Is Brian Bogers finally the real deal?
By Edward Stratmann on 18th Mar 22
Looking confident and comfortable on his Husqvarna FC 450, Brian Bogers was one of the standout performers in round two of the MXGP at Mantova on his way to claiming his best-ever finish in the elite class.
Following on from his solid 10th overall at round one, where he went 7-12, the Dutchman clearly relished riding the sand of Mantova, a track where he's enjoyed previous success in MX2 by podiuming back in 2016.
Starting the weekend in good fashion by coming home sixth in the qualifying race on Saturday, this served as an ideal precursor for what was to come on Sunday.
Getting out of the gate smartly in the opening moto, Bogers put himself in a strong position to battle with many of the premier riders in the top class. Getting by Glenn Coldenhoff five minutes in and riding as high as fourth for a good chunk of the moto, it was brilliant seeing him showcase his talent.
The final 10 minutes saw him engage in a captivating battle with the hard-charging Jeremy Seewer, where he impressively held his own for many laps, before ultimately getting passed by the Swiss star. Despite dropping down to seventh late on after Ruben Fernandez and Thomas Kjer Olsen got by, there was plenty to admire about his effort.
Grabbing a wicked start for the second race too, Bogers emerged from a frantic first few minutes to slot into second behind Tim Gajser. Although Maxime Renaux passed him five minutes in, Bogers displayed fine speed and consistency to keep putting in the fast laps to stay ahead of the onrushing Olsen and Jorge Prado (before he crashed) to earn a deserved third-place finish.
Securing a hard-fought fourth overall and one of only nine riders to register a lap time in the 1.57s on the day, he justifiably cut a content figure when speaking after the race. "I was really motivated today," he gleamed.
"I had a good start in the first moto and moved to fourth, but then I started to struggle a little bit. I finished seventh. I felt a lot better in the second moto and had another good start. I settled into third quite quickly and stayed there for the whole moto. I was really happy with that third. I missed the overall podium by five points, but hopefully we can get on there in the future."
Having entered the 2022 campaign in outstanding form by winning a moto and securing third overall at the Hawkstone International, obtaining third overall at Lacapelle Marival and achieving a second behind Jeffrey Herlings in Spain, these preseason exploits have clearly held him in good stead to come out firing.
The 25-year-old from Eindhoven also excelled at last weekend's opening round of the Dutch Masters of Motocross. With second overall, sandwiched between home-crowd favourites Calvin Vlaanderen and Glenn Coldenhoff, Bogers looked assured on the Arnhem circuit.
While changing to Husqvarna from GASGAS, a key ingredient towards his success has been remaining under the Standing Construct awning, who have taken over Husqvarna's Factory effort, allowing him to feel a sense of familiarity and continuity.
Content with his working environment under team manager Tim Mathys, and knowing what an excellent job they do with the bike, all the stars are aligning nicely for the classy Bogers.
Currently sitting fifth in the standings heading into round three in Argentina, there's every reason to suggest the flying Dutchman will keep up his promising start to the crusade for the first flyaway trip on the calendar.
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