MXGP 2023 Round 2 Sardegna (ITA)

Kevin Horgmo stays top six in MX2

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo maintained his top-six ranking in the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship with eighth overall in round two of the series at Riola Sardo on Sardinia.

The Norwegian gambled on taking a central gate in race one to ensure a clean run to turn one, away from the bar-banging amongst the other favorites, and it seemed to be paying dividends as he approached the turn with his nose in front, but a rival from the inside ran to the outside of the turn, taking the Kawasaki rider with him, to negate the tactic. The F&H teamster was quickly back into the top-eight leaderboard runners but the hot pace offered few opportunities to pass and, despite his persistence, it was only during the final four laps that he was able to advance further to his eventual seventh. Lining up at the gate amongst the other front-runners for race two Horgmo rounded turn one ninth and stayed there all moto as a single fast line developed in the sand. Eighth overall on the day, he retained his top-six ranking in the series heading to the next round at Frauenfeld in Switzerland over the Easter weekend.

Kevin Horgmo: “Not my best day; in fact I’m a little disappointed. My Quali was OK but I just couldn’t replicate it on race day. To be honest I would have prefered it to be rougher. The track was just so fast today; if it had been bumpier I could have ground it out and relied on my physical fitness.”

Horgmo’s Spanish teammate David Braceras continues to establish himself in his rookie GP season and was running a solid twelfth after twenty-five minutes of the first moto until a rude attack by a rival sent them both sprawling on the ground. He remounted to finish eighteenth. An incident on the first lap of race two left the youngster last but he responded bravely to advance to fourteenth after twenty minutes before the exertions of two tough races began to tell and he surrendered two places during the closing laps. Fifteenth overall on the day he is now also fifteenth in the series rankings.

David Braceras: “I earn a good gate from twelfth yesterday in Qualifying and was running tenth-eleventh-twelfth for a long time until another rider blocked me and we crashed. I crashed in the second corner in race two; I came back to fourteenth but then I started to have some trouble with my legs. We will continue to work and I know what I need to work on.”

Kevin Horgmo scores second position in Grand Prix MX2 in Argentina

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo stormed to a second-moto runner-up placing in the opening round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Villa La Angostura in Argentina.

The first moto started in most unfortunate fashion for F&H teammates Horgmo and David Braceras as, after excellent starts, they each found themselves delayed by a crash immediately ahead of them entering turn two. Within a lap they had each burst back into the top-twenty and continued to push their way up the standings. By half-distance the Norwegian had broken into the top-ten but the gaps between the leaderboard riders had already been established and he had to be satisfied with ninth at the chequered flag while his Spanish teammate finished twelfth.

A superb start in race two saw Horgmo nail the holeshot award and, although he had to surrender the lead at turn two, he established himself immediately in the front-three breakaway and made second his own on lap four to claim a clear runner-up finish in the moto, missing the overall GP podium by just a single point despite the misfortune he suffered in race one. The new ruling which also awards points in Qualifying sees the Norwegian head to round two fifth in the series standings. Teammate Braceras also started top-ten but two slips pushed the Spaniard out of the points; his first-moto scoreline sees him seventeenth in the points after the first round of his GP rookie season.

Kevin Horgmo: “I had a great start, third into the first corner, in race one. I was right behind Coenen and Längenfelder when they collided and I had nowhere to go. I was stuck behind them and got hit from behind; my entire rear brake system was ripped off but I set off after a long delay to score as many points as possible. Making passes was OK and by the time I made it to the top-ten the gaps were hard to make up but I had a good feeling with my riding and that gave me confidence for race two. I took the holeshot and crossed the line second after a consistent moto; overall it was a positive day.”

F&H Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team reveals its new line up

The F&H Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team has revealed its new line up before the opening race of the season in Argentina. The team has had a good off season and is ready to perform in 2023. Kevin Horgmo finished fourth in the world championship MX2 in 2022 and is eager to improve on this result this year. Alongside him is the talented Spaniard David Braceras who moves up from the EMX250 Championship to the MX2 class.

The Grand Prix of Argentina will be held Villa La Angostura, one of the best tracks on the MXGP calendar. Both riders are eager to compete and, for David, it’s the first time that he will race an overseas Grand Prix so for him it will be a great experience.

Kevin Horgmo commented: ‘’The winter preparation went really well. I have enjoyed my time on the bike and we have improved a lot. The pre-season race didn’t really show that but I think that’s what these races are for and I have learnt a lot. Compared to last year I would like to be more consistent and don’t have any silly crashes. I was in a good position many times and let the result slip away. My mission is to improve and be even faster. All the hard work from the winter will pay off during the season. I’m looking forward to Argentina.’’

 

David Braceras commented: ‘’We did a lot of good training on proper tracks during the winter and I started to feel comfortable on the bike. We have done a lot of work with the bike and the suspension and other aspects are going really well. My goals for the first race in Argentina are see where I am and improve on that in the following races. I’m really enthusiastic to go to Argentina as the people there are also speaking Spanish. The track looks also really nice and I think I will adapt well to the type of sand of the track. It’s really fast and I think it will be a good track for me.’’

 

Nathalie Fase, Team Manager added: ‘’F&H Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team will line up this season with two young, strong talented riders in the FIM Motocross MX2 World Championship. Kevin Horgmo who finished fourth in the world championship with us last season looks stronger than ever after a perfect winter preparation and is ready to go for it. Our new Spanish talented member of the team David Braceras has recovered well from a minor injury earlier this winter period and we are confident that everything will work out with him step by step during the season.

The composition of the team has changed slightly, a lot of familiar faces known for years already in the paddock, but also some new additions have made their entrance within the team which is refreshing! I myself recently became the mother of a sweet little boy, so I will have to coordinate the first races from home, Obviously, that is new to experience, but good preparation is half the work and my partner together with our crew is fortunately taking over many of my tasks on site.

We look back on a good season last year and together with all our sponsors and Kawasaki we are ready to take it even further. The complete F&H Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team is motivated to start the season in a positive way and build from there.
”Let the good times roll!”

New F&H signing – David Braceras

Talented Spanish rider, David Braceras, will ride for the Netherlands based F&H Kawasaki Team in 2023 competing on the new KX250 in the MX2 category.
Already a formidable force in the EMX250 series – and with valuable experience in the competitive cauldron of MX2 – the 19 year old from Guardamar del Segura near Alicante, steps up to the highly experienced F&H Kawasaki team for the coming season.

Braceras will have the latest KX250 under him across a highly structured winter training regime in his native Spain, Sardinia and at selected tracks and varying track surfaces across northern Europe making ready for a full-on assault for podium honours in 2023.

David Braceras commented: “Signing with F&H Kawasaki is like a dream come true! Making the step to MX2 World Championship in an Official Kawasaki MX2 team is a big opportunity and I will make the most of it. I already tested the bike in Holland and it’s a rocket, for sure I need some time to get used to the handling characteristics, but we have enough time for that this winter. The team is super professional, they take care of all little details to make the difference. I really want to start the preseason together with the team and Marc de Reuver and prepare myself 100% to make my rookie year an unforgettable year together with F&H and Kawasaki”.

 

Nathalie Fase – Team Manager – commented: “We are very happy with the signing of David! A talented young man that we will be getting this winter ready for the big work in the MX2 GP class. We are confident that he can give us some nice surprises in his rookie year and will do everything to make our first year together a success. His training and testing phase starts this week and we can’t wait for the rest of the winter. The first tests looked good and we are looking forward to go for it with Kawasaki!”