An adverse weather forecast turned the penultimate round of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship into an intense one-day event. Fantic Factory Racing MXGP’s Glenn Coldenhoff rose to the occasion, securing a strong sixth overall in the premier class.
While the MXGP of China was initially scheduled for Sunday and Monday, an impending typhoon forced organisers to compress the GP schedule into a one-day format. Qualifying races were cancelled, leaving a single practice session to determine pole position and gate picks. Fantic Factory Racing MXGP’s Glenn Coldenhoff and Brian Bogers placed ninth and tenth, respectively, in time practice, with less than 1.4 seconds separating the top 10 riders – a testament to the competitive nature of the premier class.
Fast out of the gate on his Fantic XXF 450, “The Hoff” sneaked into the top 5 in the opening lap of the first race. Finding his pace, the experienced Dutchman then settled into seventh for most of the moto. A late charge allowed him to capitalize on a rival’s mistake before picking up another place to cross the finish line in fifth, making it another strong outing for both him and the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP team. His start to the second moto was tougher, with a first-lap crash pushing Coldenhoff down the order. He fought back, making consistent progress to cross the finish line in eight, securing a commendable sixth overall on the day.
Brian Bogers showed improved pace and feeling on the Shanghai International Off-Road Circuit, but some unfortunate issues held him back in the races. He finished 14th in race 1 and was running inside the top 10 for most of the second moto, before having to retire with four laps remaining. Despite this, Bogers still collected points for a 15th-place finish, giving him 15th overall as well.
Coldenhoff and Bogers sit now sixth and tenth in the MXGP championship standings, heading into the final round of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship in Cózar, Spain, in two weeks’ time.
Glenn Coldenhoff: “Physically, I didn’t feel great today. I woke up at 2:30 in the night and couldn’t get back to sleep. Then I had a crash in the morning and just couldn’t find that extra bit I needed. At least my start was good in the first moto. I kept my pace; I didn’t do anything special, but I managed to finish fifth. I wasn’t far off fourth in the end, so that was positive. My start wasn’t as good in race 2, and on the first lap, another rider crashed in front of me and I couldn’t avoid him. I remounted almost last but came back to eight. I gave everything, I tried to gain one more spot for fifth overall, but came up just short. A 5-8 result for 6th overall is not what we are aiming for but we move forward and look ahead. Hopefully we can finish inside the top 5 or even the top 3 at the final round in Spain.”
Brian Bogers: “Actually, I felt better compared to the last few weekends, and my feeling on the bike was pretty good, but it turned out to be a tough day. In the first moto, I had to stop to change my goggles, which cost me too much time, especially with the lap times being so close on this track. In race 2, I was battling around eighth, but we ran into some issues. The team is already working on it, so hopefully, we can finish the season on a high note.”
