The Red Bull KTM Team continued their winning streak at the fourth round of the South African National Motocross Championship held at the challenging Teza Motocross track. Located near Richards Bay, Teza's demanding layout pushed riders to their limits, but the KTM squad rose to the occasion, showcasing a combination of experience, teamwork, and raw talent.

Cameron Durow shines once again in MX1 and MX2, maintaining his perfect season.

Championship leader Durow defied a gruelling travel schedule to extend his undefeated streak in his respective classes. Having just returned from competing in the USA on Tuesday, Durow displayed remarkable focus to dominate the weekend. Despite the challenging travel, he kept his head down and maintained a consistent pace, strategically avoiding unnecessary risks to secure another flawless victory.

Durow commented, "It was a tough but rewarding weekend. I'm thrilled to keep my perfect season going. My main goal was to have fun and ride smart. I didn't want to take any big chances that could jeopardize the win."

Luke Grundy made his talents known, securing a well-deserved second-place finish overall in the MX2 class. Grundy's impressive performance included a highlight-reel holeshot and a thrilling battle with his teammate for the lead in the second heat. Prior to the race, Grundy collaborated with his mechanic, Kevin Tyrer, to fine-tune his transition from practice bike to race bike, a change that clearly paid off on the track.

Grundy reflected, "After a rough start in the first heat, I was determined to grab the holeshot in the second moto. I can't deny I'm happy with how that turned out! It was fantastic battling Cameron for the lead for a few laps. Once he passed me, I focused on maintaining the gap to the rider in third and bringing home a strong second-place finish."

Trey Cox entered the Teza round hungry for his first overall victory in the High School class. His quest was briefly challenged by a second-lap crash in the first heat, but he bounced back to secure an impressive second place finish. The second heat saw him overcome another hurdle – a poor start – before battling through the pack to claim victory. This win secured him the coveted overall win for the class. Despite his success, Cox remains focused on the championship lead. Currently only two points behind the leader, his sights are set on securing the red plate as soon as possible.

Cox commented: "This weekend is a mixed bag for me. While I'm excited to get my first overall win in High School finally, I missed out on gaining crucial championship points. Ultimately, that red plate is my main goal, but I am happy with how the weekend went and I am dead set on trying my best to claim the red plate!"

“What an incredible weekend for the Red Bull KTM Team!” Said Team Manager, Kerim Fitz-Gerald. “Cameron continues to fly the orange flag high and maintain his perfect seasons despite his travel schedule. Really happy for Luke for claiming the second in MX2 and his fantastic holeshot.  Proud of Trey's fighting spirit in securing his first overall win in the High School class. We are very excited for what the rest of the season holds in store.”

National Motocross Championship | Round 4 | Richards Bay

The Husqvarna Racing Team faced a rollercoaster weekend of highs and lows at the fourth round of the South African National Motocross Championship held at the renowned Teza Motocross track. Located near Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, Teza is considered one of the most challenging tracks in the country with both hard-packed and sandy sections as well as big elevation changes. Bike setup is integral to a successful weekend with the variety of terrain the track has. The Husqvarna team entered the weekend ready to test their limits on the demanding course, but unforeseen challenges would test their mettle.

Davin Cocker claims second place podium finish in MX1. Cocker showed impressive speed throughout the weekend, qualifying well in the MX1 class. However, a run of bad starts made things difficult early on. In the first heat, Cocker fought back from a tough starting position to secure a hard-earned second place finish. The second heat presented another challenge when his bike cut out just before the gates dropped, forcing him to chase the pack from behind. Despite the setback, Davin battled his way through the field to finish fourth. His combined results landed him a strong second-place podium finish overall in the MX1 class.

Cocker commented, "Practice went well, qualifying in third place. I knew I had the speed to push even harder and identified areas for improvement. I'm very happy to finish second overall. This is my best result so far this season and gives me a confidence boost heading into the next rounds."

Coming into the Teza round, Barend du Toit aimed to leave behind his earlier season struggles. Motivated to establish himself as a contender in the MX2 class, Barend got off to a great start by grabbing the holeshot in the first heat. Unfortunately, his promising run was cut short when his bike highsided on the first jump, resulting in a crash. Thankfully, Barend escaped serious injury and continued the race. The second heat demanded a cautious approach as he raced through pain to secure a sixth-place finish overall in the MX2 class.

