KRT factory rider Pauls Jonass might have come away from the opening round of the MXGP championship in Cordoba, Argentina outside the top five, but you can tell the always friendly an professional rider from Latvia will be looking at improving on his sixth overall as he heads to Spain for the second round of the MXGP World Motocross Championship.

Jonass had an unspectacular opening moto; tenth on the first lap, he maintained that position throughout the moto in a leaderboard freight train. A better start in race two saw the Latvian hold seventh place through the early laps before surrendering a couple of places in intensive leaderboard battles, but his eventual ninth was enough to ensure seventh overall on his Kawasaki debut.

"I just didn't get a good start in the first race; I made some nice passes on the first lap but then we were in one fast train. I got a better start in race two, gained a few places, lost a few places and eventually finished ninth. It was nothing special, just two consistent motos and I got a few big blisters on my hands in race two, but the first GP is now out of the way. It was my first GP for nine months and I was just a little too careful, riding in my comfort zone."

Jonass was seventh in Timed Practice on the Saturday, just over a second off pole, but had to close the throttle when he wheelied out of the gate in Qualifying to emerge thirteenth at the first split. Within a lap he had advanced to ninth and progressed further to eighth on lap four before surrendering one position five laps later to finish ninth.

"I got a wheelie straight out of the gate so I was right at the back, but I found a good rhythm to move through to eighth. But then I got stuck trying to pass Bogers and lost my flow. But generally I was happy; I just need to put all of the pieces together. The track is fun but it's really demanding; it's quite fast and now it's getting bumpy so it's a lot of work."

Now the Latvian will head to Spain for round two with hopefully a positive mindset after the disappointment of Argentina and no doubt the former World MX2 champion will rebound and fight for a podium finish.

Kawasaki image