It’s time for the Gotland Grand National 2.0 to get blue on top! Yamaha Motor Scandinavia is bringing a heavy line-up of riders this year, MXGP star Isak Gifting, newly signed Håkon Fredriksen and last year’s bronze medalist Andre Högberg! Jens Byggmark is also back and is also a mentor for his brother Jon.

Team YRC High Performance Stine Håkon’s boyfriend, Håkon Fredriksen, Dad Thomas and Kjetil Gundersen are in the parking lot to serve Håkon during the race, this year a little earlier to be best prepared to present when it counts. Håkon Fredriksen is 22 years old and lives in Skui in Bærum. Håkon started motocrossing when he was 3 years old and has been completely immersed in motorsport ever since. Håkon has a total of 12 NM gold, 1 gold and a silver in the Nordic, 1 silver and 1 bronze in the European Championships, so here we are talking about a young number with high capacity.
The last 4 years have been challenging after a fracture in both wrists in 2021 at the same time. That was just the start of the problems for Håkon in 2022, when he broke his neck in 3 places and his arm in 5. This was a major injury and Håkon had to operate his arm 3 times due to infections. Håkon returned to cycling in the late summer of 2023 and raced in the Team World Championships. There he was unlucky once again, got his leg on the ground and broke his leg.
Håkon got back on the bike in December, this time for a new team. Håkon trained well and was ready for the 2024 season, but when it started his body didn’t cooperate. After several blood tests and consultations, the doctors found out that he had had mono, for the second time. It took a long time for Håkon to recover and he hasn’t been able to ride much until the last month. Finally back on the Yamaha and together with team YRC, things now feel very good. Håkon manages his own training schedule, which makes it easier for him to know what his body can actually handle and how much he can push it
Håkon has had a very good month of cycling and training ahead of the Gotland Grand National, which takes place this coming weekend. This is the world’s largest motorcycle race and with a driving time of 3 hours in the forest, it will be an exciting and cool challenge that he is looking forward to.

This year’s race is on a completely new course, so no one has the advantage of being familiar with the course. That’s why it’s important to be well prepared.

På2hjul.no wishes Håkon and the team the best of luck.

(Ole-Andreas Isdahl)