A strong fourth position for Kevin Horgmo in the Grand Prix of Germany

Kevin Horgmo of F&H Racing finished in a strong position at the Grand Prix of Germany. Horgmo had to go wide at the start of both motos but charged back to sixth and fifth position in the motos, which gave him fourth position overal. Jed Beaton finished in fourteenth position in both MXGP races!

Pushed wide at turn one F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo held eighth place for more than half of the first moto in the wake of the leaderboard train which formed on the predominantly one-line track. As the track developed more lines became available and the Norwegian built two clever passes on consecutive laps to finish sixth. The riders off the inside gates again pushed him wide at turn one but within ten minutes he was moving forward from his initial seventh to secure fifth; a relentless chase after the rider directly ahead of him in the points chase came up just one second short, but fourth overall on the day has confirmed fourth in the championship standings and sees him close to within twenty-seven points of third in the series.

Kevin Horgmo: “Yesterday I made a silly mistake in Qualifying and hit the gate, but I felt good on the bike as I came from last to eighth and the set-up was good all weekend. I got pushed wide at turn one from that gate position today but I came from mid-pack both motos to sixth and fifth for fourth overall; I felt my riding was better than the result but that mistake at the gate yesterday cost me. Now to Indonesia; it will be a new experience for me and for sure it will be even hotter than here.“

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jed Beaton emerged seventeenth from the opening lap of the first moto but was able to push for the entire thirty-five minutes to gain three positions on his way to fourteenth. The Australian was quickly fourteenth in race two and also finished in that position after a race-long battle with the runner-up from race one. He is now seventeenth in the series standings despite missing three rounds through injury.

Kevin Horgmo climbs to fourth position in the world championship standings MX2

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo lifted himself to fourth in the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship standings after narrowly missing the podium at Ernee in France.
Top-grade preparation by the highly-experienced MC Ernée crew saw the track in superb condition for the first MX2 moto and the F&H KX250 hooked up perfectly out of the start to grab an immediate lead which he held for three-and-a-half laps before the championship leader sneaked under the Norwegian but could not escape. A four-rider lead-train enthralled the massive crowd as Horgmo retained second place for a further three laps until a momentary loss of traction on the trickiest climb of the track saw him pushed back to fourth, a placing he maintained without stress to the chequered flag. He was again prominent through the first turn in race two but a couple of poor line-choices through the next two turns pushed back to eighth. Undeterred by the temporary setback he coolly set to work and was back into the top-five within ten minutes, fourth by half-distance and spent the final quarter pressurising the eventual GP winner for third in moto; a pass would have secured the podium but the Kawasaki came up less than two seconds short for his second fourth-placed moto finish of the day. This secured fourth overall on the day and sees him advance to fourth in the series standings.

Kevin Horgmo: “It was nice to lead again; I was second at the start and could make the pass already at the next turn to lead for three laps, but then I made a couple of mistakes with line-choice and dropped back to fourth. Once I settled again I put in some solid laps and was happy with my speed. I made another good start behind Vialle in the second race but I messed up in the first few turns and dropped back to eighth. I put in some really good laps to come back to fourth; I came close to Vialle and would have been on the podium if I could have passed him. Still, fourth overall was good so I can be satisfied; that was one of my best races this year. The bike was working really well in the tricky conditions; there were a lot of lines out there so it was possible to make a difference if you wanted it enough.“

Jed Beaton made a superb start in the first moto to run a solid sixth for more than half of the race before the effects of his recent injury lay-off forced him to slacken his pace slightly; he continued to race top-ten until a late error dropped the Australian to thirteenth. Eleventh on the opening lap of race two he posted a succession of solid laps to move into the top-ten mid-moto but the deficit of recent bike-time again took its toll in the closing laps and he finished thirteenth once more for the same position overall on the day. He remains seventeenth in the series points standings.

