KTM's Jeffrey Herlings took two fourth positions for fifth overall on the day and holds the red plate by four points from HRC rider Tim Gajser.
Jeffrey Herlings: “Today could have been better. Some bad starts, and in the first moto I was a bit too slow at the beginning. I came back from last to fourth but wasted too much energy pushing through to the front. I’m definitely not satisfied but we’ve started racing again now and I know what to do for when we go again in three days.”
Jorge Prado rode well after just four weeks of practice and training due to the Spaniard’s broken collarbone. He secured finishes of eighth and seventh to be seventh in the final classification in an MXGP class packed with GP-winning experience and pedigree. Tony Cairoli was also missing good fortune with his starts. Two run-ins with Arnaud Tonus left the nine times world champion needing to recover ground and positions. In the second moto he rode back from almost last with a painful right knee after his first corner spill. Cairoli went 7-17 for 13th spot.
Tony Cairoli: “Today was very tough. To restart everything after five months meant it would be tricky because we didn’t know the race pace, but I knew I had trained well and could do good. The only problem was my starts and we saw it at this track where it is difficult to come through the pack. I felt really good to come back to 7th in the first moto and was happy. I was determined to do better in the second and was thinking about going for victory to be honest. I had a better start but had trouble again on the first corner and was hit by another rider. I twisted my knee again. I was not feeling 100% at the beginning and was taking it easy but made another mistake and was outside the top thirty. After that I tried to re-group and bring it home. This is not the result we wanted but I saw a lot of people had troubles this first race. We won’t panic too much but we want to be further forward. I want to get behind the gate again and prove that I can get there. It is so important lately to be at the front at the start of motos. We need to work a bit more on this direction.”
Jorge Prado: “I’m very happy. I came here with a month of training, so to be 7th overall and to be better every time I was on track today means we have to be satisfied. I turned around my bad qualifying with good starts. The track was very tough and they left it bumpy from the European races yesterday. It was hard physically and I need to keep working on that but, overall, I felt quite decent. Speed-wise I am good. I just need to keep getting better.”
Results MXGP Grand Prix of Latvia 2020
1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED), GasGas (1-2)
2. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda (1-5)
3. Romain Febvre (FRA), Kawasaki (3-3)
4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI), Yamaha (5-2)
5. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (4-4)
7. Jorge Prado (ESP), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (8-7)
13. Tony Cairoli (ITA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (7-17)
Standings MXGP 2020 after round 03
1. Jeffrey Herlings 130
2. Tim Gajser 126
3. Glenn Coldenhoff 103
4. Tony Cairoli 86
5. Arminas Jasikonis 83
9. Jorge Prado 74
Results MX2 Grand Prix of Latvia 2020
1. Tom Vialle (FRA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (1-2)
2. Roan Van de Moosdijk (NED) Kawasaki (2-4)
3. Mathys Boisrame (FRA) Kawasaki (4-3)
4. Ruben Fernandez (ESP) Yamaha (3-7)
5. Ben Watson (GBR), Yamaha (6-5)
15. Rene Hofer (AUT), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (5-DNF)
Standings MX2 2020 after round 03
1. Tom Vialle 134
2. Jago Geerts 112
3. Jed Beaton 95
4. Maxime Renaux 86
5. Ben Watson 79
9. Rene Hofer 69