After five years the FIM Motocross World Championship was back in Frauenfeld, in the Swiss Confederation, for the Swiss Grand Prix, the third round of the season. The new circuit, built not far from the previous one, is characterised by a hard surface marked by deep and treacherous canals.
An excellent performance for Ben Watson (Beta RX450) who, after finishing the qualifying session in nineteenth position, achieved two good results in the two races. The Englishman started in the middle of the group in the first race but managed to make a comeback to finish close to the top ten, eleventh. Ben was then able to take tenth position in the final race, after another excellent comeback. Watson finished ninth overall for the race day and ranks thirteenth in the Championship.
Alessandro Lupino (Beta RX450) also defended himself well on the demanding Swiss track. Thirteenth in the time trial, the rider from Viterbo started among the first in qualifying and remained in the top ten for a long time. In the final a slight physical drop made him lose a few positions, finishing fifteenth. In the titled races Alessandro was always the author of good starts that allowed him to close the heats in fifteenth and eleventh position. In the standings of the day, he finished thirteenth, Lupino is seventeenth in the MXGP championship.
Next weekend the Beta MRT Racing Team will be busy at Arco in the Grand Prix of Trentino, the fourth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship 2023.
Ben Watson: “In time trials I had a good feeling with the bike but I was not satisfied with my lap times. In the qualifying race I didn’t get a good start and found myself among the last ones. I made up a lot of positions, but with a couple of crashes I couldn’t do better than nineteenth overall. In the titled heats I tried to get good starts, but here too I found myself chasing. In Race 1 I tried my best and finished eleventh. The feeling was good, and I knew that if I could get a better start I could play for a better result. In Race 2 I made a slightly better start and climbed up to tenth position, finishing ninth overall for the day. A good result that motivates me a lot to work to be even more competitive in the next races.”
Alessandro Lupino: “It was quite a positive weekend for me, even though in the first race I unfortunately did not manage to make the most of my excellent start. Physically I am still not 100% and when my arms started to harden, I was not able to defend myself from the attacks of the rivals. In Race 2 instead I really enjoyed myself, my pace was good and the bike, both in terms of suspension and engine, has grown a lot. To get to top form I think I still need a few more race weekends, but I am convinced that my results will improve further.”
