THOMAS COVINGTON EARNS FOURTH OVERALL AT GP OF AMERICAS

Courtesy of Husqvarna Motorcycles

Putting in two committed race performances Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Covington wrapped up the penultimate round of the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship at Charlotte Motor Speedway with fourth overall, equalling his season best overall result in the MX2 class.

Confident of strong results at the first of two GPs on American soil, Covington showed impressive speed and consistency during both MX2 motos. Despite the cancellation of the qualifying race due to bad weather, it took the young American no time at all to get familiar with what turned out to be a hard-packed and rutted North Carolina track.

Getting a good jump out of the gate in moto one, Covington found himself in fourth before the end of the first lap and held position until the end of the race. Involved in a great battle with Jeremy Seewer and Cooper Webb for the top three during the first half of moto two, the American rounded out the GP with another fourth place. Showing he has the speed for the top, Covington is now set to chase for the overall podium next week at Glen Helen Raceway.

Covington’s Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 teammate Max Anstie had to work very hard at the GP of Americas. Getting a great start in moto one the Brit found himself closely following early leader Austin Forkner, before a crash left him with a mountain to climb. 14th at the end of lap one, Anstie fought back and managed to cross the line sixth. Battling though stomach pains and sickness in moto two, he claimed 10th for eighth overall in the MX2 class.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s MXGP star Max Nagl rounded out his participation in round 17 of the series with two top ten moto finishes for ninth overall at the GP of Americas. Holding on to fifth for most of the opening moto, Nagl suffered a fall five laps before the end and had to settle for 10th. With his FC 450 machine powering him to a convincing holeshot the German went on to finish moto two in ninth position.

The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team will return to action at the 18th and final round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Glen Helen on September 9/10.

Thomas Covington: “It was a really good GP and I’m happy with fourth overall. It feels nice to race in front of friends and family and the fans were awesome too. The track was really high speed without many things to slow you down, so passing wasn’t easy. I got a bad start in moto one but made some quick passes. I got fourth pretty quickly and rode the rest of the race by myself. I got a better start in moto two and was battling with Seewer for third, before settling for fourth again. Overall, the bike was working great and my riding was smooth throughout the day. I’m now looking forward to the final GP in Glen Helen. I know this track really well, so hopefully I can run up with the top three.“

Max Anstie: “I did my best once again but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. After the cancellation of the qualifying race, we knew everybody would be pushing hard from the get go in the final motos. I got a great start in the opening race, following Forkner in second, but a couple of turns later I lost the front and went over the bars. I got back up and rode really strong to get back to sixth. My start in moto two wasn’t that good and as I was battling through the pack I felt intense stomach pain. I guess I got physically drained from trying too hard in moto one. Our focus now is on the following weekend and I’m hoping to end the season on a high note in Glen Helen.”

Max Nagl: “It was a difficult weekend for us. Everything got cancelled on Friday due to the rain and the whole schedule got squeezed onto Saturday. In the opening moto I got a great jump out of the gate and was hanging on to fifth for a couple of laps. It was pretty hard to make passes on this track. Five minutes before the end of the race I had a crash and lost a few places to finish 10th. My start was even better in moto two and I ended up getting the holeshot. I did my best to stay close to the top but the guys in front had a really fast pace, so I ended up ninth for ninth overall. We’re flying to Glen Helen tomorrow and we’ll have some extra time to do some training before the GP. My goal is to battle for a top three finish there to preserve my third position in the championship.”

Results – FIM Motocross World Championship, Round 17

MXGP Overall
1. Eli Tomac (Kawasaki) 50; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 40; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (Yamaha) 36… 9. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 23… 23. Jake Nicholls (Husqvarna) 4; 24. Marco Maddii (Husqvarna) 1

MXGP Race 1
1. Eli Tomac (Kawasaki) 18 laps, 35:10.508; 2. Justin Barcia (Yamaha) 35:33.321; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (Yamaha) 35:34.781… 10. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 35:54.491… 17. Jake Nicholls (Husqvarna) 36:44.638… 21. Marco Maddii (Husqvarna) 17 laps, 36:37.169

MXGP Race 2
1. Eli Tomac (Kawasaki) 18 laps, 35:21.042; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 35:27.026; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (KTM) 35:29.746… 9. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 36:08.918… 20. Marco Maddii (Husqvarna) 17 laps, 36:50.099

MX2 Overall
1. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) 47 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 45; 3. Austin Forkner (Kawasaki) 42; 4. Thomas Covington (Husqvarna) 36… 8. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 26

MX2 Race 1
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 18 laps, 35:14.964; 2. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) 35:19.453; 3. Austin Forkner (Kawasaki) 35:44.182; 4. Thomas Covington (Husqvarna) 36:06.201… 6. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 36:18.708

MX2 Race 2
1. Cooper Webb (Yamaha) 18 laps, 35:23.073; 2. Austin Forkner (Kawasaki) 35:26.949; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 35:28.497; 4. Thomas Covington (Husqvarna) 36:13.943… 10. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 36:45.617

Championship Standings (After Round 17)

MXGP
1. Tim Gajser (Honda) 693 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 603; 3. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 565… 15. Christophe Charlier (Husqvarna) 198... 21. Jake Nicholls (Husqvarna) 107... 24. Rui Goncalves (Husqvarna) 49… 46. Rick Satink (Husqvarna) 4… 54. Marco Maddii (Husqvarna) 1

MX2
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 689 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (Suzuki) 595; 3. Benoit Paturel (Yamaha) 485; 4. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 473… 11. Thomas Covington (Husqvarna) 261… 19. Conrad Mewse (Husqvarna) 126… 26. Lars van Berkel (Husqvarna) 56; 27. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Husqvarna) 54… 35. Ben Watson (Husqvarna) 39… 41. Pascal Rauchenecker (Husqvarna) 24… 44. Davide Bonini (Husqvarna) 21… 47. Nicholas Lapucci (Husqvarna) 16; 48. James Dunn (Husqvarna) 15… 56. Sven Van der Mierden (Husqvarna) 6

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