A busy first Grand Prix of Sweden since 2019 ensured that the FIM MXGP World Championship made a positive return to the Uddevalla circuit and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tom Vialle took his KTM 250 SX-F to 1st and 2nd in bright conditions.
One of the strong, traditional homes of MXGP Grand Prix motocross made a welcome comeback to the world championship schedule as the MXGP and MX2 teams ‘rediscovered’ the narrow and hard-packed Uddevalla circuit, north of Gothenburg. For Red Bull KTM’s Tom Vialle round fifteen of eighteen meant a return to the venue where he clinched his very first GP win as an MX2 rookie in 2019.
On Saturday Vialle ran to a reasonably comfortable 2nd position in the Qualification Heat, ensuring the same pick of gates for Sunday’s motos. In race one the Frenchman was able to build a sizeable lead over Geerts and remain largely error-free to log his thirteenth checkered flag of the campaign. The title rivals swapped places in the second race and after Vialle had briefly slipped out of 2nd while chasing Simon Laengenfelder. #28 pushed hard to try and pass Geerts in the last two laps once the duo had dropped the German but could not relegate the Belgian.
Geerts walked the top step of the podium thanks to his second moto win, even though both riders tied on 47 points. The numerical stalemate means Vialle still trails Geerts by just 23 points with three Grands Prix and six motos to go. Liam Everts guided his DIGA Procross KTM to 10th place overall with results of 8-10.
MXGP next heads to Hyvinkää for the first Grand Prix of Finland since 2014.
Tom Vialle, 1st and 2nd for 2nd overall in MX2: “I felt good all weekend on the track and the first moto was going great. I could control the gap and had five-six seconds ahead of Jago but it was my turn to make a mistake in the second one and I had to work to catch both of them: Jago and Simon. The track was tough to pass and we were pushing; the speed was high. I didn’t find a spot to overtake. I’m a bit disappointed because I would have liked to have won the GP but the points remain the same. It’s only 23 and it’s not much. Any mistake can count a lot but all I can do it my own race in the GPs to come and see what happens.”
Results MX2 Sweden 2022
1. Jago Geerts (BEL), Yamaha, 2-1
2. Tom Vialle (FRA), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 1-2
3. Simon Laegenfelder (GER), GASGAS, 4-3
4. Kevin Horgmo (NOR), Husqvarna, 3-5
5. Mikkel Haarup (DEN), Husqvarna, 5-8
10. Liam Everts (BEL), KTM, 8-10
Standings MX2 2022 after 15 of 18 rounds
1. Jago Geerts, 637 points
2. Tom Vialle, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 614
3. Simon Laengenfelder, 507
4. Kevin Horgmo, 446
5. Thibault Benistant, 405