Back in the familiar surroundings of Europe, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP jumped onto the iconic orange dirt of Agueda this past weekend. The historic Portuguese venue played host to the fourth stop on the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship calendar. The YZ450FM-mounted trio were excited to return to the jump-laden layout – the global pandemic stopped a Grand Prix from being run in the nation the last two years.
Glenn Coldenhoff started the Portuguese event in a much better fashion; he romped to a clear victory in the qualifying heat and established momentum heading into race day. The triumph marked his first pole position in ‘blue’ colours too! Jeremy Seewer qualified in a respectable fifth place, with Maxime Renaux in tenth after a late fall. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP has now had more pole positions than any other team this season.
Coldenhoff continued that strong form in the first moto, as he raced across the holeshot line in second and immediately engaged in a tussle for a top-three result. Just missing out on third, after an impressive effort, he hit the chequered flag in fourth and turned his attention to the second moto. Coldenhoff managed to go one better in that one, as he raced to third and narrowly missed out on a spot on the overall podium. Fourth overall was his final ranking in Portugal – he moved to fifth in the championship as well.
Just two weeks on from his hard hit in Patagonia-Argentina, Jeremy Seewer salvaged some solid points at the Grand Prix of Portugal and also had a realistic shot at a podium finish. Seewer was a very strong fifth in the first moto, less than a second behind his teammate, and was heading towards another top-five ranking in moto two. A fall late in the race restricted him to seventh, however, and put him sixth in the overall classification. Seewer is still fourth in the championship standings.
For Maxime Renaux, the Grand Prix of Portugal was a valuable learning experience. Mistakes hindered him throughout the weekend, despite the fact that his speed was clear for all to see, so he was eventually ranked in eleventh overall via 11-11 moto scores. Third is where he sits in the championship standings, following round four.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP trio will be back in action next weekend, as the fifth round of the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship will be run at the fabulous Pietramurata circuit in Italy. The Grand Prix of Trentino will take place on April 09/10.
Glenn Coldenhoff: “I was close to the podium today. I have been struggling with arm pump this season and I got it big time in the first race today. I tried to ride a little more calmly in the second race, just did my thing, and I did not get arm-pump that time, which meant I had something left at the end. I almost got Jorge Prado for second, which would have put me on the podium. It’s a bittersweet finish, but still a lot of positives to take from here and I am feeling good.”
Jeremy Seewer: “I feel pretty happy, because we were not even sure if I would make it after the crash in Argentina. My body was not ready and I kind of felt that on Saturday. It was good to bring home solid points, and I managed to survive and do this somehow. By the way I was riding, you could see that I just wanted to do my laps and bring home some good points. I can be more than happy with how today went.”
Maxime Renaux: “It was a really tough weekend for me. I had a big crash in the qualifying race and hurt my leg a little bit, but honestly that was no excuse, I could have done great today but did not feel like myself out there. I had a crash in each of the races and this is not how I want to ride, so now I need to regroup for the next race.”
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