In the opening MXGP race it was Team HRC’s Tim Gajser who claimed the first FOX Holeshot. He was closely followed by Standing Construct GasGas Factory rider Glenn Coldenhoff and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Arnaud Tonus.
During lap 2, Coldenhoff was able to jump into the lead, while Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings was down in P9, following a crazy crash in the Time Practice session.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Arminas Jasikonis had a pretty good start and in the early stages of the race was chasing Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer and Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing’s Clement Desalle for P6.
On lap 4, Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing’s Romain Febvre was all over the back of Jorge Prado of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and eventually found his way past the Spaniard to take 4th place.
As Gajser clinched the lead from Coldenhoff halfway through the race, Jasikonis was trying find a way past Desalle and Herlings, and as he passed the two riders a couple of laps later, then set his sights on 5th place.
With 5 minutes and 2 laps to go, Herlings was on a mission passing Prado, Jasikonis and breathing down Seewer’s neck. By the end of the race he managed to pass the Yamaha rider and move into 4th place where he finished.
In the end it was Gajser who won, with Coldenhoff 2nd and Febvre 3rd.
As the gate dropped for the second MXGP race of the day, it was the Factory GasGas machine of Coldenhoff that reached the FOX Holeshot line first, followed by Gajser and Seewer who were also quick out of the gate.
On the opening laps it was Coldenhoff who led Gajser, Seewer, Prado, Desalle, Febvre and Jasikonis, all while Tonus was not having the best of luck coming back from the back of the field.
Jasikonis, with a crowd of Lithuanian fans supporting him, was keen to put on a show as he moved quickly past Desalle for P5 and then Prado for 4th position.
As the top 5 continued to battle amongst themselves, Tonus found himself caught in more trouble as he crashed out and was left fighting from dead last.
A couple of laps later and Febvre was chasing down Jasikonis for 4th, as the two had a brief battle where they changed positions among one another for a couple of corners, though it was Febvre who came out on top in the end.
Antonio Cairoli of Red Bull KTM Factory had a tough day in Kegums as he made his way through the back end of the field, finishing 17th in the end.
But all eyes were on the 3 riders out front, with Coldenhoff, Gajser and Seewer all close together. During that point of the race it was hard to predict a clear winner with all 3 putting a lot on the line. As a result, Gajser may have pushed a little too hard and went down pretty hard in the wave sections.
This gave Coldenhoff a little bit of breathing room, though not for long as Seewer was straight on the back of him. In the last two laps we saw the GasGas and Yamaha factory riders locked in battle, though Coldenhoff was able to keep it cool and ended up as the race 2 winner.
Seewer finished 2nd with Febvre, Herlings, Gajser and Jasikonis who was 6th.
Overall, it was a historic day for GasGas and Glen Coldenhoff as they claimed the first race win and podium for the manufacturer. Tim Gajser was 2nd overall, with Febvre occupying the 3rd step of the podium, an incredible achievement for his first MXGP race of the year.
Despite missing out on the podium, Jeffrey Herlings still managed to hold on to the championship lead as we head into round 4 on Wednesday with the MXGP of Riga!
Glenn Coldenhoff: “It was an amazing second race, I did not make any mistakes and just did my own thing, in the end Jeremy was pushing hard and then I saw on his pit board pass for the win and I didn’t know where Gajser was so I really pushed hard for it and I’m so happy for the win”
Tim Gajser: “I was feeling great, riding was good in the beginning, it was not so easy to find a line to pass, so I followed Glenn for half the race and then I got really close so I tried to pass him then I switched the line on the waves and got sideways; I had a big crash, thankfully I could re-join. I tried to pass at the end, I tried to push for Jeffrey, but I couldn’t find the rhythm again. Overall, I’m happy, it’s just the first race coming back from such a long break, so I want to say a huge thanks to everyone”.
Romain Febvre: “It was good. This is my first MXGP race of the year, we came far with my injury and not racing the first two GPs, so I’m really happy about that and also for the team even if I want more. At some point I was faster and was catching the leaders at the end but the last few laps were complicated, finished 3rd twice so I’m happy to be on the podium.