Red Plates Gajser And De Wolf Shine In Thrilling RAM Qualifying Races In Sweden
The steep slopes of the Glimminge Motorstadion near Uddevalla began a three-week run of racing for the MXGP World Motocross Championships today, with the RAM Qualifying Races producing some more stunning action in both classes as the amazing 2024 season continues!
The day began on a high note with an amazing and thrilling airplane show that captivated the fans and set the perfect tone for the action-packed event ahead.
The MXGP class saw a closely-fought victory for red plate holder Tim Gajser, who not only extended his Championship lead for Team HRC, but advanced to seven wins in RAM Qualifying Races this season, meaning that he is close to winning the RAM Driving Experience for the most Saturday wins on the year. His main title challenger, reigning World Champion Jorge Prado, was right on his tail across the finish line for Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing.
MX2 was witness to a brilliant battle at the front between Championship leader Kay de Wolf, who took his sixth RAM Qualifying Race victory of the year for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, and Dane Mikkel Haarup, who was close to his first race win for Monster Energy Triumph Racing.
Problems for Championship challengers Jeffrey Herlings and Lucas Coenen mean they have work to do to make up ground in tomorrow’s MXGP of Sweden!
Jeffrey Herlings showed his intent by topping the times for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in both Free Practice and Time Practice, leaving Gajser with the second gate pick ahead of Prado.
However, disaster struck for Herlings in the first corner, as he started on the fringe of the top ten but was unable to avoid a falling Calvin Vlaanderen, who slid to the floor on his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP machine just as Fantic Factory Racing star Brian Bogers took the holeshot ahead of the warring Gajser and Prado, who swapped places twice on the first lap!
Herlings had to fight from way outside the top twenty, and started picking off several riders at a time to break into the top ten on lap six. Gajser, meanwhile, passed Bogers for the lead on lap four with a committed downhill leap, and Prado followed past a few turns later on the first cambered corner!
On a hard-packed, slippery circuit, Bogers then lost third to Kawasaki Racing Team star Romain Febvre, who would finish in that position. Bogers only kept fourth after a spirited attack from Isak Gifting, who wore a viking hat and Swedish flag on the sighting lap to stir up the crackling atmosphere, fell short as the home hero clipped the Fantic’s back wheel on the face of the finish line jump and hit the ground hard! The Swede did well to salvage two points for JK Yamaha Racing in ninth, just ahead of Bogers’ teammate Glenn Coldenhoff.
Herlings advanced to a respectable seventh after passing TEM JP253 Racing’s Jan Pancar, earning himself 4 points to keep him within 44 points of Gajser in the Championship. Ahead of them, Uddevalla winner of the last two years, Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jeremy Seewer, moved past fellow Swiss rider Valentin Guillod for fifth in the closing laps. The Team Ship to Cycle Honda Motoblouz SR rider stayed in sixth, his best RAM Qualifying Race finish of the season so far.
At the front, Prado snapped at Gajser’s heels but could not make a pass! The final margin of victory was just 0.902 of a second, and the Slovenian knows that the Spaniard will be a handful tomorrow! The Honda man owes his entire points lead to his results in the Saturday races, however, and can now defend a 25-point advantage going into tomorrow, when Herlings will also look to make amends for his Saturday of struggles! It’s gonna be a hot one!
Tim Gajser:” I had a good start and Brian (Bogers) was in the beginning riding good, you know. It was not easy to pass, so I tried to manage to make a quick pass on him and then when I passed him Jorge passed him quickly after, so he was behind me the whole race. Towards the end, when we started to get to the lappers it was not easy for sure. But I’m happy with the win and hopefully tomorrow we can do the same.”
MXGP – RAM Qualifying Race – Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 24:13.179; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:00.902; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:22.144; 4. Brian Bogers (NED, Fantic), +0:27.201; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:27.534; 6. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +0:31.525; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:47.276; 8. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM), +0:48.518; 9. Isak Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +0:51.681; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:53.888
MXGP – World Championship Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 715 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 690 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 671 p.; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 507 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 485 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 420 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 413 p.; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 317 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 278 p.; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 pMain Photo: Jorge Prado
Lucas Coenen had set the best lap in Free Practice for Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing, but in Time Practice it was Kay de Wolf who beat him to the first gate pick, with Mikkel Haarup looking fast in both sessions to come to the line in third.
Haarup backed up his pace with a fine holeshot, his first of the year on a Saturday, and started to build a lead as De Wolf struggled to make his way past Simon Laengenfelder on the Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing machine. Liam Everts worked his way to fourth for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing but crashed on lap two and had to fight back to an eventual fifth. Lucas Coenen was also fighting from an average start and took until lap four to pass Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 pilot Rick Elzinga.
By lap three De Wolf was on Haarup’s case, but the Dane, in the closest thing he has to a home GP, was not giving up one bit, holding back the Championship leader with superb determination. On lap ten De Wolf, who had a stunning line over an uphill step-up that cleared a trough of deep ruts, finally succeeded in taking the lead with a pass at the end of the Pit Lane straight.
A lap later, Lucas Coenen fought past Laengenfelder, and the two who are disputing second in the series finished in third and fourth ahead of Everts and Team HRC’s Ferruccio Zanchi. Sacha Coenen took seventh for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, while his teammate Andrea Adamo grabbed the final point in tenth with a last lap pass on the other Monster Energy Triumph of Camden McLellan. Elzinga dropped to eighth, ahead of his Monster Energy Yamaha teammate Karlis Reisulis.
It wasn’t over for the lead, however, as Haarup picked up on De Wolf’s superior lines and used them, closing in on the red plate holder and nearly taking the lead back! They finished just 0.886 seconds apart, and there may be a few more Danish fans on the ferry to Uddevalla tomorrow morning!
The gap between the two Nestaan Husqvarna teammates is now 67 points in De Wolf’s favour, but if MX2 has taught us anything this season, it’s that the 2024 cast of characters can serve up any result possible! Don’t miss the Grand Prix races from Uddevalla, in front of a noisy and energetic crowd tomorrow afternoon!
Kay de Wolf: “Haarup was riding a really good race and yeah it was a fun one. The track is really technical at the moment so I really enjoy racing this track and it’s an amazing place. Really looking forward for tomorrow, hopefully we can have similar conditions on the track tomorrow and I’m sure we’re going to have an amazing day again.”
MX2 – RAM Qualifying Race – Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 24:23.503; 2. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Triumph), +0:00.886; 3. Lucas Coenen (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:08.263; 4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:25.912; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), +0:31.297; 6. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, Honda), +0:33.263; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:38.103; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +0:46.744; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:49.408; 10. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:49.701
MX2 – World Championship Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 693 points; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 626 p.; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 613 p.; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 562 p.; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 474 p.; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 458 p.; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 432 p.; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 395 p.; 9. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 259 p.; 10. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 255 p
MXGP OF SWEDEN QUICK FACTS:
Circuit length: 1510m
Type of ground: Hard-Pack
Temperature: 20°
Weather conditions: Cloudy / Windy
TIMETABLE
SUNDAY: 09:45 EMX125 Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Warm-up, 10:45 MXGP Warm-up, 11:30 EMX250 Race 2, 13:15 MX2 Race 1, 14:15 MXGP Race 1, 16:10 MX2 Race 2, 17:10 MXGP Race 2.
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©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of www.mxgp.com
