PROGRESS FOR HAARUP AT ROUND TWO OF INTERNAZIONALI D’ITALIA MX

Haarup entered the second round of the Internazionali d’ Italia MX looking to continue his preparations ahead of his coming season of international motocross competition. Battling through an early mistake in his first moto, the young Dane battled hard and made several important passes to earn a seventh-place result.

With his FC 250 machine powering the Dane to an impressive holeshot in the combined MX2/MX1 moto, Mikkel enjoyed a strong and consistent pace throughout the moto to wrap up the weekend with a fifth-place result. Haarup was the second placed 250F mounted rider in the combined final moto.

Suffering with sore leg muscles following his crash at the Internazionali d’ Italia MX season opener, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Arminas Jasikonis opted to sit out the second round of the series and instead focus on his training ahead of the MXGP World Championship.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing riders will return to action on February 10 for the third round of the Internazionali d’ Italia MX in Mantova

Mikkel Haarup: “I had a good weekend of racing here in Italy and I am confident with my speed at the moment. I put in a decent time during Qualifying and despite the difficult track conditions. In the MX2 class moto I managed to get a good start inside the top 10 but a few laps later a small mistake dropped me to 15th place. I pushed hard to come back and managed to finish seventh in the moto. In the Supercampione final I got the holeshot against the 450s and that felt really great. I had a good pace throughout the race and finished fifth. I was also the second MX2 class rider in that moto. Every race is a step forward for me and it feels good to be battling with the best MX2 class riders in the world. The season has just started and I’m looking forward to the races to come.”

Antti Pyrhönen – Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing MXGP team manager: “Mikkel has made some very good progress this weekend. In the first moto he battled through an early mistake and it was good to see him push hard until the flag drop. Then in the combined MX2/MX1 race he had a perfect start and kept battling to finish fifth. He’s working a lot and we’re happy to see his efforts pay off. As for Arminas, following his crash last week in Sardinia the muscle in his upper leg is a bit sore so we decided to skip this race and allow him to focus on his preparation for the World Championship. Arminas was out training this weekend and he will be back next week at the final round of the Internazionali.”

Download high-res images from round two of the Internazionali d’ Italia MX here.

Results – Internazionali d’Italia Motocross 2019, Round 2

MX2
1. Jorge Prado (KTM) 13 laps, 25:40.336; 2. Calvin Vlaanderen (Honda) 25:47.447; 3. Maxime Renaux (Yamaha) 25:49.694… 7. Mikkel Haarup (Husqvarna) 26:29.539; 8. Davy Pootjes (Husqvarna) 26:33.551… 12. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) 26:56.674… 14. Alberto Forato (Husqvarna) 27:14.007

Supercampione
1. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 13 laps, 24:20.449; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 24:24.086; 3. Jorge Prado (KTM) 25:16.246… 5. Mikkel Haarup (Husqvarna) 25:23.938… 14. Tanel Leok (Husqvarna) 12 laps, 23:58.273… 19. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) 25:01.857… 26. Alberto Forato (Husqvarna) 10 laps, 20:02.282; 27. Johannes Nermann (Husqvarna) 22:15.252; 29. Matiss Karro (Husqvarna) 19:17.011

Championship Standings (After Rnd2)

MX2
1. Jorge Prado (KTM) 240pts; 2. Mikkel Haarup (Husqvarna) 150; 3. Michele Cervellin (Yamaha) 125… 6. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) 112… 11. Alberto Forato (Husqvarna) 64… 29. Raf Meuwissen (Husqvarna) 23

Supercampione
1. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 240pts; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 200; 3. Jorge Prado (KTM) 160… 6. Mikkel Haarup (Husqvarna) 88… 9. Tanel Leok (Husqvarna) 73… 15. Mattia Guadagnini (Husqvarna) 48… 17. Matiss Karro (Husqvarna) 44… 21. Johannes Nermann (Husqvarna) 33… 35. Raf Meuwissen (Husqvarna) 17… 40. Gianmarco Cenerelli (Husqvarna) 14