Brian Bogers gets on the gas at MXGP of Latvia

Round seven of the FIM Motocross World Championship took GASGAS Factory Racing to Kegums in Latvia and a sandy circuit well-suited all our riders. With Pauls Jonass set on putting on a show for his home crowd, the former MX2 World Champion arrived confident of securing another MXGP podium result. Unfortunately for Pauls, it just wasn’t meant to be.

One rider that did enjoy a successful day of racing in Latvia was Pauls’ Standing Construct teammate Brian Bogers. No stranger to getting on the gas around sandy tracks, the Dutchman demonstrated just what he could do on his MC 450F with an impressive ride from outside the top-20 to secure an eventual 10th in moto one.

Undeterred by the rain that started to fall as the gate dropped for race two, Brian emerged from the first turn well placed inside the top-10. The 24-year-old then began working his way forwards, moving into fifth on lap 11 after getting ahead of nine-time world champion Antonio Cairoli. With the leaders out of reach, Bogers claimed a solid fifth-place finish, earning a well-deserved sixth overall.

Brian Bogers: ’’It’s been a really positive day for me in Latvia. I didn’t get a great start in the first race, but I was able to work my way up from 20th to 10th and I felt great out there on my bike. I could ride my own lines and really enjoyed myself as I battled my way forwards. In the second race I had a much better start in eighth and finished fifth for sixth overall, which is a great result for me. With the break that we have now, I have some time to improve my starts so that I can be up front consistently in every race. I know that will make my job a lot easier, and allow me to get the results I know I can!”

After landing on the podium last weekend in Belgium, Pauls Jonass lined up for his home GP with the aim of collecting more silverware. A strong ride to place sixth in race one set him up for a positive day but frustratingly the Latvian crashed in turn one of moto two. Despite his best efforts he could only recover to a 15th-place finish. Certainly a challenging day for Pauls, the points he collected nevertheless lift him to seventh in the series standings.

Pauls Jonass: “After last weekend, I was expecting more of the same at my home GP but it just wasn’t to be. It’s unfortunate but this is how racing goes sometimes. My speed was good all day so that’s positive and I think race one could have been better, but it just took a little too long to find my flow. Then three crashes in race two isn’t really going to get the job done. We have a lot of racing to go so despite today being difficult, I think after the break we can come out swinging and be back on the box in Turkey.”

Standing Construct GASGAS Factory Racing will return to FIM Motocross World Championship action in early September for back-to-back rounds at the Afyonkarahisar circuit in Turkey, rounds eight and nine of the series.

Results – 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship, Round 7

MXGP – Overall
1. Tim Gajser (Honda) 44pts
2. Jorge Prado (KTM) 43
3. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 43
6. Brian Bogers (GASGAS) 27
9. Pauls Jonass (GASGAS) 21

MXGP – Race 1
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM)
2. Tim Gajser (Honda)
3. Antonio Cairoli (KTM)
6. Pauls Jonass (GASGAS)
10. Brian Bogers (GASGAS)

MXGP – Race 2
1. Jorge Prado (KTM)
2. Tim Gajser (Honda)
3. Romain Febvre (Kawasaki)
5. Brian Bogers (GASGAS)
15. Pauls Jonass (GASGAS)

Championship Standings – After Round 7

MXGP
1. Tim Gajser (Honda) 270pts
2. Romain Febvre (Kawasaki) 257
3. Jorge Prado (KTM) 255
7. Pauls Jonass (GASGAS) 180
14. Brian Bogers (GASGAS) 90