Switzerland is back on the MXGP this year and it’s back in the City of Frauenfeld but it’s not at the same man made circuit as before as the traditional old school track is hosting the GP instead – a completely different track to the modern GP tracks but something different for the riders!
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- Unique GP: This is a very unique Grand Prix here at Frauenfeld with the paddock being located beside a sugar factory which looks like a nuclear power plant. The paddock is hard standing and a huge space though which is ideal but the paddock is 2K away from the circuit! Strange. But there’s shuttle buses to and from the track running so it’s actually working pretty well, just a very different and unusual vibe from a usual Grand Prix.
- The track: It doesn’t get much more off-school than this! With the circuit on show it’s like we are back in the 80’s. Whilst the track is narrow and you could argue whether it’s suitable for a modern day GP, it is certainly something different these days. At the start of the day the track was fairly basic but towards the end it got more challenging with plenty of gnarly ruts and it started to get choppy to give the circuit a bit more of a personality and a challenge to the riders. Without too much track prep it could be perfect on Monday.
Image: Infront Moto Racing - The racing was great: The racing was great all day. Starting with WMX even though Duncan dominated in the end, it was a three way battle at one stage. In EMX125, Janis Reisulis is just immaculate but Mathis Valin kept it respectable as the both put on a masterclass – 50 seconds ahead of third. Benistant and Prado took home impressive qualifying victories but a number of riders will feel they can do the same with good starts which are going to be very important at this track.
Image: Infront Moto Racing - Debutants: Mikkel Haarup made his WZ KTM and looked superb for half of the race. Considering he only got one day on the bike coming into this GP he’s already looking good with a seventh spot – he should only get more comfortable as he gets used to the bike. Ken de Dycker who knows what it takes will also be working with the young Dane. Jack Chambers from America was making his MX2 GP debut after signing with DRT Kawasaki to replace Haarup and was having a good race battling for the top twelve but was docked five spots due to failing a noise test after appearing to have an exhaust problem.
- Nice to see full gates: There’s been a major call from the fans for MXGP to see full gates again and the paddock is huge here in Frauenfeld with over 200 riders. Infront Moto Racing decided to reduce the entry fees this year and it seems to be working so far with plenty of wildcard entries in Argentina and now this weekend – let’s hope it can continue moving forward as it’s good for the sport.
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Image: Infront Moto Racing Onto Monday which should produce plenty of good racing and close battles across all four classes!
Article: Andy McKinstry
Images: Infront Moto Racing
- The racing was great: The racing was great all day. Starting with WMX even though Duncan dominated in the end, it was a three way battle at one stage. In EMX125, Janis Reisulis is just immaculate but Mathis Valin kept it respectable as the both put on a masterclass – 50 seconds ahead of third. Benistant and Prado took home impressive qualifying victories but a number of riders will feel they can do the same with good starts which are going to be very important at this track.
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