Jeremy Seewer starts 2021 MXGP in the top five Created: 2021-06-13
Following months of anticipation, the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship finally roared into life over the weekend. The Grand Prix of Russia, held at the same Orlyonok venue that the team first visited in 2017, kicked off the 19-round calendar that will include visits to 16 different countries. The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team entered the season with new recruits Glenn Coldenhoff and Ben Watson positioned alongside the returning Jeremy Seewer.

Seewer was the strongest of the trio on the hard-pack surface that Orlyonok boasts, as he logged the sixth-fastest lap in timed qualifying on Sunday morning and then showed similar speed in the two races. Although he started in the lower half of the top ten in the first encounter, he quickly tackled those ahead of him and battled his way onto the cusp of the top five. Sixth was his final ranking in the moto – a solid result but one that also indicated that he was capable of so much more.

The final moto got off to a slightly better start for Seewer, who ended the opening lap inside of the top five and with the leaders in view. Fifth was the result that he claimed at the end, after giving chase to the riders ahead from start to finish, with just one measly second separating him from the rider in fourth. A consistent scorecard left him in fifth in the overall classification as well – the same position is occupied in the standings following round one.

Glenn Coldenhoff, making his Yamaha debut on the world stage, was strong early on; he was ninth in timed qualifying and followed that up with a tenth in moto one. There were flashes of brilliance in that moto too, as he moved up from the edge of the top fifteen. The second stint was not quite as kind, unfortunately, as he got caught up in a first turn crash and faced a significant deficit. Never one to give up, he charged on to claw his way up to eighteenth for three valuable points. Coldenhoff was seventeenth overall on the day.

Ben Watson had a tricky debut in the premier division, as misfortune followed him in both motos. A difficult start in moto one was made worse by a crash early on; he never stopped charging forward though and secured a point at the chequered flag. Watson pushed the top ten early on in the second moto, following a much better start, but some mistakes left him just outside of the points when the chequered flag waved. Watson already has his sights set on round two in his homeland!

The Grand Prix of Great Britain is next on the schedule for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP – it is set to be a one-day format again (as will all of the races this year). The squad will tackle Matterley Basin on June 27.

Jeremy Seewer: “Considering how both motos went for me today, the result is not too bad. I managed some good points, which could have been a bad weekend. The track was sketchy – the speed is high. I am happy this one is done and I am in one piece. It felt like ice out there. Top five was the goal here and I think I achieved that. It’s a good place to start and good to have some points in the pocket. I am still not 100% – I am recovering from a problem I had before the season, but I feel good with the team and the bike. My time will come soon.”

Glenn Coldenhoff: “I felt good this morning; I had a good feeling in practice. My start this morning was not so great. That made things difficult and then somebody t-boned me and that hurt my knee a lot. It also bent my front brake, so to ride a track like this with no front brake was very difficult. After I managed to fix the front brake a little bit and things started to get better. I really owe it to the physiotherapist, Phillipe, who made me ready for race two. I had a good start in the second race, but I got hit from the inside and had a very big crash. Then I made a mistake and got stuck in a really deep hole off the side of the track for some time. It’s good to get some points, but overall it was a very disappointing day.”

Ben Watson: “I’ve been struggling all day. Qualifying never is my strongest point, but especially on a track like we had today where you need to take some risk. I never felt comfortable doing so, so I rode on safety mode all day and in this class you are never going to be fast if you do this. It was just one of those days. I’m just happy to come out in one piece. I’ve had a couple of crashes today, and one of them was really scary, but I am okay and I’m healthy, so I am going to stay positive. I know what I am capable of. I won’t let this affect me. There are better days to come.”

 

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