Over the weekend the Grand Prix of Turkey, the eighteenth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship 2024, took place at the Afyonkarahisar circuit, located about two hundred and fifty kilometres from the capital Ankara and characterised by a hard and packed ground.
Ivo Monticelli started the weekend by setting the 17th fastest time in Saturday’s time trials. Despite a poor start, Ivo managed to recover several positions in qualifying, finishing 15th. In the first heat he started quite well and finished in 13th position with a good pace. In the second heat he did not manage to do as well at the gate but still kept a good pace and finished in the points zone, 17th. Monticelli earned 12 points in the two races, which allowed him to finish 15th overall for the day.
Ivo Monticelli:
‘On Saturday the feeling with the bike and the track was good and I set good times in practice. Unfortunately, I didn’t get off to a great start in qualifying, but the pace was good and I recovered to 15th position. On Sunday in the first heat I made a better start and in the second half of the race I lapped really fast. Until a few laps from the finish I was in 11th position but in the final I was overtaken by Herlings and Guadagnini and finished 13th. In the second one I did not start well and finished only 17th. The track was very hard and there were very few good lines. In these conditions it was very difficult to overtake. Overall the weekend was positive for me, because I showed that I have the speed to aim for the top ten. Now we will return home to prepare for the final round in Spain at the end of the month.’
At the end of September the MRT Racing Team Beta Factory will take to the track in Spain for the final round of the FIM Motocross World Championship 2024, the Grand Prix of Castilla la Mancha, which will be hosted at the unseen Còzar Motor Ranch track.
