I can honestly say, I don’t think I have ever seen a championship battle like the one we are seeing now in the MXGP class. We had that 2015 season with a lot of injuries, but this one doesn’t just have injuries, it has the drama we have never seen in the Grand Prix series. What is exciting, we have just two days to wait until the drama show continues. Here is what the riders thought of yesterday’s drama at round number 9 of the 2020 Motocross World Championship series and the MXGP of Lombardia.

Jeremy Seewer: (1st in MXGP) “I am happy with the points I scored. My first moto was one for the books. I took the holeshot and led every lap. You cannot wish for more. It’s all about the starts at this level, but to keep getting holeshot with how fast everyone is, it’s really hard. The second race was not too bad but fifth or sixth, so I had to make some passes and I ended up making a mistake. You need to risk a bit to make a pass, and it didn’t work out for me. I want to win, but I am not stressing too much about it. There are still many races to come. It’s a long championship still. It’s awesome to win this GP. It’s not the way I wanted to win, but a win is a win and, in a few years, nobody knows so it’s a huge milestone in your career to win a MXGP Grand Prix. Anyway, I would have liked to be on the top of the podium at the end of the race to enjoy it like that, but my thoughts at the moment are with my friend AJ, Arminas Jasikonis.”

Thomas Kjer Olsen: (1st in MX2) “I’m so happy. It’s been a tough season but I’m super happy to win today. My riding was really good and although I didn’t win a moto, I was in the battle all day. Second place in the opening moto was great and then in race two it was just a crazy battle. I’ve got my confidence on the bike back now and I felt amazing all day today. It took some time and I had a really good week of training before today, so it’s coming together good now. I’m really happy for my team as well. They have stuck by me all year and through two injuries and here we are, on top of the podium. I’m super happy.”

Jed Beaton: (2nd in MX2) “I can’t explain how happy I am to have won the second moto today. I had a great start in race two and got into the lead early on lap three. I then had a clear track and just focussed on my lines. As the race wore on I got a little nervous but kept it together. I did make a few mistakes but held on for the win. It’s been a tough year until this point and it’s all coming together now. The team have been great and I’m so happy and pleased for them, too. I’m looking forward to Wednesday now.”

Glenn Coldenhoff: (2nd in MXGP) “Second overall is a good result, for sure. I’d have liked to have been at the front of the battle rather than at the back of it, but it is what it is. I had a good feeling today which is important. It’s quite hard to pass on this circuit and everyone is similar in speed but luckily I had decent starts and was able to move forwards, especially in race two. The first moto was ok but once I was into fourth, I fell into a rhythm behind Cairoli and was unable to make a pass. Overall, good points, second overall after a couple of guys jumped on a yellow flag and up to fifth in the championship. I’m looking forward to Wednesday.”

Jorge Prado: (3rd in MXGP) [Prado talks about losing the overall win due to being docked 2 positions for yellow flag violation.] “The victory was in my hands today. I feel I deserved it. It was a very good day and to win twice in this very tough class in my first year is something to be happy about. I sweated my shirt in that second moto to stay in second place. My speed wasn’t quite as good as the first moto but I’d made steps in recent weeks with my physical condition and the bike was working so well. I can take confidence from the way we finished.”

Tom Vialle: (6th in MX2) “A holeshot and good first moto win even though the track was quite difficult and sketchy in some places. In the second moto I had contact with another rider and that gave me a problem with my front wheel and it didn’t feel so stable. I just rode to take some points. I need to work on two good starts for Wednesday. At least we took more points for the championship: that was important. We need to keep focused for the rest of this week.”

Ben Watson: (3rd in MX2) “It feels really really good to be back on the podium. It’s been a long time coming and it is now my third, it’s just finding those missing pieces that prevent me from being here more often. In training I have been feeling really good, and during the races it has been a bit of a struggle. Even today, I was down this morning and not feeling good at all, but I just managed to take two good starts and that played a big part in today. I was especially happy to have a solid second moto to get back on the podium.”

Jago Geerts: (9th in MX2) “I had a bad start in the first heat. I made some passes and got up to fight for the fifth place but had a small crash. I restarted in 11th and finished there. In the second heat I got to third and felt really good but crashed and was back to eighth but I came forward back to fourth again but crashed again. I was closing in on the first three but crashed again and finished seventh or eight or something. It was not a great day, but it’s behind us now and we have two more rounds here in Mantova so I will be ready for Wednesday.”

