Lommel GP - Rider Comments

Posted on July 25, 2022

Take a look at the comments from the best motocross riders in the World as they battled around the toughest motocross track in the World, Lommel, in Belgium. Obviously a Benelux domination with Dutchmen and Belgians having success.

Brian Bogers: "I just don’t know what to say! This is just amazing. It is absolutely unbelievable. It was a really, really tough Grand Prix. We made it to the top though. I had so much flow in the first moto, but the second moto was a little tougher. We managed to fight every lap and get the job done. Thank you to my team for believing in me.

Calvin Vlaanderen: “For sure it was a good day to end up second on the podium. I really wanted the win to be honest. My team put on the board that if I passed Romain I would have it but then Brian also got him which took me off the top step but anyway I'm happy with the day. It was really tough, one of the toughest Lommel’s I have ridden. I gave it everything I had and I am very happy and very proud of myself”.

Glenn Coldenhoff: "It's been a tough week. I have been sick and did not do anything all week. Normally when you go into a GP in Lommel, you are prepared and confident that you can win. I did not feel like that this time. My energy was low. I knew I had to preserve my energy in race one or I would have nothing left for race two. I managed to still finish fourth and knew that with a little bit of luck I could still take the overall win, but it did not happen that way. I have to be happy and to take a moto win here in Lommel is also pretty special."

Jago Geerts: "I'm really happy to win in front of this big home crowd. It was a great weekend. Tough but great. I took two holeshots, which makes the job a lot easier. In race 1 de Wolf was a little bit faster. So, I had to settle for second. He was strong again in the beginning of race 2, but I knew he couldn't keep up this pace. I passed him, took the win and extend my championship lead. A nice feeling."

Kay de Wolf: "It was a really good weekend. I got pole position and the win in the first moto, but there was no energy left in the second moto. We have had some difficult times this year. To get back on the podium was incredible. It was not easy, but I am so happy to get back to where we belong."

Tom Vialle: “A tough GP and the weekend didn’t start so well with the crash in the qualification race but today ended pretty good and I was surprised to make the podium with a 7-4. My rhythm was not great in the first moto – too many mistakes – but I improved for the second race. It was not the Grand Prix I was hoping for…but we have two weeks now to reset a little bit. The last four GPs will be intense but I will go into it with a free mind and I’m looking forward to Sweden after taking my first win there in 2019.”

Roan van de Moosdijk: "Coming back at the toughest race of the year was not easy! I led for a few laps of the first moto, but the intensity was so high and you cannot practice that during the week. I tried to follow and learn from the other riders. I think that I should be really proud of my comeback ride and to miss the podium by only one point."

Jeremy Seewer: "I did all the work today to be on the podium. I was one of the fastest out there, but I did not manage to put the puzzle together. The track today was completely different to yesterday. Yesterday was a cruise on the beach compared to today. I knew it would be tough. Looking at the positives, I had two really good starts and my speed was okay, but I made some mistakes at really crucial moments. My fitness was good; I felt great at the end of the race and could make some passes when the other riders were tired. Still, I am happy with my riding and I also collected good points for the championship."

Thibalt Benistant: "It was not the best weekend. It was really tough out there. This morning I had a pretty big crash, which was a tough hit. I found it hard to bounce back and felt like I couldn't focus 100 percent  when I was on the bike. Even small things like I was not hungry to eat, and I felt terrible. It was a really tough day, but now we have a week off to regroup and bounce back at the next GP."

Tim Gajser: I never really found a good flow in either race and when the track is as rough as it was, that makes things exceedingly difficult. I tried to push as much as I could, but the rhythm wasn’t there and it was more survival than racing. Obviously, I’m a little disappointed with the overall performance as I always want to be challenging for wins, so I’m going to use this weekend off to just make sure I’m ready for these final four GPs where I want to finish the season strongly.          

Romain Febvre: “It’s always frustrating to miss the podium by just a few points, but that’s how it is. We knew that this GP would be a tough one - maybe the most difficult of the season - and as they didn’t flatten the track on Saturday evening we knew that it would be exceptionally tough today, particularly as it was also really hot. I had a good feeling all weekend and I showed I had a good speed with one of the fastest lap-times in both races. Physically I’m still not back to my normal level and I have only been back on the bike for six weeks so I couldn’t expect too much as my rivals are racing their fourteenth GP of the season; if I was at full fitness I would for sure have been on the podium as I finished fourth anyway. In both races I was OK for twenty minutes until I started to feel tired but that was to be expected as I was really sick last weekend. I will rest for a few days and then will be back on the bike to prepare for the last four GPs; I like all of these tracks and I hope to finally record some podiums again before the end of the season."

