KEVIN HORGMO FIFTH IN LATVIA
F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo raced two solid motos for fifth overall in the Latvian round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Kegums.
From his disadvantageous start-pick after a difficult Qualifying the Norwegian rode a furious opening lap in race one to advance to eighth in company with the pre-race series leader. A clever line-switch saw him make an inside pass for sixth on the tenth of seventeen laps but further advances were not possible as the leaderboard was stretched out by then. He raced into the top six already off the start of race two and on lap two he executed a tidy pass for fifth, immediately pulling clear for a lonely ride to secure fifth overall on the day and maintain eighth in the series standings.
Kevin Horgmo: “Today was a solid day with sixth and fifth in the two motos; of course I want more but it was a real step in the right direction after the last few weeks. I was sick in Spain but I feel healthy again now. My thanks to all of the team for their hard work; they never stopped believing in me and now we just need to maintain the progress to get back to where we belong. I was standing complete outside on the gate after yesterday so I didn’t even put on the holeshot device and cut inside off the start to come through the first corner in the top ten and that made the races a little easier. It was survival out there in the conditions in race two but my bike ran 100% all moto.”
Big Van World MTX Kawasaki’s Jack Chambers was looking to impress again after his career-best qualifying result on Saturday but the first moto ended early for the Floridian as he went down hard in traffic on the second lap after starting twelfth. Battered and bruised he defiantly persisted through the difficult track conditions of race two to finish fourteenth and was rewarded with seven points which see him advance to eighteenth in the championship standings.
The F&H team decided that David Braceras should sit out the Latvian GP following a midweek practice crash; the Spaniard had been shaken but suffered no broken bones and expects to return to racing next weekend in Germany.
A heavy fall during Saturday practice had restricted BUD Racing Kawasaki’s Quentin Marc Prugnières to seventeenth gate-pick for both motos of the FIM European EMX250 Championship round at a track where the tight 180 degrees first turn heavily favours the inside gates. In each moto the French youngster had to charge from outside the top-fifteen to finish eighth and tenth for ninth overall. He was rewarded for his perseverance as he advanced to eighth in the series points standings.
MXGP 2023 Round 8 Kegums (lat)
Kevin Horgmo eighth in the French MXGP
F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo had to dig deep in race two to add a ninth to his first moto sixth in the French round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Villars-sous-Ecot.
The Norwegian shot out of the gate in race one to claim his second holeshot award of the season but was relegated to sixth within three laps as he sought the optimal lines on a track which was significantly faster than on the previous day after repeated work by the organiser’s track crew. Once he settled into a rhythm he had a lonely ride to sixth at the chequered flag. He put in a remarkable ride from dead-last in race two after being forced to pit for repairs on the opening lap; pushing relentlessly for the full thirty-five minutes, he moved into the top-ten on the penultimate lap and earns twelve valuable championship points for ninth at the finish. The effort earth eighth overall on the day and he retains that ranking in the series points-standings.
Kevin Horgmo: “Race one was nice with the holeshot and I felt good, but I haven’t been up there racing at the front for some time so I was missing the intensity and speed to race with them in the early laps. Once I found my rhythm I was riding better and better; it’s just a pity I couldn’t earn a better result after taking the holeshot. I had to stop at the pit-lane on the first lap of the second moto for repairs but I pushed all moto to come back from dead-last to ninth.”
It was a tortuous GP for F&H rookie David Braceras. The young Spaniard showed tremendous spirit as he rebounded strongly from first-lap incidents in each moto which left him twenty-fifth and twenty-fourth first time past the timekeepers but his only reward were seven points for fourteenth in race one as he was forced out of race two after recovering to sixteenth within just four laps. He remains fifteenth in the series standings.
MXGP 2023 Round 7 Villars sous ecot (fra)
MXGP 2023 Round 6 intu xanadu arroyomolinos (ESP)
Kevin Horgmo seventh in the Spanish Grand Prix
F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo claimed seventh place in the Spanish round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Arroyomolinos on the outskirts of Madrid.
The Norwegian made life difficult for himself with early errors in each moto. In the first race he shot out of the gate top-five alongside F&H teammate David Braceras but already during the hectic opening lap was pushed down to fifteenth as he fell attempting a pass and faced a long chase through the pack to reach his eventual eighth place four laps from the end. Another good gate in race two was negated on the opening lap as he lost momentum after tagging another rider’s rear wheel; from fourteenth on the first lap he again charged hard to reach seventh three laps from the finish with a series of impressive lap times. Seventh overall on the day retained eighth in the series points standings a third of the way through the championship.
