Mud. There was plenty of it at Maggiora for the Grand Prix of Italy as thunderstorms in the region ensured that the 2015 FIM Motocross World Championship trudged through its first wet appointment of the year. The MXGP and MX2 classes rewarded the fortunate and the smartest Grand Prix athletes; those that got out of the gate near the front, kept on two wheels and free of the roost from other riders. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jordi Tixier was part of that group in the first MX2 moto – probably the wettest and toughest of the day – as he rode to a lonely third position. In the second outing the World Champion wasn’t so lucky and went headfirst into the slime on the first lap and then lost more time pitting for repairs after another crash; the top twenty thus eluded the Frenchman.
The 36,000 crowd were damp and dirty and even struggled to scale the hills to find a spot to shelter from the harsh weather; it put a dampener on what has been one of the high points of the MXGP calendar for the past two years and since Maggiora had been re-born with new, forward-thinking owners in 2013.
Tixier’s team-mate Thomas Covington was also picking up the KX250F early in both races and this affected his possibilities for points while Petar Petrov took Dylan Ferrandis’ saddle to eighth overall in just his third GP with the crew.
Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie was the highest placed MX2 runner on the day with sixth in the final classification; not bad work considering an engine problem in Qualification cast the Englishman almost last to the start gate. Max’s performance to fourth spot in the second moto represented excellent work on a – thankfully – drying course as the showers had finally stopped by late morning. Anstie hounded the rear wheel of Jeremy Seewer for a top three finish in the final two laps but his rise from just inside the top ten would not end with third by the flag.
In MXGP there was little joy for Tyla Rattray as he left Italy with just eight points and a DNF in the first moto after falling on one of the steepest off-camber corners on the circuit. In the second he had to pit for goggles and at least had a thirteenth position to show for his efforts.
Maggiora can now look towards the 2016 Motocross of Nations while MXGP moves quickly onwards and north to Germany. Teutschenthal will be the site for round ten of the 2015 contest next weekend.