Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Jeremy Seewer stayed cool in the Indonesian heat to narrowly miss a second consecutive podium by just a single point at the eleventh round of the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship on the paradise island of Lombok.
After securing his third holeshot of the season with the KX450-SR in race one he was pushed back to fourth already on the opening lap as others cast caution to the wind but his vast experience of GP racing in the tropical conditions which faced competitors through two tough thirty-minute-plus-two-lap motos on race day was to pay dividends later in the day. Moto one ended in frustration as he surrendered fifth on the penultimate lap; the single incident was to cost him the podium at the end of the day. Late afternoon shadows hampered clear vision of the ruts which developed after liberal track-watering during the interval to add to the challenge in race two but the calm approach of the artisan Swiss paid dividends as he took full advantage of mistakes by his rivals to advance from fifth on the opening lap to third on lap nine of sixteen, bringing it home less than ten seconds behind the winner. His forty-two point weekend points-haul cemented fifth in the series standings.
Jeremy Seewer: “It was positive to end the day with a third place even if that second moto was crazy; I didn’t see any rain but the track was like a Maggiora mud race. But I could use my experience; I made no mistakes while others did and I was only one point off the podium. Perhaps I could have tried to keep Calvin and Andrea behind me in race one but if you don’t have a good flow on this track you’re fighting the track. Anyway I did my best and collected good points and we don’t have much travelling this week so that will be nice as the last few weeks have been hectic. I will try to rest mind and body this week and we will see how I feel tomorrow before making a plan for the week. Maybe we’ll take in a little surfing on Tuesday morning; that also takes some energy but it’s an alternative to running in the heat.”
Bike It Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team’s Jack Chambers advanced to fourteenth in the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship series standings after a mixed day. The American surrendered several positions during the ever-hectic early laps of race one after starting top-ten before moving forward consequently from fifteenth during the second half of the moto to take the chequered flag eleventh, just shy of the top-ten after running out of track on the final lap. Race two followed a similar pattern on the watered track as he finished fourteenth for thirteenth overall on the day.
Jack Chambers: “I had a decent ride in the first moto; I started tenth for a couple of laps but then I was struggling a little with my hands and went back to fifteenth before moving forward again. I actually made the pass for tenth on the last lap but went off the track right before the finish line and had to be satisfied with eleventh. I just rode too conservative in race two in the mud but I still made a pass into thirteenth until I broke off a footrest on the last lap and had to ride round with my foot on the casings. We’ll chill this week and probably take a look round the island one day but we’ll continue doing the work-outs with runs and the gym to be ready for next weekend.”
