The Monster Energy MXGP of Flanders have treated us to some epic action over the weekend, as the MXGP and MX2 riders took on the challenge, at what is known as one of the toughest sand tracks in the world. The races today saw some epic action, as we added some new race winners in MXGP and MX2, as Gautier Paulin and Ben Watson of the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing MXGP and MX2 squad, took a race win each in their respective classes. Though it was Team HRC’s Tim Gajser who took a second consecutive win here in Lommel, with a 2-1 result which put him on top of the box. While in MX2, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle had a solid day to finish 2-2 in the races to claim his sixth overall win of the 2020 campaign.
In the opening MXGP race of the day, it was JM Honda Racing’s Dylan Walsh who grabbed the Fox Holeshot, as he led Gajser, Arnaud Tonus and Gautier Paulin of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing. There were a few riders caught up in a crash on the first turn, two of them being Adam Sterry of Hitachi KTM Fuelled by Milwaukee and Calvin Vlaanderen of Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha Racing. It didn’t take long for Gajser to take the lead, as Walsh crashed, Prado and Paulin also followed through and those were the top three for the next few laps. Marchetti Racing Team KTM’s Brian Bogers had a great start to the race as he was sitting in fourth, this was also the position he eventually finished the race in.
Both Romain Febvre of Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer both didn’t have the best start to the race as they were down in 16th and 17th in the opening laps. Though Seewer was able to quickly pull through, as he passed 6 riders in a single lap to get himself into the top 10. Paulin then went after the #61 of Prado and was able to pass him by the second lap, to get himself into P2. The Frenchman then set his best lap of the race and was 2.808 seconds down on Gajser who led the way. But Gajser was quick to respond with a flying lap, which put the gap back up to 4.383.
Championship rival, Antonio Cairoli of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing had a tough first race after starting outside the top 15. He managed to finish the race in 13th, not where the 9-time world champion would have hoped to be. Paulin, Prado and Bogers then clocked their best laps of the race at the same time, as Paulin got the gap down to 2.386. Further down the field, Seewer was applying the pressure to Jeremy Van Horebeek of Honda SR Motoblouz for P6. The pair then caught up to Tonus, as Seewer passed the two riders within a couple of laps.
On lap 11 we saw a change of lead, as Gajser crashed out of first place, which allowed Paulin to make of this opportunity to go after his first race win since Valkenswaard 2017. Seewer was the next rider to go down, as he lost the two spots he worked hard to gain, to Van Horebeek and Tonus. And despite his best efforts he had a small issue with the bike, which he needed to pull over to fix, that also lost him 2 more spots and he eventually finished the race in 8th. In the end it was Paulin who claimed the first race victory here in Lommel, while Gajser finished second and Prado third.
Coming into today’s races, Standing Construct GasGas Factory MXGP’s Glenn Coldenhoff was among the favourites for the podium. Unfortunately, the Dutchman did not line up for the races, as a crash in the MXGP timed practice session forced him out of today’s action. As the gate dropped for the second MXGP race of the day, it was Prado who grabbed the Fox Holeshot, with Gajser, Seewer, Tonus and Bogers right behind him. Gajser then started to go after Prado for the top spot, as just 0.5 seconds separated the pair, and he was able to make the pass stick by the second lap, as Prado made a mistake.
Seewer then started to come under pressure from Bogers who was keen to put on a good performance. Cairoli was also having a much better start to the race as he was sitting in 7th just behind Paulin. Gajser then continued to lead the way as he gradually stretched out his lead, while Seewer started to catch up to Prado, as Febvre joined in on the battle too. Bogers then crashed out of 5th, which allowed Paulin and Cairoli through, as the two continued their race long battle.
With 6 minutes plus 2 laps to go, Seewer and Prado were having a close battle. The pair made contact in one of the corners, after Prado lost a bit of ground, which also saw the Spaniard go down as a result. Febvre benefited from this as well, as Prado re-joined in 4th. 3 laps to go and Gajser had a comfortable 10.447 second lead to Seewer, who made a mistake on the final lap and went off the circuit. As a result, he lost a position to Febvre. In the end it was Gajser who was victorious, as Febvre crossed the line in second and Seewer holding on to third.
In terms of the podium, it was Gajser who took to the top step of the podium and claimed his second consecutive win in Lommel. Gautier Paulin finished second overall, for his first podium appearance of 2020 and Prado occupied the final step. After today’s races, Gajser has doubled his championship lead from 24 to 48 points over Cairoli, as Prado and Seewer both have 429 points and are third and fourth in the standings heading into round 14.
Tim Gajser: “Already from the beginning I was feeling really good on the bike and on the track as well. In the first race I got a really good start, I was second and I managed to catch the leader and pass him. I was able to make a little gap and go ahead but I made a mistake and I lost the front. I crashed, this is when Gautier passed me. In the second race the start was not so good but after the first corner I was able to go second and then pass Prado, make a little gap and go ahead with the win of the race so I’m super happy about today”.
Gautier Paulin: “It has been a while but I’m really happy to be back on the podium for myself, for my team and for my family and as you said it was a long time since I took my last win. In the first race I pushed really hard because I wanted this win and I found the good rhythm. It has been a really tough one because you know at the beginning of May I broke my back and right now to be back at this level is… When I was on the bed of the hospital I was really scared. In Latvia I injured my hand and once again in Faenza I had a really hard crash so now I’m really happy to be back again”.
Jorge Prado: “It has been difficult. The track was hard but it’s good to get used to these conditions because we’ll have other two races there and we are doing good to improve that is really good for the future. In the first race I had a really good start from the gate, and I was in the first position, in the second race I did a perfect start but after Tim passed me very quick and even if I tried to follow him, he made quite a gap. Then I was fighting for the second position and Seewer come from inside and I crashed, after that Paulin and Tony were on my tail and I managed in the last lap to be 4th in the second race. Being third overall is really good but I’m looking for more on Wednesday. I’m very happy to be third in the championship because after all that happened to me in the beginning of the season is great; anyway, we are still charging and we will see how it will end up”.
