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MX2, Faenza, EMILIA ROMAGNA (ITA), 18 Août 2019

Henry Jacobi moves fourth in the world

F&H Racing Kawasaki's Henry Jacobi advanced to fourth in the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship after displaying perseverence on a tough day in the Italian GP at Imola.

The German was highly optimistic entering race day after securing an impressive second place in the previous day's Qualifying, but he suffered an immediate setback at the start of the first GP moto when he suffered wheelspin on the metal start-ramp and crashed twice in the early stages of the race as he endeavoured to make up quick passes. He then regrouped, posting solid lap times throughout the rest of the moto to claim eight vital points for thirteenth place at the finish. Determined to make amends in race two Henry quickly moved into the first six and, despite an awkward moment on lap four which temporarily cost him two places after stalling the engine in a turn, he rode a solid second half to finish sixth in the moto and eighth overall in the GP. More importantly the fifteen-point scoreline lifted him to fourth in the championship standings, just twenty-five points behind third with three GPs remaining.
 
Henry Jacobi: “It was a tough weekend for me as I had too much wheelspin at the start of the first race and then crashed twice so I had to work hard to come back to thirteenth. In the second race I got a better start but I stalled the bike and lost two positions; I was quickly back to sixth but then I couldn’t push further up the leaderboard as I had used so much energy in the first moto.”
 
Crashes proved costly for F&H teammate Adam Sterry in both races. The Welshman took two excellent starts but a first lap tumble in race one pushed him to the back of the pack before he stormed back to fifteenth despite one further slip three laps into the race which temporarily halted his charge. A further crash whilst seventh in race two left Adam with double vision but he remains sixth in the championship standings.
 
Darian Sanayei made a sensational start to the first race as he pushed his Bike It DRT Kawasaki into the lead past the world champion at the second corner to hold off all challenges for nearly two laps. On the next lap the rear brake was damaged when he touched with another rider but he showed great determination to continue to run top three for a further four laps before being forced to drop down the leaderboard. Two laps from the end, when still holding ninth place, he was eliminated when the rear wheel broke up under the strain. Initially twelfth in race two, the American worked forward methodically to eighth place at the finish. Brazilian teammate Gustavo Pessoa was rewarded for his persistence with nineteenth place in race two.
 
Darian Sanayei: "This weekend was pretty good, going fourth in timed practice and again fourth in the Qualifying race. Today I got a really good start in the first race; I was third, immediately passed into the lead and could stay there for a couple of laps. Unfortunately my rear brake was damaged on the third lap; after that I was just trying to do my best but then the rear wheel broke with two laps to go. My second start was not as good, around twelfth, but I gradually worked forward to finish eighth." 
 
Bud Racing Kawasaki's Brian Moreau was another to crash in both motos after holding seventh place in the early stages each time, while teammate Mitchell Harrison faced two tough races from poor starts outside the top twenty to eventually score five points from twentieth and seventeenth.