JWR Honda Racing Team News - MXGP Of Germany
Round 8 - MXGP of Germany - FIM Motocross World Championship
Our supported MXGP team - JWR Honda Racing and rider Alvin Östlund, competed at the MXGP of Germany in Teutschenthal last weekend. Teutschenthal is renowned for its hard pack and steep hills. Weather conditions coming into the weekend were far from stable, which provided a real challenge for the mechanics preparing Östlund's CRF 450R for each race, due to the highly varying soil softness because of the short, heavy patches of rainfall etc. The whole weekend was a mixture of hot, dry spells and thunderstorms! 
The weather was very unsettled the whole weekend in Teutschenthal. Ph. Niklas Hampinen
MXGP Practice & Qualifying Race - Sat 1st June
Saturday turned into a day of adjustments. During practice, Östlund never felt that comfortable on the bike, only recording the 26th fastest time. Based on his feedback to the mechanics, a good bike set was found, helping Östlund become much more comfortable on the CRF 450R. He was able to go P18 in the Qualifying Race and gave him much more confidence for Sundays races. Click here to see Alvin Östlund practicing his starts at Teutschenthal.
The Qualifying Race was dry with Östlund claiming P18. Ph. Niklas Hampinen
MXGP Race 1 - Sun 2nd June
After a morning of thunder, the crowds arrived in big numbers before race 1. Östlund felt great but unfortunately got a poor start, forcing him to work his way through the field from the back of the pack. With some aggressive moves and a fast pace, he came home in P18.
Big crowds rolled in on the Sunday for the MXGP races. Ph. Niklas Hampinen
MXGP Race 2 - Sun 2nd June
Östlund nailed his start in race 2, quite the opposite compared to race 1 and found himself in the top 10 and then running at a steady pace in P10 for the majority of the race. With 10 minutes to go however, he unfortunately made a mistake and crashed, dropping him down to P18. Östlund fought back hard however, and clawed back a few places to finish with P15. This meant P17 Overall for the weekend and 9 more World Championship points. This gives the whole team a lot of confidence heading to Kegums, Latvia, next weekend for Round 9, where again the track will be hard pack. Congrats to Östlund and the whole of JWR Honda Racing for a solid weekend in Germany!
JWR Honda Racing's Alvin Östlund #161 got a great start in Race 2 MXGP of Germany. Ph. Niklas Hampinen
2024 MXGP of Germany - Who were the MXGP Class Top 5?
1. #1 Jorge Prado, GasGas
2. #243 Tim Gajser, Honda
3. #84 Jeffrey Herlings, KTM
4. #10 Calvin Vlaanderen, Yamaha
5. #259 Glenn Coldenhoff, Fantic
2024 MXGP of Germany - Who were the MX 2 Class Top 5?
1. #96 Lucas Coenen, Husqvarna
2. #74 Kay de Wolf, Husqvarna
3. #516 Simon Längenfelder, GasGas
4. #80 Andrea Adamo, KTM
5. #44 Rick Elzinga, Yamaha
Which other classes were racing at the 2024 MXGP of Germany, Teutschenthal?
WMX (FIM Women's Motocross World Championship). German Honda rider Larissa Papenmeier won her home GP to the delight of her home fans. Yamaha's young Dutch sensation Lotte Van Drunen currently leads the 2024 WMX Championship after coming P3 overall in Teutschenthal.
EMX250 (FIM European Motocross Championship open to rider's under the of age 21 competing on a 250cc two stroke or four stroke). Italian GasGas rider Valerio Lata won both races for maximum points in Teutschenthal. Kawasaki's Mathis Valin currently leads that Championship after coming P2 in Teutschenthal.
What's the MX track like in Teutschenthal?
Teutschenthal is classified as a hard pack track. It is a Championship track, used all year round and is know as Talkessel to the Germans. It was first opened in 1966 and has a total length of 1565 metres which features 7 jumps amongst the renowned uphill and downhill sections.
Other Supported MX Rider News
Our supported junior motocross rider Ollie Hain was competing in the ScotMX Championship at Coupar Angus at the weekend. Hain competes in the Auto Class on a GasGas MC 50. This weekend was a double header with a bit of a different format than usual.
