The Grand Prix of Sweden at Uddevalla was populated by 21,000 fans for the 12th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship and Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Jeremy Seewer led the line in the MX2 class with the works RM-Z250 by scoring 10th position overall.
Team-mate Julien Lieber ploughed through the slippery and hard-pack surface to take 11th in the final GP classification and equal a career-best moto result with sixth spot in the first MX2 race.
Uddevalla benefited from an overhaul to the racing layout – it was run in reverse compared to recent editions of the Grand Prix at the popular site – but the changes were still formed from the same unusual dirt that mean rutty sections of the track but also smooth, flat and slick areas. The tight flow of Uddevalla was again tricky for passing.
Seewer started the weekend in fine fashion with an excellent start and second position in the formative laps of the qualification heat on Saturday. The Swiss ran wide which caused him to lose positions but his fifth place still equalled a personal best in Grand Prix. On Sunday he was closing up to his team-mate in the first moto for sixth but a slip dropped him down to 10th. Seewer banished the mistakes from the second moto and did a fine job to close the weekend by classifying ninth.
Lieber’s sixth spot equalled a personal career-best; achieved in Spain this year and also Holland last season. It came as the result of a fine start and then steady application of pace to remain ahead of Christophe Charlier. The Belgian could not replicate the form in the second moto largely due to three separate falls that constantly required a bout of ‘catch up’. After the drama of hitting the dirt Lieber scrambled to 15th by the finish line.
Seewer’s efforts mean that he keeps steady in 10th position in the MX2 World Championship standings while Lieber is 13th.
No rest for Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe with the Grand Prix of Finland at Hyvinkaa meaning a trip across northern Europe in the coming days. The second meeting in a week will precede the fourth round of the ADAC MX Masters German Championship at Tenfeld and then the team keeps on the road with the Czech Grand Prix at Loket completing a busy July.
Jeremy Seewer:
“I had a really good day yesterday, almost the holeshot but was then second with some good lap-times. I made a mistake which meant I finished fifth but that was still OK. The track was different today with more small bumps and edges. The first moto start was weird because many riders hit the gate. I was right up at the front but Valentin Guillod almost crashed right in front of me and I had to close the throttle. I had some good laps and a battle with Julien until it started to rain a little bit and I lost the front wheel on the slippery ground. Finishing 10th was OK; the speed was there but so were the mistakes also. In the second moto there were a lot of riders around me fighting in the top-10. I managed to stay on the bike and finished ninth. It was a strange track. Sometimes there was grip, other times there wasn’t and you needed power over the bumps to save the bike. Maybe I was closing the throttle a little too early. Overall it was another top-10 result and now I am looking forward.”
Julien Lieber:
“The first moto was good. I started in seventh and finished in sixth. My speed was good, the same as the guys in front. In the second heat my start was not that great and I lost control of the front end in a corner; that was the first crash! The second came when I jumped too far in the wave section and the last was when I tangled with Covington and his footpeg was in my front wheel and we both went down. I’m not so happy because I made too many mistakes. I hope I can do better in Finland.”
MX2 Moto1:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:00.721; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:43.692; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:50.859; 4. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:53.496; 5. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:54.640; 6. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), +0:55.972; 7. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:58.803; 8. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:00.791; 9. Max Anstie (GBR, Yamaha), +1:01.535; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), +1:07.030;
MX2 Moto2:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:06.319; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:42.354; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:45.082; 4. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:46.541; 5. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:49.060; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:49.830; 7. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:50.272; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +1:01.822; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), +1:15.003; 10. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Honda), +1:18.202; 15. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), +1:46.204;
MX2 Overall result:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 37 p.; 4. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 32 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 30 p.; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 29 p.; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 28 p.; 8. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 27 p.; 9. Christophe Charlier (FRA, YAM), 27 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 23 p.; 11. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 21 p.;
MX2 World Championship Standings (after 12 of 17 rounds):
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 544 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 409 p.; 3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 389 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 388 p.; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 372 p.; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 350 p.; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 288 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 284 p.; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 265 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 234 p.; 13. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 185 p.;
