Mewse on a brilliant Faenza

Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee entered round six of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship, the Grand Prix of Italy, with just Conrad Mewse under the awning. Niggling injuries sidelined both Bas Vaessen and Adam Sterry, but Mewse rose to the occasion and represented the squad well in the MX2 class. A pair of strong rides ensured that all eyes were on the KTM 250 SX-F.

The old-school track of Faenza had not hosted a Grand Prix since 2012, so it was new to plenty of riders. It took no time at all for Mewse to get to grips with the layout though – he posted the sixth fastest lap in the timed qualifying session on Sunday morning. That momentum then served him well in race one, as he used the power within his steed to end lap one inside of the top five. Mewse clearly wanted more though; he put his head down, charged after podium positions and pushed the series leader all of the way to the end of the moto. Fifth was his final ranking and yet another step in the right direction.

Mewse was eager for more in the second MX2 moto, which took place beneath the beating sun late in the afternoon. Another good start was ruined by a crash on the slick surface, but Mewse was not to be deterred and charged on from the back of the field. Another fall held him back, but he still fought all of the way until the end of the race to pick up four valuable points in seventeenth. That put him in ninth overall on the day, when paired with his fifth from moto one, and also helped him jump to eighth in the series standings.

Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee and Conrad Mewse will carry that momentum into the seventh event of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship, the Grand Prix of Citta di Faenza, on Wednesday. 

Conrad Mewse: “Latvia was a step in the right direction for me, then today I feel like we made another step in the right direction. It was a solid weekend for me. The first race was very good – there was a lot of racing and battling going on. I was not even far off of second! That was a good race. I got an okay start in the second race and pushed through well. I tried to make a pass for sixth but tucked the front where they had just put water down. I tried though. It was a solid weekend, even with the second moto. The result was not there in that one, but I gave it one hundred percent.”

Words: KTM

Image: Ray Archer