The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team travelled to Mantova, Italy, for the penultimate round of the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship, which was run beneath overcast skies today. Following such a positive run of form, the YZ450FM-mounted trio entered the compact venue with some momentum and had high hopes for the Grand Prix of Lombardia.
Jeremy Seewer continues to place himself underneath the spotlight – he was very competitive at Mantova. Rocketing out of the gate aboard his YZ450FM, he claimed another holeshot in moto one and settled into the early lead. There was an untimely crash before the conclusion of the first lap, unfortunately, which he got up from in thirteenth. Seewer recovered well following that and clawed his way to fifth by the time that the chequered flag waved.
Seewer missed out on the holeshot in moto two. In fact, he was outside of the top ten and needed to focus on moving forward once again. That task was completed well, as he moved into fifth to finalise a consistent 5-5 scorecard at the Grand Prix of Lombardia. Such a solid Grand Prix meant that he edged closer to a top-five ranking in the championship; he is two points away from fifth place and four points from fourth. There is the potential for a lot to change on Wednesday.
The Grand Prix of Lombardia was a tough day for Glenn Coldenhoff. Finishing eleventh in moto one, he was eager to improve in moto two. A mediocre start meant that he could only advance up to twelfth though. It was a difficult day – eleventh overall was his final ranking. Coldenhoff is now seventh in the championship standings with just one round to go.
Ben Watson was stronger than his results would indicate – he was caught up in incidents on the first lap in both motos. Watson progressed from twenty-fifth to seventeenth in moto one and then twenty-second to thirteenth in moto two. A 17-13 scorecard left him in thirteenth in the overall classification. Watson is still eleventh in the championship standings.
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP will focus on the grand finale now! The final round of the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship will also be run at Mantova on Wednesday.
Jeremy Seewer: "Results-wise, this was not the day I expected or wanted. Speed and confidence-wise, it was really good. Mantova is a tough track. It's definitely not my favourite, but I still had the speed for the podium. Today I didn't manage to put the motos together, but looking at the positives... I took the holeshot in race one. Jeffrey [Herlings] crashed, I hit him and this turned my race upside down. I had to fight through the pack. In the second moto, I completely messed up my start. I entered the first corner buried in the pack and came back to the front really strong. In terms of my riding, it was one of my best rides this year and especially on this kind of track. I am happy with it. Only the result on paper doesn't reflect my speed, but now we work to be back fighting up front at the final round on Wednesday."
Glenn Coldenhoff: "Another tough day. Starting in time practice with only the seventeenth time. We know that I am a good starter, so I was able to get a good start in race one. Unfortunately, I didn't have a good feeling on the track and went backwards. Before the second race, we made some quite big changes to the set-up of the bike and it was definitely a bit better. I was still battling around thirteenth or fourteenth though – not where we want to be. We hope to bring more confidence into the final round on Wednesday."
Ben Watson: "It's been a difficult day for me. I struggled in qualifying, which meant I had a bad gate pick in both races. I was blocked in both races with people crashing in front of me, so I had to come from the back of the pack. I felt okay with my riding, but nothing special, and you need to reach that next step if you are to make passes and move through the field quickly in the MXGP class. I did feel a lot better in the second race and came from the back to thirteenth, but I still want more. Wednesday, we try again." |
