Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe were buoyed by some decent results at the British Grand Prix and a four day meeting in which a comprehensive line-up of Suzuki technology and some of their most promising youngsters gathered together for what was also the second ever MXGP Festival.
Matterley Basin housed 25,000 spectators and provided a fast, bumpy and spectacular stage for 11 racing categories to do battle at what was the 16th round of 17 in the FIM Motocross World Championship, the European 85cc Championship event, and the seventh meeting of eight in both European EMX250 and EMX125 competitions - part of the feeder route to the top Grand Prix level.
At the peak of the results tree for the crew was EMX250 winner Jeremy Seewer. The Swiss made an attacking start in the Final and was able to get into the lead in the formative stages of the moto. He came under pressure from American wild-card Thomas Covington but when the latter made a mistake, Seewer was able to bring his RM-Z250 home for a second win of the campaign. He is now just 12 points away from red plate holder Valentin Guillod with one fixture and 25 points up for grabs.
Gianluca Fachetti signed off a decent 2013 on the RM85 by taking a solid third position in the European EMX85 outing. The Italian posted a scorecard of fourth and third for his overall ranking.
In EMX250 Jorge Zaragoza was 10th in the classification, after recovering from a crash, while back in EMX125 and with the RM125, Brian Hsu - supported by ADAC - tried to recover from a bad start to cross the finish line in 11th.
Max Anstie took the factory-backed RM-Z250 to 10th overall from the two MX2 Grand Prix motos. At his home round the 20 year old had a torrid opening race where a bad start and limited possibilities around the wet and slippy terrain meant he could do no better than 17th. In drier conditions Anstie showed his skill and was one of the very few in the 250cc field to consistently land the big step-down triple opposite the pit lane. In the second moto he was excellent and fought back from a first lap slot of 21st to reach seventh by the chequered flag. The Brit is eighth in the MX2 standings with still some work to do as Alex Lupino lies just one point adrift.
The end of the international racing calendar is within sight for the German crew. The Grand Prix of Benelux at Lierop will take the MX2/ EMX250 and EMX125 riders into the sand in two weeks time.
Jeremy Seewer:
"I really liked the track and after the rain it felt completely different compared to our qualification Heat. I was able to find some good lines and make a good speed. When I was out front I was looking at the gap I had and just controlled it. There is still a 12-point gap in the championship and that is a lot to make in one race but the season is not over yet. We will see in Lierop!"
Max Anstie:
"I struggled a bit out of the gate and made hard work for myself but I pushed and battled. The first race was difficult because it was so wet and went into one line and there was nowhere to pass; it was a tough one. They did a good job of prepping the track for the second one and it got a lot more technical and it was bumpy. That really helped me out. One more race to go and it is sand and at Lierop. I'll be alright there and we'll try to go out with a bang."
MX2 Moto1: 1. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 39:38.386; 2. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:04.749; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:10.070; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:12.303; 5. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:41.303; 6. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), +0:45.536; 7. Tim Gajser (SLO, KTM), +0:48.624; 8. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +0:57.100; 9. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), +0:57.767; 10. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), +1:29.337; 17. Max Anstie (GBR, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), +2:00.874.
MX2 Moto2: 1. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 40:55.169; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), +0:08.949; 3. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:09.694; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:10.405; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:12.238; 6. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:14.166; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), +0:46.988; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:59.031; 9. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), +1:00.702; 10. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), +1:01.435.
MX2 Overall result: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 38 points; 2. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 37 p.; 3. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), 34 p.; 5. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 28 p.; 6. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), 27 p.; 7. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 25 p.; 8. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 25 p.; 9. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Max Anstie (GBR, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 18 p.
MX2 World Championship Standings (after 16 of 17 rounds): 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 692 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 569 p.; 3. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 506 p.; 4. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 467 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 450 p.; 6. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 434 p.; 7. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 407 p.; 8. Max Anstie (GBR, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 320 p.; 9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), 319 p.; 10. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 287 p.
European EMX125 Overall result: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 29:41.723; 2. Nicolas Dercourt (FRA, Yamaha), +0:22.588; 3. Henry Jacobi (GER, KTM), +0:40.647; 4. Alvin Ostlund (SWE, Yamaha), +0:48.649; 5. Michael Eccles (GBR, KTM), +0:58.283; 6. Anton Lundgren (SWE, KTM), +0:58.539; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +1:10.518; 8. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), +1:25.867; 9. Kade Tinkler (CAN, Suzuki), +1:27.057; 10. David Herbreteau (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:29.318; 11. Brian Hsu (GER, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe),), +1:34.769.
European EMX125 Championship Standings (after 7 of 8 rounds): 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 193 points; 2. Nicolas Dercourt (FRA, Yamaha), 153 p.; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 143 p.; 4. Anton Lundgren (SWE, KTM), 134 p.; 5. Henry Jacobi (GER, KTM), 128 p.; 6. Frederik Van Der Vlist (NED, Yamaha), 112 p.; 7. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), 72 p.; 8. Kade Tinkler (CAN, Suzuki), 72 p.; 9. Alvin Ostlund (SWE, Yamaha), 63 p.; 10. Riccardo Righi (ITA, KTM), 62 p.; 11. Brian Hsu (GER, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 60 p.
European EMX250 overall result: 1. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 25 points; 2. Steven Clarke (GBR, KTM), 22 p.; 3. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 20 p.; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), 18 p.; 5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Honda), 16 p.; 6. Damon Graulus (BEL, KTM), 15 p.; 7. Davide Bonini (ITA, KTM), 14 p.; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 13 p.; 9. Ander Valentin Lasheras (ESP, Yamaha), 12 p.; 10. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, Suzuki), 11 p.
European EMX250 Championship Standings (after 7 of 8 rounds):
1. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 164 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe),), 152 p.; 3. Damon Graulus (BEL, KTM), 116 p.; 4. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 89 p.; 5. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, KTM), 68 p.; 6. Mike Kras (NED, Suzuki), 59 p.; 7. Brent Van Doninck (BEL, KTM), 59 p.; 8. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Honda), 56 p.; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Husqvarna), 56 p.; 10. Micha-Boy De Waal (NED, KTM), 53 p.; 11. Jordan Booker (GBR, Kawasaki), 41 p.; 12. Nathan Watson (GBR, KTM), 40 p.; 13. Steven Clarke (GBR, KTM), 35 p.; 14. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, Suzuki), 34 p.;
