SEEWER WINS ITALIAN GP AS VAESSEN SCORES CAREER BEST

Courtesy of Team Suzuki Press Office

Team Suzuki Press Office – June 25.

Jeremy Seewer – 1-2 for 1st
Bas Vaessen – 7-4 for 5th 

Jeremy Seewer took the MX2 overall win at the MXGP of Italy, in what was a scorching weekend at the Ottobiano track. Extremely hot temperatures made even completing the motos a real challenge, but onboard his RM-Z250, Seewer finished first and second in the two races to secure his third overall victory of the season. Backing him was Suzuki World MX2 teammate Bas Vaessen who put in career best rides to go seven-four for fifth overall, on what was a great weekend for both riders. 

“I am really happy to win the GP,” said Seewer. “It was my third this year but my first in the sand which is especially pleasing. It wasn’t really my favourite track; I came here Friday to look at it and I’m a fan of natural tracks, uphills, downhills, like the last few rounds. However, it all seemed to work out. I was feeling so good on the bike, we didn’t change anything on the RM-Z250 all weekend and I was one of the fastest and I’m pretty happy with how everything went. The first race I just tried to get out front early and make a gap so I didn’t have to push too hard, and that’s what I was able to make happen. The second moto was really tough though; I tried to follow Pauls Jonass but a berm broke and I just made a mistake and once you stop here in this heat, your whole body starts to overheat. I still pushed and I came back to try and pass Thomas Covington for second. When I tried the first time my bike hit neutral, which meant no engine braking and that caused us to collide and we both went down. We both got up ok and it took me a few more laps to finally get around him but with five laps to go I was totally gone. Two years ago, I struggled in Thailand with the heat and I was scared that it would happen again so I just tried to finish the race, and that’s what I did. I’m super happy with the overall and now we try to do it all over again in Portugal next weekend.” 

For Vaessen, a sandy track was always likely to suit the Dutch rider but it was still an extremely impressive display from the youngster to put in the best rides of his MX2 career. “Today was excellent. I had a decent start in the first moto, started maintaining my lap-times and keeping my speed and it seemed like every lap I made a pass. I felt good, I felt under control and I ended up seventh which was a nice result. In the second moto, I had another really good start on my RM-Z250. I made a few passes early on to get into fourth and then I was just trying to keep up with Thomas Covington ahead of me. I kept his speed for quite a long time and near the end I slowed down a little, just to make sure I finished the moto as it was so hot. I finished the moto in fourth, which is a career best for me and then that also gave me a fifth overall, another career best.” 

Team Manager Stefan Everts was also understandably delighted with his two rider’s performances: “An overall win for Jeremy was a great result for the Suzuki World MX2 team. It was a super first moto and then he had a big battle for second with Thomas Covington in the second race which meant he couldn’t really chase after Pauls Jonass. An overall is always a good weekend and we took seven points out of the championship lead and with plenty of rounds left, it was good enough. 
“It was a great weekend for Bas too, especially in the second moto. He rode aggressive in both races and held onto the positions in what were very tough conditions. I’m happy for him that he put it together and it should give him good confidence for the upcoming rounds.”

Unfortunately, both Hunter Lawrence (compressed vertebrae) and Zach Pichon (trapezius) missed out this weekend with injuries, but they are both hoping to return as soon as they can.

The Suzuki World team now gets ready for next weekend when the championship returns to Agueda in Portugal after a four year absence. After this weekend’s result, confidence is high that they can put in repeat performances, in what also promises to be a tough event for all the riders. 

MX2 Moto 1: 1. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki World MX2), 34:07.314; 2. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:12.304; 3. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +0:25.676; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:27.353; 5. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:30.597; 6. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:31.165; 7. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki World MX2), +0:50.633; 8. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Yamaha), +0:53.425; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:56.816; 10. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:01.479. 

MX2 Moto 2: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 34:31.700; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki World MX2), +0:11.335; 3. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:15.865; 4. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki World MX2), +0:36.265; 5. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Yamaha), +0:43.412; 6. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:46.871; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:51.253; 8. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), +1:00.804; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:02.948; 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +1:04.931. 

MX2 Overall: 1. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki World MX2), 47 points; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 38 p.; 4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki World MX2), 32 p.; 6. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 31 p.; 7. Alvin Östlund (SWE, YAM), 29 p.; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 28 p.; 9. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 26 p.; 10. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 21 p.

MX2 Points Standings: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 454 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki World MX2), 416 p.; 3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 343 p.; 4. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 339 p.; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 330 p.; 6. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 263 p.; 7. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 233 p.; 8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 212 p.; 9. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki World MX2), 199 p.; 10. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 195 p.; 18. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki World MX2), 106 p. 


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