hold off a charging Jonass
who eventually made the
pass halfway through the
moto. The second moto
was much easier for the
Latvian champion, getting
out front early and pulling
a comfortable gap over
second place.
That second-place rider
was Husqvarna's Thomas
Kjer Olsen who showed
that he is still very much
a contender this season
by going 3-2 for second
overall. The Danish rider is
known for his solid results
but perhaps needs to add
a bit of raw speed if he is
to keep Jonass within sight
as the championship pro-
gresses. Still, he leaves
Argentina in a good position and
that is the most important thing
after the first round.
Unfortunately American
Thomas Covington didn't get off
to the best start, only manag-
ing 14 points after a pre-season
that was cut short by injury. The
American rider showed at the
end of 2017 that he was one of
the fastest in the class and he'll
be hoping to get back to that
form as he rides the next few
European rounds.
Instead it was Darian Sanayei
who was the best USA rider,
leading the first moto for a
couple of laps before eventually
pulling off with a split fuel line.
In the second race, Sanayei
once again showed how much
he loves this Patagonia track by
placing third for the best finish of
his MX2 career.
The last step of the podium
did eventually go to Hunter Law-
rence after he just beat a thor-
oughly impressive Ben Watson
by one point. The young British
rider is on board the Kemea
Yamaha for this season and he
looked really good on his first
outing, going 4-4 and proving al-
ready why the factory-supported
team was smart to pick him up.
Rounding out the top five was
another Australian Jed Beaton
who put in two consistent motos
(something a lot of other riders
struggled to do in the MX2 class)
for 27 points.
Now the series heads back to
Europe and the sandy Valken-
swaard track in a fortnight's time
where hopefully temperatures
will have warmed up slightly
from the snow that a lot of teams
escaped as they jetted down to
South America.
David Bulmer
MXGP
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 2-1
2. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 1-2
3. Clement Desalle (Kaw) 3-3
4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (Yam) 5-4
5. Romain Febvre (Yam) 4-5
MX2
1. Pauls Jonass (KTM) 1-1
2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (Hus) 3-2
3. Hunter Lawrence (Hon) 2-6
4. Ben Watson (Yam) 4-4
5. Jed Beaton (Kaw) 7-8
IN
THE
WIND
P44
Defending MX2 champ Pauls Jonass won both MX2 motos.
