Red Bull KTM Factory Racing fired up KTM SX-F engines for the first time this year as both Jorge Prado and new rookie recruit Mattia Guadagnini participated in the first round of the Internazionali D’Italia in Sardinia.
Prado guided his #61 KTM 450 SX-F to Pole Position and then a convincing victory in the MX1 moto in the Riola Sardo sand on the Italian island. The international event featured MXGP peers from at least four other rival factory teams and Prado defeated Glenn Coldenhoff and Thomas Kjer Olsen by less than four seconds to head the podium. In the second moto ‘Superfinal’ the 20-year old Spaniard rocketed to the front of the pack once more but elected to pull into the pitlane after feeling a small bike issue halfway through the race.
Mattia Guadagnini made his competitive debut on the KTM 250 SX-F and one of Italy’s brightest prospects rode to 4th in the MX2 outing. He then ranked 12th against the bigger machines in the Superfinal.
Jorge Prado: “It’s nice to be back and doing something different from training. The GPs are still quite far away but it’s nice to get up to speed and it was a good day here in Sardinia: 1st in qualifying and then a good start in the MX1 moto. It was handy to get those small nerves out of the way and those feelings that come with the first gatedrop of the season. I holeshotted again and was leading the second race but I felt something different on the bike and it was better to stop to get everything checked out. These races are good for exactly that; checking and testing! Overall it was a decent first race of 2021.”
Mattia Guadagnini: “My speed and feeling on the bike were really good today and that’s something to be happy about, even if the races didn’t quite go to plan. I felt a bit of pressure for my ‘debut’ so it was good to get that out of the way! I had two crashes today that stopped me finding a good rhythm but I’m OK, I learned from the motos and we’ll go again very soon!”
Photo Credit – Stefano Taglioni
