PRADO LEADS MXGP AFTER ROUND 1

The opening round of the 2023 Motocross World Championship headed to Villa La Angostura in Argentina for the Grand Prix of Patagonia-Argentina and got stuck in to the season opener in front of a capacity crowd . The Spanish-speaking fans would have left Villa La Angostura with massive smiles – with GasGas rider Jorge Prado giving the passionate crowd exactly what they wanted . Prado won the qualification heat on Saturday and ten points were added to his tally , so he had a red plate bolted to his MC450F for the second day of ontrack action . Prado was absolutely dominant in the first moto , as he took the holeshot and recorded the fastest lap of the race on his way to the chequered flag . The Spanish racer crossed the line with a comfortable lead of than four seconds . The second moto was a different story for Prado , as he was placed in the thick of the ontrack battles for the duration and eventually walked away with a sixth . However , his dominance earlier in the race weekend ensured that Prado walked away from Argentina with enough points to take the championship lead . Honda ’ s Ruben Fernandez , who took Moto2 , sits just two points behind Prado in the standings with Kawasaki ’ s Romain Febvre rounding out the top three racers at the end of Round 1 . “ I think that I need to be happy , after winning the qualification heat yesterday and the first moto today ,” Prado said . “ The second moto was not perfect , but I am very happy about my riding . I am happy ! I am really happy that the next race is in sand because I feel great on my MC450F in those conditions too . Hopefully we can extend our gap in the championship .” There ’ s a short break in the Grand Prix calendar , with the second round , the Grand Prix of Sardegna , revving into action on March 25-26 .