Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe faced the Grand Prix of the Netherlands without principal star Glenn Coldenhoff, but riders Julien Lieber and Jeremy Seewer gave a good account of themselves through the tough Valkenswaard sand with Lieber scoring his best season result.
The shallow sand was bumpy and ruthless in some sections due to the presence of five racing classes throughout the weekend. The sun shone on the sixth round of the FIM Motocross World Championships and 27,000 spectators came-out to enjoy the weather and some first-class racing action.
Seewer made a fantastic start in the first moto on the RM-Z250 and was running in third position. A slew of riders disputed slots in the second half of the top-10 and Lieber burst through to secure seventh place as the young Swiss found his rhythm further back in 11th. It was Lieber’s highest finish of the season so far and since the same meeting in 2013. In the second race Seewer was driven wide into the fast left hander before the run to the finish and crashed in what was the early stages of the moto. He picked himself up but the bike was quite badly damaged, but he pushed-on to take one point for 20th.
Lieber was also on the ground on the first lap. A mistake trying to turn too tight meant he quickly had to pick up the RM-Z and get back into the fray. Again his riding was strong and he broke into the top ten for ninth-place overall.
Coldenhoff was still nursing pain from his recent knee surgery so could not be present at his home Grand Prix to receive the attention of the fans after a stellar start to the 2014 campaign that delivered three podium finishes.
Brian Hsu was in attendance for the third round of the EMX125 championship and had an eventful meeting. The youngster was fighting for second position in the first moto until a short landing on a jump saw him tweak his groin and he had to slow to seventh. Three crashes in the second moto banished him out of the points and down to 28th, culminating in 15th overall.
Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe will eat kilometres this week in the journey from northern Europe to Spain and Talavera de la Reina circuit that is preparing to welcome the FIM MXGP series for the first time in 14 years.
Julien Lieber:
“This weekend was difficult due to my starts. Always mid-pack. I came back to seventh in the first moto but I had some pain in my back after all the sand practice I have been doing these last weeks. I was between 10th and 15th in the second Heat and just turned the bike too quickly in a corner and lost the front end. From 20th I came back to 10th. Overall it was a good weekend and we are starting to move in a good way again. There are a lot of races ahead to do better.”
Jeremy Seewer:
“It was my first sand GP ever and up until now it has not been my favourite type of ground! I knew my speed was there for the top-10 after Saturday. My start was pretty good in the first one and I was third in the beginning. I was doing the pace I needed for the first laps but after a few mistakes I lost some positions and it started to feel heavy. Eleventh wasn’t too bad even if top-10 was my goal. In the second race my start was good again and my speed was a lot better. We had made some changes to the suspension. I got block-passed-out in the corner before the finish jump and went completely into the heavy fence. The bike was broken with no clutch and the left side of the radiator shroud missing. I couldn't even shift the gears at one point. One point for 20th was all I could do. Overall I am not too happy but my feeling in the sand was OK and I could go with the other guys.”
Brian Hsu:
“Today is a bad story! My qualifying was OK but in the first moto I cased a jump while I was pushing for second position and my feet came off the pegs. I pulled my groin a little bit and it was really painful. I had some cramp, so I went from almost taking second place to dropping to seventh. In the second moto I was elbowed-out at the start and crashed. I was last and worked-up to 17th when I hit a fallen rider and then went down a third time in the waves. I need some more luck.”
MX2 Moto1:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:15.867; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:07.713; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:09.289; 4. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +1:22.228; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +1:29.254; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, Yamaha), +1:30.486; 7. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), +1:39.265; 8. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:43.269; 9. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +1:46.792; 10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:48.963; 11. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), +1:49.444;
MX2 Moto2:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:41.469; 2. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:45.837; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:46.825; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:47.909; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:08.651; 6. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:12.233; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +1:12.785; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +1:15.787; 9. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +1:22.671; 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), +1:28.894; 20. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), -1 lap(s);
MX2 Overall result:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 40 p.; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 32 p.; 5. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 31 p.; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 31 p.; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 29 p.; 8. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 26 p.; 9. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 25 p.; 10. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 24 p.; 17. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 11 p.;
MX2 Standings (after 6 of 18 rounds):
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 244 points; 2. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 229 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 198 p.; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 185 p.; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 185 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 176 p.; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 159 p.; 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 145 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 139 p.; 10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 131 p.; 12. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 109 p.; 14. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki), 70 p.
