The Turkish Grand Prix in Afyonkarahisar marked round 18 of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship and kicked off a busy September for the Fantic Factory Racing team. Glenn Coldenhoff once again demonstrated his determination and speed, achieving sixth and fifth place finishes in the premier class.
Glenn Coldenhoff was eager to continue his strong run of form at the MXGP of Türkiye but faced a slight setback early on when he fell and hit his knee during free practice. Despite the hard impact and feeling battered, the Dutchman fought hard on Saturday to secure 12th place in the qualifying race. It was a challenging day for Brian Bogers as well, who struggled to find the right feeling and setup, ending the qualifying heat in 20th.
In race 1, Coldenhoff made a fast start on his Fantic XXF 450, gaining several positions during the first lap. Although not at his best, “The Hoff” maintained a strong race pace, ultimately finishing in sixth place. He delivered another impressive performance in race 2, securing an outstanding fifth place after a late pass, and ended up in a solid seventh overall for the weekend.
Unfortunately, Brian Bogers couldn’t find his rhythm on the hard-pack track of Afyon. Despite a strong start that had him in 10th place on lap 1 of the first race, he struggled to keep up with the blistering pace of the top riders and finished with a 15-16 scorecard, placing 16th overall.
Glenn Coldenhoff:
“The weekend didn’t start well; I had a huge crash in free practice and was really sore. I could barely walk, but we did some checks, and fortunately, there was no major damage. It was still really hard to bend my knee, especially on Saturday. Finishing 12th in the qualifying race wasn’t ideal going into Sunday’s races. I had to start far on the outside, as they closed a lot of gates on the inside with fewer riders here. It was tough to get a good start, but I managed it pretty well. I had to take some painkillers because my knee and also my neck hurt a lot in warm-up, so in the end, going 6-5 in the races was pretty good. I would have signed up for that result straight away after yesterday. I felt I had decent speed. In the past two weeks, we worked a lot on the bike, especially on the suspension, and I felt like it helped me out big time. I think we took a big step forward and can be happy. It was quite a positive weekend – in terms of the bike, speed and my riding. That boosts my confidence going into China, where I got a moto win and second overall the last time we raced there. We still have two more chances to get on the podium this season, plus the Motocross of Nations, of course.”
Brian Bogers:
“I had to dig deep this weekend. I didn’t have much time to prepare on tracks like this one, and I think that showed in my riding. Physically, I felt quite good, I got better every time towards the end, but by then, I had already lost too much time in the beginning. I expect the surface in China to be a bit different, and typically, Spanish tracks suit me well, so I am looking forward to the last two races of the season.”
