The spectacular Teutschenthal track hosted the German Grand Prix, the ninth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship 2023. The weekend was characterised by summery weather and a large crowd, which accompanied the riders throughout the entire race weekend.
Twenty-first in the time practice session, Ben Watson (Beta RX450) was able to recover in qualifying where he finished thirteenth behind team-mate Lupino. After finishing fourteenth in race one, Watson was the author of an excellent performance in the second race. Starting from seventh, he held sixth position for a long time. In the final he suffered the return of a couple of rivals, but managed to finish in eighth position. Ben thus obtained twelfth position, a couple of points from the top ten, in the overall standings of the day, and made up four positions in the championship standings.
Alessandro Lupino (Beta RX450) arrived in Germany not fully recovered from the hand injury suffered at Kegums, but in the time practices he set the eleventh fastest time. In qualifying Alessandro showed good speed which allowed him to finish twelfth. Lupino in race one managed to straighten out an unlucky start with a good comeback, finishing in thirteenth position. In the final stage he was unfortunately involved in a crash at the start and, with his bike damaged, was unable to finish the race.
After the Teutschenthal race, in a couple of weeks MRT Racing Team Beta will be busy in Indonesia for the Grand Prix of Sumbawa, the tenth round of the season and the first of two consecutive races to be held in the Asian country.
Ben Watson: “In practice I struggled to find a good suspension setting and only managed 21st fastest time. Despite not starting from a good position at the gate I got a good start but in the first corner I was practically knocked off the track. My bike was going really well though and I recovered, finishing thirteenth. In the first race I felt the heat and was not able to push as hard as usual. In the second heat I made a good start and held sixth position for a long time, finishing the race eighth, which is my best placing of the season. This is an unexpected result after the many unlucky heats in recent weeks, and despite the fact that I am still not in top condition. I hope to continue at this pace in the next rounds in Indonesia.”
Alessandro Lupino: “I arrived in Germany after a whole week in which I was unable to train on the bike due to the thumb injury I suffered last weekend in Latvia. I had to take painkillers to get on track and it was not at all easy to get through the race weekend. In qualifying I didn’t do too badly, while in the first race I made a wrong start but recovered to thirteenth position. In the second race I made a better start, but after a few metres I hit the bike of a fallen rider. The front rim and handlebars were out and, in those conditions, there was nothing left for me to do but retire.”
