On April 13 and 14 at the Trentino circuit in Italy, Kawasaki factory rider Jeremy Seewer put together a very solid 5-3 result for fifth overall and it was a result that gave you the feeling he is on his way to getting that all too difficult podium finish in a GP.

Always a top three guy come seasons end, Seewer has had it a little tougher in 2024, but you just know the consistent rider from Switzerland will start to win motos and GPs at some point in the season.

On the Saturday in Trentino, Seewer made it a KX450-SR twin-holeshot but the two green machines almost came together in the first turn, the Swiss briefly losing momentum to drop out of the first dozen on the run down to turn two. Decisive riding saw him move forward to sixth by lap three and a relentless charge saw him take fifth with a pulsating outside pass on the very last lap.

"I had a very good start - me and Romain almost side-by-side - but the guy coming from the outside can brake later and Romain squeezed me. It was just unfortunate; that's racing but I was really lucky not to crash and got stuck with some others. In a split-second I went from nearly taking the holeshot to fifteenth. After that it was a very positive race. I think it was the first time this year that we saw the real Jeremy Seewer again; I could play with the bike, pass people at will and do things others couldn't do. The track also helped; the preparation made it really technical so you can pass when you are faster. And the icing on the cake are the Swiss fans; they are really noisy and cool here."

A day later, Seewer narrowly missed joining his KRT teammate on the podium as he continues to build confidence in his first season on Kawasaki for his most impressive performance of the year with two top-five finishes for fifth overall. He quickly turned a sixth-placed start into fifth in race one but then faced more than twenty frustrating minutes before he could move Swiss compatriot Valentin Guillod high in a turn for fourth.

The position looked secure until he was surprised by a hard-charging multiple champion on the final lap. An even better performance in race two saw him quickly move into fourth and then take third, just seven seconds behind the winner, when his teammate fell. He was fifth in the overall classification, a slender four points off the podium in a tight overall result and is now just a single point from fifth in the series standings.

"It was a very solid weekend. Of course, I am used to podiums and wins but it's coming; I was very consistent and took a step closer in every race with no sketchy moments and always in my comfort zone. My starts were good but the first corner here is always a battle. The overall doesn't really show what we did but I had a moto podium; all the hard work is starting to pay off and I'm going to get stronger and stronger as the season goes on. Now we have a break in the schedule, then three GPs in a row; I'm looking forward to that as everyone knows I am one of the fittest."

Now onto Portugal and the red dirt of Agueda, where Seewer finished fifth overall last year with 5-4 scores for fifth overall. Amazingly, he did a similar thing a year earlier in 2022, going 5-7 for sixth overall and in 2021, yes, you guessed it fifth overall with 4-10. Not his favourite circuit it seems, but you just know he will be somewhere around the top five come Sunday night in Portugal.

Story Geoff Meyer and Pascal Haudiquert and images Haudiquert