Race2 août 2021
MXGP of Latvia: This weekend took the seventh Grand Prix of the 2021 Motocross World Championship in Kegums.
MXGP
A fourth consecutive weekend of racing brought Airohriders to Kegums. Jorge Prado and Jeffrey Herlings walked away from round seven of seventeen with 2nd and 3rd positions overall.
Jorge Prado: “It was a great day. In the first moto I couldn’t get a rhythm and struggled a bit. In the second I was more relaxed. Good starts today and every weekend I’m feeling better and getting better physically. To come away with the second moto win is really positive. I’m happy, riding good and the team is working great.”
Jeffrey Herlings: “All weekend was perfect apart from the last lap. What can I say? I felt like I could make a pass but I didn’t want to take a risk. Jorge was riding well and not making any mistakes. I went down all by myself. I’m sorry for the team and sorry for myself. I’m already looking towards Turkey now where hopefully I won’t have any pain and will be fitter. We’ll try to hunt those boys down. We are 43 points behind but there are still a lot of races ahead. We need to work and get fit. We know what we need to do. The rest of the guys here are fast but we’ve been on the box every time we’ve been racing, so I’ve been consistent. We need to start clicking off some wins and step it up a bit.”
Tony Cairoli: “The day began well with a good lap in Timed Practice but my start was not good in the first moto. I was inside in the first corner and made it to the first five-six. I was riding OK and later in the race tried to attack and make my way to 3rd. I was OK with that but it took quite a bit of energy to pass those guys and I felt it for the second moto. I got up to 4th on the second lap but then unfortunately crashed and lost seven or eight positions. It was difficult in the rain and to pass others again. To recover to 6th was not too bad but also not my goal for the weekend. We’ll score this GP a ‘6.5 of out ten’ and move onto Turkey.”
MX2
Mattia Guadagnini makes the MX2 podium in 3rd. MX2 World Champion Tom Vialle was able to count on a few more days of rehab and preparation as the Frenchman continues to find full race-fitness in the wake of his fractured right hand.
Mattia Guadagnini: “Two really similar races. I took two holeshots. I saw Maxime coming strong I tried to push a little bit more and I was gaining ground when he passed me but I made a few mistakes. Second race: pretty much the same. I tried to stay close to Maxime to pass in the last few laps but Jago was coming up fast. I took 3rd place to get back on the podium. I didn’t have the best feeling with my right arm due to the crash I had in Lommel last week so we’ll take this and come back for more in Turkey.”
Tom Vialle: “The weekend was not too bad overall and I had some really good speed. I’m happy with that but I need to work on Timed Practice because 14th was too far out on the gate and I was around the top ten for the starts. I fought to come back to 6th and 4th so my pace was good. We now have a few weeks off and I need to train hard. My form is coming back and this break will be good for me. I like the track in Turkey and we still have a lot of races and hard-pack tracks to come.”
Rene Hofer: “Not a bad GP at all and especially after what happened last year I am really happy to go home in one piece and with these results. I’m really happy with the second race. I think it was my best in the sand this year. We now have some time to work on aspects of my riding to get better for the second half of the season.”
Motocross World Championship 2021, Round 7 – Kegums (Latvia)
MXGP
2. Jorge Prado (KTM)
3. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM)
5. Antonio Cairoli (KTM)
MX2
3. Mattia Guadagnini (KTM)
4. Tom Vialle (KTM)
6. Rene Hofer (KTM)
10. Simon Längenfelder (GasGas)
12. Isak Gifting (GasGas)
credits: press.ktm.com and gasgas press center
follow: Airoh Helmet Racing
