Another historic circuit was the destination for the Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing squad this weekend. The hard-pack layout of St. Jean d’Angely played host to the penultimate round of the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship, the Grand Prix of Charente-Maritime, and countless fans who packed the fences. The Husqvarna squad was at capacity with Kay de Wolf and Roan van de Moosdijk in the MX2 category, as well as Maxime Grau in EMX250.
Looking back on the two MX2 motos, Roan van de Moosdijk’s fourth place in the second moto was a bright spot for the team. Showing the same raw speed that was exercised at the past three events, Moosdijk was rather close to a top-three ranking aboard the FC 250. One measly second separated him from the rider in third at the end of the moto. There was a crash early in moto one that hurt his overall result, unfortunately, as he could only recover to thirteenth. 13-4 scores left Moosdijk in ninth in the overall classification.
For Kay de Wolf, who has had a turbulent term, St. Jean d’Angely was a valuable learning experience. A lot can be taken from his weekend, which would have featured a much stronger overall result had it not been for a crash in moto one. De Wolf recovered to fourteenth in that moto, just behind his teammate, and then went on to claim eighth in moto two. Impressively, he was one of the few riders to make some progress in that second stint. 14-8 scores meant that he was ranked in eleventh overall at the end of the weekend.
The Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing team’s greatest moment came in the EMX250 class, as Maxime Grau handled the pressure of racing at his home Grand Prix like a seasoned professional. Racing to 4-2 scores, he had the crowd on their feet for much of the weekend and certainly made a big impression on his FC 250.
Although there is a break in the FIM Motocross World Championship schedule, Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing is ecstatic to be racing at a round of Austria’s national series next weekend. The Grand Prix campaign will resume with the finale in Turkey on September 04.
Roan van de Moosdijk: “The first moto was not too good. I was running fifth or sixth and felt good, but I crashed in a turn. I struggled to get back into a rhythm after that. I did everything that I could to get ready for the second moto. I took fourth early on in that one and stayed there for the whole moto. I was happy to end the weekend on a good note!”
Kay de Wolf: “I was really struggling in the first moto and just could not find a rhythm. It did not click for me, but the second moto was better. I did not have the best start, yet I came from tenth to eighth on a track that most guys struggled to pass on. It was a tough weekend. We made the best out of it and will take what we have learnt into next year.”
