Pirelli took both victories at the Motocross Grand Prix of Turkey held in Afyon

For the second year in a row Afyon hosted the Grand Prix of Turkey and for what was the penultimate round of the 2019 FIM Motocross World Championship. The Turkish layout was predominantly hard-pack but roughened-up significantly during the weekend becoming extremely technical and demanding. Pirelli riders were able to count on the fantastic performance of the SCORPION™ MX32™ Mid Soft front and rear tyres to tackle the conditions and the quality of the Milanese company’s products helped towards the accomplishment of victory in both classes.

Although he has endured a 2019 season largely marked by two serious injuries, Jeffrey Herlings returned to winning ways in the MXGP class. The former Champion won the first heat by leading the race from start to finish while in the second moto he managed to grab first position with a resounding last lap overtaking move. Due to a couple of crashes – which meant a hard but effective day of recovering positions - world champion Tim Gajser had to settle for fourth place overall. Jeremy Van Horebeek, riding his private Honda, finished eighth overall.

Jorge Prado dominated the MX2 class. The Spaniard, who has reached his fifteenth overall victory this season, won both races without opposition. There was an excellent performance by freshly crowned EMX250 European Champion Roan Van De Moosdijk who finished in third place overall for the first GP podium of his career. Also in Turkey, Tom Vialle finished the GP in fifth and he is still vying for third place in the Championship standings. There was bad luck for Thomas Olsen who was forced to miss the race due to food poisoning but confirmed second position in the MX2 table.

Next weekend the FIM Motocross World Championship will move to Shanghai for the Grand Prix of China, the final round of the 2019 series.

Race results (Pirelli riders in bold):

MXGP race 1
1. HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)
2. JONASS Pauls (LAT)
3. COLDENHOFF Glenn (NED)
4. SEEWER Jeremy (SUI)
5. PAULIN Gautier (FRA)

MXGP race 2
1. HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)
2. COLDENHOFF Glenn (NED)
3. GAJSER Tim (SLO)
4. MONTICELLI Ivo (ITA)
5. JONASS Pauls (LAT)

MX2 race 1
1. PRADO GARCIA Jorge (SPA)
2. GEERTS Jago (BEL)
3. VLAANDEREN Calvin (NED)
4. RENAUX Maxime (FRA)
5. VAN DE MOOSDIJK Roan (NED)

MX2 race 2
1. PRADO GARCIA Jorge (SPA)
2. VIALLE Tom (FRA)
3. VAN DE MOOSDIJK Roan (NED)
4. RENAUX Maxime (FRA)
5.GEERTS Jago (BEL)

GP Overall:

MXGP
1. HERLINGS Jeffrey (NED)
2. COLDENHOFF Glenn (NED)
3. JONASS Pauls (LAT)
4. GAJSER Tim (SLO)
5. MONTICELLI Ivo (ITA)

MX2
1. PRADO GARCIA Jorge (SPA)
2.GEERTS Jago (BEL)
3. VAN DE MOOSDIJK Roan (NED)
4. RENAUX Maxime (FRA)
5. VIALLE Tom (FRA)

Championship overall:

MXGP
1. GAJSER Tim (SLO) p.744
2. SEEWER Jeremy (SUI) p.542
3.PAULIN Gautier (FRA) p.499
4.COLDENHOFF Glenn (NED) p.488
5. TONUS Arnaud (SUI) p.462
6.JONASS Pauls (LAT) p.428

MX2
1. PRADO GARCIA Jorge (SPA) p.787
2. KJER OLSEN Thomas (DEN) p.592
3. GEERTS Jago (BEL)p.505
4. VIALLE Tom (FRA) p.495
5. JACOBI Henry (GER) p.442
6. STERRY Adam (GBR) p.384