Glenn Coldenhoff salvages ninth overall in a tricky MXGP round for Fantic
Fantic Factory Racing travelled all the way to the island of Lombok for round 11 of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship and the first part of an Indonesian double-header. In extremely hot and humid conditions, Glenn Coldenhoff managed a top-10 result in the MXGP class.
Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
With Brian Bogers ruled out of the Indonesian MXGP rounds due to a shoulder injury that he picked up on Saturday, Glenn Coldenhoff lined up on the sole Fantic XXF 450 on Sunday. The “Hoff” had a tougher start to the weekend himself. A crash in the early stages of the qualifying moto meant he had to be content with tenth gate-pick.
Coldenhoff still managed a strong start in race 1, moving into seventh place in the first few corners. Thanks to a solid race pace he was able to hold his position until the finish line. A costly mistake held him back in race 2, the Dutchman crashed on lap 2 and found himself at the back of the field. He regrouped and came back to eleventh for ninth overall.
While Fantic Factory Racing will stay in Indonesia and get ready for the MXGP of Lombok, Bogers will travel home to the Netherlands in order to undergo further medical checks on his left shoulder and focus on his recovery with the aim of being ready for the European rounds of the second half of the season.
Glenn Coldenhoff: “It was a difficult weekend. I didn’t feel comfortable on track straight away. We tried to make some changes on the bike and it was definitely a bit better. Unfortunately, I crashed in the start of the qualifying race which led to a bad gate-pick for Sunday’s races. It was really tough out there with the heat but I felt like I had decent pace in the first moto. They watered the track a lot before the second moto, the surface became really unpredictable and slippery. I did a mistake in the second lap, I crashed out and only managed to come back to P11. For the next GP they will turn the track around, hopefully it suits me a bit better and I can be there from the beginning. If you start well, it is all a different story. Today I didn’t get the starts and that made it really difficult. Maybe I don’t have the speed for the top 3 right now but I believe I can definitely be around fifth place. Hopefully I can go home with a top 5 next week.”
Brian Bogers: “The pain is not so bad. The shoulder just feels a bit weak when I move it. That is why we decided it was safer to sit this one out, even though it is a pity to watch from the sideline, especially because I had a really good feeling on track. I will go home, let the shoulder check and treat it properly. If you just rest here for a week, the risk is to lose one week and still not be able to ride at the next GP. I prefer to go home and make sure the recovery will be as fast as possible.”
Fantic Factory Racing MX2
The MXGP of West Nusa Tenggara was off to a promising start for the Fantic Factory Racing MX2 squad as David Braceras impressed with a season’s best time practice in sixth. Unfortunately, he was unable to take advantage of his good gate-pick in Saturday’s qualifying race, he run into a small issue and had to be content with P19. Kay Karssemakers improved throughout the moto and worked his way up till 13th place.
Unfortunately, race 1 on Sunday saw Braceras crash out on the opening lap. The Spaniard had to pull out of the moto, while Kay Karssemakers was able to finish in P12 after a solid performance.
Bad luck stroke again in race 2. Braceras fell on lap 1 because of a contact with another rider, his bike was damaged in the crash and David was forced to retire in the second heat of the day as well. Karssemakers was battling in the top 10 for the first part of the moto but, unfortunately, tipped over while running in P8 and was also forced to end his race early.
Kay Karssemakers: “The weekend was off to a slower start on Saturday. I did too many mistakes and didn’t manage to put a good lap together in time practice. I also got a bad start in the qualifying race and struggled at the beginning but I improved throughout the moto. The feeling was better on Sunday. Even if the start wasn’t great, I managed to finish the first race in twelve place, very close to P9. In the second moto I got a good start and was riding in eight which was very good but, unfortunately, I crashed after a contact with another rider and lost a lot of time to get going again. Now we are looking forward to the next weekend, we are working hard to be better.”
David Braceras: “Of course, it is a bit frustrating when you know the speed and the feeling on the bike are definitely there, as we showed with my best time practice of the year so far. Unfortunately, we were just unlucky in the races and didn’t get the results the whole team and Fantic deserve for the effort and the hard work we all put in. That is just how it goes sometimes but we are already looking forward. The good thing is, we get a second chance here next week on a track I really like.”
