Seewer Nails Ninth Podium As Yamaha Clinches Manufacturer’s World Title in Turkey

04-09-2022

Seewer Nails Ninth Podium As Yamaha Clinches Manufacturer’s World Title in Turkey

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Jeremy Seewer uncorked his ninth bottle of podium champagne at the 18th and final round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. The Swiss rider, who secured the silver medal in France two weeks ago, enjoyed the last round of 2022, going 2-4 for second overall. At the same time, Maxime Renaux dominated proceedings in Qualifying and turned Pole Position into a stunning race victory in race one, but unfortunately suffered an unusual technical issue in race two and finished eighth. He was classified fourth overall and narrowly missed the championship bronze medal by 11-points. Glenn Coldenhoff finished ninth in Turkey and fifth in the MXGP Championship Standings, 3-points behind Renaux. Thanks to the efforts of the entire Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team, Renaux, Seewer and Coldenhoff, and Gebben van Venrooy Yamaha’s Calvin Vlaanderen, Yamaha won the Manufacturer’s World Championship for the first time since 2015.

Renaux arrived in Turkey 17-points shy of the bronze medal and determined to do all he could to clinch it at the final round. The young Frenchman got his weekend off to the perfect start with a stunning Qualifying Race win over Mitch Evans and teammate Seewer, while Coldenhoff was sixth at the flag.

After a stunning race win yesterday afternoon, Renaux carried his powerhouse form into race one today. The ‘959’ ran a scintillating pace from start to finish, charging past the likes of Romain Febvre, Seewer and Evans, on his way to a fabulous race win – his sixth of the season.

Chasing Renaux home, 4-seconds further adrift, Seewer put in a strong ride for second. At the same time, Coldenhoff recovered from a crash to finish 14th.

Going into the final race, Renaux had his sights set on a perfect 1-1 scorecard, just as he did in Spain earlier this year. But despite taking his first holeshot of the season, the result did not eventuate with a technical issue adding an unwanted element of difficulty to the race. Nevertheless, the young gun still pushed through the adversity to finish eighth after a ‘tip-over’ on the opening lap.

Seewer, on the other hand, charged through the field after a mid-pack start to finish fourth, as Coldenhoff struggled with an ‘off’ feeling for sixth.

This season, Yamaha enjoyed its best-ever season in MXGP. The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team celebrated seven Pole Positions, 14 race wins, and 22 podium finishes, of which five were Grand Prix victories. As a result, Yamaha clinched the Manufacturer’s World Championship for the first time since 2015 and third in the ‘MXGP-era’.

For full results from the MXGP of Turkey, click here.

Jeremy Seewer

2nd MXGP World Championship Overall

“I am happy with this weekend. It was solid, especially as this is a track that I have struggled on in previous years. I even had my lowest low here, but we turned it around this year, and I had the pace to win all weekend. The start in the second moto cost me a shot at the overall, but I have to be happy with the way I came back through the back with good speed. Now, it’s time for some rest after the Motocross of Nations. I just want to say a big thanks to all of the people around me, to my team, my family and everyone I work with, there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that nobody sees, so it was nice to wrap it up with a good result, and thank you.”

Maxime Renaux

4th MXGP World Championship Overall

“It was almost the dream weekend, winning qualifying, winning race one, and then taking the holeshot in race two; everything was going so well. I had a small crash and a mechanical issue on the first lap, so it was a big struggle. It was impossible to ride my pace with the issue, but I just did my best. It was a bittersweet way to end the season for two reasons. One, I couldn’t get the overall victory. And two, it cost me the bronze medal in the championship, which I was hoping to get this weekend. I tried my best. Fourth in my rookie season is not so bad, especially after breaking my back in the middle of the season, and the bigger picture doesn’t look too bad. But, when you want to win, fourth is not enough.”

Glenn Coldenhoff

5th MXGP World Championship Overall

“It was quite a tough weekend. I felt good yesterday, and my lap times were not bad. I had a good start in the first moto, but I pushed so hard in the first few laps that the riding was not smooth, and I made far too many mistakes. The second race was a bit better, but I still made too many mistakes in the beginning. It started going a bit better towards the end, but still, ninth overall is not how I wanted to end the season. But I left no stone unturned. I did everything by the book, trained hard and lived like a soldier going into this one. Hopefully, MXoN will be a lot better.”