| Mewse shows podium speed at Pietramurata 2 Conrad Mewse fired up his KTM 250 SX-F for another shot at success alongside the Italian Dolomites earlier today, as Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee leapt into the fifteenth event of the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship. The Grand Prix of Pietramurata was held on the same circuit as Sunday, as MXGP is currently working through an Italian triple header. Mewse was absolutely brilliant in the first moto. A ninth-place start was improved on immediately, as he jumped up to fifth by the end of the opening lap and then ran similar lap times to the leaders. Mewse was exceptionally quick in the first sector on the Pietramurata track – he set the fastest time of the race on that portion of the track multiple times. Conrad decided to use some alternative engine settings for this weekend, which unfortunately did not work and led to a premature end to such a fantastic ride. Confidence was gained from the fact that his raw speed was so competitive though.  Another brilliant start in moto two saw him run in the top five early on, but a fall on the first lap meant that another superb opportunity ended prematurely. Mewse took a while to remount, seeing as he was in such an awkward position, and jumped back into the race in dead last. An impressive charge begun at that point – he eventually made his way to twentieth to secure a single point. Finishing twenty-fifth overall was not a true representation of his speed and potential on the layout, but there is another opportunity to jump onto the podium this coming weekend. Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee will focus on the third and final Pietramurata event now. The Grand Prix of Garda, round sixteen, is going to be run on Sunday. The final chequered flag is rapidly approaching. Conrad Mewse: “I felt like myself again today. I felt amazing! I had two good starts, which I have been desperate for. It was unlucky in the first race and not the team’s fault. It was one of those things. I had another great start in the second one, in fifth, and went down on the first lap. I feel like today could have been a podium day, but I am just happy to feel like myself again. We still have three rounds left!” Roger Magee (Hitachi KTM fuelled by Milwaukee Team Owner): “Today started really well with Conrad setting P1 in free practice and P6 in time practice, which gave him an excellent opportunity for good starts in both motos. In moto one he made a better than ‘normal’ start and set a high intensity pace in P5 for most of the race close to eventual overall GP winner [Rene] Hofer until his bike suffered a technical problem, caused by engine settings that Conrad had personally chosen for this GP. He made another good start in moto two but fell on the opening lap and had to come from last to P20, which is no mean feat on such a difficult circuit with limited passing opportunities. The team will now prepare for this weekend’s GP at Arco di Trento where hopefully Conrad will again show the determination, intensity and speed that he had today and at Teutschenthal earlier this month.” |
