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MX2, MXGP OF LATVIA - Kegums, LATVIA, 8 Srpen 2021

Mikkel Haarup seventh in Latvia

F&H Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team’s Mikkel Haarup recorded his best result of the season with seventh overall in the Latvian round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Kegums.

The young Dane laid the foundations for a successful day with fifth-fastest time in Qualifying and used his excellent gate pick to start well in both motos. Already sixth in race one after the first few corners he advanced impressively to fifth on lap two and made inroads into the riders ahead of him to challenge for fourth at the twenty-minute stage of the race before losing his way slightly in the closing laps to eventually finish seventh. Getting superb drive out of the gate in race two he narrowly missed the holeshot but found himself constantly forced to ride defensive lines and was gradually pushed back to ninth at the chequered flag. Seventh overall on the day he goes into the summer break thirteenth in the series points standings.
 
Mikkel Haarup: “I had a really good Qualifying with fifth; that was one of the focus points for this weekend because I put myself in a good position for the start and I knew I could have a good race from a good start here. I had a little bit more speed and made some nice passes the first moto, then I was really close to the holeshot in race two. The track was difficult; it has a sandy surface but it was slippery underneath. It was a very positive weekend; I did the best I could and now we have four weeks before the next race to improve even more. “
 
F&H teammate Mathys Boisrame, defying the knee injury which has affected him throughout the first part of the series, could only earn twelfth gate pick during Qualifying but, with less than two seconds covering the top fourteen, still had hopes of a rewarding day. Displaying the aggressive spirit for which he is renowned he quickly moved into the top ten in race one and advanced to seventh until a mistake on lap four pushed him back to tenth; he finished eleventh after a further small slip five laps from the end. The Frenchman found himself sixteenth after a difficult first turn in race two but again displayed great spirit and speed to advance to eighth within four laps and challenge hard for seventh until a fall pushed him downfield to finish fifteenth. Mathys is now seventh in the points standings, but still only a few points shy of fourth with a month to work on his knee before the series resumes in September with a double-header at Afyon in Turkey.
 
Mathys Boisrame: “This week I had more medical examinations to my knee, which revealed that some internal ligaments are torn, so it wasn’t an easy GP. I missed good starts in both races so the races were difficult. In the second moto I made a mistake to lose eighth place. The track did not develop as usual. In past years there were many more lines and bumps here; this year there was mainly one line but it was the same for everyone. Now we have a break of four weeks; I will take some rest to recover from my knee injury before Turkey. “
 
On his first visit to the Baltic Bike It MTX Kawasaki’s Wilson Todd spent the morning Qualifying learning the Kegums circuit and inevitably had to be satisfied with an outside gate at the start of both motos. Third last on the opening lap of race one he persevered to score points in eighteenth position and continued the learning process in race two with an even stronger ride from nineteenth during the initial stages to claim twelfth at the finish, just a couple of seconds from the top ten with consistent lap times throughout the gruelling thirty-five minute race. Fifteenth overall on the day, the plucky Australian is now fourteenth in the series points standings.