Over the weekend the historic and spectacular ‘Mottaccio del Balmone’ circuit in Maggiora hosted the 2024 edition of the Italian Grand Prix, the 10th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship 2024 Season. The rainfall that fell on Friday night and for most of the day on Saturday made the track particularly challenging, conditions then improved on Sunday when the sun came out again.
Despite the difficult track conditions, Ivo Monticelli (Beta RX450) set the 12th fastest time in free practice. In the following timed session the rider finished in 23rd position. In qualifying Monticelli got off to a good start at the gate and remained in the top ten in the first laps, finishing 8th. In the final an off-track caused him to lose a few positions and finished 16th. In the first heat he struggled to find his feeling for the track but still managed to finish in the points zone, 19th. Ivo was much more aggressive in the final part of the race, despite being partly involved in the group crash at the second corner he was in 9th position within a few laps. In the second part of the race he suffered the comeback of a couple of opponents but finished with an excellent 11th position that allowed him to finish 15th in the Absolute of the Day.
IVO MONTICELLI:
On Saturday the bad weather took over and I finished 16th in qualifying. It wasn’t bad, but my rhythm was not good and I couldn’t be as fast as I wanted. In the first heat I experienced the same feelings and with the speed I had I couldn’t do better than 19th position at the finish line. In the second heat I started with better motivation. After the start I got caught up in the crash in the second corner but I managed to get the bike up and start again immediately. In the first laps I pushed hard and was 9th for a long time. But just before the chequered flag the riders who had been chasing me for the whole race managed to pass me and I finished 11th. Now we will work to do even better in the next races.
After the Italian Grand Prix, the MRT Racing Team will take to the track on 30th June in Lombok for the first of two races at the Indonesian circuit, the West Nusa Tenggara Grand Prix.
