MXGP 2021
MXGP of Afyon (Turkey)- Round 9
The Turkish MXGP double header saw Jeffrey Herlings and Tom Vialle put in a repeat performance from Sunday to claim the wins at the MXGP of Afyon for Round 9 of the championship, with Herlings remaining the only MXGP rider to ever win here.
Round four of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship took part alongside the MXGP with Kiara Fontanesi taking an emotional and hard-fought overall victory to claim her first 1-1 result since 2018, with both races witnessing a hard fought battle between Fontanesi and Bike IT MTX Kawasaki’s Courtney Duncan. Duncan retains the WMX lead by nine-points.
For the Aussies, following his impressive third-overall result just three days ago, Jed Beaton brought his podium speed to round nine of the MX2 World Championship. Enjoying a great start in race one, the Australian quickly joined a four-rider battle for the lead with the quartet breaking away from the rest of the field. Frustratingly, two crashes halfway through the moto demoted the FC 250 racer down the running order, with Jed ultimately crossing the line in 12th place.
Regrouping for moto two, Beaton again started up front and initially battled with teammate Kay de Wolf during the early stages of the race for fifth position. After making a pass stick on lap nine, the 23-year-old began charging forwards, moving into third position with five laps remaining. With the leaders just out of reach, Jed secured an excellent third in the moto for fifth overall.
Jed Beaton – P5
“It was good to end the trip to Turkey with a solid result but crashing twice in the first moto was really frustrating. The first one wasn’t my fault but the second one was, I just tucked the front in a turn. After that I wanted to get out the gate and battle up front in race two, which I did, and I ended up third in the moto. That gave me fifth-overall and some decent points. My starts have been really good recently and my bike’s working really well, so now I can just focus on the races and doing my best in each moto.”
Bike It MTX Kawasaki’s Wilson Todd meanwhile raced to a fifth-placed moto-finish and seventh overall.
The benefit of racing two GPs in four days at the same venue was immediately evident for the Australian who is generally faced with learning a new track at each round in what is effectively his debut season. He claimed sixth in Qualification, on the same second as pole, and used his more favourable gate-pick to emerge seventh from turn one in the opening moto.
After soaking up the pressure from behind in his first experience of racing the leaderboard from the word go he found a solid rhythm from halfway to close down the riders ahead, narrowly failing to catch the rider in fourth and crossing the finish line just four second shy of a moto podium. A tenth-placed start in race two made life more difficult and he had to settle for ninth in the race for seventh overall on the day. The Australian has moved up a place to twelfth in the points standings at the midway stage of the season.
Wilson Todd – P7
“Qualification wasn’t perfect but it wasn’t too bad with sixth; I was on the same second as pole and could still have cleaned up a few things up in my riding. It makes all the difference to be more inside at the gate; I’m going to most of the tracks for the first time so I usually have to spend practice learning the track. But after being here already on Sunday I was more prepared for today. I made some good passes on the first lap of race one and I’ll take fifth. The second race I was a bit further out the back at the start; there was a bit of chaos going on and I was a bit slower to get around slower guys on the first lap. After that it was hard to make a pass in the heat.“
The Grand Prix of Sardinia on September 19th will take MXGP to the sandy Riola Sardo circuit for the first of seven consecutive race weekends that also involves the Motocross of Nations at Mantova, Italy.
MXGP Race 1
The MXGP class delivered some of the most intense racing that we have seen this season so far. The top protagonists of the championship were all within a couple of seconds of one another in both races, with a winner hard to predict.
After making some changes to the bike, Herlings topped the charts in Time Practice to take pole position which set him up nicely for the races. Though as the gate dropped for race one, it was his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Jorge Prado who clinched the Fox Holeshot ahead of Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre, Herlings and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer.
Team HRC’s Tim Gajser started the race in eighth, though made some quick passes as he got up to fourth within a couple of laps.
There was no change in the top four for quite a few laps as Cairoli worked his way through the field. He had Seewer ahead in fifth who eventually crashed out and dropped to 15th.
Prado then crashed big out of the lead and took a while to get going again, re-joining the race quite far behind the rest of the field, which made it tough for the Spaniard to score any points as he finished the race in 21st.
Febvre was then the new race leader, and it was game one for the top three. Herlings and Gajser had a couple of moments as the Slovenian pushed to get around the Dutchman.
SM Action Racing Team’s Alberto Forato was having a great opening race after a strong time practice. The Italian in sixth place, where he eventually finished. It did look like he was going to challenge Standing Construct GasGas Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass at one point though, which made for some nice racing.
Febvre then looked to stretch out his lead as he set the fastest lap of the race with nine minutes plus two laps to go. And as the race progressed things got more interesting as Febvre, Herlings and Gajser were just within 1.559 seconds of one another.
Cairoli was closing in on the top three at that point too as he was faster than the top three ahead of him. Herlings then put the hammer down on Febvre.
With one lap to go, Herlings was pushing to pass Febvre and was being pushed by Gajser who had Cairoli applying the pressure. Febvre did a good job to defend his position until he made a small mistake and crashed with less than half a lap to go.
Then it was Herlings in the driving seat as Gajser looked to keep close and make a move for the win though got caught out by a hard charging Cairoli who stole second from the Slovenian. Herlings was the race winner.
MXGP Race 2
In race two, it was Prado again with the Fox Holeshot as Herlings followed closely behind in second ahead of Gajser and Jonass, as Cairoli had to fight his way through the pack once again.
Herlings was looking to strike early as Cairoli got around Febvre for fifth and looked to put an attack on Jonass immediately after.
As the race went on, the top three remained close, just as they did in race one, with just 0.959 seconds in between them. Gajser was looking to make a pass on Herlings and make a charge for the win, though made a mistake which allowed Cairoli to close in and join the fight just like before.
