After a weekend break, the FIM Motocross World Championship 2025 resumed its journey from the Glimminge Motorstadion in Uddevalla, which hosted the Swedish Grand Prix, the sixteenth round of the twenty scheduled. With its sandy and compact surface, the Scandinavian track proved to be challenging and difficult.
Sixteenth at the end of timed practice, Ben Watson (Beta RX450) ended qualifying in nineteenth position. In the first heat, after a start in the middle of the group, the English rider started an excellent comeback that took him up to tenth position on lap six.
Unfortunately in a deep corner he hit the rear disc, slowing his race. Ben crossed the finish line in 21st position, just a whisker away from the points zone. Fate also marked race two with Watson forced to retire on lap six due to a broken chain.
Tom Koch (Beta RX450) started the Swedish weekend by setting the 20th fastest time in the time practice. Little luck in qualifying for the German. Only twenty-ninth after the start, he finished the race in twenty-fifth position. The fourteenth time in the warm-up had raised hopes for the title heats, but a hit to his right hand on the first lap of race one forced him to retire, which also ruined his chances of qualifying for race two.
Next weekend MRT Racing Team Beta Factory will be busy at Arnhem in the Grand Prix of the Netherlands, the seventeenth round of the season and the last race of the season on European soil before the grand finale with races in Turkey, China and Australia.
Ben Watson: “I started the GP with a good feeling even though I didn’t like the changes made to the track. I managed to make two good starts after a difficult qualifying session. In race one I drove very well and within a few laps I was up to tenth position. Later I had problems with the rear brake. Among a lot of difficulties I managed to get to the finish line but did not collect any points. In the second heat, I didn’t get off to the best start, but I rode well and recovered again until my chain broke.”
Tom Koch: “At the start of race one I made contact with another rider who damaged the bike and at the first corner I literally flew off the track landing on my right hand. The pain was really bad and didn’t allow me to go out on the track again. From the X-rays there doesn’t seem to be anything broken and I am confident about my participation in the next race.”