Jed Beaton: “I started off good for twenty-five minutes both motos but the last ten minutes were difficult each time. I missed a couple of GPs with my shoulder and it showed as I’m still lacking race fitness. But it was another step in the right direction; I’m showing at the start of the race what I can do and now I have to build fitness back up to take it to the end of the moto.“

Kevin Horgmo strengthens his fifth position in the World Championship MX2

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo had never previously raced at the Intu Xanadu facility on the outskirts of Madrid but quickly showed his liking for the heavily-rutted track. Already extremely impressive during Qualifying as he earns fourth choice of start-gate the Norwegian muscled his way quickly from a fifth-placed start to move third on the second lap of the first GP moto and made a further dramatic pass one lap later for second. He soon moved clear of all chasers and appeared secure in that position but a momentary loss of concentration on lap eight of eighteen saw him slide out in a turn, the twelve-second delay dropping him momentarily to fifth; he quickly surged back to fourth but was not quite able to regain his top-three ranking at the finish. A GP podium looked possible after another top-six start in race two but a collision on the opening lap left him last and two falls after he was on the verge of breaking back into the top-ten restricted him to thirteenth at the finish. Ninth overall on the day, he has retained his fifth-placed world ranking and has extended his advantage over the chasers.

Kevin Horgmo: “I had a good start in the first race and was riding in second for a long time; it cost me a couple of places when I lost the front end but I was riding well so I was happy was that and felt good going into moto two. I was keen to move quickly from sixth but I collided with another rider near the end of the first lap and had to restart at the back. I crashed twice more; I didn’t have the flow after that and just tried to collect as many points as possible. I’m looking forward to Ernée next weekend. I have good memories as I won the 125 class last time I raced there in 2017. “

Jed Beaton, F&H’s rider in the MXGP class, showed good speed on his return to racing after an injury lay-off but was unfortunate in both moto. The Australian finished fourteenth in the first moto after a first-lap mid-pack collision had caused him to ride through the pack; in race two he held a strong fourteenth position until an incident mid-race cost him three positions.

Kevin Horgmo narrowly misses podium on Sardinia

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo finished fourth after two strong motos in the Sardinian round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at the Riola Sardo sand track.

The Norwegian made good use of the third-placed gate-pick he had earnt during Qualifying on Saturday to once more choose the gate adjacent to the official’s box, thus giving himself elbow-room leaving the gate and a stunning line through the sweeping first turn as he narrowly missed the holeshot in each GP moto. He joined the leaders in immediately breaking away from the pack in race one until a small mistake on lap eight saw him slither to ground exiting a turn to temporarily drop from fifth to eighth; the incident clearly didn’t discourage him and he immediately charged again for a significant pass on a major rival in the points race on the penultimate lap to finish fifth. Third leaving the first turn in race two he clipped the trackside bank a few hundred metres later to surrender two places but hit back immediately with an inside pass for fourth before the completion of the opening lap and, settling into a solid rhythm to handle the extreme heat and rugged track, maintained his pace to the close, missing third by just over a second. Fourth overall on the day he has now advanced to fifth in the series standings, just twelve points shy of third.

Kevin Horgmo: “It was a really tough GP with two hard motos on a difficult track in the heat but I made a good start around third in both motos and that was a good base. I had a small tip-over in the first moto to fall back to eighth but I could come back to fifth after some nice battles with Mikkel as we both made some good passes up the leaderboard. The bike was working perfectly from beginning to end both motos and I still felt good at the end of race one so I was confident for race two. I was fourth almost all moto and tried not to make mistakes but I couldn’t quite make the pass on Thibault for third. I would have liked to be on the podium again, and with a little more luck it could have been possible; we will keep working for it at the next race.“

Kevin Horgmo consistent in difficult in Grand Prix of Italy

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team Kevin Horgmo was unable to repeat the excellent start which had taken him to third in Qualifying the previous day and was unfortunate to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time on the opening lap of race one. The Norwegian was on the edge of the top ten leaving turn one but then came misfortune at the tight turn three when the leader fell, pulling down more riders with him and the Kawasaki rider was left with nowhere to go as the line to which he was committed was blocked. By the end of the lap he had recovered to nineteenth and he maintained progress until he was twelfth after twenty minutes. With four laps to go, within seconds of making a further move into eleventh, he tipped over in a heavily-rutted turn to surrender the position again and eventually came home twelfth. Closed down entering the first turn in race two he was through to twelfth by the end of the first lap, broke into the top-ten after ten minutes and continued to push forward up the leaderboard. An awkward moment when he showed terrific reactions to miss a fallen rider as he closed down the top six cost several seconds but he regrouped strongly to take seventh at the chequered flag to defend sixth in the series points standings.

