Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Anstie has secured an impressive overall MX2 class win at the GP of Belgium, claiming two imposing race winning performances at the brutally rough Lommel track.
Confident of strong results at round 14 of the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship, Anstie didn’t fail to deliver and secured his first double moto winning result of the series to date. In doing so the Brit became the first rider to win three consecutive Lommel GPs.
Putting a high-speed qualifying race crash behind him Max pushed hard during the opening moto to claim a well-deserved win. Again battling against the soft, sandy track conditions in the second moto, he remained both fast and mistake free to put the finishing touches to a perfect GP by securing a second win.
“I’m so, so pleased I got the GP win here at Lommel,” said Anstie. “The track was as brutal as ever but the work that myself and the team have been putting in really showed.
“I knew that if I kept away from mistakes I could get the GP win – and that’s what we managed to do. I knew my speed was good, and I think I showed that in the qualifying race, but crashing as heavily as I did certainly wasn’t part of the plan.
“The pace was really fast at the start of the opening moto and then when it started raining it really made things tough. Lommel’s soft anyway, but the rain just seemed to make it even softer. I kept pushing and got the win.
“Moto two was altogether different – the track was still tough but I just kept pushing to get that second win. I feel really good right now. Heading into the remaining GPs I really want to focus on the overall podium.”
For Anstie’s team-mate Thomas Covington the GP of Belgium proved to be a difficult one. Struggling with lower back pain prior to the GP, two crashes in the opening moto resulted in a 17th place finish. Frustratingly the second moto was also a demanding one. Following a poor start Thomas battled his way to finish 12th.
Covington is glad the sand of Lommel is behind him. “It was a tough weekend for me,” he said. “I’ve been struggling with some lower back pain for a few weeks and Lommel isn’t a great place to race when you’re having troubles with your back. I taped it up and did the best I could but I had a big crash in the first moto. That put me outside the top 10 and then a second crash put me back even further. I didn’t get a good start in the second moto and just wasn’t able to ride the way I needed to. I’m looking forward to next weekend’s GP and more hard pack conditions.”
Conrad Mewse enjoyed two strong outings at Lommel despite a tough qualifying race. Running off track and dropping back to 20th, the British youngster fought back to ninth on Saturday, before going on to finish in 12th and 14th. Overcoming a poor start in moto one, Conrad claimed the holeshot in the second moto, running second for the first 10 minutes of the race.
“I really had to push hard during my qualifying race on Saturday,” offered Mewse, “and I think ultimately that cost me in the second moto today. I didn’t get a great start in the first moto so I pushed hard to get to 12th. I got the holeshot in the second moto, which was great and I ran in second for about 10 minutes. But then I faded pretty badly. It’s a little disappointing because I was in a great position at the time. But I really gave the GP my all and learned a lot.”
MXGP
An overall MXGP class win was well within the reach of Husqvarna’s MXGP class rider Max Nagl at Lommel, as the German star continued the impressive form that took him to overall victory at the recent GP of the Czech Republic. Winning the opening moto, the FC 450 mounted rider was well placed to earn a second consecutive overall GP win until a simple fall in a slow speed right hard corner in the second moto resulted in him finishing seventh. Frustratingly for Nagl his 1/7 score resulted in a second overall result, just one-point from the top step of the podium.
“I’m really pleased and really disappointed at the same time, if I’m honest,” said Nagl. “Pleased because I had a really great opening moto and disappointed because I know this could have been another overall MXGP win for me and the team. I felt great in the first moto – I made a good start and was able to win by around 10 seconds. I struggled a little in my qualifying race so to be able to turn that around I was very confident going into the second moto. I got the holeshot, but then I was too cautious for the first three laps. Some riders passed me and then I found my speed. Falling in the sand always loses a lot of time, and I dropped to seventh.
“Second overall, just one-point from the win, is a great result and I am still 100 per cent focused on my goal of trying to end the year second in the championship.”
Nagl’s team-mate Christophe Charlier crashed heavily in the opening moto and was unable to score any points during the GP of Belgium.
The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team will return to action at round 15 of the FIM Motocross World Championship at the GP of Switzerland on August 6-7.
