Stifling hot temperatures paired with a physically demanding deep sand track made the MXGP of Sardinia the ultimate test of man and machine. On Saturday, the riders had to gamble their energy in terms of how much time they spent on track and how much effort they put into the Qualifying Race with the goal being to conserve as much energy as possible for Sunday. And despite their best efforts for an easy and smooth sailing Qualifying Race, it turned out to be anything but.
Seewer got off to a great start but fell at turn one and had to start from last place, as Coldenhoff and Renaux emerged inside the top-10. Hailing from the sand capital of the world, The Netherlands, Coldenhoff was in his element as he charged past some of MXGP’s most formidable competitors to take third from Jorge Prado on the final lap. Renaux also showed great form but was caught in an unavoidable incident when Prado crashed right in front of him. Nevertheless, the Frenchman was able to finish sixth. Seewer, however, had a race ruined by mistakes while battling some bike set-up issues, and after another two crashes, he finished 18th.
While the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP riders posted a mixed bag of results, the star of day was Vlaanderen who started inside the top-three and powered his YZ450F past Prado to take an emphatic race win, and his first-ever Pole Position since entering the MXGP class back in 2020.
Dealing with hot conditions again on Sunday, Vlaanderen continued his astonishing charge. The tall South African did not get off to the best start but was in a league of his own when it came to his speed around the deep, rough and physically demanding circuit of Riola. While many riders faded in the challenging conditions, the South African excelled, and after passing the current MXGP Championship Leader with 2-laps remaining, he stormed to an astonishing race win – the first of his MXGP-class career.
While Vlaanderen stole the spotlight in Race 1, Seewer’s performance also did not go unnoticed as he bounced back from his Qualifying Race woes. The ‘91’ made the most of a difficult situation with 18th gate pick and powered his YZ450FM to a top-10 start. Aware that the conditions would push the limits of his race preparation and the stamina of the riders around him, Seewer put in some solid and consistent laps and made some excellent passes on his way to fourth.
At the same time, Renaux and Coldenhoff had to dig deep after Renaux fell from second position at turn two on the race line, which meant a bunch of riders, including ‘The Hoff’ were caught in the carnage. After breaking free from the incident, the duo went to work, both showing phenomenal pace as they posted lap times as quick as the leaders while carving their way through the field.
At the flag, Renaux recovered from another two mistakes to finish sixth, while Coldenhoff struggled to find his rhythm and finished eighth.
The second race was also marked by Vlaanderen’s dominance and sand-riding prowess. The number ‘10’ charged from fourth past Ruben Fernandez and Pauls Jonass to take the lead from Prado on lap 8. From there, the break-out star stormed to another phenomenal race win.
At the same time, Coldenhoff was second at the flag after some incredible passes on his way from sixth position, while Renaux powered to fourth after starting on the cusp of the top-10. Seewer was also running a hot pace but fell from fourth with less than 10-minutes on the clock but still fought back to finish sixth.
Yamaha ended the MXGP of Sardinia with four YZ450Fs inside the top five and leaves the sandy beach-like circuit with all three Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP riders inside the top-five in the MXGP Championship Standings. Renaux remains second in the points; Seewer is third and Coldenhoff is fifth.
Vlaanderen's success with a Qualifying Race win followed by two Championship Race wins and the Grand Prix overall in the same weekend comes as a first for Yamaha since Romain Febvre aboard a Monster Energy Yamaha Factory YZ450FM back at the MXGP of Czech Republic in 2019. And as a result, the Gebben van Venrooy Yamaha rider has jumped to ninth in the MXGP Championship Standings. His results this weekend were the first of his career in every way. Previously, his best result was a pair of fourths; both were in 2021, one was here in Riola-Sardo, and one was in Maggiora.
For full results from the MXGP of Sardinia, click here.
The next round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will be in Madrid, Spain, on the weekend of May 29th.
