The FIM Motocross World Championship lands in Sardinia this weekend for the second round of the season and will head to Riola Sardo for the third edition in the row of the MXGP of Sardegna.
The island of Sardinia is an important site for motocross as it becomes a training hub during the winter preparation for many riders and teams. The circuit of Riola Sardo, which will be the first European stop of MXGP in 2023, is also a well-known circuit among riders and the whole paddock as it used to host pre-season international races.
This weekend will also see the supporting classes join the festivities with the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship and the FIM Motocross European Championship EMX250. It will be the first round of the season for these categories.
In WMX, six-time World Champion MX Fonta Racing Team’s Kiara Fontanesi will be making her come back to the competition and will join the current World Champion Ceres 71 Yamaha’s Nancy Van de Ven along with three-time World Champion DRT Kawasaki’s Courtney Duncan and Fantic Factory Maddii’s Lynn Valk. The 2023 WMX season is guaranteed to be really competitive.
In EMX250, the 2022 EMX125 European Champion Fantic Factory Maddii’s Cas Calk will be one to watch in Sardinia after stepping up in EMX250, along with the Junior 125 World Champion Hutten Metaal Yamaha’s Ivano Van Erp.
In 2022, Riola Sardo hosted the 8th round of the season. While at that time Team HRC’s Tim Gajser won six out of seven GPs and dominated the Championship, it was Team Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing‘s Calvin Vlaanderen who defied all the odds to display a dominant performance winning both races and clinching the first GP of his career in MXGP. This was in front of Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s JorgePrado and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing MXGP Team’s Glenn Coldenhoff.
Without the current World Champion Tim Gajser but with the comeback of the “bullet” Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings, this new season is now underway as we are coming into the second round. We saw in Argentina on the opening round Team HRC’s Ruben Fernandez who celebrated his first GP victory under his new colours winning the first Grand Prix of his career, with a 5-1 that could have easily been an even better result without a crash late in the race 1. Behind him, on the second step of the podium was Herlings with a 4-2 who proved that despite 1 year without competition, we can still count on the five-time World champion to play the top roles. Jorge Prado finished 3rd in the overall. His 1-6 was embellished by grasping the 1st place in the RAM Qualifying Race adding 10 points toward the championship rank. This extra 10 points counting for the championship gave Prado the Red Plate coming into Riola Sardo.
Just outside the podium was 2015 World Champion Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre who displayed 2-5 and showed he is back on form after missing the first half of last season. Then Pauls Jonass with 6-4 started the season very well riding for the top spots throughout the 2 races and finishing 5th.
The two teammates from Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing MXGP Team, Maxime Renaux and Jeremy Seewer with a 3-9 and 17-3 respectively, both had a similar trajectory in Villa La Angostura with a strong heat each coupled with another one less successful and stained by a crash. 6th and 7th in the GP they will be ready to score a make up for it with a maximum point in Sardinia.
Other riders like Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing’s Mattia Guadagnini started well in the Qualifying Race finishing 2nd, did not quite managed to capitalise during the races but still deliver some encouraging results with a 10-8 and 8th overall. The Italian rider will be one to compete in front of home fans which will definitely giving him a boost to get to the top spots. SM Action Racing Team Yuasa Battery’s Alberto Forato is another Italian rider that could benefit from the local fans to get into this top 10 after ending just outside of it in Argentina with a solid 11th place. The MXGP of Sardegna could well be the perfect place for them to increase their points tally in the beginning of the season.
Championship Standings
1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 50 points;
2. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 48 p.;
3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 44 p.;
4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 41 p.;
5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 40 p.;
6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 36 p.;
7. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, GAS), 33 p.;
8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 26 p.;
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 25 p.;
10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 24 p
2022 MXGP of Sardegna MXGP Top 3:
1. Calvin Vlaanderen
2. Jorge Prado
3. Glenn Coldenhoff
Last year, by the time we arrived at Riola Sardo, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Jago Geertsand Tom Vialle both won 3 GPs and were at the top of the championship and it was Vialle who clinched the win in front of Geerts and his teammate Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Thibault Benistant.
Jago Geerts sent a huge message to the concurrence in the opening round of this season with a perfect hat-trick; topping the RAM Qualifying Races, Race 1 and Race 2, racking up 60 points, the maximum points possible. The experience of the three-time Vice World Champion showed as he battled against his teammate Benistant throughout race 1 and resisting the assault of the Frenchman until the end.
Second on the podium, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Andrea Adamo has been a model of regularity with a 3-3 and showing great speed throughout the whole weekend. The Italian rider will have the home advantage this weekend in Sardinia as he will push to get his first Grand Prix win of his career in MX2. Benistant, one of the favourites of the season, had to settle for the 3rd place on the podium with a 2-8. Both riders will come into the second round with plenty of confidence, ready to show that they have all the qualities get to the top spot.
Another solid performance was the one of F&H Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo with a 5-2 and finishing 4th in the GP. Just behind him was the rookie Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2 Team’s Rick Elzinga who did not wait long to be disputing the first roles on in Argentina. The dutchman finished the GP at the 5th place with a really good 7-4.
Then finishing 6th 7th and 8th an interesting trio composed of Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Roan Van de Moosdijk, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Simon Laegenfelder and Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Kay de Wolf who all had the speed to be at the high-end of the table but were unfortunate with crashes which hindered their results. However, in Argentina they showed that we will have to count on them this season to disrupt the hierarchy in MX2. The third rider of Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing Lucas Coenen has shown great promises on his first MX2 GP in Argentina as he took the FOX Holeshot in race 1 before crashing and not finishing the race but got back to 9th in race 2. He has the speed and will definitely be a serious contender this season.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Liam Everts also showed flashes of his talented and that he will be a contender already in Sardinia as he grabbed the 5th place in race 1, while a crash early in the second heat stopped him to get a much better place in the overall (9th), although he did perform very well in the RAM Qualifying race with a 4th place.
Championship Standings
1. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 60 points;
2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 49 p.;
3. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 41 p.;
4. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 37 p.;
5. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KAW), 36 p.;
6. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, HUS), 36 p.;
7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 33 p.;
8. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 31 p.;
9. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 31 p.;
10. Jan Pancar (SLO, KTM)-
2022 MXGP of Sardegna MX2 Top 3:
1. Tom Vialle
2. Jago Geerts
3. Thibault Benistant
TIMETABLE
SATURDAY: 09:30 WMX Free Practice, 10:00 EMX250 Free Practice, 10:30 MX2 Free Practice, 11:00 MXGP Free Practice, 11:55 WMX Qualifying Practice, 12:30 EMX250 Qualifying Practice, 13:45 MX2 Time Practice, 14:20 MXGP Time Practice, 15:05 WMX Race 1, 15:45 EMX250 Race 1, 16:35 MX2 Qualifying Race, 17:20 MXGP Qualifying Race.
SUNDAY (CEST – Central European Summer Time): 09:45 WMX 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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