Only the strongest survive in the bottomless sand of Lommel. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 guys were prepped and ready for that challenge. Lommel, which is just a short drive from the team workshop, hosted the sixth round of the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship in front of limited fans.
Kay de Wolf oozed confidence as he rolled out onto the Belgian circuit for the first time, which translated into a fantastic qualifying session and pole position (for just the second time in his six-race professional career). A mediocre start in the opening moto left him with a lot of work to do, but he showed a lot of composure and battled forwards from outside of the top ten. It took him ten laps to charge all the way to third, dislodging the reigning world champion in the process, which is the position that he eventually secured.
The second moto was where de Wolf really shined and made his presence known on the world stage. After taking the holeshot, thanks to the power within his FC 250, de Wolf led every lap en route to the first moto win of his career. Three seconds was his advantage over the guy in the runner-up spot, then third place was a massive 59 seconds adrift! A 3-1 scorecard left him in second overall and helped him jump to eighth in the championship standings.
Jed Beaton qualified eleventh, after struggling to get a clean lap, and then turned his attention to the first stint. Beaton started sixth in that encounter and immediately focused forward, but an untimely fall left him outside of the top ten and in damage limitation mode. That was fairly successful, as he charged to eighth at the chequered flag and was just three tenths of a second away from securing seventh. A mediocre start in moto two made life difficult, but he was able to charge into fifth by the end for fifth overall on the day. Beaton is seventh in the points.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 will leap into another sandy track next week. Round seven of the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship, the Grand Prix of Latvia, is set to be run at Kegums.
Kay de Wolf: “What can I say? It has been another amazing day. Winning that second race gave me such an amazing feeling that words cannot describe it. Taking the holeshot and leading every lap – it was just a dream race. This season is going way better than expected and I am really excited for another GP on the sand next weekend in Latvia.”
Jed Beaton: “I felt like I was capable of more today, but a mistake held me back in moto one and then my start was not ideal in moto two. I was pleased to charge back to fifth in the second one, but there was not much more I could do once I got there. The leaders were gone. I still got solid points, so I will focus forward and get to work for Latvia.”
