In the first moto, it was Gyan Doensen who took the holeshot and was already pulling away on the opening lap but then disaster struck as he binned it on lap one.
The Dutch talent picked it back up in around tenth which allowed Noel Zanocz into the lead ahead of the young, small and impressive Manu Faure.
It was a chaotic race in the mid pack with plenty of riders crashing around the difficult conditions. Cole McCullough didn’t get a good start and as he got himself into the top ten had a crash. He then battled back from outside the top thirty into the top twelve but then had more problems for a DNF – not the race he’d have wanted.
Meanwhile, Doensen was on it as he carried a lot more momentum than his rivals he caught Zanocz, went around the outside of him and never looked back – an impressive win.
Douwe van Mechgelen stayed out of trouble and had a superb result for fourth – he’ll be delighted with that as Markus Ozolins rounded out the top five.
British talent, Josh Vail rode great despite the tough conditions for seventh behind Jarne Bervoets.
There was drama around the first corner of the second moto as birthday boy and moto one winner, Doensen went down meaning he had to come from last.
At the front, Faure was riding superb in the sand – these aren’t even supposed to be his conditions but he had a second and a half advantage over Zanocz. But with a two minutes to go Faure throw it away with a crash. It gifted Zanocz who found himself in the lead but then with a few laps to go rookie, Dani Heitink who was on for a podium started to close.
Heitink couldn’t do enough to pass for the lead and Faure made a pass for sixth with three corners to go to get himself on the podium and throw his team mate, Heitink off the podium.
Meanwhile, Doensen was charging through the pack making all sorts of passes and ended up fourth – only seven seconds off the lead, what a ride!
Zanocz revealed after the race that he crashed last week injuring his wrist and wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to race yet he won the opening round.
McCullough had more issues meaning another DNF – not the opening round he’d have wanted.
Race One:Â
Race Two:Â
Overall:Â
Updated championship standings:Â
Image: MXGP/Infront Moto Racing
