F&H Kawasaki Racing Team's Kevin Horgmo raced to two solid motos for fifth overall in the Latvian round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Kegums and continued to impress as he gains confidence in this years title battle. Now eigth in the series standings with 232 points, he could move to seventh, depending on if the man ahead of him, Simon Langenfelder comes back this weekend or not.

Leatt support Kevin Horgmo and MXLarge: Leatt || Chest Protection

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 leader board 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.

"Today was a solid day with sixth and fifth in the two motos; of course," Horgmo said. "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."

A couple of weeks earlier, 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.

 "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."

Horgmo will now head to Germany and the two rounds in Indonesia, very clear to move up the championship charts and gain hopefully a podium finish. Another top five finish and a little bit of luck and the Leatt sponsored rider can clearly make another top three in 2023.

Pascal Haudiquert story and images