Calvin Vlaanderen Charges to Podium Position in Indonesia

Powering through piping hot and humid conditions at the MXGP of West Nusa Tenggara, Vlaanderen stormed to a pair of hard-fought fourths to celebrate the first of two back-to-back Grands Prix in Indonesia on the third step of the podium.

"I'm so happy!" he smiled, "There is so much hard work that goes into this! I have been so close this year, but I keep saying to myself, never give-up, it's coming. So, I kept believing and now I am finally here. Two consistent motos today. I was not as close to the front guys as I wanted to be, but I will take this and enjoy it. It's good motivation going into the rest of the season."

In the opening race, the South African got off to a decent start but made a small mistake, jabbing the berm at turn-one, which bumped him back to eighth. After a few impressive passes, the Yamaha ace emerged victorious in an intense battle with Jeremey Seewer, stealing fourth position from the Swiss star on the penultimate lap.

"Race One was pretty good," Calvin explained, "I had a nice battle with Jeremy (Seewer); he put up a good fight. I had a little bit more in the tank. I need a little bit more to fight up front with the guys, but it's mostly in the start. You have to start up front if you want a chance, so that's what I have been working on and will keep working on."

The relatively new, fast-paced, rough, and edgy man-made circuit on the exotic island of Lombok was introduced to the MXGP calendar in 2023. While most of the riders enjoyed racing at the tricky venue, Race Two was spoiled by the trigger-happy track crew, who went to town with the fire hoses and overwatered the track, turning the second half of the day into a mudder.
 

Calvin had high hopes of running with the leaders after another great start in Race Two; however, the track conditions caught out some of the best, including the number 10. Despite his yard sale on the opening lap, Calvin bounced back and charged back to another solid fourth-place finish. Jeremy, on the other hand, redeemed himself after dropping back to sixth in Race One with a solid third in Race Two.

"In the second race, I got a pretty good start but crashed on the opening lap in the mud." Calvin said, "I had mud all over my hands and grips, which made the first few laps quite difficult with my hands slipping on the 'bars. Obviously, Tim (Gajser) went down a bit later, so I knew that once I got back to fourth, I would be on the podium, so I just settled in fourth and brought it home."
 

While Calvin charged to his first podium finish of the season, Monster Energy Triumph's Mikkel Haarup narrowly missed out on shiny piece of podium silverware in MX2. The tall Dane tied on points for third. "I finished tied on points for third, but to be honest, I don't really care too much about points at this point of the season," he explained, "I'm not in the fight for the championship anyway, so I am just taking everything day by day and doing my best to get my Triumph on the top step of the podium."

Mikkel was a man on a mission in the first race of the weekend, chomping at the heels of race leader Kay de Wolf. Despite the scorching hot and humid weather, the number 11 had his best race finish of the season in his sights before binning it on the final lap. "I was happy with my riding," he said, "I was following Kay for almost all of the race, so I feel like I am getting closer to a race win and my first-ever GP win, so overall, I am happy. We've got another chance next weekend and another nine chances this season, so I am looking forward to it."

In contrast to Race One, the MX2 riders were faced with a track that had been savaged by the track crew. Through the mud and slop and countless tear-offs, Mikkel stormed to third before clipping a bank on the final lap and falling back to fifth.

"Race Two was a total mudder. In 30 degrees (Celsius) and full sunshine, it didn't make any sense at all. I don't know why they watered the track that much. It only ruins the race because our goggles are wrecked, the bike gets wrecked, and we need to ride a little bit cautiously in those conditions. But in terms of my riding, obviously, it's annoying to miss out on the podium, but I'm still happy because this weekend I was challenging for P2 and even the overall, so I'm really happy with that."

MXGP stays in the tropical climate of Lombok for the 12th round of the series, which will be held on the same Selaparang Circuit but in reverse.