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MXGP Lommel - Rider Comments

MXGP Lommel - Rider Comments

Jul 29

  • News

The Dutch dominated the sand and it was Jeffrey Herlings and Kay De Wolf who walked away with the trophies as they showed that growing up in the sand is a lot easier than learning it later in life. Here are the rider comments from Lommel.

Jeffrey Herlings: “I really need to bring my starts. Once I get 1-2 good starts then it’s okay. If we can improve on them that could be great. I think once I can get top start we can always fight for first, second or third and that’s my goal. Still 6 race to go, we came from a long way. Even if I have one DNF, I’m only 36 points behind I believe so we’ll see. For now we’re just go race by race and let’s see where it will bring me”

Jorge Prado: “I mean it’s been a good weekend, yesterday winning the RAM Qualifying, and today twice second. I had a veery good speed all day long but at the end of the race the ‘bullet’ was coming and on such a heavy track I was struggling to keep the same flow the whole race. I did my best to try to beat Jeffrey (Herloings) but he was quicker today and I’m very happy with my second place. Good points for the championship too. Next round ids Sweden so see you guys there!

Romain Febvre: “I didn’t start well yesterday but we made some changes last night. Then physically I am not where I would like to be because it was always going to be a tough race. Somehow today I felt very good and simply plaedy with the track for 4-3 andto get back on the podium after only two GPs is amazing. I’m very happy. Just before I got injured we had made some changes to the settings on the bike for the hardpack, but we had no chance to test them in sand until this week and I just couldn't find my flow yesterday, so we made the conscious decision to return to our settings from the start of the season for today and it worked well. I got punched in the first turn in race one and had to come from far back for fourth, then in the second race I got a really good start but crashed just after the finish line on the second lap. I thought it would be tough after that but I immediately found the flow again and wasn't exhausted; even Jorge was not far away. I'm really happy to be back on the box after five weeks out; I did everything I could except riding whilst I was out injured, but when you jump back on the bike it is so physically demanding just to find the flow. And it is so much easier when you are not fighting the bike because you don't land in all of the holes."

Tim Gajser: It was tough to find the flow here this weekend and on a track like this, it made my life really difficult. In the end, fourth overall on a day that wasn’t my best, isn’t too bad, so I have to stay positive and focus on making sure that I do better in Sweden next time out. It will be a totally different challenge but we will work hard on making that happen.

Calvin Vlaanderen: This weekend was going really well until Race Two. In the first race, everything went to plan and I had a good start, kept the top two in sight and felt like I rode well for third. Then in Race Two, I tangled with someone in the first turn and then crashed at the end of lap one. I was coming through the pack well, re-passing riders I’d already passed, but then crashed again. This one bent my bars and moved my clutch lever down, and I crashed again not long after. By then I was way down the field, but I did what I could to score some points and finished up 12th. A tough weekend in the end, and now it’s on to Sweden.

Kay de Wolf: “It was a really positive weekend overall. The thing is, that each weekend we are trying to get as many points as possible, and preserve our position at the top of the championship. Sometimes that doesn't mean winning every single moto. I have to be critical also because the second moto wasn't good enough - I made too many mistakes, which shouldn't have happened - so I will for sure be working on that. I’m happy to finally win Lommel - I can’t thank the team enough, I think the timing is really great too. Having everyone here, just two minutes from the workshop, and with the news on Friday that Husqvarna is staying. Now we look ahead to Sweden in two weeks, and will keep pushing!”

Lucas Coenen: “It was definitely a challenging home race weekend, but Lommel always tests your limits. Despite some setbacks, we managed to push through. Every race is a lesson, and I'm determined to take what I've learned here to improve and come back even stronger for the next round in Sweden. A big thankyou to the team and fans for making it another huge MX weekend in Belgium!"