Du Toit reflected, "The fourth round was definitely eventful. I had a tough crash in the first heat, which was a setback considering I felt good coming into the weekend."

MXGP

Going one-two on the day, Team HRC’s Tim Gajser took his second overall of the season, in perfect conditions at the prestigious Maggiora circuit in Italy. After a rain-hit track victory in qualification yesterday, the track crew did a tremendous job to get the circuit ready for the two motos today, where Gajser also showed his prowess on a dry, rutted track to take the GP overall.

A huge rainstorm hit the circuit at around 7pm on Saturday evening, which threatened the Sunday timetable, but by the time the riders hit the circuit for their sighting lap before moto one, everything was in fine working order. Getting his customary start inside the top five, the Slovenian made a few quick passes to get his way into second, before he stalked the leader for the rest of the first lap. As they approached the finish line, he made his move into first place and didn’t look back. He had some pressure from behind, but he didn’t let it phase him and instead took an impressive race win to move a further three points ahead in the title race.

Knowing that starts were critical on this Maggiora track, the Honda CRF450R rider took the second moto holeshot and avoided all the chaos behind him. With second-place close behind, the pair pulled away from the rest of the field and had their own private duel for the fans to saviour. Unfortunately, just as it looked like Gajser had weathered the storm, he made a small mistake in a banked corner and had to remount in second place. Knowing that it would still be good enough for first overall, and knowing he had almost a 40 second buffer to third place, he cruised home to spark scenes of jubilation amongst all of Team HRC in attendance.

These one-two results, combined with the win in qualification yesterday means that he now reaches the halfway point of the series, an imposing 34-points up on second place and 71-points up on third place. It has been a great run of form for the #243 and he now heads to Indonesia for the Lombok double-header full of confidence and looking to increase that gap even further, in a country that he enjoys visiting, even if the actual Lombok circuit will be a new experience for the five-time world champion.

MX2

After such a successful Saturday, things didn’t quite go to plan on Sunday for Ferruccio Zanchi. He got a good start in race one, and got as high as sixth place and was pushing for fifth, but then a small crash dropped him down to 16th. From there, he put on his customary charge to make it up to 11th as he received the chequered flag but after the third place yesterday, he really wanted more. Unfortunately, in race two, he was unable to capitalise on his good gate-pick and was near the back as they rounded the first corner, but again, showing excellent passing he quickly made his way inside the top 10. Despite pushing hard, he was unable to progress any further than ninth, which was good enough for 10th overall. It was still an excellent result for the youngster and he’ll learn from everything over the weekend and put it to good use when the series heads to Indonesia for the double-header on Lombok.

MXGP reached the halfway stage of the 2024 campaign with another weather-hit fixture, this time at Maggiora for the Italian Grand Prix. Tackling the soft, slick mud and tricky narrow course north of Milan, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing picked up 1-2 results in MX2 with the KTM 250 SX-F while Jeffrey Herlings’ speed and skill on the KTM 450 SX-F ensured another moto ‘P1’ and runner-up status in MXGP.

Once again MXGP suffered from intense summer storms. The hilly Maggiora Park facility – the traditional home of the Italian Grand Prix for almost ten years and since the tight layout was renovated and brought back to FIM World Championship spec – was flooded on Friday night and through parts of Saturday for a restrictive practice and qualification schedule for the MXGP and MX2 classes.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing arrived to face the adverse conditions having celebrated double victory in Latvia the previous weekend. In contrast to the mainly flat and sandyish terrain of Kegums, the mud and steep climbs of Maggiora was a very different test and was complicated further by the torrential rain.

In one of the few dry phases of Saturday, Jeffrey Herlings was able to take 2nd place in the RAM Qualification Race after a bright start and then a formulaic 20 minute and 2 lap outing. In MX2, Liam Everts’ charge and exciting last lap pass on Simon Laegenfelder guaranteed the Belgian his second Pole Position and 10-point Saturday haul of points this term. Sacha Coenen banked 4th and Andrea Adamo was 6th (Cas Valk taking a decent 8th) in another static affair.

