Juan Pablo Acevedo
Pauls Jonass has shown just what he’s capable of with an impressive third overall at the MXGP of Flanders-Belgium, round six of the FIM Motocross World Championship.
Pauls was on the gas all day, placing fourth in race one while in moto two, he led plenty of laps and came up just short of victory in second!
With a focus on his starts in the week leading up to Lommel, Pauls came out swinging in moto one to quickly slot into third. As the race continued, the Latvian posted consistently fast lap times to maintain his position and was all set for a top-three finish – until Antonio Cairoli demoted him to fourth with two laps to go.
For moto two, Jonass was on the gas from the start. Emerging from turn one in third, he moved into the lead on lap two and with a clear track, put the hammer down to extend his margin over the chasing pack of riders. Leading laps in MXGP is no easy feat and the 24-year-old led nine of them until he was reeled in and passed by Romain Febvre with a few laps to go.
Despite missing out on the win, Pauls was rightly ecstatic to be back on the MXGP podium and now aims to take his speed to Kegums for his home GP in Latvia next weekend.
“Just wow! There are so many firsts for me today that there are too many to list!, Jonass enthused. “My first podium on the GASGAS, my first laps led in MXGP ever, and my first overall podium finish of the season.
“After last weekend in Loket we hit the reset button and made a few changes on the bike, and they really helped today with the starts,” he explained. “With the team, we made some great progress before this race, and they really deserve this podium finish as well. Today has given me a huge confidence boost ahead of my home GP and I can’t wait to head out onto the track in front of my home fans next weekend. It’s going to be awesome!” he concluded.
Jonass will next be in FIM Motocross World Championship action at the MXGP of Latvia, round seven of the series, on August 8.
MXGP Results MXGP Flanders-Belgium 2021
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 1 – Top 10 Classification:
1 Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:37.691
2 Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:28.149
3 Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:36.418
4 Pauls Jonass (LAT, GASGAS), +0:41.724
5 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:49.914
6 Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:56.529
7 Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:57.895
8 Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:00.916
9 Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Yamaha), +1:10.924
10 Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +1:19.128
MXGP – Grand Prix Race 2 – Top 10 Classification:
1 Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 35:47.024
2 Pauls Jonass (LAT, GASGAS), +0:04.339
3 Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:09.748
4 Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:11.213
5 Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:31.247
6 Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:34.905
7 Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:37.604
8 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:39.296
9 Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:47.333
10 Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:49.616
MXGP – GP Top 10 Classification:
1 Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 47 Points
2 Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 41 Points
3 Pauls Jonass (LAT, GAS), 40 Points
4 Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 35 Points
5 Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34 Points
6 Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 32 Points
7 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 29 Points
8 Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 22 Points
9 Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 21 Points
10 Brian Bogers (NED, GAS), 20 Points
MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
1 Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 226 Points
2 Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 221 Points
3 Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 217 Points
4 Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 212 Points
5 Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 184 Points
6 Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 180 Points
7 Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 160 Points
8 Pauls Jonass (LAT, GAS), 159 Points
9 Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 111 Points
10 Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), 109 Points
