The FIM Motocross World Championship officially made its return for MXGP and MX2 riders in Kegums for the MXGP of Latvia.
GASGAS Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff raced to overall victory at the MXGP of Latvia, securing a triumphant result at the grueling Kegums circuit to earn GASGAS Motorcycles its first-ever FIM Motocross World Championship victory.
The MXGP of Latvia was the first of three events that will be taking place in Latvia, with the MXGP of Riga and MXGP of Kegums both due to take place during the week, in the FIM Motocross World Championship’s first triple-header.
In the opening MXGP race it was Team HRC’s Tim Gajser who claimed the first Holeshot. He was closely followed by Standing Construct GasGas Factory rider Glenn Coldenhoff and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Arnaud Tonus.
During lap two, Coldenhoff was able to jump into the lead, while KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings was down in P9, following a crazy crash in the Time Practice session.
Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Arminas Jasikonis had a pretty good start and in the early stages of the race was chasing Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer and Kawasaki Racing’s Clement Desalle for P6.
On lap four, Kawasaki Racing’s Romain Febvre was all over the back of Jorge Prado of KTM Factory Racing and eventually found his way past the Spaniard to take fourth place.
As Gajser clinched the lead from Coldenhoff halfway through the race, Jasikonis was trying find a way past Desalle and Herlings, and as he passed the two riders a couple of laps later, then set his sights on fifth place.
With five minutes and two laps to go, Herlings was on a mission passing Prado, Jasikonis and breathing down Seewer’s neck. By the end of the race he managed to pass the Yamaha rider and move into fourth place where he finished.
In the end it was Gajser who won, with Coldenhoff second and Febvre third.
As the gate dropped for the second MXGP race of the day, it was the Factory GasGas machine of Coldenhoff that reached the FOX Holeshot line first, followed by Gajser and Seewer who were also quick out of the gate.
On the opening laps it was Coldenhoff who led Gajser, Seewer, Prado, Desalle, Febvre and Jasikonis, all while Tonus was not having the best of luck coming back from the back of the field.
Jasikonis, with a crowd of Lithuanian fans supporting him, was keen to put on a show as he moved quickly past Desalle for P5 and then Prado for fourth position.
As the top five continued to battle amongst themselves, Tonus found himself caught in more trouble as he crashed out and was left fighting from dead last.
A couple of laps later and Febvre was chasing down Jasikonis for fourth, as the two had a brief battle where they changed positions among one another for a couple of corners, though it was Febvre who came out on top in the end.
Antonio Cairoli of Red Bull KTM Factory had a tough day in Kegums as he made his way through the back end of the field, finishing 17th in the end.
But all eyes were on the three riders out front, with Coldenhoff, Gajser and Seewer all close together. During that point of the race it was hard to predict a clear winner with all three putting a lot on the line. As a result, Gajser may have pushed a little too hard and went down pretty hard in the wave sections.
This gave Coldenhoff a little bit of breathing room, though not for long as Seewer was straight on the back of him. In the last two laps we saw the GasGas and Yamaha factory riders locked in battle, though Coldenhoff was able to keep it cool and ended up as the Race 2 winner.
Seewer finished second with Febvre, Herlings, Gajser and Jasikonis who was sixth.
Overall, it was a historic day for GasGas and Glen Coldenhoff as they claimed the first race win and podium for the manufacturer. Tim Gajser was second overall, with Febvre occupying the 3rd step of the podium, an incredible achievement for his first MXGP race of the year. “What can I say? It’s been a great day! After qualifying we made some adjustments to my bike’s suspension and it really paid off in the races,” said Coldenhoff.
“The Standing Construct team have worked hard during lockdown to keep improving our bikes on the starts and it clearly showed today. I started 2nd in race 1, nearly had the holeshot and then I took the lead on the 3rd lap. After a few laps there was a big rock in the rut I was in, which I hit, and it knocked me off balance just before the waves section. I re-joined the race quickly and made another charge towards the end, but it was too late. I finished in 2nd place, which was really good after a not so great qualifying. Race 2, another great start taking the holeshot! It was a tough race though, especially during the final laps, but I’m really happy to have won for myself and the team, especially as it’s only the 3rd MXGP for GASGAS. It’s just awesome. It’s nice to be back in MXGP, I really like the 1-day format and I can’t wait for Wednesday.”
Despite missing out on the podium, Jeffrey Herlings still managed to hold on to the championship lead as we head into round round on Wednesday with the MXGP of Riga!
Tim Gajser: “I was feeling great, riding was good in the beginning, it was not so easy to find a line to pass, so I followed Glenn for half the race and then I got really close so I tried to pass him then I switched the line on the waves and got sideways; I had a big crash, thankfully I could re-join. I tried to pass at the end, I tried to push for Jeffrey, but I couldn’t find the rhythm again. Overall, I’m happy, it’s just the first race coming back from such a long break, so I want to say a huge thanks to everyone”.
Romain Febvre: “It was good. This is my first MXGP race of the year, we came far with my injury and not racing the first two GPs, so I’m really happy about that and also for the team even if I want more. At some point I was faster and was catching the leaders at the end but the last few laps were complicated, finished 3rd twice so I’m happy to be on the podium.
MXGP of Latvia – Grand Prix Race 1 – Classification Top 10:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:47.632;
2. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GASGAS), +0:01.912;
3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:04.757;
4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:05.903;
5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:07.037;
6. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:11.673;
7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:22.461;
8. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:24.847;
9. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:41.423;
10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +0:47.902.
MXGP of Latvia – Grand Prix Race 2 – Classification Top 10:
1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GASGAS), 34:42.555;
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:01.225;
3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:18.203;
4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:21.007;
5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:23.205;
6. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:24.274;
7. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +1:03.287;
8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Honda), +1:07.883;
9. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:15.846;
10. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:18.969.
MXGP of Latvia – GP Classification Top 10:
1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GAS), 47 points;
2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 41 p.;
3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 40 p.;
4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 38 p.;
5. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 36 p.;
6. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 30 p.;
7. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 27 p.;
8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 22 p.;
9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, HON), 20 p.;
10. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 20 p.
MXGP of Latvia – Championship – Top 10 Classification:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 130 points;
2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 126 p.;
3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GAS), 103 p.;
4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 86 p.;
5. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 83 p.;
6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 80 p.;
7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 80 p.;
8. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 80 p.;
9. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 74 p.;
10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 50 p.