Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jorge Prado has won the opening MX2 race at the MXGP of China. No surprises as the Spanish teenager controlled the race from start to finish. Second was HRC rider Calvin Vlaanderen and third the other Red Bull KTM rider Tom Vialle.

Vialle took the lead in the opening MX2 race with Prado and Vlaanderen second and third, then came Renaux and Van De Moosdijk. Vialle slipped over in a corner and handed the lead to Prado but was able to remount in third place.

Geerts passed Renaux to move into fifth place, and the remaining top ten was Renaux, Olsen, Sterry, Larranaga, and Pichon. On lap two Geerts passed Van De Moosdijk and set out after Vialle. Olsen also passed Renaux and just outside the top ten were Moreau and Evans in 11^th and 12^th.

After six laps the lead by Prado over Vlaanderen was just over a second, with Olsen moving up to third place, followed by Vialle, and Geerts. Prado decided to push a little harder and within two laps the lead was three and a half seconds to Vlaanderen, who was also three seconds ahead of Olsen in third place.

Vialle passed Olsen for third place, and Geerts was also pushing the Danish rider, with Van De Moosdijk not that far back in sixth place. Geerts passed Olsen on lap 11, and the top ten was Prado, Vlaanderen, Vialle, Geerts, Olsen, Van De Moosdijk. Renaux, Larranaga, Sterry and Moreau.

After 13 laps Prado led Vlaanderen by four seconds, with Vialle third, Geerts fourth and Olsen fifth. Van De Moosdijk exchanged positions for a few laps, with the Dutchman finally making a mistake and dropping back outside the top ten, in fact way back in 16^th place and seemingly out of the race.

With a few laps remaining Vlaanderen started to catch Prado, but always hard to know if it’s the speed of the South African, or the smarts of the Prado controlling the race up front. The gap was two and a half seconds with two laps remaining. Prado won it from Vlaanderen and Vialle.

MX2 - Grand Prix Race 1 – Classification: 1. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 34:18.828; 2. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Honda), +0:01.736; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:04.084; 4. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:19.028; 5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:23.844; 6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:28.357; 7. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, KTM), +0:48.900; 8. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:51.886; 9. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:54.000; 10. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:55.032; 11. Mitchell Harrison (USA, Kawasaki), +0:55.874; 12. Alberto Forato (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:18.083; 13. Richard Sikyna (SVK, KTM), +1:23.720; 14. Zachary Pichon (FRA, Honda), +1:59.021; 15. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 16. Ke Wang (CHN, Yamaha), -3 lap(s); 17. Yang Pu (CHN, Yamaha), -3 lap(s); 18. Yongming Peng (CHN, Honda), -4 lap(s); 19. Bolin Hu (CHN, Honda), -4 lap(s); 20. Hao Cheng (CHN, Honda), -4 lap(s); 21. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), -5 lap(s); 22. Mitchell Evans (AUS, Honda), -13 lap(s);

Ray Archer image