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MX2, MXGP OF SARDEGNA (ITA) - Riola Sardo, ITALY, 15 May 2022

Kevin Horgmo narrowly misses podium on Sardinia

F&H Kawasaki Racing Team’s Kevin Horgmo finished fourth after two strong motos in the Sardinian round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at the Riola Sardo sand track.

The Norwegian made good use of the third-placed gate-pick he had earnt during Qualifying on Saturday to once more choose the gate adjacent to the official’s box, thus giving himself elbow-room leaving the gate and a stunning line through the sweeping first turn as he narrowly missed the holeshot in each GP moto. He joined the leaders in immediately breaking away from the pack in race one until a small mistake on lap eight saw him slither to ground exiting a turn to temporarily drop from fifth to eighth; the incident clearly didn’t discourage him and he immediately charged again for a significant pass on a major rival in the points race on the penultimate lap to finish fifth. Third leaving the first turn in race two he clipped the trackside bank a few hundred metres later to surrender two places but hit back immediately with an inside pass for fourth before the completion of the opening lap and, settling into a solid rhythm to handle the extreme heat and rugged track, maintained his pace to the close, missing third by just over a second. Fourth overall on the day he has now advanced to fifth in the series standings, just twelve points shy of third.
 
Kevin Horgmo: “It was a really tough GP with two hard motos on a difficult track in the heat but I made a good start around third in both motos and that was a good base. I had a small tip-over in the first moto to fall back to eighth but I could come back to fifth after some nice battles with Mikkel as we both made some good passes up the leaderboard. The bike was working perfectly from beginning to end both motos and I still felt good at the end of race one so I was confident for race two. I was fourth almost all moto and tried not to make mistakes but I couldn’t quite make the pass on Thibault for third. I would have liked to be on the podium again, and with a little more luck it could have been possible; we will keep working for it at the next race.“
 
Big Van World MTX Kawasaki’s Mikkel Haarup missed his best starts in both motos and faced two tough races but the effervescent Dane pushed decisively throughout both thirty-five minute motos, his fitness paying dividends in the closing stages each time. Eighth through the first half of moto one he moved into sixth three laps from the end and continued to force to earn fourth at the chequered flag. Race two saw an even more difficult run through turn one but within two laps he had converted eleventh into seventh and maintained the pressure to cross the finish line sixth despite a damaged exhaust after colliding with a rival on his way through the pack. Consequently he was penalised five positions but nevertheless has advanced to fourth in the series standings, just six points away from third.
 
Mikkel Haarup:”„I just didn’t get my starts today and that made it a tough day. The first moto I worked my way up to fourth with passes from start-to-finish but my second start was even worse; I made some good passes early in the race but it was difficult to make up positions from mid-moto as the gaps were so great. But I gave it my all; on to the next one.“
 
Quentin Marc Prugnières scored the best result of his young career for 9MM Energy Drink BUD Racing Kawasaki with sixth overall from a 5-6 moto scoreline in the fourth round of the FIM European EMX250 Championship. The French teenager pushed forward from his best start to date in the first moto on Saturday afternoon to convert eighth on the opening lap into fifth at the finish and followed this up with another impressive charge during the second moto on Sunday morning as he advanced from thirteenth to sixth.
 
Quentin Marc Prugnières: “I had two solid motos this weekend. The second moto was more difficult as I ran off the track and lost four positions when I was ninth, but I had a good rhythm to come back to sixth. It was a decent weekend – a step forward – but of course we expect more and we are already focused on the upcoming races.“
 
Teammate Eddie Wade had less joy at the start of the two motos to find himself thirtieth and twenty-third on the opening laps but the English youngster pressed on throughout both motos to narrowly miss the points as twenty-first finisher on Saturday before claiming two points for nineteenth on Sunday despite a mid-race fall which cost him twenty seconds.
 
Eddie Wade: “Sand is not my strong point as we saw this weekend. The heat was no problem as I live in Spain – in fact my fitness is good and I was still fresh at the end of the motos as others felt the heat – but I just need to work on my sand technique and ride it a lot more. I started to feel good in the motos but I made a silly mistake as I was closing down the top ten in the second moto which cost me points. “