Triumph celebrates podium in maiden MX2 round
Monster Energy Triumph riders pilot Brit brand’s new motocrosser to fourth and 10th in the standingsAlmost three years after confirming it is working on an all-new range of competitive off-road machines, Triumph has celebrated a maiden podium on debut in a MXGP world championship event.
Competitive out of the gate
Riding the Monster Energy Triumph Racing TF 250-X in the MX2 class, Danish rider Mikkel Haarup opened his campaign with a strong fifth-place finish in the opening moto, before backing it up with a closely fought second place in Race 2.
“My qualifying race was not so good, but I knew that I had the speed to run in the top three today,” Haarup said afterwards. “All through the off-season we have been building and building, and what we’ve achieved today is the result of a lot of hard work by everyone involved.”
Promising debut
Haarup finished seventh in the opening free practice session, improving to fifth in the timed session before recording a 19th place finish in the qualifying race.
Starting the opening moto from seventh and on what was described as a really rough track, Haarup found himself in a battle for fourth with French GasGas rider Marc-Antoine Rossi.
While the top three riders finished within 2.5sec of each other, Rossi relegated Haarup to fifth at the line, the pair crossing the line a further 10 seconds back from the podium getters, yet 20 seconds clear of sixth place.
Solid foundation
“I felt comfortable on the bike all weekend – and that was really important on a tricky track like this,” Haarup said.
Buoyed by his Race 1 result, the 22-year-old took the holeshot in the second moto and held Husqvarna’s Kay de Wolf at bay for the opening five laps, before being passed by the Dutch rider.
Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t retake the lead and crossed the line just 1.555sec behind the Husqvarna. His 5-2 scorecard means he currently sits fourth overall in the standings on 38 points to de Wolf’s 56.
Spain up next
“Today we’ve shown what this bike is capable of and overall I’m really happy with my performance,” he said.
Haarup’s teammate Camden McLellan finished 11th in the opening moto and improved to sixth in the second. He sits 10th overall in the points tally on 25 points.
The series now heads to Spain for Round 2 of the championship over March 23 to 24.
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