In its first year at this level of motocross, the Triumph brand has excelled, even at the ultimate level, at the weekend’s annual “Olympic Games of Motocross”.
Danish rider Mikkel Haarup placed a hard-fought fourth overall in the MX2 class at the 2024 FIM Motocross of Nations in Great Britain at the weekend.
Haarup had earlier finished a remarkable 5th overall in the MX2 world championships that wrapped up in Spain in late September.
But, competing for Team Denmark aboard his Monster Energy Triumph Racing TF 250-X machine in England at the weekend, Haarup narrowly missed out on a top-three finish by two points, while fellow Triumph rider Camden McLellan, racing for Team South Africa, placed 11th in MX2 despite crashing out of race two.
Matterley Basin, in Great Britain, hosted the 77th edition of the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, and it was an absolute ripper of an event.
Heavy rain in the lead-up to the race resulted in a technical race track, with intermittent drizzle adding to the challenge on Sunday.
As the event marked a home race for Triumph, it added even more prestige for the brand and the Monster Energy Triumph Racing team, who travelled to the UK to compete for the first time.
As the lead rider for Team Denmark, Haarup was eager to impress. In the MX2 qualifying heat, he placed eighth, and with his Team Denmark team-mates Mads Fredsoe and Nicolai Skovbjerg also delivering strong results in their races, the Danish team went through to the main races.
The opening race on Sunday saw the MX2 and MXGP classes combined. From a mid-pack start, Haarup reached as high as 15th before a fall dropped him down to 25th.
With plenty of time left on the clock, the Dane began carving his way through the pack, passing rivals on both 250cc and 450cc machinery to reach 13th by race end and classify as the third MX2 class rider. An exceptional result given his early race incident.
In race two, Haarup was up against the Open Class riders who primarily were on 450cc machines.
After a good jump off the start grate, Haarup got caught up in a first turn crash and was fortunate to escape unscathed. Rejoining the race in near last position, the 23-year-old then delivered what may well be his best performance of the year.
Even with another small crash on lap two, Mikkel charged from 30th, passing riders on almost every lap, to finish 10th, nearly making the pass for ninth in the final turn.
Frustratingly, despite his exceptional effort, Haarup just missed out on an MX2 class podium in fourth. Team Denmark would ultimately place 11th overall.
Competing for Team South Africa, McLellan, like his Motocross World Championships team-mate Haarup, was focused on ending the season on a positive note.
Sixth in the MX2 qualifying heat set the tone for a strong weekend, however the points-paying races weren’t quite so fruitful for the talented racer.
Forced to stop for goggles due to the rain that fell in race one resulted in a 16th-place finish for McLellan, while in race two, as he was closing in on the top 10, he crashed heavily and damaged his bike too badly to continue.
With his strong result from race one, the South African placed 11th overall in MX2 with his team placing 18th in the final classification.
With the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations complete, it brings to a close an incredible debut season for Monster Energy Triumph Racing.
From the highs of overall podium results by both riders to an unfortunate mid-season injury for Camden, the year can be underlined as a success.
Nations Classifications – Top 10:
1. Australia 26pts, 2. USA 29 pts, 3. The Netherlands 36pts, 4. Spain 45pts, 5. France 50pts, 6. Germany 62pts, 7. Slovenia 67pts, 8. Italy 70pts, 9. Switzerland 86pts, 10. Latvia 103pts.
Photo courtesy Triumph
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