Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP are back on track, as the third round of the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship was successfully completed beneath sunny skies in Latvia today. The complete trio of Gautier Paulin, Arnaud Tonus and Jeremy Seewer were present at the sandy Kegums circuit and raring to go after such a lengthy break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Grand Prix riders will face a gruelling four-month period, with many back-to-back races, so the format has been altered slightly. The MXGP riders will only race on one day now, rather than across a two-day weekend like in the traditional format. This meant that the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing riders faced a 25-minute timed qualifying session on Sunday morning, followed by the two motos that were run as normal.
Jeremy Seewer was a force to be reckoned with prior to the COVID-19 pause and reminded everyone of that fact at the Grand Prix of Latvia, as he was impressive from the very start of the day. Seewer logged the second-quickest time in timed qualifying and translated that into an impressive fifth in moto one, despite starting down in the lower half the top ten. The final moto was where he truly shined – he stormed into second and hounded the leader during the 30-minute moto. Despite throwing everything he had at the eventual winner on the final lap, Seewer had to settle for second and fourth overall on the day. Sixth is where he sits in the premier-class standings.
Arnaud Tonus showed pace similar to that of his teammate, but the results do not quite show it due to untimely falls in each moto. Tonus ran third for nine laps in the first moto, before limping home in sixteenth, and then faced the mountainous task of climbing up from the back of the pack after two crashes in moto two. Twentieth overall was his final ranking, but it was abundantly clear that he deserved so much more. Tonus will have an opportunity to rebound on Wednesday, as will Gautier Paulin. Paulin also faced some misfortune in the two motos but salvaged 22 points via a ninth and eleventh in the two motos, which eventually left him in eighth overall.
Jeremy Seewer: “Decent start to the week. We need to consider that we have three races this week as well, so it is important we stay healthy. Any crash that could make you feel stiff a few days after will make it tricky. In the first race I started off calm. I dropped back a bit, but I was still in safety mode after not racing for such a long time. I didn’t want to make that mistake of going too hard too soon, and I managed to pick up my pace as the race went on and finished fifth. In race two, I felt I knew the track a lot better and that I had to speed to win. I almost got Glenn [Coldenhoff] in the last lap, but just missed out and missed the podium. I feel good and I look forward to the next two GPs here.”
Gautier Paulin: “We started on a track that was already rough from yesterday, so we had to be fast immediately. I really struggled with that. I got arm-pump and was riding tight, so I only had the tenth time in qualifying. The place was okay for the gate. I got an okay start in race one, but I didn’t manage a good first corner and I stalled the bike. Calvin Vlaanderen crashed pretty hard in turn one in race two and his handlebar went into my boot, so I was totally blocked and it was painful too. I started from totally last. It was not easy and I am not happy with the result.”
Arnaud Tonus: “Things started off okay. I felt good in practice and my position was okay for the start. First moto was going really good for the first 20 minutes, but then I had a big crash. For some reason from there I just really struggled. I don’t really know why… I just lost the feeling. It’s a shame. because it was going so good in the beginning. Now all I can do is try to regroup and be ready for the next one.”
news