Kevin Horgmo: “I was stuck in the third corner after a mid-pack start in the first moto when they crashed in front of me and I had nowhere to go. It wasn’t easy to pass and I crashed two times to finish twelfth. The second moto I made a mid-pack start and we were almost riding a train with no-one able to pass. I almost crashed a couple of times but everybody else was on the edge too; a couple of the guys in front of me did crash and I ended up seventh. The starts were so important here. I don’t know why they didn’t work here today but I’m not worried; I had perfect starts in Latvia and I’m confident we can bring the starts back at Riola Sardo next weekend. I have raced the Italian championship there and we were there for pre-season training so I know the track well and it’s a good one for me. “

Overall Grand Prix MX2 Maggiora:
1 Jago Geerts 47 Pnt
2 Tom Vialle 41 Pnt
3 Stephen Rubini 37 Pnt
4 Simon Laengenfelder 35 Put
5 Kay de Wolf 30 Pnt
9 Kevin Horgmo 23 Pnt

World Championship Standings MX2:
1 Jago Geerts 291 Pnt
2 Tom Vialle 285 Pnt
3 Simon Laengenfelder 216 Pnt
4 Kay de Wolf 211 Pnt
5 Mikkel Haarup 211 Pnt
6 Kevin Horgmo 199 Pnt

Kevin Horgmo takes maiden podium in the Grand Prix MX2 in Latvia

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo clinched a career-first GP podium with second overall in the Latvian round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Kegums.

The Norwegian youngster used the excellent gate-pick he had earnt during Qualifying to exit turn one fourth in the first moto and already on the opening lap he had moved into third to put the pressure on the leaders in a three-rider breakaway at the head of the field; on lap six he took over second with a decisive outside pass in a long sweeping turn. The only rider to dip his lap times below 2-10 more than twice during the race the Kawasaki rider maintained the pressure despite the roost off the leader’s rear wheel but he had to back off slightly in the last two laps after his goggles were filled-in with wet sand off backmarkers; nevertheless he finished a highly-impressive second, his maiden top-three GP moto finish. His KX250 getting superb drive out of the gate in race two the twenty-one-year-old took a clear holeshot. Momentarily losing drive in soft sand on the approach to a step-up jump halfway round the lap he surrendered the lead temporarily but was back in front before the completion of the opening lap with a stunning pass and he immediately opened up a good lead, extending it to six seconds at one stage. Entering the final stages he eventually succumbed to pressure from the more-experienced series-leader after leading for eleven of the sixteen laps but was still secure in second until he clipped the tuff-blocs through an artificial chicane; he remounted fourth, still sufficient to retain second overall on the day for the first podium finish of his young GP career. The thirty-eight-point haul has also advanced him to sixth in the series standings.

Kevin Horgmo: “Second overall; the best day of my career so far. I was leading for a while in the second race and felt comfortable but Jago was coming fast so I had to let him pass. I tried to follow and made that silly mistake. I was also leading in Portugal so it wasn’t the first time but when I started to think about the podium perhaps I lost a little focus. The first race was also good; my best moto result so far. I concentrated on staying with Jago and that pace kept everyone else off my rear wheel. I could manage that comfortably but I had a little trouble with dirt on my goggles at the end. It’s all coming together well; I’ve had the speed for a podium for some time and I felt it was my time to put it together. Now I hope I will be there more often. “

Overall Grand Prix MX2 Latvia:
1 Jago Geerts 50 Pnt
2 Kevin Horgmo 40 Pnt
3 Tom Vialle 36 Pnt
4 Kay de Wolf 31 Pnt
5 Thibault Benistant 31 Pnt

World Championship Standings MX2:
1 Jago Geerts 244 Pnt
2 Tom Vialle 244 Pnt
3 Simon Laengenfelder 181 Pnt
4 Kay de Wolf 181 Pnt
5 Mikkel Haarup 181 Pnt
6 Kevin Horgmo 176 Pnt

Horgmo and Beaton remain inside of the top ten in the world championship

Round five of the world championship was held at the legendary track of Pietramurata.

