Double podium for Rockstar Energy Husqvarna riders in Grand Prix MX2 in Assen

Taking place at the man-made track inside the historic Assen circuit, the penultimate round of the 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship saw the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing duo of Thomas Covington and Thomas Kjer-Olsen claim second and third overall respectively in the MX2 category. Securing a spot on the MXGP class podium for the third time this season, Max Anstie was third overall at Assen.

Unable to finish the Qualifying Race following a fall, Thomas Covington was left with a mountain to climb in Sunday’s final MX2 races. With his FC 250 powering the young American to two great starts from the far outside of the starting grid, he quickly found himself battling for the top three in each of the two motos. Securing a pair of third place results, Thomas managed to earn a spot on the MX2 podium for the seventh time this season.


Showing good speed around the challenging sandy track, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer-Olsen secured a runner-up first moto result. Despite suffering a minor fall after the second moto’s halfway mark, the Dane crossed the line in fourth place for third overall at the GP of The Netherlands.

The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team will return to action at the final round of the 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship in Italy on September 29/30.

Thomas Covington: “The weekend didn’t start that well but I managed to turn things around. I had a crash in the Qualifying Race and put a hole on my radiator, so I was not able to finish the race. I had to start both final motos from the complete outside and with the way the starting gates are angled it seemed kind of impossible to get a good start. Nevertheless, I did my best out of the gates in both motos and got some good speed to be inside the top three in the first corner. After that, I did my best to keep it on two wheels. The track has been really sketchy over the weekend and it was crucial to stay out of trouble. I felt like I rode a little bit on the safe side in moto one, but then in the second moto I had to dig deep. It’s good to have the whole Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team up on the podium this weekend.”

Thomas Kjer-Olsen: “My riding was good over the weekend. I had a good feeling in both motos, but I made a small mistake in the final race and had a fall. I wasn’t satisfied with my performance during the Qualifying Race, but I knew that once the racing got started I could be up front and battle. I got two good starts and felt that I was riding great. I am happy to be back on the podium for the second GP in a row. I’m happy about my weekend here in The Netherlands and our eyes are now set to the big final in Italy in two weeks time.”

                         Season-best finish for Shaun Simpson at Assen

The penultimate round of the FIM Motocross World Championship was completed in front of a passionate group of Dutch fans over the weekend. A man-made track in Assen played host to that event. It was a great platform for the Wilvo Yamaha MXGP squad, because both Shaun Simpson and Jeremy Seewer have proven that they are more than capable when the going gets tough.

The premier-class qualifying moto, which took place on Saturday afternoon, was a perfect example of that. Shaun Simpson started inside of the top ten and was making good progress before a minor fall caused him to lose ground and positions. It was not too much of a hiccup, because he picked himself up and salvaged a ninth at the chequered flag. The first moto was equally as impressive as he started seventh and moved forward to claim sixth at the chequered flag. The result actually tied his season-best finish.

The second and final race at the Grand Prix of The Netherlands, the nineteenth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, obviously took place on a track that had deteriorated significantly. Simpson recorded yet another sixth in an impressive fashion, however, which unsurprisingly left him in sixth in the overall classification. The result also helped him to jump into the top fifteen in the championship standings, which is remarkable considering the amount of time that he has missed due to injury. It was certainly a positive outing.


Jeremy Seewer could also extract positives from the round, as he made significant improvements over the weekend and those left him inside of the top ten in the overall classification. An eleventh was secured in the first encounter, following a poor first lap, then he backed that up with a ninth in race two. Tenth overall was where he ended up and the points gained left him eighth in the standings. It is extremely likely that he is going to secure that position at the final round, the Grand Prix of Italy, which takes place in two weeks. Another road-race facility will play host to that event.
 
Shaun Simpson: "I feel good. I am slightly disappointed that I did not finish inside the top five. I wanted it and the team wanted it. Jeremy [Seewer] has been wanting it all year. Unfortunately, we could not get it done. I am a little bit disappointed on that front, but otherwise it has been the best weekend I have had all year. I showed some good speed yesterday and even today, but I crashed in every race this weekend. I think the mistakes definitely cost me in the first race where I could have finished fourth. In the second race my speed was good, but it just was not enough. I needed more sprint speed, rather than the marathon pace I was running. Stuff to work on, just a shame it is the end of the year. I look forward to seeing what we can do in the last race of the year.”
 
Jeremy Seewer: "I am definitely not happy with how my weekend went. I had bad starts and crashes in the first moto, although I did manage to come back really strong for eleventh. I struggled a little bit with suspension and a little bit with myself this weekend. I did not make too many mistakes in the final race and I did feel better, but for some reason I always struggle here. One more round to go and I think it will be something that I like more."          

                                Torres closed 13th in race 2 at Portimao

De Rosa secured the sixth podium in a row and he is back on the fight for the title.

In WorldSBK class, Team MV Agusta Reparto Corse closed the tenth round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship with the P13 of Jordi Torres in Race2 at Portimao. Raffaele De Rosa, securing the 3rd place in WorldSSP Race, is back on the fight for the Championship.

WorldSBK – Race2
When the lights go out, Jordi Torres starts from the second row on the grid but he is forced to lose several positions because of a contact with another rider. With the Spaniar struggling by some grip issues, the comeback became even more difficult but Jordi will be albe to fight inside the score point area for the rest of the race, ending up 13th under the checkered flag.

WorldSSP – Race
Raffaele De Rosa makes a solid start and immediately get the P4, very close to the top three riders. With the crash of two riders in front, on the second lap the Italian rider is in third place and takes advantage of the solid chassis of his MV Agusta F3 675 to hold the position up to four laps from the end, when he will be passed by Smith. When the leader Lucas Mahias is pulled out of the race because of a technical problem, Raffaele will be able to close 3rd under the finish line, securing the sixth podium in a row, 30 points far from the Championship leader.

Ayrton Badovini started from the eighth position on the grid and managed to lap inside the top 10 for all the race, ending up in 7th place. The italian rider suffered a lack of grip starting from the second half of the race.

Jordi Torres – I’m sorry, the weekend had started in the best way but this result doesn’t really reflect our potential. During the race I suffered a lot because of a contact in the first stages and then for a lack of grip. We have to leave this round behind and go back to work on the data ahead of the next round in France.

Raffaele De Rosa – I am very happy to be on the podium again, for the sixth time this season. In the race I had some difficulties with the front end, and I suffered during the braking. I tried to fight till the end and even when Smith passed me, I was actually ready to try and attack him back. I thank the whole team for the excellent work.

Ayrton Badovini – I am not fully satisfied with this result because here in Portimao I could get a better result. Unfortunately, in the first phase of the race I was slowed down by some riders in front of me and I couldn’t pass them. In the second half of the race, tire wear didn’t allow me to fully recover the gap and I closed seventh.