• Seewer gives Ducati its first world championship podium in MXGP in Switzerland
• The Swiss rider claims third in his home Grand Prix with the Desmo450 MX
A historic day in Switzerland for Ducati Corse Off Road and the Aruba Racing - Ducati Factory MX Team, as they celebrated their first-ever podium finish in the FIM Motocross MXGP World Championship. Swiss rider Jeremy Seewer, the 30-year-old from Bülach - just 30 kilometres from the Frauenfeld track - secured third place overall at the MXGP Grand Prix of Switzerland, the sixth round of the championship held across Saturday and Monday.
After finishing sixth in Saturday's qualifying race, Jeremy made a strong start in race one, crossing the line in second place on the opening lap and ultimately securing seventh by the end of the first moto. Meanwhile, Alessandro Lupino, despite a challenging start and setup issues, battled his way into the points in the final laps to eventually take the chequered flag in 19th after recovering several positions.
Onto the second race, and Seewer got off to an excellent start to enter the first corner in the lead. However, he was pushed wide and narrowly missed out on the holeshot. Moments later, he was struck by a flying stone, which caused him to lose feeling in his leg. The painful incident dropped him down to eighth. Then, in the case of Lupino, he was caught up in a crash at the start and was forced to restart from the very back of the pack.
Even though the moto got off to a rough start for the Ducati riders, they crucially didn’t lose heart. Regaining their rhythm, they began climbing through the field lap after lap. Jeremy fought his way up to fourth - just shy of a podium finish - but, driven by the roar of his home crowd and a sensational final lap, he surged into third. With that heroic charge, he delivered the first-ever podium for the Borgo Panigale company in just their sixth Grand Prix appearance in motocross history.
Further back, Alessandro also delivered a solid performance. The Italian rider, who will return next Sunday to compete in the Italian Prestige MX2 Championship aboard the Desmo250 MX, steadily climbed through the field to finish 15th, earning another six championship points.
In the championship standings, Seewer now moves up to ninth ahead of the next round, which will take place in two weeks at the Agueda circuit in Portugal.
Jeremy Seewer: "It’s insane - Ducati’s first podium is huge! We worked so hard, starting from zero, and these guys have reached such a high level. It’s amazing! And to do it here at home, my first MXGP podium on Swiss soil, with all these fans and in this beautiful weather - I think it’s the best day of my life! The second moto didn’t start well for me. I got hit by a rock in the leg and lost all feeling for over a lap, so I dropped back, but then the race came to me. I’m so happy, and I want to thank everyone at Ducati!"
Alessandro Lupino: "Overall, it was a pretty positive weekend for me. I got the call on Tuesday evening and only had my first test on the bike Wednesday morning, riding with Mattia’s setup. On Saturday, I struggled a bit since I wasn’t fully familiar with the bike, but I made big improvements and was happy to show some good speed. I don’t think the results reflect what I was capable of - mainly due to a setup mistake in race one. In race two, I went down at the start, but I found a good rhythm and fought my way back. The bike has improved a lot, and I’m really happy for Jeremy and his first podium with Ducati. It was special to be part of another historic moment for the team. Now, we shift our focus to Montevarchi."
