Max Anstie took his Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki to an emphatic moto win and second place overall in the 10th round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Teutschenthal in Germany.
The Englishman showed his liking for the hard pack track already on Saturday when he posted the fourth best time in practice and a charge from 16th to sixth in the Qualifying race.
Another unfortunate start in the first GP moto left him 19th on the opening lap but he again charged through the pack to take eighth place on the final lap. There was no stopping him in the second race as he grabbed the holeshot award to lead all the way to win the moto by more than 10 seconds and secure second place on the podium. Max remains eighth in the series but has moved significantly closer to the riders ahead of him in the points table.
Jordi Tixier of the Monster Energy Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team recorded an impressive third place in the opening moto, but faced a hard race from 11th place on lap one to sixth at the chequered flag after hitting the gate at the start. The Frenchman’s 3-6 scoreline gave him fourth overall in the GP and he has now advanced to fifth in the championship standings.
Team-mate Petar Petrov chased home Tixier to finish fourth in the first moto but the Bulgarian also hit the gate at the start of race two; the shock of the impact damaged the throttle and he had to withdraw from the race but he retains his 11th place in the championship standings.
Thomas Covington had again shown good speed through training to set the 12th fastest lap and finish 11th in the qualification race but he was unfortunately eliminated from the GP early in race one after suffering a hand injury. The American teenager is now 14th in the series standings.
“It’s amazing the difference a start can make,” said a delighted Max Anstie.
He added: “Everyone in MX2 is so fast and it makes life difficult if you get a bad start like I did in race one. Race two was just so nice with a clear track all the way; Tim stayed close but I was determined not to lose this one in the last two laps like I did in England. I’m so pleased for the team that we finally got our first moto win and podium of the year; we’ve been so close a couple of times.”
On Saturday Jordi Tixier didn’t have a “good feeling” with the track but on Sunday he felt much better and was happy with the result.
“The first race was good; I was fighting for the win during most of the race but finally Guillod passed me and I finished third,” said Jordi Tixier. “In the second moto I hit the gate together with Guillod and Petar, but I recovered to sixth despite a small crash; I just missed the podium by a few points, but the most important is that the speed is there.
He added: “The track was difficult here, and again some riders got injured. I think that the organisers have to work on the track preparation.”
Petar Petrov commented: “This weekend was nearly perfect until the start of the second moto! I had a good speed all weekend long, and it was great to qualify in fifth position on Saturday.
“I got a good start in the first race and tried to stay with the first three guys, but at mid race I made some small mistakes and they pulled away but I finished fourth with a good feeling. At the start of the second moto I hit the gate together with some other riders, and after that my throttle was sticking so I couldn’t finish the race. However I’m happy to show my speed this weekend with a fifth and a fourth position; now we have nearly two weeks to train hard and prepare the next GP in Sweden.”
“It was really a bummer having a big crash in the first moto and injuring my wrist,” Thomas Covington said. “I was going to try to race the second moto but I couldn’t move my wrist at all to twist the throttle. I will have more exams and hopefully I will be okay for Sweden.”
