Seewer & Fontanesi on the Podium Despite Carnage at MXGP of Italy in Maggiora
The tenth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Maggiora, Italy, was wild! From a crash that wiped out half the field, including the reigning World Champion Jorge Prado, to the bizarre weather and brutal track conditions that forced the cancellation of one of the two WMX Races on the schedule, the MXGP of Italy was nuts.
Amidst the drama, Jeremy Seewer managed to swerve the chaos and ultimately charged to his first podium finish of the year! "It's nice to be back on the box. I should be up there more often, but it just hadn't happened this year until today," he said. "I was a little lucky that Jorge crashed out, but I'll take it. I still think I deserved the podium; this is my kind of track where I am strong, and I am physically ready." He's not kidding. He won the MXGP of Italy in Maggiora last year, in 2023.
Seewer is right up there with the name 'Prado' when it comes to fast starters, and it was an epic holeshot that saw him bang 'bars with the championship leader Tim Gajser while battling for the lead before high-siding rodeo style in the chicane after the finish. After a near-save from what was otherwise a crazy crash, Seewer regrouped and salvaged a top-five finish in Race One. Race Two was marked by the mental pile-up at turn two that collected almost half the field. There were quite a few Monster Energy helmets emerging from the rubble, including Calvin Vlaanderen, Andrea Bonacorsi, and Glenn Coldenhoff. For Vlaanderen, after an insane ride to fourth in race one, the crash meant another potential podium finish would elude him. Nevertheless, he was the hardest-charging rider on the track as he blitzed from last through the field to finish within 11 seconds of Seewer.
Seewer was hit from behind in the carnage at turn two but managed to keep his green machine on two wheels and put in a solid performance to finish third. As a result, the small Swiss collected his first piece of podium silverware of the season, finishing third overall, just 2 points clear of Vlaanderen in fourth.
While the men in MXGP were blessed with dry and sunny conditions, it was the complete opposite for the ladies of WMX. A damp and drizzly Saturday saw the opening WMX race red-flagged after 10 minutes. As the race had not reached 52% of its total duration, it was eventually cancelled. This meant that the result of Race Two would ultimately determine the Grand Prix classification.
Monster Energy's six-time WMX World Champion Kiara Fontanesi was determined to win her home Grand Prix. The Italian wonder woman, a doting mother of two, was on rails this weekend. Despite the brutal conditions that swallowed a lot of the riders and ultimately caused yet another red flag, she recovered from a fall to clinch second overall. "Honestly, I gave everything today," she explained. "I really wanted to win this race like I was racing for the world title because, for me, the championship title is pretty much gone now, so I really wanted to win my home race. I gave everything, I tried my hardest, I was faster, but in the end, I crashed. I was happy to be on the podium, but really, I wanted more."
Lotte van Drunen fell multiple times but managed to salvage sixth, which was enough to keep hold of the championship lead. "Today was not the best. It was so scary out there. There were riders everywhere, I had to clutch like mad up the hills and I was just trying to get to the finish. It was crazy, but I managed to keep the red plate going into my home GP, so I look forward to that."
From Italy, the MXGP series hopes to shake the dark rain cloud that has followed the FIM Motocross World Championship this season with the 11th and 12th rounds of 2024 taking place in Lombok, Indonesia on June 30th and July 7th.