MX2 & MXGP: Who impressed in Latvia?
MX2
It’s only his rookie year after moving up from the EMX250 class but that hasn’t stopped the impressive Thomas Kjer Olsen from turning heads. This weekend got even better for the Danish rider, it was almost the perfect weekend! He won the qualifying race that give him the confidence he could win. In the first moto he rode a superb race out in front and brought it home! In the second moto he suffered from a bad start as he was well outside the top five. He charged through the pack and got back to second though showing some great speed. It’s the first MX2 GP victory of his career but he could add plenty more. He should be stronger in 2018 and could become a genuine title challenger.
One rider that has been improving race by race is HSF Logistics KTM rider, Calvin Vlaanderen and he had the best GP of his career at the weekend. He ended up fifth in the first moto which is very impressive. He was sitting in the same position in moto two but then got the pit board to pass Prado for the podium. He put the head down and made the move on the young Spanish kid with two laps to go. To somewhat of a surprise he got himself on the box with a third overall. This will give him the belief that he can run with the best so don’t be too surprised to see him do it on a more regular basis now.
The start of the season did not go at all well for Conrad Mewse, he was struggling to just get points. The team decided to leave him at home instead of going to Mexico. Latvia was a huge improvement for the Brit, it was like watching a different rider as he showcased the talent we know he has. In the first moto he started outside the top ten but didn’t go backwards, instead he forced his way into ninth which was pleasing to see. It all clicked for him in the second moto as it went even better. He started just outside the top five and was on the gas! At times he was the quickest rider on the track and he crossed the line in third, his best moto in the MX2 World Championship to date. A fifth overall is a step in the right direction and he will hope to maintain this level at the next GP in Germany.
Olsen isn’t the only rookie in the class this year as Darian Sanayei has also moved up from the EMX250 series. It hasn’t been all plane sailing as it has been for Olsen in the class but the American had one of his better GP’s in Latvia. Starts are so crucial in MX2 as the class is stacked with so much talent. Starts haven’t been Sanayei’s strong point but they were much better this weekend. He ended up seventh in both the moto’s for sixth overall which is an improvement on the last couple of riders. He will want to put his Dixon Kawasaki on the podium soon though!
Kemea Yamaha rider, Alvin Ostlund had a solid weekend ending up tenth overall, he will be hoping of plenty of the same moving forward. Bas Vaessen made his return to racing and showed some good speed to end up twelfth overall. Another rider that impressed was Karel Kutser as he ended up fourteenth overall. He was superb in the second moto as he finished eleventh, not bad considering he’s on a standard bike!
MXGP
It looks like a certain Jeffrey Herlings has got his mojo back. He showed great speed at Valkenswaard coming through the pack and he performed even better in Latvia. It was the perfect weekend for him winning the qualifying race and both the moto’s on Sunday. He is now the fifth winner in the class this year which is incredible considering we have only had seven rounds!
In terms of the championship Herlings clawed back lots of points. After Gajser’s bad weekend he gained back forty-three points on him alone. He was 110 points of the red plate after Valkenswaard but has got that narrowed done to 84 points (yes, 84). His rivals can’t afford to let him go 1-1 in Germany again at the next GP because his confidence will go sky high and we all know how he could perform then. There are plenty of battles and exciting racing ahead.
Even though Antonio Cairoli didn’t ride all that great in the first moto it ended up being a positive weekend for him. He has that red plate back and has seventeen points over Gajser in the championship chase. With Gajser a doubt for Germany and if he does race, he won’t be in his best physical condition so it will be another opportunity for Cairoli to gain points. With TC being such a smart rider it could be hard to stop him winning his ninth world title at this point.
It wasn’t the best Valkenswaard GP for Evgeny Bobryshev but he brought his ‘A’ game to Latvia. He ended up third and fourth in the moto’s which was good enough to get him back on the box with a third overall. Bobby is the perfect number two rider in a factory team as he is always capable of a podium and that’s exactly what he did in Latvia.
Consistency is paying off for Clement Desalle and he put in a good performance on his Factory Kawasaki in Latvia. He picked up a rib injury as he reveals, “I couldn’t train as usual after Valkenswaard as I had pain in my ribs”. That didn’t seem to hinder him though as he finished a brilliant second in the first moto. He followed that up with a solid fifth for fourth overall just missing out on an overall podium. It shouldn’t be too long before we see him back on the box, he should be good at the hard pack tracks coming up.
After missing the last two MXGP rounds due to injury, Max Anstie made his return to racing in Latvia and he was flying on his ICE ONE Husqvarna. He ended up ninth in the first moto and a superb sixth in the second moto for sixth overall. That is something to build on moving forward and he should only continue to improve.
A shout out to Arminas Jasikonis who continues to impress. He was sitting in seventh during the first moto but unfortunately had a bike problem so had a DNF. He pulled a holeshot in the second moto and stayed in the lead for an impressive ten minutes! That is his first experience leading a GP and he ended up a superb third behind sand masters Jeffrey Herlings and Antonio Cairoli. Not a bad two riders to be passed by and he would have learnt a tonneriding in behind them. He will be hoping to carry this form into the hard pack tracks.
Pics: Youthstream
