Eleventh place for Vlaanderen in MX2 qualifying race at Valkenswaard2018-03-17 16:19Team HRC’s Calvin Vlaanderen completed the opening day of action of the MXGP of Europe by claiming eleventh place in today’s qualifying race of the MX2 class. The encounter took place in freezing temperatures at Valkenswaard’s Eurocircuit, with snow adding an extra challenge to the riders competing in the category. Vlaanderen did not enjoy the best of starts after having the tenth gate pick, and was running in 17th place after the opening lap was completed by the MX2 field. The young South African rider, however, managed to recover a handful of spots in the early stages and with twelve minutes left he was running solidly in eleventh place aboard his Honda CRF250RW. He then maintained his position for the remaining laps as he crossed the line 11 seconds ahead of the next rider. The MX2 class will be back in action tomorrow morning at 10:25 local time (GMT +1) for the 15-minute warm up, which will be followed by the two second-round races at 13:15 and 16:10. Calvin Vlaanderen 10 It wasn’t my best day at the office, I would say. I didn’t feel comfortable since free practice; I must say I’m also a little bit sick, and surely this has played some part in today’s performance. I got a good jump off the gate in the qualifying race but I got bogged down because it was quite wet. My rhythm was more similar to training than racing, but hopefully tomorrow things will go in a different way so that I’ll be able to show my true speed again. Calvin Vlaanderen Marcus Pereira de Freitas HRC General Manager - MXGP Calvin got a good start but got stuck a little bit in a soft spot after the gate, which surely didn’t help. He struggled a little to get up to speed so he could not stay close to the riders, but that can happen. He now needs to rest – as he’s a little bit sick - regroup and focus on tomorrow; he needs two good start and a different type of pace if he wants to get nearer the front of the field. We have a couple of set-up changes in mind following his feedback and hopefully these will give him fresh confidence ahead of the races. Marcus Pereira de Freitas Qualifying Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time/Gap 1 COVINGTON Thomas 64 USA Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing 24:54.845 2 PRADO GARCIA Jorge 61 SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +04.006 3 JONASS Pauls 1 LAT Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +07.725 4 KJER OLSEN Thomas 19 DEN Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing +21.134 5 VAN DONINCK Brent 172 BEL Husqvarna 8Biano Racing +39.236 6 LAWRENCE Hunter 96 AUS Honda 114 Motorsports +52.116 7 POOTJES Davy 46 NDL LRT KTM +54.488 Source: Honda Racing Corporation Click here to visit our forums to discuss this story |
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