Kevin Horgmo: “The bike was working perfect today and I got two really good starts but I fell trying to make a pass in race one and had to come back from behind; it was pretty difficult to make quick passes but I came to eighth at the finish. In the second moto I got another good start but touched someone’s rear wheel in the corner and dropped many positions. I felt strong at the end as I came back to seventh; now I just need to continue building. The bike is good and the riding is getting better and better; I want to thank the entire team for their great efforts and we can look forward confidently to France.”
David Braceras gave the vociferous Spanish crowd plenty to cheer as he raced top-six for two laps before two rude attacks by opponents, the first of which pushed him off the track and the second to the ground, relegated him to sixteenth. Urged on by the fans he regrouped to finish fourteenth. After a midfield start in race two the rookie persevered to push forward from eighteenth on the opening lap to again take the chequered flag fourteenth. He thus retains his fourteenth-placed ranking in the world championship standings.
David Braceras: “I started really good in the first moto and raced some laps in P6 but then I crashed with another rider and that pushed me down to sixteenth before I came back to fourteenth. I started really bad in the second race but came to fourteenth again; perhaps I could have taken even more but I used a lot of energy to pass one rider. I’m not happy with the results but I got some experience and the Spanish people are the best; they supported me so much. I could hear them all the way round the track when I was top six in the first moto.”
Persbericht: Moordrecht, 08-05-2023
MXGP 2023 Round 5 Agueda (POR)
Kevin Horgmo scores a sixth position in the Grand Prix of Portugal
F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo bounced back with a forceful sixth in race two in the Portuguese round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Agueda.
The Norwegian paid the penalty for an unfortunate Qualifying the previous day which had left him with a disadvantageous gate-pick. He found himself seventeenth on the opening lap of race one but persisted throughout the race, making his final pass on the penultimate lap for twelfth. He faced another difficult start from the outside in race two but pounced quickly to move into eleventh after a few corners and by the end of lap two he was already eighth. Two more stunning passes during the first five laps saw him advance even further to his eventual sixth. He heads to Spain next weekend eighth in the series standings.
Kevin Horgmo: “I was fastest in Warm-up this morning but they watered a lot before our first race and without a good Qualifying yesterday it was difficult for the start today. I was making a lot of mistakes trying to pass slower riders but I turned it around the last few laps so I was confident for race two. I still didn’t get the best start but I came from eleventh to sixth, not far from Adamo. Now we fly back to The Netherlands to get ready for Spain.”
Young teammate David Braceras reveled in the Portuguese sunshine as he rocketed through the first turn seventh in race one and even moved forward to sixth after six laps before the pressure of racing at the sharp-end for the first time in his rookie GP season started to show and he periodically surrendered positions during the second half of the race. But the Spanish youngster remained cool to bring it home eleventh, his best result to date. Race two was a different story as he could not avoid a fallen rival on the opening lap; the incident left him twenty-fourth at the first split but he responded admirably to work his way forward to fourteenth at the chequered flag. He heads to his home GP next weekend fourteenth in the championship points chase.
David Braceras: “I took a great start in the first moto and found good rhythm and speed to race several laps in sixth. It was a good experience but I used a lot of energy in those first few laps and had to back off a little in the second half of the race. My start was not quite so good in race two and I was around fifteenth but another rider fell in front of me and I crashed too. But I was happy with my riding to come back to fourteenth. There are still a lot of things for me to improve, but I am progressing every weekend and the next GP is in my home country; the track there is quite special and I will give everything for my own public.”
Kevin Horgmo finishes ninth in the Grand Prix MX2 in Trentino
F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo finished ninth in the fourth round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Pietramurata in the north Italian province of Trentino.
The Norwegian moved forward determinedly from eleventh to ninth during the first two laps of moto one but lost his momentum as the race progressed to eventually take the chequered flag eleventh. A solid ride throughout race two was rewarded with eighth place to earn ninth on the day. He is now eighth in the series standings.
Kevin Horgmo: “It’s been a difficult weekend for me. The team is working really hard to help me and I am so sorry that I couldn’t reward them; eleventh and eighth are not what we’re aiming for. I just need to build my confidence back and feel comfortable again. We go home now and look for good training before Portugal.”
F&H teammate David Braceras rode solidly in fourteenth for most of race one before surrendering three positions in the closing stages. The Spanish GP rookie showed tremendous spirit in race two as he charged back to seventeenth place after cartwheeling down the track at the start in a collision with another rider already before the approach to turn one. He is now fifteenth in the world championship points standings.
David Braceras: “I felt really good this morning in Warm-up with P7, but I just didn’t find my rhythm in race one, then the crash at the start of the second moto. I was dead-last and then on the second lap as I was coming through another rider jumped across me and I crashed again. But I kept pushing to score points again; it was not the result I want but we will work the next two weeks to be ready for Portugal and the results we deserve.”