MXGP of Kegums: Gajser Wins Race One as Herlings Crashes, Finishes Fourth

After the overcast skies of Wednesday, the sun was back for MXGP in Latvia and the MXGP of Kegums. 

The first moto saw Tim Gajser back on top after his difficult GP on Wednesday. The reigning World Champion took the lead early and did not let it go. By the end, Gajser won unchallenged with a gap of 9 seconds back to second-placed Arminas Jasikonis. It was Gajser’s fourth moto win of the season, and means that he has won a moto in every GP this year, with the exception of Wednesday’s MXGP of Riga.

Jorge Prado ran in second place for much of the first race and was able to keep Gajser fairly honest for the first part of the race, but in the final 10 minutes began to fade slightly and was passed by Jasikonis, to whom the Spaniard could not respond. It was a continuation of the form which carried Jasikonis to his first 450 race win on Wednesday, and such a good first moto result here in Kegums will put him in the window for the overall victory – if he can find an answer to the speed of Gajser. 

Third place for Jorge Prado represented his best moto result of the season so far, bettering his fourth place from the first moto in Valkenswaard. Prado’s major problem since arriving in Latvia has been endurance – unsurprising for a 19-year-old 450 rookie who had a winter compromised by a fractured femur. In this fifth Latvian moto, though, the Spaniard was able to rectify those issues, and his speed in the first 15 minutes was enough to outweigh the drop he suffered in the final five. 

Jeffrey Herlings had another tough moto. The speed was there for Herlings, and without a crash after passing Ivo Monticelli for fourth place on lap 11, just before Prado had been passed by Jasikonis, the #84 could have probably found his way into the top three. However, the crash dropped him back behind Monticelli and it took Herlings another lap to re-pass the Italian. This is another example of mistakes costing Herlings, and that has been a theme of these races in Latvia, where the 2018 champion is still yet to win in 2020. 

Romain Febvre started mid-pack, but was able to claw his way up to fifth place by the finish after battling hard with his factory Kawasaki teammate, Clement Desalle, throughout the mid-part of the race. 

Gautier Paulin put in a late charge to finish in sixth place, his best result in Latvia so far this season. The Frenchman was ahead of Glenn Coldenhoff, who put a late pass on Clement Desalle for seventh, whilst the Belgian took eighth place. Another first corner crash led to another fight back through the pack for Antonio Cairoli, who was not far from seventh place in the end, but ran out of time and finished ninth, whilst Jeremy van Horebeek completed the top 10. 

After making a good start and running inside the top five for much of the race, the still-injured Ivo Monticelli finished 11th – a sign of how close the field is in MXGP. Another sign of that closeness of the premier class field is that in the first MX2 race, 45 seconds split race winner Tom Vialle and fourth-placed Roan van de Moosdijk in fourth. In the first MXGP race, on the other hand, that saem 45 seconds split race winner Gajser and ninth-placed Cairoli. 

Behind Ivo Monticelli came Mitch Evans on the factory Honda, then Calvin Vlaanderen, Henri Jacobi and Jordi Tixier who rounded out the top 15. Karlis Sabulis was 16th, ahead of Arnaud Tonus who went down in the first corner with Cairoli; then came Michele Cervellin in 18th, ahead of Brian Bogers and Valentin Guillod who completed the top 20. 

Jeremy Seewer retired from the race quite early on. The Yamaha rider crashed on the first lap and looked hurt, but carried on, only to crash again and retire for his physical condition. It is unclear yet whether Seewer will start the second race, but it doesn’t look like he has any serious individual injuries.