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.

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

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.”