Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee began another triple header on Sunday, as the 16th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship (and the first of three races at the same venue) was run alongside the mountains at Pietramurata. The Grand Prix of Trentino did not include fans, following a surge of COVID-19 cases across Europe.
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Conrad Mewse finished the 16th round as the best-placed rider on Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee machinery, despite the fact that he is still building up after that illness just over a week ago. A sixth in moto one was a great effort, especially after starting down in 12th, and meant that valuable momentum was carried into the second moto. A poor start and small crash hindered Mewse in that stint, but he still salvaged a 16th for 11th overall on the day. Eighth is still the spot that he occupies in the championship standings with two rounds to go.
Bas Vaessen continued to have some poor luck, but still showed some impressive speed on the hard pack. Vaessen bounced back from a crash on lap one to finish 19th in the first moto – a strong effort on a layout that most struggle to make passes on – and then recorded an 11th in the second moto. 15th was the spot that he occupied in the overall classification at the Grand Prix of Trentino. The 12 points that were gained helped him edge closer to the rider in 14th in the championship standings as well.
Adam Sterry had a positive day, despite the fact that the results column does not quite reflect that. A strong start in the first moto was ruined by a first-lap incident, then another crash forced him to retire with a bent bike. Sterry then returned to salvage an 18th in the second moto, despite a poor start and small fall, which put him in 19th overall on the day. 27th is the position that he still occupies in the championship standings.
Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee will strive to build on the positives when the 2020 FIM Motocross World Championship returns to Trentino later this week. The 17th round of the 18-round series will be run on Wednesday.
Conrad Mewse: “I was happy to charge up to sixth in the first moto, especially after the difficult week at Lommel. A small crash did not help in the second moto, and I have just been struggling with weakness after being ill for two weeks, but I still put some more points on the board and ended up 16th in that one. There are some positives to take from the day, so we will take those into Wednesday and continue to move forward.”
Bas Vaessen: “Today was kind of a whirlwind again. I had a bad start in the first moto, then crashed in the third corner and had bent bars. I came through the pack again and fought back to 19th – it is very hard to pass on this track. I had a bit of a better start in the second moto and finished in 11th. I had a good feeling and was fighting all moto, so that was good. It is very close and hard to pass here. Hopefully we can get better starts on Wednesday, then it should be good.”
Adam Sterry: “If you look at the results then it just looks like another round for me, but the riding today was definitely positive. The improvements that we made and the way that I felt was a step in the right direction too. There were a few small mistakes and things I could not help that stopped that from showing on paper, but we get another chance to improve on Wednesday.”
