Haarup made a lightening start from his outside gate in race one to immediately move into the top ten and by the second lap he was involved in a titanic duel for seventh, a position he made secure until his rear wheel jumped out of a run in a long right-hander. Despite losing two positions in the incident he determinedly recovered to eighth at the finish. Again gating well in race two the Dane was quickly on the move from an initial eleventh with a series of impressive moves to take over seventh by lap five. Relentlessly closing down the leaders he missed the top six in the moto by less than a second but his efforts over both races were enough to clinch sixth overall on the day.
Mikkel Haarup: “We made a few mistakes yesterday but we made some good changes to the set-up from Saturday to Sunday and even though I had to start from the complete outside Steve’s bike got me to the first turn in the top ten. I had two good races; I had some good battles and really went for it. I like the track here: it’s really technical with nice ruts. I moved my base back home to Denmark this year; I feel I can train and prepare best there and I can relax better on my free days, while Steve can focus on the bike without me irritating him. I’m really happy with the partnership and it’s working well. Sixth is a good start to the season and I feel that was just the beginning; I have more in me. “
Round 2 kicks off this weekend 5th - 6th March at MXGP of Lombardia, Italy. Lets see what Haarup can pull together as he battles it out in MX2.
Streaming Live at MXGP-TV.COM (See schedule for local times)
Follow Haarup through the season on his Instagram.
Words & Photos: Kawasaki Europe