Kevin Horgmo got a good jump out of the inside gate in race one but was closed down entering the first turn to charge down the pit-straight to turn two twelfth. He had already advanced into the top ten by the end of the lap but a collision halfway round the next lap demoted him to twenty-ninth. Undeterred by the momentary setback the Norwegian stormed back into the points-scoring positions by half-distance and continued to push, making his final pass for twelfth on the very last lap. Another difficult start in race two saw him eleventh on the opening lap but he immediately set to work on hauling in the riders ahead to advance to eighth after a quarter-of-an-hour; he was fifth at twenty-five minutes and closed down the gap to the leaders in the final ten minutes to finish just three seconds away from third place. He remains seventh in the series points standings.

Kevin Horgmo: “It’s just a little unfortunate that I crashed with another guy on the second lap of the first race and had to come back from twenty-ninth to twelfth. It’s always been difficult to pass here so that was quite an achievement. I got another bad start in the second race but I came through from outside the top-ten to fifth. I felt my riding was really good; I just need to improve my starts. “

Jed Beaton once again showed his track craft to advance to seventh on the opening lap of race one with clever line-choice and he maintained that position with top-six lap times for half the race before the on-going effects of the shoulder injury he sustained at round two of the series forced him to slacken his pace to finish fifteenth. The second moto followed a similar pattern to finish fourteenth; he remains tenth in the championship standings.

Jed Beaton: “It’s the same as last week; I’m still struggling with the shoulder. I don’t have any pain but there’s just no strength after a bit of riding. When I’m racing the first ten-fifteen minutes I’m up the front battling, but then it drops off. It’s a little difficult for me to accept at the moment but it is how it is; now we have two weeks to try to get it sorted as best we can before the next GP.

Overall Grand Prix MX2 Arco di Trento:
1 Tom Vialle 50 Pnt
2 Kay de Wolf 37 Pnt
3 Mikkel Haarup 37 Pnt
4 Thibault Benistant 36 Pnt
5 Mattia Guadagnini 32 Pnt
6 Kevin Horgmo 25 Pnt

World Championship Standings MX2:
1 Tom Vialle 208 Pnt
2 Jago Geerts 194 Pnt
3 Mikkel Haarup 169 Pnt
4 Simon Laengenfelder 154 Put
5 Kay de Wolf 150 Pnt
7 Kevin Horgmo 136 Pnt

Overall MXGP Arco di Trento:
1 Tim Gajser 50 Pnt
2 Maxime Renaux 40 Pnt
3 Jorge Prado 38 Pnt
4 Jeremy Seewer 36 Pnt
5 Glenn Coldenhoff 32 Pnt
15 Jed Beaton 13 Pnt

World Championship Standings MXGP:
1 Tim Gajser 236 Pnt
2 Jorge Prado 203 Pnt
3 Maxime Renaux 184 Pnt
4 Jeremy Seewer 160 Pnt
5 Glenn Coldemhoff 141 Pnt
10 Jed Beaton 82 Pnt

Kevin Horgmo scores top three position in Grand Prix MX2 in Portugal

Kevin Horgmo of the F&H Kawasaki Racing Team was fortunate to avoid a cartwheeling rival at turn two in the opening moto to settle into an early fourth place until he fell victim to a slippery patch halfway round the lap and was pushed back in an instant to fifteenth. By half-distance the Norwegian had broken into the top ten again and, despite another slip, continued to push to advance decisively to eighth at the finish. The young Norwegian made it two holeshots in a day for Kawasaki in race two and showed emphatically how he is maturing from week-to-week by leading for seven laps. He remained unruffled after the two championship leaders came past in rapid succession to stick with the more experienced duo; he even closed back down the eventual GP winner as the race entered the final two laps but could not quite make a pass. Nevertheless he claimed a career-first GP moto podium. Fifth overall on the day he is now seventh in the series points standings, just four points from fifth.

