F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo raced to a magnificent second-moto third place as the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship faced the rugged deep Belgian sand of Lommel in stifling heat.

The enthusiastic young Norwegian had asked too much of the clutch as he held seventh in the first moto in the claustrophobic climatic conditions and unrelenting bottomless sand of the most demanding track in the world, but an interval pep-talk with experienced F&H team coach Marc de Reuver set the scene perfectly for the magnificent race two showing. He quickly moved into the top-six after leaving turn one eighth and paced himself perfectly through the exhausting thirty-five minute race. By mid-moto he was involved in an intense three-way tussle for fourth, a position he made his own with four laps remaining to set off after the front-three. Lapping several seconds per lap faster than the riders ahead of him he stormed into third halfway round the penultimate lap and almost caught second at the chequered flag. He remains fourth in the series points standings with four GPs remaining.

Kevin Horgmo: “It was nice to finish the day so strong. I lost quite a lot of time in the early laps of race one as I searched for my rhythm; once I got going I was catching up again but unfortunately I had to pull out so that made me even more determined to bounce back in race two. I took it quite easy through the first few laps but once I found the rhythm I felt strong and fresh. I could ride my lines, kept it going to the end and got up to third. Now I hope to finish the season strong; the next GP in Sweden is almost a home GP for me, just two-and-a-half hours from where my parents live, and I’m sure there will be a lot of Norwegian fans there to support me.“

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jed Beaton was classified sixteenth overall to retain his seventeenth series ranking. A mistake on lap four of the first race cost the Australian ten seconds and five positions but he regrouped quickly to confirm that he is gradually regaining his fitness, posting solid lap times to the close to pull back tht lost ground and take the chequered flag seventeenth. He held a smooth eleventh place for six laps of race two until the track and climatic conditions started to take its toll and he eventually crossed the finishing-line fifteenth.

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo consolidated fourth place in the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship standings after narrowly missing the podium at Loket in the Czech Republic.

The Norwegian momentarily lost drive in soft dirt halfway down the start straight in race one but clever line-choice on the inside of turn one and the outside of turn two already pulled him back into the top-six and another decisive move on the opening lap saw him advance to fifth as he joined the front-four in out-distancing the field. He maintained the pressure on the riders ahead and that pressure paid off on the penultimate lap as he forced the rider ahead into a mistake to take a comfortable fourth at the finish. A clean run through the opening turns saw Horgmo quickly into fifth in race two and he made a further smart pass on the opening lap to advance to fourth. He had third in his sights for most of the race but a loss of momentum three laps from the end saw him surrender one position in the moto to take the chequered flag fifth. This did not affect his overall placing and fourth on the day further consolidated the same position in the championship points chase going into the final third of the series.

Kevin Horgmo: “Neither start worked out as I would have wished but we managed to get up there with some good work through the first few turns. The first race was really solid in fourth and I was fourth again almost all of the second moto but I was starting to make mistakes near the end after two tough races. But overall it was a big advance from the difficulties we had yesterday and the podium was close. I just need to work for that; two holeshots next weekend in Lommel would be nice. “

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jed Beaton looked strong in the first ten minutes of the opening moto as he moved forward decisively from outside the points-scoring positions to sixteenth before broken spokes, the result of contact with another bike, in the front wheel forced him out of the race. Determined to erase the disappointment he made several spectacular passes to advance from tenth to seventh within two laps and maintained that position, within sight of the top-six, for half the moto before succumbing to chasers in the closing stages to finish tenth. He remains seventeenth in the championship standings.

Jed Beaton: “The first race was just a problem when the wheel was broken; I’d been making passes and was battling for fifteenth-sixteenth so the feeling was already good and the second moto was the best I’ve had for some time. I know I can do it; I just needed that one race for the confidence. It could have been even better if the race fitness had been there but it’s been a tough year coming back from the injury and the last three laps I was pretty done from the heat. But it’s a step in the right direction and I’m looking forward to keeping it up. Lommel’s always tough but it’s the same for everyone, I’ve done a lot of riding in the sand and I’m starting to come back to fitness. “