Prado wins Argentina's World Cup opener

VIn a convincing (1-2) score, world champion Jorge Prado won the GP of Argentina. The 23-year-old Spaniard won ahead of Romain Febvre (2-3) and Tim Gajser (5-1).

Just like last season, reigning MXGP world champion Jorge Prado (Red Bull GasGas) got off to a flying start in Argentina. He won easily ahead of Romain Febvre and Pauls Jonass.

Prado seemed to take the holeshot but Renaux was the early leader for Febvre in a hectic opening phase. After the first official round, the Spanish GasGas star still led the field.

Both yesterday during the qualifying race and in the first MX2 race we saw how treacherous the track in Villa La Angostura is. Tim Gajser was now the first top player to be surprised. Two consecutive mistakes knocked the five-time world champion back from 5th to 13th. While Febvre easily beat Renaux for second place, Herlings also made a mistake, in exactly the same place as Gajser a few laps earlier!

Jonass (photo above) also passed Renaux and the Standing Construct Honda rider steamed to a brilliant third place. Polesitter Gajser came back very strong. Although Coldenhoff (photo below) resisted for a long time, he eventually had to give up. The Slovenian and the Dutchman finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Jeffrey Herlings had to settle for P8 ahead of fellow countryman Calvin Vlaanderen. Lars Van Berkel, wearing Argentinian colors for the occasion, delighted the home fans with an 18th place. The decisive second heat starts at 20 p.m. our time.

“Tiga” from start to finish

The second holeshot was Tim Gajser's way. With Jonass, Prado and Febvre, the protagonists of the first race were all at the front. For a while it seemed that vice world champion Febvre would close the gap with Prado, but in the end the positions at the top of the race remained unchanged.

Leader Gajser (photo above) was impressive as in his best days. At the finish, the HRC Honda Slovenian had almost a 10,5 second bonus over Prado.

Apart from Febvre's early passage over the already strong Pauls Jonass, there were no position changes in the top 5. All riders were clearly on their toes on the treacherous Villa La Angostura circuit. Seewer rode to his best result of the day in his Kawasaki debut. The sympathetic Swiss leaves Argentina sixth in the final standings.

After an early fall, Maxime Renaux pulled off the race comeback. The Frenchman was knocked back from a top-5 place in the initial phase to 14th place. Ultimately, the ex-MX2 world champion limited the damage with a P6. The fact that Jeffrey Herlings (photo above) left sixth place to Renaux said a lot about how 'the Bullet' assessed the risks. With 19th GPs to go, Jeffrey played it safe today. He leaves Patagonia in 8th.

In his Fantic debut, Glenn Coldenhoff scored an encouraging 7th place. This made him the best Dutchman. A regular Calvin Vlaanderen (photo below). finished 9th in the final standings.

MXGP rookie Kevin Horgmo (SR Honda) caught the spotlight with an excellent 10th place. The Argentinian GP was a tough one for Belgian fans. After all, both Jago Geerts and Brent Van Doninck were injured yesterday during the qualifying race. Geerts injured his shoulder and collarbone. Van Doninck broke his femur and will now undergo surgery in Argentina on Wednesday or Thursday.

The second GP of the season will take place in Lugo, Spain in two weeks. On Jorge Prado's home track, all eyes will once again be on number one. In any case, at the start of this World Championship it became clear that his American Supercross adventure had no negative side effects on his form level.

MXGP Race 1

1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), 34:15.890; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:09.547; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Honda), +0:15.247; 4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:21.332; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:21.707; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:28.697; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:30.189; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:45.718; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:48.468; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, Beta), +0:53.000; 11. Valentine Guillod (SUI, Honda), +1:03.122; 12. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1:04.583; 13. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, Beta), +1:13.354; 14. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, KTM), +1:33.647; 15. No Banner (SLO, KTM), +1:41.238; 16. Isaac Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +1:52.163; 17. Miguel Cordovez (ECU, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 18. Lars van Berkel (NED, Honda), -1 lap(s); 19. Nicolas Rolando (URU, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 20. Sergio Ignacio Villaronga Muga (CHI, Honda), -1 lap(s); 21. Andres Benenaula (ECU, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 22. Fabio Aparecido dos Santos (BRA, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 23. Flavio Nicolas Sastre (ARG, Honda), -2 lap(s); 24. Emiliano Ezequiel Castillo (ARG, Husqvarna), -2 lap(s); 25. Lucas Sendon (ARG, Honda), -3 lap(s); 26. Ezequiel Suarez Gallo (ARG, Husqvarna), -5 lap(s); 27. Kevin Brumann (SUI, Husqvarna), -10 lap(s); 28. Joaquin Poli (ARG, Kawasaki), -18 lap(s);