Ben Watson: “I think I did quite a solid job in race one; I started around twelfth-thirteenth and gained a few places to finish tenth. I probably didn’t ride to my maximum capabilities as I was trying to find the rhythm for thirty-five minutes; I think that was the same for everyone as it has been a physically-demanding GP in the heat. We changed a little bit on our set-up for race two and it worked really well; I nearly holeshot and had a good first ten-fifteen minutes. I was riding comfortably in seventh at my own pace and rhythm but then I made a small mistake, crashed in a corner and buried the bike in the sand. It’s always difficult after you break your rhythm and I was in bike-energy-save mode after that.“

Mitch Evans: Unfortunately, the after-effects from the crash yesterday were too much, and I had to pull off after about 15 minutes today. I’d actually moved through the field well, coming from near the back of the pack to around 15th but it took all my energy to do that, and I didn’t have anything left to give. Rather than risk further injury on a very tough track, I decided not to line-up for race two, and hope to heal up and get myself ready for the next round in Sweden in a couple of weeks. Thanks to all the support I received this weekend, it certainly hasn’t been easy, but I’ve learnt a lot and will continue to push hard for the rest of the season.                      

Kevin Horgmo: “It was nice to finish the day so strong. I lost quite a lot of time in the early laps of race one as I searched for my rhythm; once I got going I was catching up again but unfortunately I had to pull out so that made me even more determined to bounce back in race two. I took it quite easy through the first few laps but once I found the rhythm I felt strong and fresh. I could ride my lines, kept it going to the end and got up to third. Now I hope to finish the season strong; the next GP in Sweden is almost a home GP for me, just two-and-a-half hours from where my parents live, and I’m sure there will be a lot of Norwegian fans there to support me.“

Henry Jacobi: After Saturday’s timed practice we worked hard to find a good bike setup and it worked really well. We didn’t change too much, but the small settings changes we made with my CRF450R made a big difference for the sandy conditions.  My first race on Sunday was OK. I had a really good start in around fifth or sixth, but didn’t take the best lines on the first lap so I dropped to 10th place where I stayed for most of the race, but then lost one place towards the end. I finished in 11th, which was not too bad. I felt that my second race was much better. I didn’t have a good start, initially in around 17th but I was able to fight for the whole moto to finish in 9th giving me 10th overall. I happy with that and look forward to the next races in Sweden and Finland.                  

Stephen Rubini: It was a hot and humid day today and the track was really rough, which is of course normal for Lommel. In the first race I found it hard to find my pace and rhythm, but once I had settled into my flow I felt pretty good and could actually enjoy my riding despite the track’s challenges. So I came back to P9, which is good for me as I didn’t give up or crash and pushed until the end. The second moto was harder. I did some good laps and pushed as hard as I could, but eventually I have to admit that I was empty. I’m looking forward now to Sweden, which is track that suits me well. I just hope it will be well prepared to allow us to make creative passes.

Maxime Renaux: "It was a tough round, as we expected. Lommel is Lommel and that's all we need to say; I think everyone except the Dutch and Belgian riders suffered. For me, it was quite a struggle. I tried really hard to make the switch in my head to turn it around in the races, and I kind of managed to do that. I rode pretty well with good pace for fifth and sixth, and just tried to make the most of a difficult day. It was not the best weekend, but we are still here and still charging after a podium finish in the championship."

Kay Karssemakers: "In the first race, I got a good start and was in fifth but unfortunately I had a bike issue. I did not get such a good start in fourteenth but made my way up to eighth and stayed there for a long time, but then I had a stupid crash and ended up in tenth. Happy with the riding; the riding was good today."

Kevin Brumann: "Of course, I am happy to score another point in the MXGP class and especially on a track as tough as Lommel! The good thing is that it is clear that there is the potential to get more in the future, so I will keep working with the team and trying to improve. It is exciting to be competitive in the MXGP class!"
 
Valentin Guillod: "It was almost a perfect day today! I won the first MX2 moto, then the first MX Open moto straight after that. I won the second MX2 moto too. I had a cramp on the first lap of the second MX Open moto and was trying to make myself feel better, but I crashed with two laps to go. I tried to finish the race, but I was really dizzy. It is a shame – it was possible to have another perfect day!"