Thomas Kjer Olsen from Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing achieved an excellent third place overall in the MXGP class at the FIM Motocross of Nations with his outstanding result of the season so far. Inspired by an impressive victory in race one, Kjer Olsen fought his way back from a couple of crashes in Moto two and secured his place on the MXGP overall podium. For Arminas Jasikonis, two consistent placements brought the Lithuanian an impressive fifth place overall in the open class.
The 74th edition of the FIM Motocross of Nations took place on the Mantova circuit in Italy. Heavy rain made for incredibly tough racing conditions. The track’s sandy top layer covers a hard, slippery surface which, when it rained, formed a treacherous race surface for all participants during the three mixed-capacity races.
With two MX2 GP victories 12 months ago, Thomas Kjer Olsen clearly knows the fast way on the racetrack and delivered one of the outstanding drives at the event. Kjer Olsen started for Team Denmark in fifth in the combined MXGP and MX2 class before taking the lead on lap five. From there, he fought off several challenges from Tom Vialle and secured an impressive win in race one.
Frustratingly, the 24-year-old’s hope of a repeat success in his second race on the first lap was dashed when a fall left him with a lot of work. When he was almost the last to rise again and made important passes during the 30-minute-plus-two-lap race, Thomas made the decisive leap to 13th place in the closing stages of the race to secure his place on the MXGP overall podium to secure.
Arminas Jasikonis, who represented the Lithuania team, started in the Open Class and brought his FC 450 home in a strong ninth place in both of his races, despite his fight against Armpump.
In Moto 2 and with the worst track conditions, Jasikonis took 14th place and thus secured fifth place overall in the Open class. The just 24-year-old made a significant contribution to his country’s best result so far at the FIM Motocross of Nations, with the small country of Lithuania finishing 13th overall.
During the overall results there was much impressive performance from drivers on Husqvarna Motorcycles’ FC machines, with notable results from Evgeny Bobryshev and Karlis Sabulis.
Bobryshev, who competed for Team MFR, achieved a very commendable second place overall in the Open class, while the fast-starting Sabulis secured fifth place overall in the hotly contested MXGP division for Team Latvia.
Thomas Kjer Olsen and Arminas Jasikonis from Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing will compete in the 11th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the MXGP of Germany, on October 3rd.
Thomas Kjer Olsen: “It was an incredible feeling to win the first race today. I got off to a great start, then found some good lines and started working my way up. A couple of times Tom Vialle got close, but I just felt really strong on the bike today and stopped him for the win. I was very confident of another strong result in my second race, but a couple of crashes set me back in the field and in these conditions in the back field it makes it really difficult. But I got through quite well and was third overall in my class and this weekend gave me a lot of confidence for the remaining World Championship races. “
Arminas Jasiconis: “Today was not an easy day, that’s for sure. I struggled a little with the arm pump and that affected my results. It was not easy to fight for positions in midfield with so many drivers and the rain, it was just a difficult day. On the positive side, it was the best overall result for Team Lithuania in the Motocross of Nations, that’s good. But for myself I’m a little disappointed. “
Download high resolution images of the FIM Motocross of Nations here.
Results – 2021 FIM Motocross of Nations
Race 1 (MXGP + MX2)
1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Husqvarna) 35: 32: 712, 17 laps; 2. Tom Vialle (KTM) 35: 34: 188; 3. Ben Watson (Yamaha) 35: 37: 463; 10. Karlis Sabulis (Husqvarna) 36: 40: 464
Race 2 (MX2 + OPEN)
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 34: 33: 811, 16 laps; 2. Valentin Guillod (Yamaha) 35:22: 928; 3. Rene Hofer (KTM) 35: 24: 274 … 9. Arminas Jasikonis (Husqvarna) 36: 19: 280; 10 Evgeny Bobryshev (Husqvarna) 36: 29: 951
Race 3 (MXGP + OPEN)
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 36: 25: 997, 17 laps; 2. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 37:21:477; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (Yamaha) 37: 29: 940 … 13. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Husqvarna) 36:37: 710, 16 laps; 14. Arminas Jasikonis (Husqvarna) 36:37: 710
total
1st team Italy 37 pts., 2nd team Netherlands 38, 3rd team Great Britain 39… 10th team Denmark 84, 13th team Lithuania 110
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