Jorge Prado and Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing kept a firm grip on the red plate at Sunday’s round of the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship, the Grand Prix of Trentino, thanks to a Grand Prix victory aboard his MC 450F. Prado’s GASGAS teammates, Mattia Guadagnini and Simon Langenfelder, got on the gas to secure impressive results on the hard-pack soil too.
The spectacular circuit of Pietramurata has been kind to Prado in years past and the latest edition of the race was no different. The first moto featured a dominant showing – he used the power within his MC 450F to take the holeshot and was unstoppable whilst racing to the moto win. Such an impressive ride set him up for a solid moto two and he executed well. ’61’ took third in that stint, which was more than enough for his first Grand Prix victory of the term. Seventeen points is his current advantage in the championship standings, so the red plate will remain attached to his Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing steed.
Jorge Prado: “I am super happy with the victory! I was struggling with the track a little bit, so to get a win was very important. I had two solid starts on my MC 450F. I could make a gap in the first moto, so I just managed the race. I tried to do the same in the second moto, without making mistakes, and finished third. I am really happy with this result.“
Finishing fifth overall at the Grand Prix of Trentino was a brilliant result for Mattia Guadagnini, but he was capable of more and showed podium speed on race day. Climbing to fourth was rather impressive in moto one and set the tone for the final stint. ‘101’ had a poor start in moto two, however, and too much of a deficit to overcome. A small crash did not help his case, but he was still able to salvage a tenth. 4-10 scores put him fifth on the day and helped him advance to eighth in the championship standings.
Simon Langenfelder was on top form from the moment that the Grand Prix started, as he raced to the victory in the qualification race on Saturday. Unfortunately, a mistake on the first lap of moto one meant that he had to climb from outside of the points. ‘516’ salvaged a ninth in that moto. The second moto was perfect, as he led every lap and took his first moto win of the season in a convincing fashion. Fourth overall was his final ranking, when that triumph was coupled with his ninth, which helped him jump to fifth in the championship standings.
Mattia Guadagnini: “The riding was so, so good today. I really believed that I had a chance to be on the Grand Prix podium. Fifth overall was really good, sure, but I am just a bit disappointed. I did not have the best start in moto one but did really well on lap one. The start was really bad in the second moto. I pushed so hard and made many, many good passes. I had a small crash around halfway through and finished tenth. This is a step forward, but I wanted a podium. I think it will come soon.“
Simon Langenfelder: “I am happy with my weekend at Pietramurata. I was very, very happy with my bike. It was unbelievable, just how well everything was working together. I think that was clear in the second moto. It was nice to get my first moto win of the season, so we’ll keep on building from here. I am really happy.“
Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing will assess everything that they have learned over the first four rounds and apply that on the upcoming weekend off, before returning to action at the next stop on the 2023 FIM Motocross World Championship schedule on April 30 — Portugal is their next destination.
MXGP – Standings 1. Jorge Prado (GASGAS) 201pts; 2. Maxime Renaux (Yamaha) 184pts; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 175pts.
