Team Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer completed a fantastic first-ever Grand Prix of Switzerland at Frauenfeld-Gachnang by fighting closely for victory to claim his ninth podium result of the season.
The first moto saw Seewer obtain a top-six start but by the time he was able to cut through to second place Max Anstie had already established a seven-second lead. The Suzuki man tried to chip away at the distance but made marginal gains and in the final laps conserved energy for another attempt later in the afternoon.
For the second moto the two enacted a close duel that made the 30-minute and two-lap distance seem a fraction of the time. Seewer closed to Anstie on this occasion and took control of the moto at the midway stage and to the rapture of the crowd. He tried to make the break in his three-lap stint at the front but Anstie observed his lines and eventually seized the lead once more. The gap between the riders remained close and Seewer again fulfilled his role as ‘shadow’ particularly when both pace-setters started to thread through backmarkers. Finally, he could not dislodge Belgian GP winner Anstie and was 1.4 seconds away at the finish line.
Seewer now has 554 points and is just 43 from current leader Jeffrey Herlings who was absent for the third GP in succession. He holds a healthy gap of 121 over Benoit Paturel with just 150 left in the pot for 2016.
Jeremy Seewer:
“I didn’t expect the Swiss public to be that great: so many people, flags…it was amazing to ride here. I didn’t win, which would have been the small present to them and myself but I’m happy and I have three second places in a row now. I just need to find that last piece of the puzzle. Maybe I should have waited longer to take the lead in the second moto but I had some better lines in some places and could push but he [Anstie] came back and followed me strongly. It was a good race and I just missed that ‘little bit’ to be able to win. Now I’m just focussing on myself and that approach has been the same for the last three GPs when Jeffrey has not been riding. I am still trying to do the best I can and beat the riders that are on the track with me. It [the championship] was not on my mind this weekend and it won’t be for the next GP.”