Sunday was thankfully rain-free but the deluge on Saturday evening caused the terrain to soften and created more bumps and deeper ruts. Starts were vital. Herlings was top four at the beginning of the first MXGP moto, moved quickly to 3rd and then gave chase to Tim Gajser and Jorge Prado. The gap expanded and contracted and he scored P3 at the flag: only 2.3 seconds split the trio. In the second race Prado went down in the second corner leaving Gajser to set the pace ahead of Jeffrey and on a drying course that blended bumpy sections with flatter hard-pack. Again, the duo flew in formation and the #84 KTM came close to the lead. The pressure worked as a mistake from Gajser gave Jeffrey a clearer track and breathing room for his fourth moto win of the year. 3rd and 1st were rewarded with 2nd overall and his sixth trophy of the calendar.

MX2 moto 1 was comfortably owned by Liam Everts, with Red Bull KTM going 1-3-4 as Adamo and Coenen followed suit. The starting prowess of the KTM 250 SX-F helped the orange brigade to another holeshot and all three orange bikes were top five around the first turns. At the second time of asking, Coenen was P1 exiting the first corner and then defended the position all the way to the line. His second moto win in the space of a week confirmed a 4-1 scorecard and gave him overall victory courtesy of his race triumph. He tied on points with countryman Everts who took 4th; permitting the #72 to rise to the rostrum for the first time in four Grands Prix. Everts was hounded for his ranking in the final two laps by a determined Andrea Adamo. The World Champion posted a 3-5 and only just missed out on the third step of the box. He sealed 4th at the end of the day, helping complete the best weekend of the season for the team.

Herlings is 3rd in the MXGP championship and needs 37 points to gain further promotion. In MX2 Liam Everts is highest placed in 4th with Adamo in 5th and 26 points in arrears. Coenen’s recent good results lodge the teenager 8th in the list.

Grands Prix of West Nusa Tenggara and Lombok constitute the two Indonesian meetings in succession. The paddock travels east in one week for round 11 of the 2024 contest.

The High Point National Motocross round in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania, saw Team Honda HRC rider Jett Lawrence notch his third overall win of the season, and his second in a row, although this one was hard-fought on a treacherous track. Riding with a painful shoulder from his round 2 crash, the 20-year-old Australian had to fend off strong challenges in both motos—the first from brother Hunter Lawrence and the second from Chase Sexton. Nonetheless, he dug deep and found a way to post a perfect 1-1 moto tally, halving his deficit in the title-fight to just eight. Hunter Lawrence retained the red plate and his perfect podium-overall-finish record, his 2-3 moto scores netting him third overall. In the 250 class, Chance Hymas went 4-3 for third overall, while Jo Shimoda was fourth overall with 3-5 scores.

The CRF450RWE race machines of Hunter and Jett Lawrence were first and second across the holeshot line in the first premier-class moto, and the brothers proceeded to slug it out at the front in a performance that was reminiscent of their days battling for the 2022 250 title. A lap-3 bobble by Hunter allowed Jett to assume the lead, but the duo continued to run together, expanding the gap on third place to over 35 seconds by the time they crossed the finish line.

The second moto saw Jett and Hunter start second and fifth, respectively. Hunter moved up a position on lap 1, and another one on lap 2, but Chase Sexton got by him the next time around. Jett passed Jason Anderson on lap 5 and Hunter did likewise four laps later. Jett defended the lead for four laps before Chase Sexton got by. The two battled for three laps before Sexton went down, and Jett went on to take the win, with Hunter third.

The first 250 moto saw Hymas start well and move into the lead on the first lap, while Shimoda was quickly into fourth. Shimoda got by Tom Vialle, and the top three commenced a battle that lasted until Hymas made an error that allowed both Ty Masterpool and Shimoda to move by. With the laps winding down, Shimoda and Hymas both succumbed to Haiden Deegan, leaving them to finish third and fourth, respectively.

Shimoda and Hymas completed the first lap in sixth and seventh, in what would be a wild second moto. Hymas mounted a charge that carried him all the way to the lead before the midway point, and he held it for five laps before losing a couple of spots late, to finish third (still good enough for an overall podium). Shimoda had a steady moto to finish in the top five, his 3-5 giving him fourth overall.

Jett Lawrence 18

“Chase [Sexton] had some good lines, and it was a bummer to see him go down–that was his race for sure. I didn’t feel as good, and my shoulder was fatiguing a bit more today. We were struggling a bit there, but I had a little Lady Luck. It was good to get the overall, and on to the break–it’s much needed.”

