The power-sapping sand of Riola Sardo, in Sardinia, was the destination for the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 squad this weekend. The track played host to the Grand Prix of Sardegna, round ten of the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship. Both Jed Beaton and Kay de Wolf were hungry to show the same speed that they did in Turkey just last week.
Kay de Wolf felt at home in the sandy conditions, as everyone has come to expect, as an impressive charge in the first moto helped him move from outside of the top ten to fourth at the chequered flag. Such a strong ride up through the field served notice of what he could do with a better start. De Wolf had a slightly better start in the second moto, as he ended the first lap inside of the top ten and immediately got to work.
De Wolf was desperately trying to enter the top three in the moto, when an unavoidable incident with another rider caused him to fall out of the top six. Not to be deterred, however, he worked his way back into fourth, which was enough to put him in third overall at the Grand Prix of Sardegna! De Wolf climbed up onto the overall podium for the third time this season, thanks to 4-4 moto scores on the day.
The results that Jed Beaton acquired were not a true representation of his speed, yet again, as a fall on lap one of the first moto left him with a significant amount of work to do. A valiant effort took him from twenty-sixth on lap one to thirteenth at the chequered flag. Beaton had a much better time of it in the second stint and moved from eighth to fifth at the chequered flag. The result was enough for seventh at the Grand Prix of Sardegna and helped him maintain fourth in the championship standings.
There is a break in the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship calendar now. The Grand Prix season will resume at Teutschenthal in Germany on October 03.
Kay de Wolf: “It was a tough round for everyone, I think. The track was really tough and dry. I still managed to get two solid motos in, even though the second moto was rough after a big crash with Thibault [Benistant]. He crashed in front of me and I burnt my arm, but I got up and went for it again. I managed to get third on the podium. Pretty happy with that.”
Jed Beaton: “I feel like today was a bit of a let-down. I did not get such a bad start in the first moto, but [Jago] Geerts crashed in front of me and his bike smashed me off. That was a tough one. I did not feel bad, but trying to come back on a track like this can be difficult. You have to think about the second race when it is this hot and the track is so rough. I feel like I could have had two solid finishes today. It is what it is.”
