Cycle News Staff | June 13, 2022
Round 11 of the FIM MXGP World Championship brought riders to the iconic Teutscenthal Circuit for the Grand Prix of Germany. As usual, lots of action took place with both points chases being shaken up by the time the final checkered flag flew. In the end fans saw Tim Gajser bounce back for the MXGP overall while Thibault Benistant earned his first MX2 overall victory.
MXGP
Big news in the MXGP division as championship contender Maxime Renaux suffered a massive crash in the qualifying race. He endoed off the finish line jump, ejected from the bike and broke his T1, T2, T5, and T7 vertebrae. Renaux did walk off under his own power but will likely miss several rounds. He was second in the championship before the crash. Romain Febvre also returned to action this weekend. This was his first race back after a nasty crash at the Paris Supercross that resulted in a leg injury.
Race one of the MXGP began with Tim Gajser executing the holeshot over Pauls Jonass, Febvre and Jeremy Seewer. Febvre held the final podium spot for some time, not bad for his first race back, but Seewer later moved past him for third. Behind the front runners, Jorge Prado looked to be climbing through the ranks but later fell while in fifth. Gajser however was untouched out front and easily claimed the win in race one.
Seewer grabbed his first holeshot of the year in race two just ahead of Gajser and Prado. From there it was mostly a lonely race for all three of the front runners as Seewer went on to claim the moto win and finish second overall. Gajser played it safe in second, knowing his main rival Renaux was out for the count. His second-place finish in race two was good enough for the overall win and allowed him to extend his points lead to 101 over now second place, Seewer. Prado was third in race two and third overall with 7-3 scores.
VIDEO | MXGP of Germany Highlights
MX2
MX2 points leader Tom Vialle, once again, grabbed the holeshot in race one and broke out to an early lead. Thibault Benistant, fresh off an overall podium in France, got a great start and locked into second behind Vialle. Jago Geerts struggled on lap one but made his way through the field and later passed his Yamaha teammate Benistant for second. Geerts then set his sights on leader Vialle, but it was too little too late as Vialle edged the win by under one second of margin.
Vialle again grabbed the holeshot over Benistant and looked to pick up right where he left off. Benistant had other plans though as he took the lead from Vialle late on lap one. Behind them, Geerts pushed his way past Andrea Adamo for third place before going after Vialle. A few laps later, Vialle’s KTM stopped running which allowed Geerts to easily slip by without a fight. Vialle would not finish the race and thus give the points lead to Geerts. The two Yamahas of Benistant and Geerts continued on to finish first and second while Mikkel Haarup charged up to the final podium in third. The running order in race two solidified the overall finishes with Benistant earning his first victory, Geerts in second and Haarup third. Geerts now leads the points by eight over Vialle. CN
MXGP
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 1-2
- Jeremy Seewer (Yam) 3-1
- Jorge Prado (GG) 7-3
- Ruben Fernandez (Hon) 5-5
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 4-7
MX2
- Thibault Benistant (Yam) 3-1
- Jago Geerts (Yam) 2-2
- Mikken Haarup (Kaw) 4-3
- Kevin Horgmo (Kaw) 6-5
- Simon Längenfelder (GG) 9-4
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