MXGP of Australia
- The first full season of the Desmo450 MX in MXGP concluded in Australia on a high
- Mattia Guadagnini finishes top 10 in Darwin, Jeremy Seewer finishes top 10 in the championship
The final round of the FIM Motocross World Championship took place this weekend at Darwin’s Hidden Valley track. This is part of the local motorsport complex. Located between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, the Northern Territory welcomed the MXGP circus with high temperatures. There were also typical early southern spring conditions. These shifted on Sunday with the arrival of rain.
After securing third in Saturday’s qualifying race, Mattia Guadagnini got off to a strong start. He immediately placed himself in the top five on a circuit in excellent condition. Jeremy Seewer, who qualified 13th, struggled early and found himself near the back.
The Italian had a superb race, battling with the leaders for large chunks.
He eventually claimed seventh at the chequered flag. The Swiss rider, who crashed on the final lap and lost a position, also delivered a solid performance. He finished 12th after a valiant comeback that saw him get close to the top ten.
Due to a heavy storm during the second MX2 bout, race direction cancelled the second moto of the premier-class Australian Grand Prix. They validated the first race result as the final event overall.
This concludes the first full season of the Ducati Desmo450 MX in the MXGP World Championship. It brought the Borgo Panigale manufacturer its first-ever podiums. These were thanks to two third-place finishes by Seewer in Switzerland and France. Along with other striking results, this season included two top-fives by Guadagnini in the Argentine and European Grands Prix and a seventh by Antonio Cairoli in Great Britain.
Now, after 20 Grands Prix, the last two of which were held overseas, the Aruba.it – Ducati Factory MX Team will head to the United States. Here, the Motocross of Nations will take place in two weeks. It will feature Cairoli with the Italian national team and Seewer with the Swiss national team.
Mattia Guadagnini:
“My adventure with Ducati is over, and I’m happy it ended with a positive result. Yesterday’s qualifying went really well, with a good start and an excellent race. Today we only had one race due to the rain, but we made the most of it, with a good start. I was fifth for most of the race, but towards the end I dropped the pace a bit and lost two positions. I thank everyone at Ducati and the Aruba.it – Ducati Factory MX Team. It’s been a difficult year at times, but I’m happy and have no regrets.”
Jeremy Seewer:
“We did some improvements this weekend. I struggled a lot on Saturday morning and in timed practice. But then for the qualifying race, we found something which helped a lot, and I could ride quite okay. The result didn’t really show it, but my riding was good. And today, in the first moto, I was nearly last on the start because I got squeezed, tangled and nearly crashed. And then I had a good fight back to P11. Then a little mistake cost me and I finished 12th. But I had a good pace. If I got a start, I would say finishing seventh or eighth could be possible, and that’s already a step from where we come from. I take the positives but unfortunately, the weather didn’t help for moto two, but cancelling the race was the only decision.”