The first day of the MXGP of Czech Republic held its promises during the Qualifying Races with Jorge Prado in MXGP and Andrea Adamo in MX2 both dominating their races.
On the old-school circuit of Loket, riders didn’t wait long to deliver some amazing moves and displayed great speed on the technical track. In front of many passionate Czech fans and scorching temperatures nearing 30 degrees, the battles across both categories entertained everyone present which made everyone already looking forward for tomorrow’s races.
In the MXGP RAM Qualifying Race, without much surprise, it was Jorge Prado who took the best start in front of Jeremy Seewer and Romain Febvre. Prado showed great speed although Seewer did not let the Red Plate holder get out of his sight for a large part of the race. Prado kept racing his laps and started to make a good gap with Seewer by mid-race to cruise to victory.
For Seewer, things were not that smooth as Febvre put a lot of pressure from behind him. Febvre who went down in lap 2 of 13 got overtaken by Rubén Fernández but didn’t take long to regain the third place and charge forward. He got closer and closer to Seewer trying to find new ways to pass the Swiss. He forced a move on lap eight but could not make the pass stick and had to regroup. The end of the race was tense but Seewer brilliantly held his second place while Febvre settled for third.
Fernández managed to have a pretty quiet race as he found himself fourth on lap one to then for one lap going third after Febvre misshape. After getting back to fourth he managed his race solidly to score seven points with the fourth place.
Tim Gajser, who celebrated his return from injury, showed that he is back for good, getting the fastest time in Timed Practice earlier in the day. He also had a great start in the Qualifying Race going fifth after a few corners. However, Glenn Coldenhoff quickly went on to threaten the 2022 MXGP World Champion. Coldenhoff made a good move and overtook Gajser for fifth within the first lap. Coldenhoff went on to keep his fifth place until the end while Gajser also solidly stayed sixth until the end even if he had to deal with late charges from Calvin Vlaanderen and Jeremy Van Horebeek.
Mitch Evans advanced methodically from an eighteen-placed start to secure his eventual twelfth place on lap six of thirteen; the next rider ahead of him was some distance ahead and he settled for that position in the intense heat.
“I didn’t feel great this morning in time practice but I knew the start will be important so I got a good jump out of the gate and a smooth first corner although I went a bit wide,” Prado explained. “We were pushing quite hard at the beginning and I made a few mistakes but then I switched on my riding to ride smoother and made the gap. I was riding better and I’m happy to get another RAM Qualifying Race and now we keep going!”
MX2
In MX2 Qualifying Race, it was Simon Laengenfelder who was the quickest out of the gates and took the lead in front of Liam Everts and Andrea Adamo.
While Laengenfelder showed good speed it was Adamo who demonstrated all his abilities to chase for the race win. Adamo inched closer to his teammate Everts and passed him with class to keep his charge forward. The determination and skills of the Red Plate holder were palpable as he got closer and closer to Laengenfelder. Adamo was simply too fast and powered through Laengenfelder to take the lead. Adamo kept going to win comfortably his first Qualifying Race of the season. Laengenfelder confirmed his form with an excellent second place. Everts also keeps scoring good points and ride at the front as he finished third.
Behind them, the astounding Isak Gifting got a great start to see himself in fourth after lap one. Gifting kept going and never looked back to confidently finish fourth his season’s best finish.
The battle for fifth place was fierce between Kay de Wolf and Jago Geerts. Geerts got himself fifth from the start and looked relaxed but de Wolf was determined to pass the Belgian. Several attacks from de Wolf were nearly successful but Geerts always found a way to take his fifth spot back until lap twelve when de Wolf finally got the last word. Geerts could not defend on de Wolf’s ultimate attack and de Wolf moved up to 5th and finish there while Geerts settled for sixth.
Unfortunately, many riders had their chances hindered by a multi-rider collision in the first turn which included Thibault Benistant and Lucas Coenen. Benistant had to retire while L.Coenen finished 16th.
Sacha Coenen made a great start as he found himself third after several corners but crashed in a turn and could not finish better than 17th in the end.
“I had a really good race, not a great start but I managed to stay on the bike over the first two laps after seeing many mistakes around me. I won the race, overtaking Simon (Laengenfelder) and Liam (Everts). This one is for you Giova, my ex-Team Manager, Emanuele Giovanelli. I hope he gets better quickly to see him back on the tracks,” Adamo said
MXGP – RAM Qualifying Race – Top 10 Classification:
1 Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), 24:08.817
2 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:01.052
3 Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:02.743
4 Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Honda), +0:11.254
5 Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +0:14.139
6 Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:16.483
7 Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:17.464
8 Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +0:18.386
9 Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), +0:19.890
10 Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +0:35.903
MXGP – World Championship – Top 10 Classification:
1 Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 572 Points
2 Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 467 Points
3 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 423 Points
4 Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 422 Points
5 Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 396 Points
6 Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 386 Points
7 Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 361 Points
8 Alberto Forato (ITA, KTM), 287 Points
9 Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 266 Points
10 Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 203 Points
MX2 – RAM Qualifying Race – Top 10 Classification:
1 Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 24:43.748
2 Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:03.641
3 Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:12.076
4 Isak Gifting (SWE, GASGAS), +0:18.364
5 Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), +0:21.119
6 Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:22.073
7 Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Husqvarna), +0:23.698
8 Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Kawasaki), +0:24.252
9 Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Honda), +0:37.443
10 Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, KTM), +0:45.344
MX2 – World Championship – Top 10 Classification:
1 Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 498 Points
2 Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 462 Points
3 Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 458 Points
4 Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 446 Points
5 Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 428 Points
6 Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 421 Points
7 Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 350 Points
8 Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 346 Points
9 Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 294 Points
10 Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), 242 Points
