Lommel is known as the “sand hell” for a reason. It is arguably the roughest track on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar, and Glenn Coldenhoff managed to put the Fantic XXF 450 in the top 5 with impressive comeback rides at the MXGP of Flanders.
Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
The Fantic Factory Racing MXGP riders felt right at home in the deep sands of Lommel. Brian Bogers was fourth in time practice at a venue he had won at in 2022, and his teammate Glenn Coldenhoff set the seventh fastest time. Bogers went on to put in a promising performance in the qualifying race and secured sixth gate pick for Sunday’s races, while Coldenhoff was fighting hard in tenth place until he was forced to retire due to a technical issue.
Starting from the very outside of the gate, “The Hoff” had to charge through the field in race 1 on Sunday. He did so by setting impressive lap times till the end of the moto and managed to work his way into sixth place. Brian Bogers had a strong start and was running in fifth place in the early stages of race 1. He wasn’t quite able to keep his pace for the full moto in very demanding conditions, eventually coming home in ninth.
Race 2 saw another strong comeback by Coldenhoff on his Fantic XXF 450. After a mid-pack start, by lap two he had already worked his way into the top 10. The Dutchman went on to secure another sixth place for fifth overall. Bogers was solid again in the first part of the race but had to drop off the pace in the latter stages and crossed the finish line in 13th. In the GP classification, he just missed out on the top 10 in eleventh.
Glenn Coldenhoff: “We started off quite well in the practice sessions but in qualifying I struggled a little bit. I stayed for almost 18 minutes behind other riders, and that also caused the engine to stop. I overheated it, I was a bit too much on the clutch and if you stay so close for so long in these kind of conditions, it is definitely not good for the bike. I had to deal with 34th gate pick for Sunday’s races and we knew it was going to be a challenge, but I was still really motivated. We had a late night at work on Saturday, the whole crew was back in the workshop and we took the decision to try a completely different suspension set-up. Shoutout to the team, they did a great job. I felt quite good on Sunday but I also didn’t want to make the same mistake again, so I felt like I wasn’t riding at 100% in race 1. The speed was still decent. In the second moto, my start was even worse compared to the first moto, but I still managed to come back quite well. I stayed a bit too long behind Horgmo, and once I passed him, I pushed really hard in the last few laps to get Seewer. In the end, it didn’t work out, but we did the best we could and should be happy with fifth overall. For sure I expected more from this weekend because this is a track I know well and I felt like I should be on the podium but if you are not there straight away, it’s quite difficult to get the rhythm.”
Brian Bogers: “It was a tough one. We expected a lot more here in Lommel because, normally, we know how to ride on sand. I don’t really know what to say, I think it was just a little bit of an off weekend. The first couple of corners right after the start were good, I managed to pass a lot of riders there. But for the rest, it was a bit of a struggle. I tried to bring it home and we finished both races in very tough conditions. We will continue to work and try again next time.”
Fantic Factory Racing MX2
With Kay Karssemakers sidelined due to a small fracture to his thumbsustained in Loket one week ago, David Braceras was flying the flag for Fantic in the MX2 class at the MXGP of Flanders. The Spaniard was off to an encouraging start with P12 in time practice.
Fast out of the gate on his Fantic XXF 250 in Saturday’s qualifying race, Braceras found himself in the top 10 but struggled with the heavy sand track. Even though his pace improved in the latter stages, Braceras had to be content with 14th gate pickgoing into Sunday’s races.
In race 1, David Braceras managed another good start in tenth and settled in a solid 13th position for most of the moto, until an unfortunate tip-over with one lap to go dropped him down the order. The Fantic rider still crossed the finish line in P17. Race 2 came to an early end when Braceras crashed at the second turn and wasn’t able to get going again. Thanks to the point-scoring result in the opening moto of the day, he was 19th in the overall GP classification.
David Braceras: “Saturday was not my best day, I struggled in these heavy conditions. I didn’t have so many hours of sand training this year, so I already knew it was going to be a tough GP. In the qualifying race, I was not riding at my best, it got a little bit better towards the end of the moto and I finished in P14. For Sunday we made some changes to the set-up and I was feeling a bit better. I was in P13 in the first moto until a mistake at the end. I lost some time and finished in P17. The start was quite okay in race 2; I was around sixth or seventh in turn 2 but then another rider hit me and I crashed. I couldn’t continue the race after that. It was a hard weekend but I am already looking forward to the next one in Sweden, at a track I like a lot. The team is putting in a lot of effort, the bike was working really well this weekend. As always, I will work hard in these two weeks until the next GP. I know it will be good in Sweden, I am really motivated for that race. We keep going, thanks to everyone supporting me.”
The EMX250 European Championship was back on track in Lommel for round 7 of the series, but for Alexis Fueri it was a weekend to forget. After a careful start in race 1, the Frenchman came together with another rider and his bike got damaged in the crash, forcing him to retire. In race 2, Fueri was involved in a second-turn incident, eventually resulting in another DNF.
Alexis Fueri: “In race 1 I was hit by another rider. My handlebar, the grip, and the clutch lever were damaged in that incident and, unfortunately, I couldn’t finish the moto. In race 2 I had an okay start but went a bit too wide in the first turn. In the second corner, a rider crashed right in front of me. I had nowhere to go and couldn’t avoid him. In the contact, my front brake disc got damaged. I tried to ride some laps but my front wheel locked more than once. It was really hard to ride like this in the sand and also a bit dangerous. I crashed another time because of it and had to retire. It was just another unlucky weekend but we will get back to work and try to bounce back.”
