The MXGP riders made their first stop to Italy this weekend at the Lombardia circuit. Tim Gajser, the preseason favorite, opened up the premier class a week ago with a 1-2 for the Grand Prix win, which was more or less expected. Simon Laengenfelder going 1-1 in the MX2 class was far less expected, however, as he held the 250 red plate for the time being. Headed into the final round before a flyaway race in Argentina, could both points leaders hang on?
Be sure to catch up on all of our Motocross coverage.
MX2 Class Recap
Moto 1
Preseason Championship favorite Tom Vialle picked up the holeshot in MX2 Moto 1, but his lead lasted all of about 10 seconds. That was due to Jago Geerts of Monster Energy Yamaha swooping by in the second corner to take the top spot from the French Red Bull KTM rider. The story of the Moto ended up being Laengenfelder, who started all the way back in 11th and only made up four spots the entire race. That all but ensured barring a miracle, he would not leave Sunday with the points lead. Geerts went the distance for the win, with Vialle in second, and Husqvarna’s Kay De Wolf in third to round out the podium.
Moto 2
Vialle went 2-for-2 on the day with holeshots, and his lead lasted longer than a few seconds, leading the opening few laps over Mikkel Harrup. However, he crashed out of the lead in spectacular fashion on lap three. Vialle, in the early tabletop section, catapulted off his bike relatively far. Luckily, Vialle got 10s across the board for the dismount and looked relatively ok.
Taking over the lead would be Andrea Adamo, who was on his way to another excellent outing, after a fourth in Moto 1. After around six laps out in front, the Italian got shuffled back, as Geerts, De Wolf, and Laengenfelder, who got another bad start, all got by. Geerts picked up the 1-1, but Laengendfelder and De Wolf made contact in the final section, causing De Wolf to fall to fourth. For Geerts as well, he is now the MX2 points leader.
MX2 Class Top 10 Results
1st No. 93 Jago Geerts 1-1
2nd No. 80 Andrea Adamo 4-3
3rd No. 74 Kay De Wolf 3-4
4th No. 516 Simon Laengenfelder 7-2
5th No. 24 Kevin Horgmo 6-8
6th No. 427 Hakon Fredriksen 9-6
7th No. 11 Mikkel Haarup 8-7
8th No. 517 Isak Gifting 12-5
9th No. 101 Mattia Guadagnini 11-9
10th No. 39 Roan Van De Moosdijk 5-15
MXGP Class Recap
Moto 1
Stop if you’ve heard this one before, Jorge Prado with another holeshot, his 103rd since 2016 according to Paul Malin on the ‘GP recap. Behind him and Gajser, Jeremy Seewer tipped over in the uphill/downhill section, losing a ton of spots in the process. The big knock on Prado is that he hasn’t be able to close out Motos since moving up from the 250s. Sunday was not one of those cases, as he held off a late charge from the 243 to take home the Moto win, setting himself up nice for Moto 2.
Moto 2
German Honda rider Henry Jacobi pulled a stunning holeshot from the middle of the gate in Moto 2 but lost the lead after one corner to Seewer. However, the Swiss Yamaha rider also had a short-lived lead, as he went down in nearly the same spot as he did in Moto 1. That, in turn, gave the lead to Gajser. Seewer wasn’t done yet, as he went down in the same corner for the third time on the day as he was charging back through the field. Outside of that, this was the second Moto win of the year for Gajser. He stretches his points lead over Prado by 12, and Maxime Renaux, who finished second overall with a 3-2 on Sunday, by 17 points.
MXGP Class Top 10 Results
1st No. 243 Tim Gajser 2-1
2nd No. 959 Maxime Renaux 3-2
3rd No. 61 Jorge Prado 1-7
4th No. 89 Brian Bogers 7-3
5th No. 91 Jeremy Seewer 4-5
6th No. 19 Thomas Kjer Olsen 6-4
7th No. 70 Ruben Fernandez 5-6
8th No. 189 Jeremy Van Horebeek 9-8
9th No. 911 Jordi Tixier 15-9
10th No. 919 Ben Watson 16-11
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