Juan Pablo Acevedo
The MNC MXGP of Lombok – Indonesia kicked off today with the Qualifying Race that saw Jorge Prado in MXGP and Jago Geerts in MX2 both dominating their race perfectly from start to finish.
It was the first time that riders got to race on the circuit of Selaparang which has already tested them with its technical characteristics. The tight track made it hard for riders to relax but tested their skills with great quality dirt.
In the MXGP Qualifying Race, Jorge Prado and Jeremy Seewer made a great start but Rubén Fernández was just behind them to pile on the pressure. A titanic battle ensued between Seewer and Fernandez for second place before the conclusion of the official first lap. Both riders answered each other and muscled their way in a give-and-take that lasted over a few turns. Fernandez in the end made the pass stick and went second while Seewer went off track but stayed third. Prado led from the start until the end as Fernandez kept the pace but could not get close enough. Prado managed the rest of the race and was imperial in his win. Fernandez ended in a good second place in the end.
Seewer’s third spot became threatened when Romain Febvre kept increasing his pace as he got closer. Febvre did not take long to pass Seewer on lap four and kept riding strong to finish third while Seewer settled for fourth in the end.
His Swiss countryman Valentin Guillod made a good start seeing himself in ninth on lap one. However, Guillod showed an impeccable style as he charged forward to overtake lap after lap many riders including Alberto Forato, Calvin Vlaanderen and Ben Watson. Guillod confidently kept great speed to get his season’s best finish in the Qualifying Race in fifth position. Despite a great start, Watson fell down through the rank due to a mistake on lap sixth to finish just outside the points in eleventh place.
“I got a good start which is the key over here,” Prado explained. “I rode smoothly and kept myself for tomorrow, controlling the race and not making any mistakes. I really wanted to understand the track so I change lines sometimes and playing the bumps. It’s fun as we are not used to riding these tight tracks but they made a great job, I’m having a lot of fun with the bike. Hopefully, I can bring the same fun tomorrow and do the same”
MX2
In MX2 Qualifying Race, Jago Geerts had a great start and took the lead and showed the threat he is when he feels 100% fit. Geerts kept going at the lead in front of the excellent Roan Van de Moosdijk. Van De Moosijk kept his sight on Geerts for a while but could not get close enough to try a move.
Geerts went on to comfortably win his first race since his injury in France to celebrate the 100th GP of his career. He also sends a strong message to his rivals for the MX2 title. Van De Moosdijk kept an incredible pace too, to stay second throughout the whole race and bounce back from his eighth overall in Sumbawa.
Behind them, Simon Laengenfelder also kept a very fast pace to make his way to third early on to keep this place until the end, scoring 8 points to the Championship. Riding a similar race Red Plate holder Andrea Adamo got a good start as he turned fourth on lap 1 of 12. He was comfortably in fourth when his teammate Liam Everts got closer as the race went on. However, Adamo picked his speed up to secure fourth place.
Everts had to pass a very strong Rick Elzinga on lap two for fifth and showed great speed to finish fifth in the end. Elzinga looked like he is getting his flow back after a fast start. He had to concede a couple of positions early in the first couple of laps but finished 6th in the end which will give him some momentum for Sunday’s racing.
“It felt very nice to win this race, I felt very good from the first lap in free practice as it is a track that I really like. It was nice to take the Holeshot and kept riding my laps even if Roan was pushing behind. But I feel good and I am looking forward to tomorrow,” Geerts said.
MXGP – RAM Qualifying Race – Top 10 Classification:
1 Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), 24:54.741
2 Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:01.780
3 Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:04.638
4 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:07.205
5 Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +0:16.838
6 Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:24.927
7 Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:36.939
8 Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), +0:44.405
9 Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:47.125
10 Alvin Östlund (SWE, Honda), +0:49.122
MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification:
1 Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 515 Points
2 Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 412 Points
3 Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 386 Points
4 Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 383 Points
5 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 378 Points
6 Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 350 Points
7 Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 329 Points
8 Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), 259 Points
9 Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 235 Points
10 Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 203 Points
MX2 – RAM Qualifying Race – Top 10 Classification:
1 Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), 24:50.004
2 Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Husqvarna), +0:04.330
3 Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:08.796
4 Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:13.165
5 Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:15.835
6 Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:32.513
7 Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:33.206
8 Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:34.853
9 Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:41.246
10 Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:44.977
MX2 – World Championship – Top 10 Classification:
1 Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 446 Points
2 Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 437 Points
3 Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 421 Points
4 Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 391 Points
5 Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 387 Points
6 Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 382 Points
7 Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 316 Points
8 Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 303 Points
9 Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 268 Points
10 Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 217 Points