Round 2 - ScotMX - Sat 1st June
The organisers tried a different format for the day to mix it up a bit. On Friday night, there was a group track walk with Stuart Flockart, the main man behind the club. The Saturday consisted of 20mins Qualifying, Races 1 and 2 were 9 mins + 1 lap and Race 3 was a 3 lap sprint. They also put the 50's and 65's together for a bigger group as numbers were low in both classes, but were still separate for standings. Ollie gave an account of his Saturday:
"Qualifying wasn't great, I seemed to get myself a little confused between practice laps and qualifying? Was around 8-10 secs down on my main competitors times, however still managed a 2nd place time in the autos. For gate picks we alternated with the 65's from fastest to slowest in each class, so got 4th pick".
Ollie Hain ready before a start at Coupar Angus, ScotMX Champs
"Race 1 - not a great start, nearly got taken out so had to shut off. Was sitting 6th in the combined class, for which I pretty much stayed rode well and fairly consistent. Not quite attacking enough, however some areas better than last time. Finished 2nd in auto's".
"Race 2 - lost traction off the gate and was around 6th/7th around the starting corners however picked off a couple got up to 5th place in which I stayed for the duration, consistent times again and wasn't as far back from our leader. Rode better in corners. Finished p2"
"Race 3 - much better start and was 4th position. After the first corner there is a long straight followed by a tight 's' bend. I spun out in the deep ruts! I wasn't able to get the bike back up as there was a stream of bikes coming at me from all angles. Eventually dad got to me and the bike had cut out. Felt like it took ages to get it going again. I was dead last in 11th place and had to work hard to catch the rest. Knowing I only had 3 laps this time I had to push. With in the first lap, I was back up to 8th then 7th on lap 2. Putting in the fastest auto times. Final lap got caught behind a 65, he was quick with the power on the straights but I had him on the corners. The last lap was 3 seconds slower! So frustratingly finished in 7th, and 2nd place in my auto class".
Hain in race action on his GasGas MC 50
"Was a great day's racing, weather was hot and sunny, we've not had weather like this for a long time! So reminded me to keep hydrated and cool through the day. Overall happy with how things went but again, so many learning points to take away. Proved again to myself and everyone I am capable when I put my mind to it. Enjoyed being in with the 65's as it was another group to help push me on. Got overall 2nd".
Round 3 - ScotMX - Sun 2nd June
This round was back to the normal running order, but the 50's were still lining up with the 65's. Qualifying went a lot better this time! Hain knocked around 5 seconds off his fastest time the day before and was P2 with 4th gate pick again. Ollie gave an account of his Sunday:
"Race 1 - went the opposite side of the gates this time to try it out, was quick out the gate but seemed to lose speed around the corner and out. Pace just wasn't there and blipping the throttle again. Last lap, I disappeared! I hit a boulder that caused me to flip off. It was a blind corner and mum and dad couldn't see me. Eventually dad found me at the top trying to start my bike myself but was struggling. He got me going and I finished 8th, 2nd in auto's. Luckily I had the extra lap over the other autos so my position wasn't affected. Lack of concentration was the cause, and I was ok".
Hain ready for the Sunday at Coupar Angus, ScotMX
"Race 2 - start was ok, around 5th until coming out the first corner. I was pushed wide and hit the soft deep stuff and it sent me flying over the bars! I managed to get up and get back on, just before dad got to me. Playing catch up again. Was sitting 12th out of 13 after the crash and within 1st lap I was back up to 9th, lap 2 into 8th. Stayed there for the rest of the race. Pace wasn't quite there again but got it round to finish 2nd in our class".
"Race 3 - 5th around the corner but sat in 8th the whole race. Doddled round and managed to stay on the bike this time. Finished 2nd in our class. I was down on times, and tiredness looked like it was kicking in".
"It was our first 'double' race weekend this season and it was a lot hotter than it has been here. Safe to say it was a struggle. It wasn't my weekend, lots more learning done but also flashes of parts where I did really well. I need to focus on not draining too much energy between races, eating and drinking well and listening to mum and dad! Went all the 2's for a 2nd overall".
Well done to Ollie from all of us at AS3 Performance.
