Maxxis-sponsored Max Anstie was able to capitalise on a holeshot, win a moto and walk the MX2 podium by going 8-1 across the hard-pack of Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany and the tenth MXGP meeting of the season for the Monster Energy Dixon Racing Team Kawasaki crew. 32,000 fans entered the ‘sunken’ circuit – surrounded by steep spectator banking areas and littered with tight off-cambered turns and short climbs and drops – as the 2015 campaign entered the second half of the calendar with a trip to one of the traditional venues on the GP trail.
Anstie came through a practice and qualification programme on Saturday with a promising sixth position on his works KX250F and had a decent pick of slots in the wide gate that leads down to a fast left-hand first curve. The 2014 GP of Belgium winner threaded through the corner submerged in the pack for the opening moto on Sunday run under cloudy skies but in higher temperatures compared to the autumnal conditions felt on Saturday.
‘99’ attacked the first corner in the first moto but had to cope with the hectic position-swapping and incidents of the opening lap ‘brawl’. Max was just inside the top twenty passing the chequered flag for the second circulation and then started an effective route through to a satisfactory eighth.
Anstie got it right in the second moto. A perfectly executed holeshot and then some faultless laps on his Maxxis tyres pulled him clear of first race winner Tim Gajser and he opened the margin to around six seconds at one stage. A total of 38 points and the ‘25’ from the second race was enough for the second step of the box. The upshot of his efforts at Teutschenthal means that Max has accumulated 248 points for the season and now sits eighth in the MX2 table with eight Grand Prix and sixteen motos still to go.
Max Anstie:“This is something we have been working on; putting ourselves in a good position. There are some really fast guys in MX2 and there is a great group of riders that we are racing against. If you don’t get out of the gate then life is difficult. We have been there or thereabouts [for the podium] for a while. I was riding around thinking ‘I am not going to let them get me in the last two laps like I did at Matterley’! I actually started having fun out there and it was a complete turnaround from the first moto where I was way-off in the start. Onto the British Championship now and racing every weekend is keeping me on my toes. This result is nice for the team, we have really worked hard and I know Steve, Ben, Jordy and everyone have pushed for this. Hopefully we can keep the ball rolling and see where we can go.”
Steve Dixon, Team Principal:“A first win and podium with Kawasaki which is good. It was great to have a race where we can show what the bike can do: holeshot and win. It was shame Herlings was not there but Gajser won the first race and wanted the second but couldn’t do anything to catch Max. Fair play to Max; to get out in the lead then it’s easier! We said during the week that the second half of the season would be a turning point and we need to push. We had some new parts for the bike this week and obviously we’d had an issue with the valves that were too brittle. We have the new ones now and we can unleash the power!”
The fifth round of the Maxxis British Championship will take place next weekend at Blaxhall in Suffolk and will be the next fixture for Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki as Anstie continues his charge on the MX2 national series. He is currently just eight points behind Steven Lenoir but has not dropped out of the two for the last nine motos. The team will then move across the North Sea to Uddevalla for the Grand Prix of Sweden in the first week of July.