Tony Cairoli: (8th in MXGP) “Today started good and I was happy with the third place because the track was pretty sketchy. It was positive to take those points. My start wasn’t so bad in the second moto but when I was coming across some riders to make positions I clipped the wheel of another and crashed. I had to come back from last and use the Goggle Lane because my roll-off was finished. I was feeling great and pushing. Then I had another fall when I went sideways on the first uphill and hit my face quite heavily. I wanted to keep going for some points. Of course, it is not the result we want – and we must avoid mistakes. I broke my nose but it could have been worse. We didn’t keep the red plate but we’ll be ready to go again and try for the podium on Wednesday.”

Tim Gajser: (4th in MXGP) “The first race didn’t start very well as I was back in the pack and it was tough to come through the field and pass the riders as everyone is very fast. I managed to come back to eighth but I was a little disappointed because I know that the start makes all the difference. For the second race, I put a lot of focus on the start and I managed to come out of the first corner around fifth and then I made a couple of quick passes which put me into third. I was following Romain and Jorge for around 15 minutes, before I was able to make two passes to get myself into the lead. I pulled a good gap, controlled the race to take the win and I’m super happy with how it turned out. Obviously getting the red plate is a big bonus and I will try my best to hold onto it until the end of the season.”

Evgeny Bobryshev: (32nd in MXGP) “Hey everyone, just little update after my crash. We did some scans at medical center and all looks fine. That was one of my scariest crashes for sure in the air I said, fuck, lucky to walk away from it. Wanna say thanks to everyone for messages and support.”

Roan van de Moosdijk: (5th in MX2) “I was consistent again but I know the results could be even better. I ended Qualifying second, close to pole after leading for a long time, and I could make good passes to third in the first race after a top-five start but the last three laps my goggles were stuck so I couldn’t see; I had to slow down and Olsen could pass. My start was not so good – around fifteenth – in race two and I had to ride strongly to get to sixth as it is really difficult to pass here. You can try different lines to the rider ahead but he just closes the door on you time-and-again so you need a really special attack mode; we need two good starts on Wednesday to battle up front.”

Mathys Boisrame: (12th in MX2) “It was difficult for me physically today, as I had to rest for nearly two weeks after my crash in Faenza. I only rode the bike for thirty minutes before arriving here but I still made a decent lap in the timed practice session and got the holeshot in the first moto. Of course I was lacking the energy to stay in front so fifth was not a bad result. My second start was not good at all and then I started to make some mistakes; I was struggling with my vision so it was better to stop rather than risk a crash.”

Mikkel Haarup: (14th in MX2) “The bike was good off the gate but I got too much wheelspin in race one – my fault! But my riding was good and I made some good passes for seventeenth. I got a top-six start in the second moto and hung in there for a long time; during the second half I was accepting it too much when people passed me, but we’re headed in the right direction.”

Mitch Evans:(13th in MXGP)  “It wasn‘t the greatest day, although qualifying went quite well. I wasn’t feeling overly comfortable on the bike as I hadn’t ridden since Tuesday as I’ve been unwell but I was happy with qualifying. Unfortunately in race one I crashed in the first turn and then crashed a couple of laps later and was fighting all moto long to score some points. In moto two I didn’t get the best start either but didn’t crash, so I was still in a position to get a top 10 finish. I fought through to ninth and felt a lot better but I need to work on my starts and then I’ll be able to battle with the guys at the front of the races.”

Clement Desalle: (5th in MXGP) “Not a bad weekend for me with fifth overall! My starts were average but in the first moto I made some good early passes; then I lost two positions due to a mistake but I passed a few guys again to finish seventh. I changed my strategy for the second start but that was not such a good idea; I was eleventh, came back seventh and finally was classified fifth overall. The most important aspect of the weekend is that I’m happy with my riding; I have no more pain in my back and the feeling is better so that promises well for the upcoming races.”

Romain Febvre: (6th in MXGP) “It was a tough GP for me. At the start of the first race another rider changed his line so my start was not good at all! I was in the pack and came back through to tenth; it could have been better but I could never find a spot to pass Gajser even though I was much faster than him. My second start was really good; I was in second position and tried everywhere to pass Prado but once more it was so difficult to make a pass stick and finally Gajser got me. I finished third but lost two positions due to a yellow flag.”

Gautier Paulin: (9th in MXGP) “Obviously I am happy with today. A result is just a result. It’s a fact that I had a huge crash on the startline of moto one. My fitness is good. In Timed Practice I was second best and very close to making my first Pole of the year. I will work on this next time to get it. In the first race it could have been easy for me to give up. My handlebars were bent, my front wheel was not straight, my clutch was out and I had to make a pit-stop. My mechanics fixed it and I went back out and got to 13th. This is an insane result with good lap times. In moto two, I was fourth, a bit short, but I didn’t make it but I am really happy with how I was riding today. I know the speed is there and we are still in the game.”

