Saint-Jean-d’Angély is one of the most iconic stops on the calendar of the FIM Motocross World Championship and the MXGP of France 2024 did not disappoint with crazy weather adding to the challenge.
Saturday at the MXGP of France started off well with Glenn Coldenhoff posting the sixth fastest lap time in a dry time practice session. Just before the qualifying race, a rainstorm hit the beautiful hillside circuit of Saint-Jean-d’Angély. While Brian Bogers secured a solid eight place despite battling illness, it was a tougher heat in the mud for Coldenhoff who crashed hard and had to settle for 22nd.
The sun was out again for the first moto on Sunday and Brian Bogers powered his Fantic XXF 450 to a top 5 start. He was running in fifth for half of the race distance but had to drop a few positions in the final stages, eventually crossing the finish line in P9. Just like his teammate, Coldenhoff had a good start in sixth but struggled to find the right feeling and had to be content with P8.
Heavens opened again before the final moto and provided for another mudfest. Both Bogers and Coldenhoff didn’t get a good start and had to battle with the tricky track conditions, ending up in P12 and P13 for 10th and 11th overall.
Brian Bogers: “All in all, I had quite a good weekend, considering that I got sick on Friday. On Saturday I felt even worse and we started with a P21 in free practice – and finished the qualifying race in eight place, so I was happy with that. On Sunday I had a good warm-up, I felt good on the track. In the first moto I had a good start, I was riding in fifth for around 15 minutes. I got a bit tired, I had also a little bit of arm pump, I had to drop off a bit and finished in P9. In the second moto I spun on the gate and had a bad start. It was raining a lot, there was quite some water on track and that caused some visibility issues. While trying to pass another rider I made a mistake and crashed. I ended up in P12 for tenth overall. Anyway, we are getting better step by step, that is the most important.”
Glenn Coldenhoff: “I had a hard crash on Saturday, I hit my head pretty hard but it was quite alright on Sunday. I just didn’t feel comfortable at all in the first moto. My start was okay, I was in sixth for a while but I started to get a little bit of arm pump and dropped back. In race 2, I had wheelspin at the start and was completely in the back, maybe I was also a bit too careful in the beginning. It got better after a few laps but I was a bit off the pace and the results were just not good. I think we have to figure a few things out. The good news is, we have two weeks to do that. Hopefully, I will get a solid result again in Germany.”
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