Pauls Jonass ends MXGP of Charente Maritime on a high

The hills of St. Jean d'Angely were alive earlier today, as thousands of fans packed into the historic track to see the penultimate round of the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship take place in humid conditions. Tackling the event with momentum after a positive outing in Finland one week ago, the Standing Construct Husqvarna Factory Racing and Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing riders put some solid points on the board.

Continuing to make progress, following a turbulent campaign, Pauls Jonass added a solid number of points to his total at the Grand Prix of Charente Maritime. Involved in the most furious battles in moto one, Jonass charged until the very end to take eleventh. Three measly seconds separated him from the guy ahead. The second moto was an extremely positive exercise, as '41' raced to a comfortable sixth place and was not too far from the top five. It was a step forward and one that helped him take eighth in the overall classification.  

Brian Bogers raced to 13-14 scores on the fast-paced layout. Glued to his teammate's rear wheel for much of the opening moto, he struggled to make moves on the slick surface and eventually settled for thirteenth place. A mediocre start left him facing an even tougher challenge in moto two; he was forced to move from eighteenth to fourteenth at the chequered flag. Thirteenth was his final ranking in the overall classification.

The Grand Prix of Charente Maritime was a luckless affair for the Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing squad, but there were bright spots. Roan van de Moosdijk impressed in the second MX2 moto, in particular, as he raced to fourth quite comfortably and showed off his pace aboard the FC 250. Unfortunately, a fall in moto one meant that he could only recover to thirteenth. 13-4 scores put him ninth in the overall classification.

Much like his teammate, Kay de Wolf was halted by a crash in moto one and could only salvage a fourteenth. The second moto was a much better stint for '74' though; he made positive progress whilst others struggled and reached the chequered flag in eighth. 14-8 scores left de Wolf eleventh in the overall classification. A lot of valuable information was gathered on the unique surface and that will serve him well in the future. 

There is a small break in the schedule now, but the Husqvarna Factory Racing riders will be knuckling down to ensure that they end the Grand Prix term with a bang. The grand finale, the Grand Prix of Turkey, is set to be run on September 04. 

Pauls Jonass: "The second race was a big step forward for me. I have been working really hard with the team to get closer to the front, so to follow the top five for a lot of the race felt really nice. There is only one round to go, but I am still pushing hard to get good results. I was really comfortable in Turkey last year."

Brian Bogers: "Saturday was not too good for me, for some reason, but I made some steps forward today. My starts let me down, but I was still happy with my riding at different points. It was obviously not the best weekend, compared to what we have been doing recently, but we learnt a lot. I am looking forward to ending on a high in Turkey."

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."

Results – 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship, Round Seventeen

MXGP – Overall

1. Tim Gajser (Honda) 47pts; 2. Jeremy Seewer (Yamaha) 45pts; 3. Jorge Prado (GASGAS) 40pts… 8. Pauls Jonass (Husqvarna) 25pts; 13. Brian Bogers (Husqvarna) 15pts

MXGP – Moto One

1. Jeremy Seewer (Yamaha) 35:29.204; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 35:30.187; 3. Romain Febvre (Kawasaki) 36:00.074… 11. Pauls Jonass (Husqvarna) 36:46.188; 13. Brian Bogers (Husqvarna) 36:48.484

MXGP – Moto Two

1. Tim Gajser (Honda) 35:33.882; 2. Jorge Prado (GASGAS) 35:34.835; 3. Jeremy Seewer (Yamaha) 35:35.873… 6. Pauls Jonass (Husqvarna) 36:01.506; 14. Brian Bogers (Husqvarna) 36:48.230

MXGP – Standings

1. Tim Gajser (Honda) 721pts; 2. Jeremy Seewer (Yamaha) 615pts; 3. Jorge Prado (GASGAS) 557pts… 6. Brian Bogers (Husqvarna) 406pts; 9. Pauls Jonass (Husqvarna) 350pts

MX2 – Overall

1. Tom Vialle (KTM) 47pts; 2. Thibault Benistant (Yamaha) 47pts; 3. Jago Geerts (Yamaha) 34pts… 9. Roan van de Moosdijk (Husqvarna) 26pts; 11. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 20pts

MX2 – Moto One

1. Thibault Benistant (Yamaha) 34:13.423; 2. Tom Vialle (KTM) 34:15.283; 3. Jago Geerts (Yamaha) 34:18.204… 13. Roan van de Moosdijk (Husqvarna) 35:50.830; 14. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:55.605

MX2 – Moto Two

1. Tom Vialle (KTM) 34:10.603; 2. Thibault Benistant (Yamaha) 34:16.039; 3. Tom Guyon (KTM)… 4. Roan van de Moosdijk (Husqvarna) 34:21.912; 8. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:09.593

MX2 – Standings

1. Jago Geerts (Yamaha) 710pts; 2. Tom Vialle (KTM) 708pts; 3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 564pts… 7. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 410pts; 14. Roan van de Moosdijk (Husqvarna) 176pts