Monster Energy Triumph Racing travelled to Shanghai in China for the 19th round of the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship, and it proved a very successful trip with Mikkel Haarup placing fourth and Camden McLellan close behind in sixth.
The racing format was changed for the penultimate round as extreme weather was forecast for the planned race day of Monday, September 16. This meant that a one-day schedule was introduced with the usual Qualifying Race to determine gate position replaced with a Time Practice session to seed the riders onto the start gate. Mikkel, who was celebrating his 23rd birthday today, went fifth-fastest with Camden eighth.
A mid-pack start for Haarup in the opening moto saw him just inside the top 10 at the end of the first lap. The Dane was into eighth a lap later and held that position until mid-race, when he put on a charge to move into sixth, before making a solid, last-lap pass on Andrea Adamo to ultimately secure fifth.
Haarup’s start in race two was much better than his first as he settled into sixth for the first half of the moto. He then moved into fifth when McLellan fell and then passed Karlis Reisulis for fourth with five laps remaining. Charging to the end, Mikkel placed fourth for fourth overall and extends his margin over sixth in the series standings with just one round to go.
For Camden, it was a bittersweet day of racing in China. After banging bars with a few rivals shortly after the gate dropped for race one, he had to back off and exited the first turn near the back of the field. After a spirited charge he was up into seventh, but by this time the top six were too far out of reach to make a challenge and he’d cross the line in seventh.
A great start in the second moto saw Camden at the front of the pack and he quickly passed eventual GP winner Lucas Coenen on lap two, then held him off for half of the race until he fell. The fall dropped McLellan downfield to eighth and with the high heat beginning to take its toll, he maintained his pace to finish eighth for sixth overall. With only one GP remaining, Camden remains ninth in the championship standings.
The final round of the 2024 season takes place in Spain over the weekend of September 28-29 at the MXGP of Castilla la Mancha, with both Mikkel and Camden focused on maintaining their championship positions.
Mikkel Haarup: “That’s the weekend in China wrapped up and it turned out to be a short one because of the weather forecast. But with the team, we made the best out of it and finished fourth overall. I was battling inside the top five in both races and finished fifth and fourth so that was pretty solid. Now we head back to our base in Europe and then it’s on to Spain for the final round.”
Camden McLellan: “It’s been a bit of a tough day for me here in China. I struggled a little bit early on as we didn’t have our normal Saturday practice sessions but by race time, I felt good on the bike. Down the start straight in race one I banged bars with a few guys and was pretty much dead last. It was pretty chaotic trying to make passes but I worked my way up to seventh and found some space on the track. In the second one I had a great start, passed Lucas Coenen, and the race was going really well. Then I slid out and fell, and the heat hit me hard as I was getting up. I got going and finished eighth, for sixth overall, so it wasn’t a too bad end to the day.”
Vincent Bereni – Monster Energy Triumph Racing Team Manager: “Round 19 is now done and it’s been a special GP with the location and also the schedule change. With two back-to-back races it was tough on the mechanics and the riders, especially with the weather, but everyone adapted well. Race one was good for both riders and then in the second one, Camden battled with the best riders in the class, which is really encouraging. Mikkel again just missed out on the podium but collected good points for the championship and also the manufacturer’s championship for Triumph.’
Results – MXGP of China
MX2 Race 1
1. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 34:14.906
2. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 34:20.160
3. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 34:23.684
4. Liam Everts (KTM) 34:25.560
5. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 34:28.472
6. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 34:29.121
7. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 34:50.345
MX2 Race 2
1. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 35:06.258
2. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 35:11.846
3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 35:20.578
4. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 35:25.816
5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 35:31.099
6. Thibault Benistant (Yamaha) 35:31.574
8. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 35:59.392
MX2 Overall
1. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 50pts
2. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 42pts
3. Simon Langenfelder) 42pts
4. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 34pts
5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 31pts
6. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 27pts
MX2 World Championship Standings
1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 915pts
2. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 879pts
3. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 811pts
4. Liam Everts (KTM) 749pts
5. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 658pts
6. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 632pts
9. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 395pts
Words by Triumph – Images by Ray Archer