MXGP Race 2

1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 34:28.502; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, GASGAS), +0:10.489; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.185; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, Honda), +0:23.521; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:26.891; 6. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:46.962; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:49.416; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Fantic), +0:56.995; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:59.796; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, Honda), +1:03.635; 11. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +1:16.925; 12. Ben Watson (GBR, Beta), +1:18.067; 13. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, Beta), +1:40.903; 14. No Banner (SLO, KTM), +1:49.010; 15. Isaac Gifting (SWE, Yamaha), +1:52.124; 16. Kevin Brumann (SUI, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 17. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 18. Fabio Appearance (BRA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 19. Lars van Berkel (NED, Honda), -1 lap(s); 20. Andres Benenaula (ECU, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 21. Nicolas Rolando (URU, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 22. Sergio Ignacio Villaronga Muga (CHI, Honda), -1 lap(s); 23. Flavio Nicolas Sastre (ARG, Honda), -2 lap(s); 24. Emiliano Ezequiel Castillo (ARG, Husqvarna), -3 lap(s); 25. Lucas Sendon (ARG, Honda), -3 lap(s); 26. Matias Joaquin Pavez Ramirez (CHI, GASGAS), -9 lap(s); 27. Ezequiel Suarez Gallo (ARG, Husqvarna), -9 lap(s); 28. Miguel Cordovez (ECU, Yamaha), -18 lap(s);

MXGP Argentina final standings

1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 47 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, COW), 42 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 41 p.; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 38 p.; 5. Maxim Renault (FRA, YAM), 33 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, COW), 30 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 28 p.; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 27 p.; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 24 p.; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 20 p.; 11. Valentine Guillod (SUI, HON), 20 p.; 12. Ben Watson (GBR, BET), 20 p.; 13. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, BET), 16 p.; 14. No Banner (SLO, KTM), 13 p.; 15. Isaac Gifting (SWE, YAM), 11 p.; 16. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, KTM), 11 p.; 17. Kevin Brumann (SUI, HUS), 5 p.; 18. Lars van Berkel (NED, HON), 5 p.; 19. Miguel Cordovez (ECU, YAM), 4 p.; 20. Fabio Aparecido dos Santos (BRA, YAM), 3 p.; 21. Nicolas Rolando (URU, HUS), 2 p.; 22. Andres Benenaula (ECU, KAW), 1 p.; 23. Sergio Ignacio Villaronga Muga (CHI, HON), 1 p.; 24. Flavio Nicolas Sastre (ARG, HON), 0 p.; 25. Emiliano Ezequiel Castillo (ARG, HUS), 0 p.; 26. Lucas Sendon (ARG, HON), 0 p.; 27. Matias Joaquin Pavez Ramirez (CHI, GAS), 0 p.; 28. Ezequiel Suarez Gallo (ARG, HUS), 0 p.; 29. Joaquin Poli (ARG, KAW), 0 p.; 30. Brent Van doninck (BEL, HON), 0 p.; 31. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 0 p.; 32. Josh Gilbert (GBR, KTM), 0 p.; 33. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 0 p.; 34. Victor Dario Arco (ARG, HUS), 0 p

Motocross World Championship standings after 1 round

1. Jorge Prado (ESP, GAS), 54 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, COW), 51 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 51 p.; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HON), 46 p.; 5. Maxim Renault (FRA, YAM), 39 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, COW), 34 p.; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 32 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, FAN), 28 p.; 9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 26 p.; 10. Valentine Guillod (SUI, HON), 21 p.; 11. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, HON), 20 p.; 12. Ben Watson (GBR, BET), 20 p.; 13. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, BET), 19 p.; 14. No Banner (SLO, KTM), 13 p.; 15. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, KTM), 11 p.; 16. Isaac Gifting (SWE, YAM), 11 p.; 17. Kevin Brumann (SUI, HUS), 5 p.; 18. Lars van Berkel (NED, HON), 5 p.; 19. Michael Cordovez (ECU, YAM), 4 p.; 20. Fabius Appearing Two Saints (BRA, YAM), 3 p.; 21. Nicholas Roland (WORD, HUS), 2 p.; 22. Andrew Benenaula (ECU, CAW), 1 p.; 23. Sergio Ignatius Villaronga Muga (CHI, HON), 1 p.;

Photos: ShotbyBavo, Fullspectrum, Ray Archer, MXGP