To celebrate the team’s home GP, Fantic lined up in a one-off livery at the MXGP of Flanders. In the deep sand of Lommel, Jörgen-Matthias Talviku made his Fantic debut alongside Brent Van doninck. In front of an impressive home crowd, the Belgian finished 14th overall.
An epic crowd of over 40,000 fans, glorious sunshine and a brutal track: Lommel is always special, and even more so for the Fantic Factory Racing MXGP squad led by none other than Jacky Martens, with the team based only a stone’s throw from the legendary sand track, arguably the toughest test in the world.
To celebrate the occasion, Brent Van doninck and his new teammate, Jörgen-Matthias Talviku, hit the track sporting a one-off livery inspired by the Belgian colours. In between sessions, friends and partners gathered at the team’s special hospitality for a unique GP experience.
Home rider Brent Van doninck arrived motivated after a season-best race finish in Loket, but the weekend quickly turned out to be more complicated than expected after a tricky Saturday. A few too many mistakes and crashes, and the resulting DNF in the qualifying race, forced him to the outside gate on Sunday. In race 1, he fought his way back to 15th place, while he crossed the line in 16th in race 2, securing 14th overall.
Called up to replace the injured Alberto Forato, Jörgen-Matthias Talviku kicked off his fill-in stint aboard the factory Fantic XXF 450 with a solid 14th place in Saturday’s qualifying race. Despite having spent only limited time on the bike, he proved that the potential is there. However, the results in Sunday’s races did not fully reflect it yet, partly due to a crash at the start of race 2. He finished 19th and 18th in the two races, ending the weekend 20th overall.
A weekend off before the MXGP of Sweden will allow the riders and the team to continue their work ahead of round 15 of the FIM Motocross World Championship.
Brent Van doninck:
“Lommel is always a special GP. We had the livery in the Belgian colours and a lot of support from friends and family, and of course I really wanted another good result after Loket. Unfortunately, things didn’t go our way. It was a difficult weekend from the start. I had too many crashes on Saturday and, on Sunday, I just felt like I had no energy and couldn’t do any more. We need to put this GP behind us. It is good that we have a week off after the demanding triple-header to rest, reset and come back stronger for Sweden.”
Jörgen-Matthias Talviku:
“It’s been a busy few days! On Sunday, I had to battle hard with myself. In these heavy conditions, I am not yet fully confident on a bike that is still pretty new to me. Results-wise, I am definitely not satisfied, but I try not to be too hard on myself either. We did what we could in such a short time, and now I am just looking forward to getting some more time on the bike and becoming more and more comfortable. Once again, thank you to Fantic and the team for this amazing opportunity.”