Kevin Horgmo: “Unfortunately I had two small crashes in the first race but my riding was solid and I had third-fastest lap time of the moto so I was confident I could have a good second race with a good start. And that’s what I did with the holeshot! My Kawasaki was perfect over the gate and through the first turn and I could lead a GP for the first time. Even when I dropped back to third I stayed right behind a world champion for the rest of the race so I could be happy with my speed. Now I’m looking forward to next weekend at Arco; I won EMX there last year so I have good memories of the track. “

Jed Beaton of the F&H Kawasaki Racing Team had fond memories of the Agueda track where he recorded his maiden GP podium during his MX2 career and was holding a strong top-ten placing in the first moto until he came together with another rider and was pushed out of the points-scoring placings before recovering to finish eighteenth. The second moto looked even more promising as he raced top-six through the early laps but, troubled by the shoulder he injured at Mantova last month, he lost momentum during the second half of the race to take the chequered flag thirteenth. The Australian is now twelfth in the championship standings.

Jed Beaton: “I felt pretty good for the first ten to fifteen minutes of both races, but in the first moto I came together with someone and snapped off my clutch lever so I couldn’t do much after that. In the second moto I was good again for fifteen to twenty minutes but then I got a lot of arm pump in my left arm. That’s from the crash in Mantova; my shoulder doesn’t feel painful but it is still weak and I just don’t have the strength. I don’t want to be in this position but it is how it is; when I get it sorted I’ll be back where I ought to be. “

Overall Grand Prix MXGP Portugal:
1 Jorge Prado 47 Pnt
2 Tim Gajser 45 Pnt
3 Brian Bogers 40 Pnt
4 Glenn Coldenhoff 38 Pnt
5 Pauls Jonass 30 Pnt
15 Jed Beaton 11 Pnt

World Championship Standings MXGP:
1 Tim Gajser 186 Pnt
2 Jorge Prado 165 Pnt
3 Maxime Renaux 144 Pnt
4 Jeremy Seewer 124 Pnt
5 Glenn Coldenhoff 109 Pnt
12 Jed Beaton 69 Pnt

Overall Grand Prix MX2 Portugal:
1 Tom Vialle 47 Pnt
2 Mikkel Haarup 40 Pnt
3 Jago Geerts 37 Pnt
4 Kay de Wolf 35 Pnt
5 Kevin Horgmo 33 Pnt

World Championship Standings MX2:
1 Jago Geerts 174 Pnt
2 Tom Vialle 158 Pnt
3 Mikkel Haarup 132 Pnt
4 Simon Laengenfelder 130 Pnt
5 Andrea Adamo 115 Pnt
7 Kevin Horgmo 111 Pnt

Photocredits – Fullspectrum Media

Top Five Finish For Kevin Horgmo During MX2 GP of Argentina

Kevin Horgmo of F&H Racing had a top five finish during one of the heats of the Argentinian motocross GP at Neuquen. Horgmo claimed fifth spot in the first heat after a strong race. He finished 13th in a troubled second heat for tenth overall.

The race attracted many thousands of spectators, who enjoyed the spectacle on the technical track which offered high speeds and many jumps. The atmosphere around the track was one the riders really enjoyed.

Horgmo had his best wares on display during the first heat. He worked his way up to third, and held the spot for a long time. A mistake in the final lap cost him two spots, but nonetheless, a fifth place finish was a result that he and the team were pleased about. Horgmo had some problems in the second heat which kept him down to 13th position, but he still managed a top ten overall finish.

Jed Beaton was still in recovery mode after his heavy crash at Mantova, and it was uncertain as to how he would perform on the day. Alas, his woes were compounded when he crashed hard during the opening lap of the qualifying race. His bike was damaged to such an extend that he had to retire from the race, which meant an unfavourable start gate for the races. He made the best of the cards he was dealt with and finished 13th and 11th in the races respectively.

The F&H Racing team will tackle the long journey back home and line up for action at the next round of the world championships at Agueda in Portugal in two weeks’ time.

