings and Romain Febvre come back. But until then, Renaux may prove to be a tougher out the longer this season progresses.
MXGP Class Top 10 Results
1st No. 243 Tim Gajser 2-1
2nd No. 939 Maxime Renaux 1-2
3rd No. 61 Jorge Prado 4-4
4th No. 41 Pauls Jonass 6-5
5th No. 259 Glenn Coldenhoff 8-6
6th No. 89 Jeremy Van Horebeek 7-7
7th No. 70 Ruben Fernandez 15-3
8th No. 43 Mitch Evans 10-8
9th No. 911 Jordi Tixier 9-9
10th No. 91 Jeremy Seewer 3-23
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