Hard-fought top-10 results for Glenn Coldenhoff and Andrea Bonacorsi in the second MXGP race brought the GP weekend in Afyon to a positive close for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP – and “The Hoff” is still comfortably sitting in third in the standings with only two GPs to go.
Going into the final triple-header of this memorable season with a total of seven podium finishes for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP already secured, confidence was high as round 18 of 20 got underway in Afyonkarahisar. However, an early crash for Glenn Coldenhoff in free practice complicated matters, as the Fantic star felt the aftereffects throughout his 250th GP appearance but still battled through.
Andrea Bonacorsi, inside the top 10 in both practice sessions, struggled with his start in the qualifying race and found himself outside the top 10 on the fast and tricky Afyon Motor Sport Center track. Brian Bogers emerged as the leading Fantic XXF 450 rider, with a strong launch out of the gate that put him in the fight for points on Saturday. He delivered a solid ride, even though he was denied a top-10 finish on the very last lap and finished eleventh. “Bona” placed 13th, while Coldenhoff crossed the line in 17th, regaining rhythm and confidence as the qualifying race went on.
Warm-up on Sunday morning saw Andrea Bonacorsi in an encouraging third place, and the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP trio was motivated and fully focused on the crucial start of race 1. Both Coldenhoff and Bonacorsi were fast out of the gate aboard their Fantic XXF 450 machines, but when another rider fell in turn 1, they lost valuable time and dropped out of the top 10. They fought hard until the checkered flag but couldn’t quite find the lines to pass the group ahead. Eventually, “The Hoff” finished 12th, with “Bona” close behind in 13th. Bogers lost further ground after a fall and had to settle for 20th.
Coldenhoff had another strong jump out of the gate in race 2, but the outside line in the first corner didn’t allow him to fully capitalize on his start. He found himself just outside the top 10 again, with his teammate Bonacorsi right behind. They pushed hard and made some solid passes to secure ninth and tenth place, which put them ninth and eleventh overall. Bogers was buried further down the order in the opening stages. He struggled to find the right feeling and, despite climbing as high as 15th at one point, he eventually crossed the line in 17th for 19th overall.
With two Fantic riders breaking into the top 10 in race 2, and Coldenhoff finishing ninth overall, a challenging weekend ended on a positive note for Fantic Factory Racing MXGP. There is no time to rest, as the paddock now travels to China for the penultimate Grand Prix of the season – with “The Hoff” still comfortably holding third in the standings.
Glenn Coldenhoff:
“I had a big crash in free practice and wasn’t feeling good at all. So on Saturday, it was just a survival race. After some treatment and a good night’s sleep, I definitely felt a bit better on Sunday. Obviously, if you finish 17th on Saturday, it becomes really difficult to do two good races on Sunday, but the goal was to finish in the top 10. In the end, we managed that with ninth overall, and I didn’t lose too many points, so that is positive. It could have been much worse, and now it’s all about recovering for next week.”
Andrea Bonacorsi:
“It was a bit of a tough weekend. I didn’t get the best starts and unfortunately, the track had just one main line – you had to be much faster to make passes. At least we finished race 2 inside the top 10, that is all I could manage today. I should have started a bit better, and a stronger qualifying race would have helped to get a better gate pick. Anyway, we still have two races to go, and we will give it our all.”
Brian Bogers:
“I had a good start in the qualifying race. I lost some places due to a few late mistakes, but I still finished eleventh, which wasn’t too bad. On Sunday, though, I just wasn’t on the pace. I also crashed once in race 1, and with everything so close on this track, you lose a lot of positions when you make a mistake. The beginning of the second race was actually quite okay and I made up some ground after a difficult start, but in the end, it was just a tough day at the office. It wasn’t really my kind of track, but I don’t want to make excuses. I was simply too slow today – but we have two more rounds to go, I want to finish strong and I am motivated to do so!”
