A busy weekend in Uddevalla, Sweden, marked round 15 of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship. Glenn Coldenhoff grabbed a holeshot and finished seventh overall in the premier class, while his Fantic Factory Racing MXGP teammate Brian Bogers was fortunate to escape major injury in a scary get off. EMX125 red plate holder Noel Zanocz continued his strong form, putting the Fantic XX 125 on the podium, while David Braceras secured a top-10 overall in MX2.
Fantic Factory Racing EMX125
The Fantic XX 125 riders were back in action for round 8 of the EMX125 European Championship, picking up right where they left off. Simone Mancini excelled in qualifying, setting the fastest time in the first group, closely followed by teammate Noel Zanocz. Douwe Van Mechgelen qualified 13th in his group.
In race 1, Mancini sneaked into the lead at the second corner and checked out at the front. On the other hand, a first lap mistake left Zanocz with a lot of work to do. From well outside the top 30, the Hungarian red plate holder staged an impressive comeback to finish in sixth. Unfortunately, Mancini encountered a technical issue that prevented him from crossing the finish line, while Van Mechgelen was penalized for a yellow flag violation and dropped back to 23rd.
A strong start in race 2 allowed Mancini to move into second place during the opening laps. He put pressure on the leader, who did a mistake and relinquished the lead to the Italian by lap 5. Zanocz, who was just outside the top 10 on lap 1, quickly moved up to second position, closing in on his teammate. A small tip-over by Mancini allowed Zanocz to take the first position. The two Fantic Factory Racing EMX125 riders went on to secure a remarkable 1-2 finish for the Italian brand. Van Mechgelen, who was sixth in the opening lap, crashed in the early stages of the moto and dropped back to 20th place. Despite this setback, he fought back to finish in eleventh.
In the overall GP classification, Zanocz claimed the second step on the podium in Sweden, extending his championship lead.
Noel Zanocz:
“In race 1, I had a good start but unfortunately crashed after five corners. I had to come back from the back of the field to finish sixth. I was fast and knew I had the speed to battle for the win, but things went wrong on the first lap. In race 2, my start was decent, around P12, and I was pushing hard. I know I need to be at the front if I want to win this championship. Now I am leading by 18 points and I am really happy to hold the red plate heading into Arnhem. I am looking forward to racing there. I have trained a lot on that track, I like it, and I have a good feeling about it.”
Simone Mancini:
“It was an unlucky weekend. Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish the moto on Saturday. On Sunday, I was leading again but had a small tip-over and ended up second. The overall result doesn’t reflect our true performance. We were fast, and we did a great job preparing us to fight for the win in this final part of the season. But that is how racing goes sometimes. The important thing is to stay focused, and we will go for it again next week in Arnhem.”
Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
In Saturday’s qualifying race, Brian Bogers got a rocket start off the line to grab the holeshot on his Fantic XXF 450. His race pace was equally impressive, as he led the way in the first part of the moto. Gajser, Prado und Febvre would eventually pass the Dutchman but he made sure of fourth place. After setting top-4 lap times in both free and time practice, Glenn Coldenhoff wasn’t quite able to replicate his performance in the qualifying moto. “The Hoff” had to settle for tenth place, which still secured him a decent gate-pick going into Sunday’s races.
Race 1 presented some challenges as well, with Coldenhoff running in tenth place for most of the moto, fighting hard to gain one more spot in the latter stages to finish ninth. He came back strong in race 2 though, clinching his second holeshot of the season on the Fantic XXF 450. Although a few mistakes in the early part of the race made him lose some ground, Coldenhoff battled back from eight place to secure a strong sixth, placing him seventh overall for the day.
After his impressive showing in the qualifying race, Sunday quickly turned into a day to forget for Brian Bogers. The Dutchman was chasing his teammate in P11 during race 1 when he suffered a heavy crash over a jump, forcing him to retire. He still attempted to line up for the second race but ultimately decided it was best to sit out the moto after the sighting lap due to a stiff neck.
Glenn Coldenhoff:
“The weekend started off really good; I had a good feeling in both the free and time practice with a third and fourth place. That was pretty good but the track changed quite a bit for the qualifying race and I struggled with some arm pump. We tried to change the set-up for Sunday but I didn’t feel comfortable and we went a step back again for the first moto. The riding wasn’t good but at least I was able to manage the situation. Finally, in the second moto I took the holeshot. I had been looking for it for quite a while now. Okay, I went a bit too wide and some guys passed me straight away, I need to work on my first laps. Resultswise, I am still not where I want to be, but at least the riding was good in race 2. The weekend ended on a positive note, I was fighting with the guys for fourth place. I feel like this is where I should be, and on a better day I should be on the podium. I am really looking forward to Arnhem now – home GP, special gear, a lot of fans and back in the sand, where I feel comfortable.”
Brian Bogers:
“I had a really good Saturday, but unfortunately, Sunday couldn’t have gone much worse. I didn’t finish the first race, and I decided not to line up for race 2 after the sighting lap. The good news is that I am actually pain-free, I am just dealing with a really stiff neck. Other than that, I am completely fine. I just need to rest up a bit so I can go full throttle again next weekend.”
Fantic Factory Racing MX2
With Kay Karssemakers still sidelined due to the injury he picked up in Loket, David Braceras was flying the flag again for Fantic Factory Racing MX2. The Spaniard managed to hold on to tenth place for most of the qualifying race, but ultimately dropped back to 12th after a few mistakes in the final three laps.
In race 1 on Sunday, Braceras quickly moved into ninth place. However, a small mistake caused him to lose several positions, but he managed to regroup and come back to finish in 11th place. A decent start in race 2 saw the Fantic rider battling for ninth another time. He had to give up two spots but managed to bring home 11th place to score a solid tenth overall.
David Braceras:
“Overall, it was a solid weekend, even though Saturday was a bit challenging, and I finished 12th in the qualifying race. We made some changes to the suspension for Sunday, and I felt better. I finished both motos in P11. In the first moto, I was running ninth but had a small tip-over, and came back from 15th to finish in 11th. All in all, it was solid with a top 10 overall. I am happy with the progress we are making each weekend, step by step. Now we keep pushing and aim for a strong finish to the season.”
In EMX250, Alexis Fueri struggled to put together a fast lap in qualifying practice and had to be content with 17th gate-pick. His performance improved notably in the race, as he gained several positions thanks to a solid start and went on to finish in ninth, despite a small crash. In race 2, the Frenchman was sitting in P9 again. Unfortunately, he tipped over in the latter stages and lost several positions, eventually finishing in 16th for 11th overall.
Alexis Fueri:
“In race 1, my start was decent. I passed a few riders and was battling around P7, but a small tip-over cost me some time. I still managed to finish ninth after making a pass on the last lap. It wasn’t anything special, but it was a solid result after some tough races. On Sunday, I had another good start, again from the outside, and my riding was okay until I started struggling with arm pump. I crashed towards the end and could only manage P16, which is not what we are aiming for. Still, there were some positives this weekend. Now we will get back to work and try to finish the season strong.”
