It was a wet, wild, and mostly positive day for GASGAS Factory Racing at the FIM Motocross of Nations, with Isak Gifting claiming third overall in the MX2 class! Participating in the prestigious event for the very first time, the super Swede, who’s been on form in recent weeks, overcame a crash and horrendous weather conditions to secure the final step on the overall MX2 podium. For Simon Langenfelder, it was a challenging day at the office as the German battled through the heavy conditions to secure an eighth overall MX2 class result.
Isak Gifting: “It was definitely a muddy one today! But I got stuck in and came out with third overall so I’m really happy with my result. My riding was good all weekend and my bike worked perfectly in the tough conditions so that’s a credit to the DIGA Procross team. I crashed in race one, which put me down the field so that was a little frustrating, but in these conditions it’s easy to make mistakes. It’s been a great weekend for me besides that crash so I’m hoping to keep this momentum up as we head back to the MX2 World Championship next weekend.”
Making his Motocross of Nations debut for Team Sweden, Isak Gifting brought his impressive mid-season form and speed to Mantova to place an excellent third overall in the MX2 class. Starting well in the mixed capacity opening race of the day, Isak was up front in 10th position before moving into ninth on lap five. Disaster then struck just a few laps later with the Swede crashing and dropping down the leaderboard to 16th. Not a racer to settle for position, Isak got on the gas and ultimately ended the moto in 14th place.
Another strong start in race two saw Gifting well placed inside the top-10 early on as the rain continued to fall. On lap four the 20-year-old moved into eighth place and by clicking off consistent, trouble-free laps for the remainder of the moto, he maintained his position, bringing his MC 250F home in eighth, and as the third MX2 rider to cross the finish line.
Frustratingly for Simon Langenfelder, who represented Team Germany, the luckless 17-year-old suffered from mid-pack starts in both of his races. In moto one, a spirited charge saw the German battle valiantly through the pack with no goggles from 24th on lap one, to ultimately secure 16th place.
Hoping for a much-improved race two, Langenfelder was again down field following the gate drop and fought his way through the roost and rain to secure 24th place in the moto. After two challenging races, Simon placed eighth overall in the MX2 class.
Simon Langenfelder: “With the weather conditions I knew it was going to be a tough day, but I don’t mind riding when it’s difficult like it was today. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the greatest of starts in either race and in race one I had to take my goggles off, which made it even more difficult. It was fine when I wasn’t around anyone, but I knew I had to make passes so when I caught up with a rider, I’d have to put in a big effort to pass them quickly. Overall, it was an honor to race for Team Germany again and now I’m looking forward to my home GP next weekend.”
Simon and Isak will next be in competitive action at round 11 of the MX2 World Championship, round 11 of the series on October 3, at the MXGP of Germany.
Results – 2021 FIM Motocross of Nations
Race 1 (MXGP + MX2)
1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Husqvarna)
2. Tom Vialle (KTM)
3. Ben Watson (Yamaha)
14. Isak Gifting (GASGAS)
16. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS)
Race 2 (MX2 + OPEN)
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM)
2. Valentin Guillod (Yamaha)
3. Rene Hofer (KTM)
8. Isak Gifting (GASGAS)
24. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS)
Race 3 (MXGP + OPEN)
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM)
2. Antonio Cairoli (KTM)
3. Glenn Coldenhoff (Yamaha)
Overall
1. Team Italy
2. Team The Netherlands
3. Team Great Britain
11. Team Germany
19. Team Sweden