Monster Energy Triumph Racing’s Mikkel Haarup has placed a fine second overall at round 12 of the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship. The exceptional result is a career-best finish for the Dane and the TF 250-X, and with Camden McLellan placing seventh overall, the MXGP of Lombok was a certainly a fruitful one for all involved in the MX2 racing program.
One week on from a largely successful first visit to the Lombok race track for MXGP round 11, Monster Energy Triumph Racing returned to find a revised circuit that ran in the opposite direction. Both riders adapted quickly, and in the MX2 Qualifying Race, Haarup placed fifth with McLellan 14th.
Haarup took advantage of starting fifth in race one and comfortably held his position until he was passed by Andrea Adamo. Adamo then fell, gifting fifth back to the Dane who then passed Sacha Coenen one lap later to move into fourth. With the leaders building up a sizable gap at the front of the field, Haarup maintained his strong pace despite the humid conditions to secure fourth.
In race two, Haarup once again started up front and soon engaged in an intense battle for the top five positions. The 22-year-old bided his time in sixth and when Adamo and Liam Everts collided, he moved up to fourth. A hard charge then began with Haarup moving championship leader Kay de Wolf aside to slot into third on lap seven before pushing past Simon Langenfelder for second two laps later.
Adamo then demoted Haarup to third on the penultimate lap and at the time, off of the overall podium until Langenfelder fell just metres from the finish, losing a position and two crucial points. With the dust settled following an epic conclusion to race two, Haarup was rewarded with a hard-fought runner-up result and retains sixth in the MX2 World Championship standings.
Continuing to rebuild himself after returning to action last weekend, Camden McLellan once again impressed with his speed, fitness, and consistency in Indonesia. Not quite able to enjoy the same starts as his teammate, McLellan dug deep in the sweltering conditions for eighth in both races. Camden remains 13th in the championship with eight rounds to go.
Following a very positive and rewarding trip to Indonesia for two back-to-back rounds of racing, Monster Energy Triumph Racing will now return to Europe. Up next on the calendar is a staple event on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar – the MXGP of Czech Republic on July 20-21.
Mikkel Haarup: “That’s the second round in Indonesia done and it feels great to be back on the podium! I battled hard for every position in both motos to go 4-3 for third overall so yeah, it’s been a great trip for myself and the team. The team did an amazing job with the bikes, and everything went perfectly so I want to say a huge thanks to everyone involved and now we look forward to heading home before the next GP.”
Camden McLellan: “This weekend was another building one for me and it went pretty well. Saturday was a bit tough with a crash though, and then my starts today weren’t the best. But it’s been a solid weekend and physically I felt strong. It’s nice to be back at the races with the team and I’m really enjoying being back out there competing. Now we’ll head home, continue to put the work in, and focus on the next GP in Loket. That’s one of my favourite tracks so I’m really excited to head there with the team in two weeks.”
Vincent Bereni – Monster Energy Triumph Racing Team Manager: “The two rounds in Lombok have been quite challenging for the team, the riders, and the bikes, but we’ve been able to secure great results. For Mikkel to be back on the podium is really good and we’re getting closer to that first win. It’s a really positive result for the team and the atmosphere among the team throughout this trip has been exceptional. For Camden, it’s not easy to come back to racing after missing seven weeks as the pace is so high, so his seventh overall is kind of like a win. He’ll keep working hard and building and he did a great job today.”
Results – MXGP of Lombok
MX2 Race 1
1. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 33:56.609
2. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 34:00.882
3. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 34:01.705
4. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 34:08.638
5. Liam Everts (KTM) 34:16.998
6. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 34:50.066
8. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 35:05.435
MX2 Race 2
1. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 34:51.702
2. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 34:56.612
3. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 34:57.360
4. Liam Everts (KTM) 35:10.815
5. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 35:17.717
6. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:50.147
8. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 35:59.823
MX2 Overall
1. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 50pts
2. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 38pts
3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 38pts
4. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 37pts
5. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35pts
6. Liam Everts (KTM) 34pts
7. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 26pts
MX2 World Championship Standings
1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 576pts
2. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 527pts
3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 509pts
4. Liam Everts (KTM) 471pts
5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 455pts
6. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 399pts
13. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 179pts