Hunter Lawrence 96

“I would’ve liked to capitalize a little better in the second moto, but I just didn’t have the flow from the first one. I’m not really stoked on that second moto, but we’ll take that one on the chin. Now, we can enjoy the weekend off, hang out at home and come out swinging at Southwick in a couple of weeks.”

Chance Hymas 48

“I still need to figure out my first motos. I’m still trying to establish myself in this class. I’m sitting second in points, which is awesome, but it’s still going to be a struggle to get where I want to be. I need to find a little more speed and be smarter around the track. It’ll be a battle all summer, but I’m stoked to be where I am so far.”

Jo Shimoda 30

“Today was probably my best race of the outdoor season. I had better starts overall, and I was able to battle a little bit more up front and see the leaders, which was nice. I still need to make some improvements; the speed isn’t where I want it to be, but we’re getting much closer to where we should be.”

De Baets Yamaha Supported MX Team’s Lotte van Drunen placed sixth at the MXGP of Italy to retain her lead in the WMX Championship Standings.

Torrential rain seriously affected round five of the WMX World Championship with Saturday’s Race One red flagged after three laps because of the unrideable track conditions. Therefore, the overall results in Maggiora would be decided by Race Two on Sunday morning.

Even with the bright sun shining on Maggiora, the race track was still considerably heavy going for the sole WMX race. Knowing the importance of a great start, van Drunen lined up near the inside of the gate to reduce the risk of getting caught up in any first-turn chaos. Frustratingly, the plan backfired as Courtney Duncan fell in front of her, which left the Dutch sensation with no option but to stop.

Starting from almost dead last, van Drunen kept a cool head and pushed forwards despite the track being very one-lined and tricky to make passes on. The talented youngster rode skilfully to reach sixth place but with many riders struggling to circulate due to the deep mud, the race was red flagged. This time, the results stood and van Drunen was rewarded with sixth for her phenomenal effort.

Leaving Italy, van Drunen retains her series leader red plates and carries a three-point advantage into her home Grand Prix in Arnhem on August 17-18 for the penultimate round of the season. The venue is certainly a happy hunting ground for the Dutch racer, as it’s where she clinched her first ever WMX GP victory with a stunning 1-1 result last summer.

The heavy rain also affected the racing program for the EMX125 class, where the MJC Yamaha Official EMX125 team trio of Mano Faure, Dani Heitink and Jarne Bervoets were in action for the seventh round of their campaign. With just a single race to contest on Sunday morning also deciding the overall classification, it proved to be a crucial stop on the calendar.

Strong starts for all three riders set them up well for solid results. Early on, Bervoets ran eighth, with Heitink ninth and Faure 10th. Bervoets then began working his way forward, breaking away from his teammates and moving into sixth with three laps remaining. However, Heitink was on his own charge in the late stages of the race, reeling in Bervoets and making a last-lap pass on his teammate to secure sixth. Bervoets held on for seventh, while Faure came home in 12th.

Ahead of the next EMX125 round in Sweden on August 10-11, Faure maintains fifth in the EMX125 Championship Standings with Heitink moving up to eighth and Bervoets 10th after seven of 11 rounds.

The Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team of Niccolò Canepa, Marvin Fritz, and Karel Hanika, reigning FIM Endurance World Champions, were simply sensational as they dominated proceedings to storm to stunning back-to-back victories at Spa-Francorchamps and reduce the gap to the leader in the overall championship standings to just one point.

The weather, often a key factor at the legendary 6.985km Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, stayed dry and sunny throughout the second round of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC), and the thousands of fans that attended the event bore witness to one of the most dominant performances in recent memory.

Defending champions YART had laid down a marker on Friday by not only topping Free Practice, with Marvin Fritz setting an unofficial lap record of 2:18.551, but also by producing a commanding performance during qualifying. All three riders dominated their respective groups by showing blistering pace to ensure YART started from pole position and secured the five points on offer for securing pole position. 

Fritz was not to be denied, and he got his hands on the official lap record on Friday afternoon after he set a 2:18.552 in his first qualifying session to beat Hanika’s 2:18.845 set in 2022. But it was not just the German who was fast, as all three YART riders managed to break the 2:19 barrier (the only ones to do so throughout the entire weekend) as the Austrian squad demonstrated incredible pace leading into Saturday’s race.