Conrad Mewse: (8th in MX2) “It was a good day overall. I didn’t get a very good start in the first race and they put a lot of water down. The water went up underneath the tear offs, so I had to pull all of those on lap one and it meant that I couldn’t really get too close to people as I was coming through. I had a much better start in the second race and hung on for third for a lot of the race. It was nice to finish on a high, but hopefully we can bounce back on Wednesday and have two consistent rides. That is the only thing left now, to put together two good results. I am looking forward to Wednesday!”

Bas Vaessen: (19th in MX2) “Today was all about getting back into the groove. I missed a lot of races and was a little nervous before qualifying, so rode too tight and made too many mistakes. I actually had a good start in the first moto but crashed in the second corner and the bike was too banged up to continue. I had to pull out. My initial jump out of the gate was good in moto two, but I went into the first turn on the outside, which wasn’t great. I made passes but could not get further up than 15th. I’m looking forward to Wednesday to see if we can get some more points.”

Adam Sterry: (17th in MXGP) “It was a pretty solid day today. I rode a bit tight but progressed as the day went on and actually felt pretty good at the end. I am happy to build from this, after not riding so much coming into this weekend and puncturing my lung only two weeks ago! I’m looking forward to Wednesday where I will try to improve on what happened today.”

Ivo Monticelli: (20th in MXGP) “Another tough one. I had a great start in race one but tangled with someone going into the first corner. I hit my head, chest and back and was in a lot of pain so it was not possible to continue, I saw the medical team and I checked out ok, just bruising, so I lined up for race two. Again, I hit someone in the first turn but stayed upright but I was way down field. I was able to push through and passed a couple of guys in the last two laps for 16th. Some points on the board but not where I should be. We’ll regroup and line up again Wednesday and hope to improve.”

Isak Gifting: “It was a very good day for me at my first ever GP and race on my GASGAS. I was a little bit nervous but after qualifying I felt much more relaxed. To get 9-10 in the motos and 10th overall felt great and I’m so thankful for the team for giving me the tools to make this work! Starts were not so good but this is something we will work on ahead of the next race on Wednesday.”

Michael Sandner: (20th in MX2) “My day was mixed really. I woke up in the morning and felt a little bit sick, but I made the best of it and gave my all! With a 16th place in time practice I had a good starting position for the races so it was a positive start to the day. The first moto started with a perfect start, around seventh. I had very good speed for the first few laps but then struggled a little bit, I think I went too fast too soon and finished 15th which was pretty good for my first race on the GASGAS. Second moto start was not so great, around 16th on the first lap. I then I had a pretty big crash so that was my race over but I’m healthy and looking forward to Wednesday.”

Dylan Walsh: (18th in MXGP) “Not a bad day overall but there’s of course still a lot of room for improvement! My first goal is now to put together two consistent motos. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t continue in the first moto because I was going quite well.. In the second moto I was in a really good position at the beginning of the race but I went down when I tried to pass for seventh. I bounced back all right to finish 14th.”

Artem Guryev: (27th in MXGP) “Mixed feelings really. In the first race I just couldn’t find a good flow or a consistent speed. The second moto my riding was better and I had a better feeling on the bike too. I suffered several crashes in race two but the track was very slippery and sketchy in some places. Luckily I’m healthy so let’s get some rest now and prepare for next race on Wednesday.”

Calvin Vlaanderen: (7th in MXGP) “Today was a good step in the right direction. I am very happy with my riding and my fitness, I’ve improved since Faenza. During qualifying I didn’t feel so sharp out there. I got bad arm pump so it was tough to put in a good lap but eleventh was quite good. In the first moto I managed to come out from the start in the top six and rode a solid race. I didn’t feel great but I just hit my marks and stayed out of trouble, I felt smooth. In the second moto, I made some wrong choices during the first couple of corners and was buried quite far back. I picked off a few riders and felt the speed and fitness was good. I came back to eleventh so overall to get my first race in the top five and my first top ten overall, I am super happy. I want to say a big thanks to the team for their hard work – let’s stay motivated, there’s many more good races to come.”

Alessandro Lupino: (16th in MXGP) “It was a good day, I was riding really good. I am happy that the team were also doing good with Calvin, he was fast! I was hoping to finish the day in the top ten but on the last two laps I hit my foot on the ground and broke ligaments in my ankle. I need to have more checks in the next days to see how it is going for the races. I hope to be back on Wednesday!”

Thomas Covington: (26th in MXGP) “Tough day at the office for sure. It just took me a long time to get comfortable on the track today. Unfortunately, I had no choice but to miss a bit of bike time the last couple weeks and that definitely didn’t help things but we made a few adjustments before the second moto and I then started to feel better out there. We have two more chances on Wednesday and Sunday.”

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