The Turkish Grand Prix in Afyonkarahisar marked round 18 of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship and kicked off a busy September for the Fantic Factory Racing teams. Glenn Coldenhoff once again demonstrated his determination and speed, achieving sixth and fifth place finishes in the premier class.
Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
Glenn Coldenhoff was eager to continue his strong run of form at the MXGP of Türkiye but faced a slight setback early on when he fell and hit his knee during free practice. Despite the hard impact and feeling battered, the Dutchman fought hard on Saturday to secure 12th place in the qualifying race. It was a challenging day for Brian Bogers as well, who struggled to find the right feeling and setup, ending the qualifying heat in 20th.
In race 1, Coldenhoff made a fast start on his Fantic XXF 450, gaining several positions during the first lap. Although not at his best, “The Hoff” maintained a strong race pace, ultimately finishing in sixth place. He delivered another impressive performance in race 2, securing an outstanding fifth place after a late pass, and ended up in a solid seventh overall for the weekend.
Unfortunately, Brian Bogers couldn’t find his rhythm on the hard-pack track of Afyon. Despite a strong start that had him in 10th place on lap 1 of the first race, he struggled to keep up with the blistering pace of the top riders and finished with a 15-16 scorecard, placing 16th overall.
Glenn Coldenhoff:
“The weekend didn’t start well; I had a huge crash in free practice and was really sore. I could barely walk, but we did some checks, and fortunately, there was no major damage. It was still really hard to bend my knee, especially on Saturday. Finishing 12th in the qualifying race wasn’t ideal going into Sunday’s races. I had to start far on the outside, as they closed a lot of gates on the inside with fewer riders here. It was tough to get a good start, but I managed it pretty well. I had to take some painkillers because my knee and also my neck hurt a lot in warm-up, so in the end, going 6-5 in the races was pretty good. I would have signed up for that result straight away after yesterday. I felt I had decent speed. In the past two weeks, we worked a lot on the bike, especially on the suspension, and I felt like it helped me out big time. I think we took a big step forward and can be happy. It was quite a positive weekend – in terms of the bike, speed and my riding. That boosts my confidence going into China, where I got a moto win and second overall the last time we raced there. We still have two more chances to get on the podium this season, plus the Motocross of Nations, of course.”
Brian Bogers:
“I had to dig deep this weekend. I didn’t have much time to prepare on tracks like this one, and I think that showed in my riding. Physically, I felt quite good, I got better every time towards the end, but by then, I had already lost too much time in the beginning. I expect the surface in China to be a bit different, and typically, Spanish tracks suit me well, so I am looking forward to the last two races of the season.”
Fantic Factory Racing MX2
David Braceras quickly gelled with the track and set a strong lap time, placing fourth in the opening free practice session. It seemed like the Spaniard was poised for a solid result on the hard-pack surface of Afyonkarahisar. He got off to a great start in the qualifying race but tipped over in the latter stages, losing several positions and ending up in 16th, just behind teammate Kay Karssemakers.
Both Fantic XXF 250 riders were quick off the line in race 1, with Braceras holding onto seventh for the first part of the moto. Unfortunately, a fall dropped him out of the top 10, and he eventually finished 14th. Karssemakers struggled a bit with arm pump and settled for 15th.
In race 2, Braceras found a solid rhythm to recover positions, but he crashed after contact with another rider, damaging his rear brake. He had to ease off for a few laps before regaining his race pace, finishing in 15th. Karssemakers encountered a minor technical issue early on and was unable to finish the race.
David Braceras:
“It was a difficult weekend. I felt really good on the track here in Afyon, but I made mistakes that held me back. I was running in 12th in the qualifying race until a crash with four laps to go. It took me too long to get going again, I lost a lot of time and finished in P16. The track conditions were completely different on Sunday because they watered it a lot. In the first moto, I was in P7 for the first ten minutes, but then I had a big crash. Luckily, nothing was damaged, but I lost a lot of time and finished 15th. In the second moto, my start wasn’t great. I felt good and was closing in on the group ahead, but when I reached P13, I came together with another rider and crashed. This incident caused my rear brake to get stuck for a few laps. Once it started working again, I was able to push and gain a position, finishing in 15th once more. I felt good at the end of the second moto, and overall, I had a good feeling throughout the weekend, but it just didn’t come together in the races. There is not much more to say; we will keep working and be ready for China.”
Kay Karssemakers:
“I am not satisfied with how the weekend went. On Saturday, my feeling wasn’t great, though it did improve in the final laps of qualifying. On Sunday, I had a solid start and was riding well in the top 10 for about 15 minutes. However, I then experienced arm pump and had to drop several positions. The second moto ended early due to an issue, but we are already looking ahead and aiming for strong results in the final two rounds.”