At one stage Prado extended the gap to 1.840 seconds but it didn’t take long for Herlings to find his way onto the back of the Spaniard.
While the top four battled for the win, there was also nice action further down the field as Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff got around JM Honda Racing’s Henry Jacobi for 10th. The German responded soon after, parking the Yamaha rider. Coldenhoff then made a small error and crashed.
Back with the leaders though, Gajser was searching for every opportunity to get past Herlings and on lap six was finally able to do it. Then it was game on for the win. Three laps later, Gajser was the new race leader as the top three were bunched up and within less than a second of each other, which meant that the race was far from over.
Herlings followed in Gajser’s steps to get around Prado but could not keep with the Slovenian.
In the end, the birthday boy, Gajser won the second heat with a 5.947 seconds advantage to Herlings, with Cairoli taking third from his teammate as we were treated to another Cairoli vs Prado battle.
In terms of the podium, it was Herlings with the overall victory ahead of Gajser and Cairoli. Tim Gajser continues to lead the championship with a 28-point advantage over Romain Febvre and Antonio Cairoli. Meanwhile Jeffrey Herlings moves up to fourth in the standings, just 34 points off the series leader.
Jeffrey Herlings – P1
“I started the day strong with pole position and it was important to be on the inside in the start. First race was really good, I was actually equal with Jorge, but halfway down the straight he got me. Then I was chasing Romain and Jorge and then at one point Jorge had a big crash, I got up to second and I was actually second all race, I couldn’t really attack because I had Tim on my back, so I had to defend my line but at the same time I wanted to attack Romain because I had more speed than him. I was just following long and managed to be second until the last lap and obviously Romain made a mistake, and I got the win handed to me. It was a bit of a gift. Second race, I was a bit late on the gate but again I had Jorge next to me so he kept the other boys a little bit away. I had Tim on the back of me again and he was pushing hard, so again I had to defend and attack at the same time. Then Tim basically got us both within two laps. I made a pass on Jorge pretty quick, but Tim had a three second gap and he was fast, I can’t deny it. I did not want to take a risk, so I took the second place and knew I was going to take the GP win. It’s been a great day and great two races, looking forward to Sardinia. I think the track will suit me a bit better. I want to thank Red Bull KTM for the great bike they gave me. I can’t make any big mistake anymore. I would like to be 34 points in front instead of 34 points behind but Tim is in the hot seat, but I went from fifth to fourth in the championship and I am just a few points behind Tony and Romain so that’s good. But Second place doesn’t count, there’s only one place and that’s first. We had 9 races so 9 to go. I missed three races but it’s like this right now and I have to make the best out of the situation.”
Tim Gajser – P2
“I really enjoyed myself in that second moto, I felt so comfortable on the bike and I found the flow of the track without pushing over the limit. Of course, I am a little disappointed in the first moto, to have lost a position so close to the end of the race and in the end, this cost me the overall but it was nice to be able to show my speed and make some nice passes in that second moto and win with a solid gap. Now I will prepare for Riola Sardo which will be a completely different challenge as it is deep sand, but I have ridden there a lot these last few years so I am looking forward to it. A big thank you to the team for working so hard in this break and thank you to everyone who has wished me a ‘happy birthday’, it was a great day!”
Antonio Cairoli – P3
“Today I felt a bit better from the Timed Practice, which has been hard for me lately and also makes the starts more difficult. I was a bit too wide in the first turn for both motos and had to use a lot of energy to come back. I’m happy overall: the speed is there, the fitness is there and I just need to figure out the starts better and try to stay nearer the front. I found a good flow, especially in the second moto and just a small mistake meant the guys in front got away. It’s good to finish on the podium but I want more. I really like the track in Sardinia. With a one day race it won’t get too rough but it will be hot, which is good for me. I hope we can have some public because motorsport is pretty big there.”
Romain Febvre – P4
“I’m so disappointed as I spoilt my day with this crash in race one. After the crash of Prado I was leading all the race but then I crashed myself on the last lap. I missed a good opportunity to win a moto and gain points over my rivals but finally I crossed the finish line in fourth. Second moto my start was average. I had a good feeling at the beginning but then I started to feel tired; as you know I was sick on Sunday and I simply didn’t have time to recover between the two GPs. I just missed the podium with a fourth position but I scored good points again and we stay close in the points. Now I go back home and my first goal will be to recover and prepare for the next rounds of the series.”
Pauls Jonass – P5
“Not my best day, but not the worst! I’m a little sore from my crash on Wednesday but when I’m on the bike it’s all good. The track was a little sketchy and I wasn’t too confident pushing too hard, so I focused on consistent riding and I would say it paid off with a fifth and a sixth in the races. Having said that, in the second moto I picked up on some good lines towards the end but by then it was too late. It’s cool though, back to the sand in Riola Sardo next week so that should be a good one.”
Thomas Kjer Olsen – P9
“It was a good day for me with a top-10 overall result. I’m getting back to where I should be and I felt good today. My starts were good and when you’re up front, you can ride your own lines and that makes the races so much easier as you’re not trying to make passes while riding defensively. It’s nice to be heading back to base following a good result here in Turkey and I’m looking forward to the next one, to keep this momentum going.”
Jorge Prado – P10
“I’m happy I could walk away from that crash. It was a big one. I got kicked by one bump and then went into some others. I took too long to get up and luckily the bike was OK, I tried to come back and take some points but the other guys were too far. In the second moto I knew I needed a great start. Everything was hurting! I was feeling OK on the track and had a couple of nice battles. Tony and myself got into a good rhythm and I did my best laps at the end. I had a small dip around minute 20-25 which was difficult because the guys passed me. 4th was the best I could do. We got some points after losing some earlier on. I was very lucky today.”
Source: MCNews.com.au