The second day of the Italian GP at the Mugello circuit end tricolor        

The third free practice session and the qualifying ended today under a Tuscan summer sun.

After a morning that saw the two riders of the MV Agusta Forward Racing team continue to constantly increase the work begun yesterday, this afternoon the Italian-Swiss racing team has a very close look at the entry in Q2.

Stefano Manzi, who is leading a weekend in comeback, during his fast lap was managing to enter the second qualifying round, when due to a slowdown of a rider in front of him was forced to brake his ride to this first important goal.

This compromised his qualification and tomorrow he will start from the eighth row. The mood is still high and the young cadet of the VR46 Riders Academy is fully engaged to ride his MV Agusta F2 painted with the Italian flag.

Dominique Aegerter will start from a position in front of his teammate and, as usual, will give his all to be able to lead a race all comeback.

The day ended with the official presentation of the special livery dedicated to the first Italian Grand Prix, not only of the season, but also of the return of the historic brand MV Agusta. Tomorrow, therefore, will be exciting twice: not only the home GP and the Italian livery in honor of the celebration of the Republic, but also the first official return on the national track of the manufacturer from Varese.

The appointment is set for tomorrow, June 2nd, at 9:10 with the warm-up and 12:20 with the race.

Dominique Aegerter: "On this Saturday of the Italian Grand Prix we managed to improve at every turn, although I have to say that this is not one of my favourite tracks. I'm not completely satisfied with the way qualifying went, even though we improved our lap time a lot. Now we will analyze the data in view of the Warm Up. Tomorrow we will start from twenty-first position and despite this I will do my best to give emotions to the team, to MV Agusta and to all our sponsors who are with us in this home Grand Prix, which is also a bit home race for me, because it's nice to see so many Swiss flags at Mugello. This gives me great motivation and so I will give my all to make a good race and regain as many positions as possible”.

Giovanni Cuzari - Team Owner: "We sincerely hoped to be in Q2 with at least one rider today and I think we deserved it because of the hard work and because this is our home race.
Unfortunately, on his fastest lap he found a rider in front of him who closed the throttle due to an error and forced him to slow down.
We will start from the seventh and eighth rows, but I am sure that both riders, with a good start and the extra motivation that gives the home race and the special Italian livery, will be able to fight to bring home more points.
We would like to thank all the sponsors attending this weekend: it is exciting to feel their support and we hope to give them great satisfaction tomorrow".

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                     Thomas Kjer Olsen third overall at Grand Prix MX2 in France        

Once again securing a place on the overall MX2 class podium, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen has finished third overall at round seven of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship, the MXGP of France.

Despite making things harder for himself than they should have been following a poor start in the second moto, TKO again delivered an impressive set of results to land his sixth podium finish from seven GPs. A relatively straightforward opening moto saw the Dane initially place fifth before moving to third on lap seven and going on to hold the position through to the end of the moto.

Race two was to prove more challenging for TKO. With his start gate falling a little unpredictably, he found himself down in around 13th position. Making his way forward and into eighth by the end of the opening lap, a fall quickly undid much of the good work he’d done as he dropped to 12th. Making no further mistakes and charging hard he improved from ninth to sixth before taking over fifth on lap 14 and holding the position to the end of the race. With third overall TKO maintains his runner-up position in the MX2 class championship standings.

After placing 20th in the MX2 class timed practice Jed Beaton took no further part in the MXGP of France.
 
In the FIM Europe EMX125 European Motocross Championship, Kay de Wolf placed sixth overall on his TC 125. Placing 14th in the opening moto he then finished a strong third in the second moto and currently holds third in the series standings with three rounds remaining.
 
The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team will next be in action at round eight of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the MXGP of Russia, on June 9.

Thomas Kjer Olsen: “Apart from the fact that I made things difficult for myself in the second moto it’s been a pretty good GP for me. I’m pleased with how I worked my way forward to get on the podium with my second moto result. The track was good – they ripped it less than previous years, so it was pretty consistent everywhere, just with some tricky ruts. I got a decent start in the first moto and rode a strong race. Third was where my pace was – I wasn’t going to catch the two riders ahead, so third was good. I was pleased with that. I guess the gate bobbled a little in the second moto and I got a horrible start, down in 12th or 13th. I pushed hard after that. I wanted to finish on the podium so I just gave it all I had. I’ll keep working now that we have a weekend without a GP. Russia’s a fun track so I’m looking forward to racing there.”

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             Thomas Kjer Olsen takes second overall in the GP MX2 in Lombardia

Thomas Kjer Olsen completed a successful GP of Lombardia, maintaining his position as red plate championship leader despite a challenging opening moto. Running into trouble at the start of the first MX2 race, Kjer Olsen rounded the first full lap down in 17th place – a hugely disadvantaged position due to the muddy conditions. Not rushing things, he steadily worked his way forward to hold eighth mid-race. Pushing forward a further two positions, TKO secured a deserved sixth place result.

Pleased with his speed during the first race, the second moto saw TKO avoid first corner trouble, circulating in a strong fourth at the end of lap one. Quickly up to third, which he held until lap seven, he moved into the runner-up position on lap eight. Managing the difficult track conditions well he held on to the runner-up result and with it claimed enough points to finish second overall.


The GP of Lombardia was bittersweet for Jed Beaton. Securing his best moto finish of the season to date with a confidence-boosting third in the opening moto, Jed then sat comfortably inside the top 10 for much of the second MX2 race. Holding sixth from lap two to lap 11 a crash while landing from a jump knocked the wind out of his sails and damaged his bike. Finishing the race in an eventual 17th, Jed placed seventh overall for the day.

In the FIM Europe EMX125 European Motocross Championship, TC 125 powered Kay de Wolf finished 10th overall at Mantova with 20-6 results. Kay holds fifth in the series standings.

The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team now head to round six of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the MXGP of Portugal, on May 19.

Thomas Kjer-Olsen: “That was a tough GP, especially the first moto. Considering I got caught up in the first corner, as well as needing to make a goggle change, I’m pleased that I was able to work my way back to sixth. It’s never ideal to have so much work to do in a race, but I kept my cool and worked my way forward. I’m pleased with the way I rode. The track was tough, but I kind of enjoyed it. It was tricky in places but not too difficult, having some sand in the terrain meant it wasn’t full-on mud. I felt good in the second moto. A good start helped me a lot. I moved forward a few places and ran second for most of the moto, which I’m pleased with. It’s been a positive weekend and I’m looking forward to Portugal now.”

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