The 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship is complete! The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP trio raced at the final round, the Grand Prix of Turkiye, earlier today and enjoyed even more success in the very demanding conditions. Intense heat and altitude kept the riders and mechanics on their toes over the two-day event.
Maxime Renaux was a man on a mission at the Grand Prix of Turkiye – his intent was really quite clear from the start of the Grand Prix. ‘959’ put his YZ450FM on pole position in Saturday’s qualifying moto and backed that up by taking a dominant win in Sunday’s first moto. Renaux started that stint in fourth and made some incredible moves to charge into the lead on lap nine; he held that position until the end. A crash on lap one of the second moto meant that winning the Grand Prix was no longer realistic for him, but he charged from last to eighth to salvage fourth overall at the event. Renaux took fourth in the championship standings too.
Jeremy Seewer was nipping at his teammate’s heels for much of the weekend. Taking the holeshot in moto one on Sunday, thanks to the power in his YZ450FM, he was right in the thick of the battles at the head of the field and crossed the finish line in second place. A mediocre start in moto two threatened to derail his bid for the overall win, but he put on a charge and progressed to third by the time that the chequered flag waved. Seewer stood on the second step of the overall podium, via 2-3 scores, and took second in the final championship standings as well.
Unfortunately, the overall ranking that Glenn Coldenhoff secured at today’s event was hindered by a crash in moto one. ‘259’ lost a significant amount of time and was forced to settle for fourteenth on the fast layout. Showing more of that tenacity that he is known for, he rebounded with a sixth in moto two. 14-6 scores put him in ninth overall. Fifth was his final ranking in the championship standings.
Exciting news for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP fans! The YZ450FM riders will travel to RedBud to represent their respective countries at the prestigious Motocross of Nations on September 24/25. Glenn Coldenhoff (The Netherlands), Jeremy Seewer (Switzerland) and Maxime Renaux (France) were selected to race at the event.
Jeremy Seewer: “I am happy with this weekend. It was solid, especially as this is a track that I have struggled on in previous years. I even had my lowest low here, but we turned it around this year and I had the pace to win all weekend. The start in the second moto cost me a shot at the overall, but I have to be happy with the way that I came back through the pack with good speed. Now it’s time for some rest after the Motocross of Nations. I just want to say a big thanks to all of the people around me, to my team, my family and everyone I work with. There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that nobody sees, so it was nice to wrap it up with a good result. Thank you.”
Maxime Renaux: “It was almost the dream weekend! Winning qualifying, winning race one and then taking the holeshot in race two. Everything was going so well. I had a small crash and a mechanical issue on the first lap, so it was a big struggle. It was impossible to ride my pace with the issue, but I just did my best. It was a bittersweet way to end the season for two reasons. One, I could not get the overall victory. Two, it cost me the bronze medal in the championship. I was hoping to get that this weekend. I tried my best. Fourth in my rookie season is not so bad, especially after breaking my back in the middle of the season, and the bigger picture does not look too bad. When you want to win, fourth is not enough.”
Glenn Coldenhoff: “It was quite a tough weekend. I felt good yesterday and my lap times were not bad. I had a good start in the first moto, but I pushed so hard in the first few laps that the riding was not smooth. I made far too many mistakes. The second race was a bit better, but I still made too many mistakes in the beginning. It started going a bit better towards the end. Still, ninth overall is not how I wanted to end the season. I left no stone unturned. I did everything by the book, trained hard and lived like a soldier going into this one. Hopefully, MXoN will be a lot better.”
news