When the action got underway in the first 8 Hours of Spa Motos, following on from two 24-hour editions of the event in 2022 and 2023, it produced some thrilling racing, but no one could deny YART from making it two wins in a row at Spa. As always, strategy would prove to be critical during the race because while the Bridgestone-shod #1 R1 was undoubtedly the quickest bike on the grid in the hands of the YART riders, due to fuel consumption, the team knew that they would have to make one more pit stop than their rivals.

With that in mind, they needed to push right from the word go, and they could not have dreamed of a better first stint than that of Canepa’s. The Italian, who was still feeling the effects of his crash at the Daytona 200, got away superbly from pole and was in the lead by the end of the first lap. After a brief battle with championship rivals SERT, the 36-year-old put the hammer down and set the tone for the rest of the race as he blasted off into the distance. By the time of the first pit stop, he had sensationally created a gap at the front of almost ten seconds in one of the most electric opening stints in EWC history.

Fritz and Hanika then continued to set a punishing pace while showing incredible consistency to match their speed. As the race progressed, the trio were relentless and continued to push, incredibly getting quicker and quicker as the clock ticked down, eventually extending their lead to over a minute. All three riders were utterly faultless, and the team backed this up by not making a single mistake during the pit stops, as YART increased their advantage at the front on almost every lap. 

Sticking to their strategy perfectly, they created a large enough gap to allow them to make an extra pit stop but still retain the lead, and with the end of the race getting closer, the win was there for the taking.

As is often the case, the experienced Canepa took the final stint, and he brought the YART R1 home to win the 8 Hours of Spa Motos by 40.145 seconds after completing 201 laps, to spark jubilant celebrations amongst the team and complete the perfect weekend. The victory, along with pole position, meant that the defending champions claimed the maximum 35 points on offer in Belgium and closed the gap in the EWC standings to the leader to just one point, with two rounds still to go.

It was a more difficult race for the Belgian-based KM99 squad of Jérémy Guarnoni, Florian Marino, and Randy de Puniet. After qualifying in seventh, a crash within the first half hour saw them drop down the timing screens. They mounted a strong fightback, only for a second crash to lose them more time, but they bounced back in the last couple of hours to finish in 16th overall and tenth in the Formula EWC class.

Niccolò Canepa - P1 201 laps
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team
“I am thrilled because we won last year in the 24-hour race, and we have won again this year in the eight-hour race. Honestly, the performance has been perfect throughout the race weekend from all of us, from the team to the tyres, and of course, my teammates were incredible. Despite having to make one more pit stop, we managed the strategy perfectly and stuck to our plan to secure victory, and now we have reduced the gap to the championship leaders to just one point with two rounds to go.” 

Marvin Fritz - P1 201 laps
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team
“It was the perfect race. We won, set a new lap record, and we each topped our qualifying groups, plus we managed to secure the maximum points for the championship. I could not be more proud of my teammates and the entire YART team; we did an amazing job. We pushed right from the start of the race because we knew we had to make one more pit stop than our competitors, and Niccolò could not have got us off to a better start. Karel and I continued that way, and we were all setting an amazing pace for the rest of the race. The team did a superb job with the pit stops, the Bridgestone tyres were great, and the bike felt amazing. Honestly, it was the perfect performance, and to stick to our strategy and not make a single mistake was incredible. It was very special. Last year, we won with the #7 bike; this year, we won with the #1 on our R1, and I could not be happier. Bring on Suzuka.”

Karel Hanika - P1 201 laps
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team
“It feels amazing to win for the second year in a row here at Spa. I had a difficult race in Le Mans. I wasn’t at my best, and my crash cost us the victory there. So, I had to reset and focus on getting back to my best. It definitely took me a bit more time to get up to speed during Private Practice, but lap by lap, my confidence came back, and by qualifying, I was feeling really good on the bike again. In an eight-hour race, it is easy to make a mistake, as it is more like a sprint, but the whole team was faultless, and we produced an incredible performance. I am happy that I was able to bounce back like this, and my team and teammates are so good it is unbelievable. We have a great atmosphere in the team, and I could not be prouder of what we have achieved here in Spa. I want to thank the whole team and everyone at Yamaha and Bridgestone who supported us; this win was for you. We are already looking forward to Suzuka.”