Rick Elzinga: “I honestly could cry from happiness now. You work so hard for this. Mentally it is hard and I had to get over it this season that is why I’m a bit emotional. It was a perfect moment to win but then there was a technical issue somewhere so I had to rode out until the end bring it home in 4th place in the second race. The all team put so much work into it and thank all the people behind me to believe in me. The last month or so has been really difficult for me on the mental side of things, and it’s taken a lot of work to get back up on the podium. The whole time, the team has believed in me, so I have to thank them for everything and it’s a team effort for sure. I was leading for a bit in Race Two but we had a small technical issue with the bike. I’ll be taking the positives from this weekend into the remaining rounds of the season and I feel fit and confident that I can finish off the season strong. This weekend was really positive, although in the first race I couldn’t quite find my rhythm. But then in Race Two, I had a really good start and battled around third and fourth for quite a while. However, when I was pushing to move back into third, I had a small crash. I was able to finish fifth though, so I’m really pleased about that and I’m really happy about the whole weekend.

Simon Laengenfelder: “I’m really happy after the second race. Unfortunately, we had some difficulties to get the right settings for my bike but finally everything was much better in the second race and I could ride like myself. I showed some good speed and with that race win I’m very happy as I love the sand!”

Ferruccio Zanchi: I was so close to my first race podium finish with a third in that first moto, but unfortunately Lommel caught up with me and I crashed on the last lap. It was disappointing to only finish seventh in the end, but to ride for a lot of the race in second place, I have to be happy with my riding. Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the second corner of the second race and that left me last, and although I got up to 12th, it was a lot of effort and a tough race. Like has happened before, I think my riding is better than my results show, so my aim is to fix that.

Jeremy Seewer: "To finish fifth in the second moto is where I should be in the sand; I made a podium here in the past but I can't expect to match those real sand riders. I got two super starts and we kept adjusting the bike settings all weekend; perhaps I could have stayed sixth in the first moto too but I just didn't feel safe riding that pace at the end so I had to back it off. I'm not tired even now after the second moto even though the track was so rough. The track was strange this weekend with no rhythm; normally you can surf over the bumps but this year it was on-off all the time."

Mattia Guadagnini: “What can I say - that was a tough weekend. Lommel for sure is one of the most difficult weekends of the championship - but even though I was trying my best, I was making it even more difficult for myself. On Saturday I had a crash during free practice - and I hurt my thumb. Then after that I was just trying to make the best of it. I had a good start but then crashed during the first lap. I was stuck under the bike and I burned my leg - it took a lot of time to get up and going again. But I only got up to 20th. On both of Sunday’s motos I made good starts but again came into difficulties. On the first moto I crashed on the second corner, but fought my way back to 16th from last. The second moto was better - I made a good start and tried to work on my flow and riding; in the end I finished 10th, which was better. For Sweden I’m aiming to stay out of trouble and race two solid motos!”

Andrea Bonacorsi: I’d say it was quite a good weekend. This was my first MXGP at Lommel and everyone knows it’s the toughest race on the calendar, but I was looking forward to it. I didn’t have a great start in Race One but came through well to finish eighth. My start in Race Two was much better, around fifth, and I was able to pass Jeremy Seewer quickly. But then I began to get cramps and it made the race pretty difficult. With every GP, I keep learning so the experience was tough but also rewarding and now we look forward to Sweden for the next one.

Mathis Valin: "I must admit that I was disappointed with my riding today; I was fighting the track and that cost me some energy. I got a good start again, but I didn't felt comfortable with the track. But normally this should be a learning year for me and I am still learning every weekend! The most important thing is that I have kept the red plate and I only lost one point to one of my main rivals this weekend. There are still four round to go, so now we go home to work to keep the red plate until the end of the series."

Mikkel Haarup: “We’re wrapped up here in Lommel and it was an awesome track with tough conditions, but I enjoyed it a lot. It was a good test for me and the bike to help with development of it in the future. In the end, we came away with a solid fifth overall. There are a couple of things for me to work on ahead of the next races we have on sand but overall, with the Monster Energy Triumph Racing team, I think we did a great job here in Belgium.”

Camden McLellan: “Lommel is really close to home so it was kind of like a home GP for me. My starts continue to improve and today they were good in both races. Finishing third in race one was awesome because from the start it was just a battle the whole time, so that was a cool race. I knew the overall podium was possible but then I crashed on the second lap in race two. It took me a while to get going and I lost a lot of time but I got back to ninth for sixth overall. As always, thanks to the team as this GP was a real tough one.”

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