Overall MX2 Argentina:
1 Tom Vialle 47 Pnt
2 Jago Geerts 47 Pnt
3 Mikkel Haarup 38 Pnt
4 Mattia Guadagnini 38 Pnt
5 Conrad Mewse 27 Pnt
10 Kevin Horgmo 24 Pnt

World Championship Standings MX2:
1 Jago Geerts 137 Pnt
2 Tom Vialle 111 Pnt
3 Simon Laengenfelder 110 Pnt
4 Mikkel Haarup 92 Pnt
5 Andrea Adamo 85 Pnt
8 Kevin Horgmo 78 Pnt

Overall MXGP Argentina:
1 Tim Gajser 47 Pnt
2 Maxime Renaux 47 Pnt
3 Jorge Prado 36 Pnt
4 Pauls Jonass 31 Pnt
5 Glenn Coldenhoff 28 Pnt
13 Jed Beaton 18 Pnt

World Championship Standings MXGP:
1 Tim Gajser 141 Pnt
2 Maxime Renaux 124 Pnt
3 Jorge Prado 118 Pnt
4 Jeremy Seewer 94 Pnt
5 Jeremy Van Horebeek 76 Pnt
9 Jed Beaton 58 Pnt

Kevin Horgmo in the top five at the Grand Prix MX2 in Mantova

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo bounced back from a fall to snatch a dramatic fifth in the second round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Mantova in northern Italy.

The Norwegian gated superbly in the first GP moto to eventually take the chequered flag sixth after a titanic struggle throughout the entire thirty-minute-plus-two-lap race with a continual exchange of positions, his final lunge for fifth coming up just inches short. Initially ninth in race two after his line was closed down entering turn one the enthusiastic youngster quickly advanced to seventh with a series of dramatic moves before a single error on the tortuous track cost seven seconds and six positions. He regrouped quickly to push back forward to eighth, the combined score from the two motos earning fifth overall on the day and seventh, just ten points shy of fourth, in the series standings.

Kevin Horgmo: “I made a really good start in the first race but I rode a little too careful through the first few laps and that cost me a few places. I felt I had the speed to be top three; I just need to concentrate on those early laps. I was on my way up the field in race two until I made mistake and crashed but I fought back to clinch fifth overall. It was easy to make mistakes today; there were a lot of square-edged bumps and they caught out a lot of us at some time of the day. But I’m really happy with how we are progressing; I feel really comfortable on my Kawasaki and we have a good set-up on the suspension from Technical Touch; I just need to avoid making those mistakes. I’m really looking forward to Argentina; I’ve never been overseas before so it will be a new experience for me.“

After his superb performance one week earlier in England F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jed Beaton started race day impressively as he quickly moved forward from ninth to seventh in the first moto but his relative inexperience on a 450 in this, his first season of MXGP racing, became evident as he was eventually restricted to eleventh at the finish of the moto and never recovered after being sandwiched at the first corner of race two. The Australian is now eleventh in the series points chase but is only eight behind seventh as the series heads to Argentina in two weeks’ time.

Overall Grand Prix Italy:
1 Jago Geerts 50 Pnt
2 Andrea Adamo 38 Pnt
3 Kay de Wolf 38 Pnt
4 Simon Laengenfelder 36 Put
5 Kevin Horgmo 28 Pnt

World Championship Standings MX2:
1 Jago Geerts 90 Pnt
2 Simon Laengenfelder 86 Put
3 Kay de Wolf 74 Pnt
4 Tom Vialle 64 Pnt
5 Andrea Adamo 60 Pnt
7 Kevin Horgmo 54 Pnt

Overall MXGP Italy:
1 Tim Gajser 47 Pnt
2 Maxime Renaux 42 Pnt
3 Jorge Prado 39 Pnt
4 Jorge Prado 34 Pnt
5 Jeremy Seewer 34 Int
19 Jed Beaton 11 Pnt

World Championship Standings MXGP:
1 Tim Gajser 94 Pnt
2 Jorge Prado 82 Pnt
3 Maxime Renaux 77 Pnt
4 Jeremy Seewer 74 Int
5 Brian Bogers 57 Int
11 Jed Beaton 40 Pnt