Mandy Kainz
Yamalube YART Yamaha EWC Official Team – Team Manager
“What a performance! The whole team have been incredible since we arrived on Thursday, working tirelessly to produce a performance like this. I am so proud of them all. The riders were faultless today and showed what we are capable of. The bike was superb, and when we combine everything like we did here in Spa, I truly believe that we are unstoppable. Obviously, this is endurance, so there are lots of factors to take into account, but this weekend, we pulled off the perfect race. To secure back-to-back victories at this track is also special, and I want to thank everyone from the team, Yamaha, and Bridgestone, for providing us with the perfect package. We managed to secure the maximum championship points, and now we are just one point behind the leaders, so it is game on for Suzuka.”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing celebrated their first FIM Motocross World Championship Grand Prix ‘double’ in 2024 as Jeffrey Herlings and Sacha Coenen both conquered the fine Kegums soil at the Latvian GP and round nine of 20. Herlings claimed his first MXGP victory in a year with a 1-3 performance on the KTM 450 SX-F while Sacha Coenen converted his bright speed with the KTM 250 SX-F to win in MX2 for the first time in his young career.

An overdue stint of sunshine greeted MXGP for the Grand Prix of Latvia at Kegums. Round nine dipped into the soft shallow soil of Kegums but the fast layout and hard base meant a typically deceptive and tricky circuit for the MXGP and MX2 classes (and European Championship support cards). Now fifteen years as a staple part of the MXGP slate and former Motocross of Nations venue; Kegums was nevertheless hit by a heavy but brief rainstorm that affected the end of the first MX2 moto and the opening MXGP outing.

Before the weather could have its say for the motos, warm and dry RAM Qualification Heats took place on Saturday where Herlings labored to 6th place in MXGP and Andrea Adamo was best-placed with 4th in MX2.

On Sunday the passing Latvian clouds made sure the track was soft and very rough in places (braking bumps and ruts) but also fast and inviting in others. Herlings started well in the initial MXGP moto with his KTM 450 SX-F and seized the lead on the first lap. He controlled the race all the way for his third success of 2024. In the second moto Herlings had no answer for the pace of Jorge Prado and Tim Gajser (despite a late rally) but his 3rd position ensured the top step of the rostrum for his first success of 2024 and his fifth trophy of the year (his eighth career GP feat at Kegums). #84 is 3rd in the standings and 68 points from P1.

MX2 belonged to Sacha Coenen. The young Belgian logged his seventh holeshot of the season (and started 2nd in the following moto) to keep strong and quick at the front of both races. #19 remained upright and in the game, and classified 3rd and 1st to achieve a series of milestones: first race win, first Grand Prix podium and first overall triumph. He was four places ahead of countryman Liam Everts who suffered a tip-off in the first moto and recorded a 5-4 scorecard for more top five regularity. A crash and damaged motorcycled meant world champion Andrea Adamo could rise no higher than 13th in MX2 Moto1 and rode to 8th for 9th overall.

Everts is the highest ranked rider in the MX2 championship in 4th and one slot in front of Adamo. Coenen’s best points haul of the year means he has moved up to 8th. MXGP travels to southern Europe and the iconic racing facility of Maggiora for the Grand Prix of Italy next weekend.

Jeffrey Herlings, 1st and 3rd for 1st overall in MXGP: “Definitely happy. Yesterday was so bad but today I was able to show people I could still ride a bit! The podium was the goal but to come out with a win was amazing. I didn’t quite have the pace for Jorge and Tim in the second moto; I was able to close them down but didn’t have the speed to pass. Anyway, very happy and two good starts today. I hope to keep that going because it’s been a weak point. Pleased with my riding and it’s nice to finally get off that #103 to #104!”

Sacha Coenen, 3rd and 1st for 1st overall in MX2: “Really nice to win my first GP. I’m feeling happy! I had good speed today and I knew I could do it! I had a really good start in the second moto and I just did my race. We need to focus and try to make every weekend a bit like this…and be on the podium as much as we can. Not many mistakes today and I kept on my wheels. This feels so nice.”

MXGP

Over the three races, Team HRC’s Tim Gajser went one-two-two at the Kegums circuit in Latvia, to take second step on the podium, and reclaim the championship-leading red-plate once again. In what were completely different conditions in the two GP-scoring races today, Gajser showed that it doesn’t matter if it is wet or dry, and that he is a threat to win in any weather.

Yesterday’s victory in the qualification race gave him first gate-pick and although he wasn’t able to repeat yesterday’s holeshot, he was still able to get round inside the top five. Unfortunately he was behind his two main rivals in both motos, but he was quickly able to pass one of them early-on in each moto to move into second.

