Mikkel Haarup & Triumph Racing narrowly miss podium at MXGP Round 11 in Lombok
Monster Energy Triumph Racing’s Mikkel Haarup has secured an excellent fourth place overall, tying on points with the third-place rider, at the MXGP of West Nusa Tenggara, thanks to his third-place finish in the first race and fifth in the second moto. Returning to action in Indonesia following an early-season injury was Camden McLellan. Showing no signs of taking time off, the South African was excited to be back racing and placed an impressive eighth overall.
With many rounds of the 2024 FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship affected by heavy rain so far this year, the trip to Indonesia for two back-to-back events brought sunny skies and high humidity. Both Monster Energy Triumph Racing riders acclimatised well to deliver strong results in Lombok.
Shortly after the gate dropped for race one, Mikkel Haarup was running up front and engaged in a close battle at the head of the field. The Dane moved from third into second when Simon Langenfelder fell on lap eight, and he then closed in on the race leader, Kay de Wolf. When de Wolf made a mistake, Haarup almost took the lead but shadowed the championship leader until the last lap, when a small crash dropped Mikkel to third.
For race two, the Lombok race track was watered heavily, and just like in the opening moto, Haarup was battling with the early leaders. After advancing to fourth on lap five, the 22-year-old showed his fitness and determination to move into third on the penultimate lap for a position that would have guaranteed a place on the overall podium. Frustratingly, the tricky circuit conditions caught Mikkel out on the final lap and he ultimately crossed the line in fifth for fourth overall. With 11 rounds complete, Haarup remains sixth in the MX2 World Championship standings.
Returning to competition on his TF 250-X in Indonesia, Camden McLellan wasted no time in re-establishing himself as a frontrunner in MX2. Following a strong start in race one, McLellan held seventh until the penultimate lap and crossed the finish line in eighth. With his ninth-place finish in race two, Camden claimed eighth overall, and despite missing six rounds, he lies 13th in the series standings.
The Monster Energy Triumph Racing duo return to action next weekend for the second of two rounds to be held in Lombok. From there, the MX2 World Championship returns to Europe and the MXGP of Czech Republic on July 20-21.
Mikkel Haarup: “That’s the first of two races here in Indonesia done and it’s been a pretty good start. Yesterday, because of the high humidity, I was a little conservative with my riding as I wanted to save myself for today. In both races it was a battle to the end and in race one I finished third, and quite close to second so that was good. In the second race I gave it everything I had, but a small mistake cost me a place on the podium, so that was, of course, frustrating. Overall, I felt good on the bike and my speed was good too, so I’m super-excited for next weekend.”
Camden McLellan: “It’s great to be back racing with the team. The plan for this weekend was to build throughout, and I feel like I did that. I put two solid motos in today and I can be happy with my results. I have a few small things to work on, but there has also been a lot of positives too, so I’m now looking forward to next weekend.”
Results – MXGP of West Nusa Tenggara
MX2 Race 1
1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:10.052
2. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 35:12.690
3. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 35:21.730
4. Liam Everts (KTM) 35:29.833
5. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 35:33.371
6. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 35:46.258
8. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 36:06.549
MX2 Race 2
1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:20.858
2. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 35:21.603
3. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 35:42.273
4. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 35:46.626
5. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 35:57.129
6. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 35:58.908
9. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 36:06.549
MX2 Overall
1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 50pts
2. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 42pts
3. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 36pts
4. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 36pts
5. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 34pts
6. Liam Everts (KTM) 32pts
8. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 25pts
MX2 World Championship Standings
1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 532pts
2. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 467pts
3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 463pts
4. Liam Everts (KTM) 432pts
5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 417pts
6. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 355pts
13. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 153pts
