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MX2, MXGP OF AFYON - Afyonkarahisar, Turkey, 8 september 2021

Top five moto finish for Wilson Todd in Turkey

Bike It MTX Kawasaki’s Wilson Todd raced to a fifth-placed moto-finish in the ninth round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Afyonkarahisar in central Turkey.

The benefit of racing two GPs in four days at the same venue was immediately evident for the Australian who is generally faced with learning a new track at each round in what is effectively his debut season. He claimed sixth in Qualification, on the same second as pole, and used his more favourable gate-pick to emerge seventh from turn one in the opening moto. After soaking up the pressure from behind in his first experience of racing the leaderboard from the word go he found a solid rhythm from halfway to close down the riders ahead, narrowly failing to catch the rider in fourth and crossing the finish line just four second shy of a moto podium. A tenth-placed start in race two made life more difficult and he had to settle for ninth in the race for seventh overall on the day. The Australian has moved up a place to twelfth in the points standings at the midway stage of the season.
 
Wilson Todd: “Qualification wasn’t perfect but it wasn’t too bad with sixth; I was on the same second as pole and could still have cleaned up a few things up in my riding. It makes all the difference to be more inside at the gate; I’m going to most of the tracks for the first time so I usually have to spend practice learning the track. But after being here already on Sunday I was more prepared for today. I made some good passes on the first lap of race one and I’ll take fifth. The second race I was a bit further out the back at the start; there was a bit of chaos going on and I was a bit slower to get around slower guys on the first lap. After that it was hard to make a pass in the heat. “
 
It was another frustrating GP for the F&H Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team after a promising start. Mathys Boisrame was full of confidence after setting fourth-fastest time in Qualifying and utilised his excellent gate-pick to immediately slot into third place at the start of race one. He was not intimidated by pressure from behind as he defended his position for half the race but his race fell apart in the final ten minutes. A slip dropped him to sixth amidst a fiercely-fought battle; he lost more three places within half a lap before he could settle again and another mistake on the final lap meant he would take the chequered flag thirteenth. Race two saw the Frenchman crash soon after the start but he set off in pursuit and was rewarded at the finish with seventeenth place. He is now tenth in the championship points standings.
 
Mathys Boisrame: “This GP started well with a fourth position in the timed practice session. We had done some good work on the bike during the two days between racing after my starts were not as good as usual on Sunday. In the first moto I got a very good start and was third for a long time, but then I made a small mistake; it was my fault but I was winded and had to slow down. I felt fit again for the second moto but I had a very big crash at the start and had pain in my back. I was way last when I could carry on but I pushed until the end and even managed my best time on the very last lap. My riding was good, but again we had minor setbacks which cost me a good result; that’s frustrating but I will never stop working."
 
A first lap incident in race one left Mikkel Haarup with a lot of work ahead of him as he raced from twenty-first to fifteenth and his second moto was equally frustrating as he raced at the lower end of the points-scoring placing’s to finish eighteenth.
 
Mikkel Haarup: “It was a difficult day for us but I tried my best; the results didn’t show it but I was pleased with my effort. I think I was dead last at the start of race one, moved forward a few places, made a small mistake, lost them all and took them back again before the finish. I felt my riding was good and I’m looking forward to Sardinia. “