After per week’s break, the FIM Motocross World Championship fires into the primary of its final three-week run, the MXGP of Sweden for spherical 15 on the Glimminge Motorstadion venue close to Uddevalla on the south-western coast of the nation.
Sweden was one of many authentic powerhouse nations of World Motocross, claiming eight of the primary 9 World Championships ever to be held, and solely Belgium and France can boast extra World Champions than the Nordic nation.
The Uddevalla circuit has one of many longest histories of any within the 2024 calendar, with the primary World Championship Grand Prix being held there in 1958, received by residence hero and future double World Champion Sten Lundin on a Swedish Monark machine! There have been 25 GPs on the venue over time, with the report of 6 GP wins right here being held collectively by the legends Stefan Everts and Antonio Cairoli.
From the present area of immediately’s riders, it’s Kawasaki Racing Workforce pilot Jeremy Seewer who has received probably the most right here with three victories in whole, together with the final two occasions in MXGP, plus an MX2 win in 2017!
The MXGP class will see a continuation of the stellar three-way scrap for the title, as crimson plate holder Tim Gajser holds a 24-point benefit for Workforce HRC over Pink Bull GASGAS Manufacturing facility Racing’s Jorge Prado, whereas Jeffrey Herlings is simply 14 factors additional again for Pink Bull KTM Manufacturing facility Racing after an unbelievable win at Lommel!
The MX2 class is getting extra spaced out within the standings, with Kay de Wolf holding a 65-point lead over his Nestaan Husqvarna Manufacturing facility Racing teammate Lucas Coenen, however the racing continues to be powerful to foretell, particularly as final 12 months’s winner Simon Laengenfelder is coming off a race win at Lommel for Pink Bull GASGAS Manufacturing facility Racing and is hungry for his first total GP victory of 2024!
The EMX250 European Championships will once more be in motion in Sweden, and Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Mathis Valin nonetheless leads by 13 factors forward of Gabriel SS24 KTM teamster Cas Valk, with Valerio Lata simply 5 factors additional again for Beddini GASGAS Manufacturing facility Juniors! Sweden’s greatest hopes of success lie with August Frisk, who has been within the high ten a number of instances this season.
The EMX125 Introduced by FMF Racing European Championship sequence returns from a close to two-month break for the primary of a three-week run, With Fantic Manufacturing facility Racing EMX125 star Noel Zanocz main the Championship by 14 factors over Gyan Doensen for Racestore KTM Manufacturing facility Rookies. Freddie Bartlett and Sandro Sols will fly the flag for Sweden after a number of high ten outcomes this 12 months!
Not one of the large three who’re preventing for the world title in 2024 have gotten significantly good data across the Uddevalla circuit. Jeremy Seewer has taken the general victory in every of the final two seasons, and would dearly like to proceed that successful streak! Earlier than that, it was present Fantic Manufacturing facility Racing star Glenn Coldenhoff who received total in 2019, though Gajser did take the second race win that day.
Present crimson plate holder Gajser took the general again in 2017 in MXGP, in addition to in his MX2 title 12 months of 2015, whereas Herlings has to look again to his dominant MX2 years for victories in 2013 and 2014. A damaged chain right here in 2017 put paid to his world title hopes in his first MXGP season, and he hasn’t raced right here since!
This is without doubt one of the few circuits on the calendar the place Jorge Prado hasn’t received a GP, though he did win particular person races in 2017 and ’19 in MX2 and final season’s first outing. Kawasaki Racing Workforce’s Romain Febvre took a double victory in 2015, plus a race win in 2017, in addition to ending second total final 12 months.
Monster Power Yamaha Manufacturing facility MXGP’s Calvin Vlaanderen continues to be fourth within the sequence, and he took an MX2 race win right here in 2019, so he has good historical past right here and is in good kind regardless of a crash-ruined second race in Lommel. Sadly, his teammate Jago Geerts, MX2 winner right here in 2022, is not going to be right here after his return in Flanders didn’t go to plan.