Race one was a really wet moto, with standing water and wet sand making things difficult for everyone, but Gajser showed his skills to keep the leader in sight and pull away from the rest of the field. With the wet roost causing issues, he eventually had to settle for second place, which was still a good points tally and kept his chances of an overall alive.

In race two, he once again moved into second place and although he was able to keep the winner of race one well behind him, he knew he had to win to get the GP overall and despite intense pressure on the leader, he wasn’t able to make the pass happen on what was now a dry one-lined Kegums track. Once again he crossed the line, just over a second behind the race winner, knowing that his two-two would see him on the second step of the podium. Still, it was good enough for him to now be leading the championship by four points as they head to the 10th round of the series, which will take place at the prestigious Maggiora track in northern Italy.

Tim Gajser  243

I rode well all weekend, and am happy with the overall effort. Going one-two-two shows that my consistency is good and that my speed is good enough to win, but I wasn’t quite able to make it happen. I got the red-plate back so that is a positive and although there is still a long way to go, it is nice to ride with the red-plate on my Honda CRF450R, especially next week in Maggiora which is a special track.

Ferruccio Zanchi  73

My speed was good and I made a lot of passes on a track that wasn’t easy to pass on, but a few small moments cost me a top 10 overall. One was my fault, early in the first moto but the other two were frustrating and I hope I can learn from them and avoid that kind of thing in the future. Still, my fitness was good and I pushed until the end in both races so overall I am pleased with my progress and I’m really looking forward to a home GP in Maggiora next weekend.

LAKEWOOD, Colo. – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Tom Vialle has made it three straight 250MX podium results to open the 2024 AMA Pro Motocross Championship after claiming a hard-fought third position overall at Thunder Valley's third round of the season in Colorado.

Vialle rode his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to P5 in qualifying and then made steps forward to contend for the race victory in Moto 1, leading in the final stages and falling while challenging for a late pass for the lead. Still, he managed to remount efficiently and cross the line in P2.

Later this afternoon in Moto 2, despite an average start that cost him important time early on and an untimely crash while working his way back through the pack, Tom eventually took the checkered flag in P4. That was enough to secure third place for the round and he now sits tied on points with second in the standings, 23 points outside of the lead.

Tom Vialle: "Overall, the speed was good, just too many mistakes. I crashed in the second moto, then I was catching again and I tipped over in a corner, so I was really mad. But that's racing and the track was really good, a lot of fun today, so it was pretty nice and I'm excited for next weekend."

Colorado saw teenager Julien Beaumer match his overall finish from one week ago in scoring ninth position again. The Pro Motocross rookie qualified 12th and then improved to ninth in the opening encounter, before 10th in the final outing was another positive performance. He has now moved to eighth in the championship, motivated to keep inching closer to the front as experience grows.

Julien Beaumer: "Really good riding for me today, but bad starts and early crashes slowed my results down. I'm happy with the progress we made this weekend, so now we'll get ready for High Point!"

In wearing the red plates on his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION for the first time outdoors and coming off a victory at Hangtown, Chase Sexton displayed his front-running pace once again, but track position and a heavy crash while looking to take charge of Moto 2 resulted in 6-5 scores for fifth overall. He currently sits second in the standings, six points from the series lead following Round 3.

Chase Sexton: "It was nice to have the red plate today, and I felt like we had speed on our side, but it just didn't come together in the motos. Considering the results, we're still right there in the championship, so look forward to rebounding at High Point next weekend."

450MX teammate Aaron Plessinger was also competitive throughout the Thunder Valley weekend, gradually gaining comfort in the middle stages of the first moto on his way to fifth place, and then being affected by his start in the second race. 'The Cowboy' recovered from 15th at the end of lap one to finish in P8, which put him sixth overall for the round and he holds fifth in the point standings.

Aaron Plessinger: "Thunder Valley was kind of a struggle in practice, and then I felt better in the first moto. I got a really good start, but fell back and wasn't really gelling that much until I started clicking off some good laps around halfway and through to the end, so ended up fifth. In the second moto, I royally messed up the start, so that cost me and I paid for it. I came from around 20th place, which in conditions like that being hard and slick, it's tough to come through the pack. I've just gotta put myself in better positions early on and we'll move on to High Point."