After coming tantalizingly close to his first-ever premier class race win on three occasions during the past four rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championship, Seewer lined up today as a man on a mission.
Right from the first gate drop, the Swiss rider was strong. He had his YZ450FM pinned off the line as he charged past a handful of MXGP protagonists on his way to taking second position on Lap-3.
With a fraction of clear track ahead, approximately 5-seconds worth, Seewer set his sights on the early leader, Jorge Prado, and was able to catch and pass the Spaniard with 10-minutes left on the clock.
From there, the ’91’ never looked back. He eventually went on to win his first Grand Prix race inside the MXGP class by more than 15-seconds. His victory marks the eighth of his professional career – he claimed seven race wins in MX2.
Seewer’s determination was magnified in the final race of the day as he bounced back from a poor start and impressively diced his way through the field from outside of the top-15. After an immense battle with Romain Febvre and Clement Desalle, the ‘91’ was able to steer his YZ450FM up into seventh position. Despite his best efforts to catch the top-five, a small crash while challenging Febvre for sixth meant he had to settle for seventh, which was still enough to mount the third step of the podium.
The ‘Monte Coralli’ circuit proved extra challenging today with the hilly hard-packed terrain demanding respect and a careful eye. Gautier Paulin was one of the first to get caught out by a tricky section, which deprived him of a place inside the top-five after he went off the track while trying to save a crash. The ‘21’ managed to keep his YZ450FM upright, but those kinds of mistakes are costly and he lost a lot of positions. He rejoined the track in 17th position and worked his way back to eighth.
In the final race, the Frenchman battled to get comfortable on the untrustworthy track surface. He tried to focus and push hard, but only managed 11th which put him ninth in the Grand Prix classification.
With a severely swollen ankle, an injury that was sustained in the final race of the Italian Grand Prix three-days ago, Arnaud Tonus was able to post a fast lap in Qualifying Practice which was good enough for eighth pick of the gate. Despite proving he has the pace; the pain was too much for the Swiss rider and he had to nurse his throbbing leg home for 19th in Race 1 and was unable to finish race two after another crash on the opening lap.
With the current series leader absent, third overall awarded Seewer crucial championship points. He has moved up to fourth in the Championship Classification, 20-points shy of the rider and third position and 46-points from the lead. Paulin remains in eighth, while Tonus dropped to 15th.
The third and final round of the Italian tripleheader, round eight of the FIM Motocross World Championship, will take place here in Faenza on Sunday 13th September.
For full results from the MXGP of Cittá di Faenza, click here.