JK Racing Yamaha rider Isak Gifting might be match and is trying ahead to his residence GP after a irritating sequence of races since Indonesia, whereas Alvin Ostlund might be on the lookout for extra factors after scoring one at Lommel. The 2 Swedes are seventeenth and nineteenth within the Championship.
The dearth of a transparent kind information makes it troublesome to guess who will come out on high in 2024, however with one other large sand GP to come back the week after, you possibly can wager that Gajser might be significantly wanting to get a outcome this weekend earlier than they return to Herlings and Prado’s playground!
MXGP – World Championship High 10 Classification: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 705 Factors; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 681 Factors; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 667 Pts; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 507 Pts; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, KAW), 479 Pts; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 419 Pts; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 405 Factors; 8. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 317 Pts; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 274 Pts; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 273 Pts.
The MX2 World Championship noticed an enormous momentum swing in the direction of Kay de Wolf on the MXGP of Flanders, however as at all times this season, the result’s by no means a foregone conclusion and his teammate Lucas Coenen might be going all-out to make it possible for the battle shouldn’t be over!
Neither of them have significantly fond reminiscences of Uddevalla, though Lucas did win an EMX250 race right here in 2022. Final 12 months, he crashed spectacularly in qualifying, whereas De Wolf was out injured. Kay had a so-so 7-7 scorecard right here in 2022.
Ater his shock win in race two at Lommel, Simon Laengenfelder may have excessive hopes for an excellent outcome this weekend, after ending on the rostrum in every of the final two years right here, together with final 12 months’s total victory. He has simply 12 factors between himself and Lucas Coenen for second within the sequence, and he’s the one rider in MX2 this 12 months to have received a GP in Sweden.
Pink Bull KTM Manufacturing facility Racing’s reigning World Champion Andrea Adamo received race two final 12 months to say third total, together with his teammate Liam Everts taking second total with 2-3 finishes. Monster Power Yamaha Manufacturing facility MX2 pilot Rick Elzinga scored his greatest race end of the entire 12 months with third in race one, and is on kind after his greatest GP outcome but at Lommel.
The highest Swede within the sequence, Leopold Ambjörnson, had one in every of his greatest GPs but at Lommel for Workforce Leoparden Racing, so might be eager to indicate his kind on residence floor, as will Younger Movement Powered by Resa pilot Arvid Lüning, who scored high 15 in every race at Lommel for the primary time this season.
MX2 – World Championship High 10 Classification: 1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 683 Factors; 2. Lucas Coenen (BEL, HUS), 618 Pts; 3. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 606 Factors; 4. Liam Everts (BEL, KTM), 556 Pts; 5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, TRI), 465 Pts; 6. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 457 Pts; 7. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 429 Pts; 8. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 391 Pts; 9. Oriol Oliver (ESP, KTM), 255 Pts; 10. Ferruccio Zanchi (ITA, HON), 254 Pts.
TIMETABLE
SATURDAY: 7:15 EMX125 Group 1 Free observe, 7:45 EMX125 Group 1 Free observe, 08:15 EMX250 Group 1 Free observe, 8:45 EMX250 Group 2 Free observe, 09:15 EMX125 Group 1 Qualifying observe, 09:55 EMX125 Group 2 Qualifying Observe, 10:30 MX2 Free Observe, 11:00 MXGP Free Observe, 12:20 EMX250 Group 1 Qualifying observe, 13:00 EMX250 Group 2 Qualifying observe, 13:40 MX2 Time Observe, 14:15 MXGP Time Observe, 15:00 EMX125 Race 1, 15:45 EMX250 Race 1, 16:35 MX2 RAM Qualifying Race, 17:25 MXGP RAM Qualifying Race.
SUNDAY: 09:45 EMX125 Race 2, 10:25 MX2 Heat-up, 10:45 MXGP Heat-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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©Phrases/Photos are from official press launch posted courtesy of www.mxgp.com