HOne weekend is not like the other. Last weekend, 2Monster Energy Yamaha Factory riders finished in the top four at the Swedish GP. This weekend, the team had to settle for two top-4 finishes at the MXGP of the Netherlands: Maxime Renaux finished 2th, and Jago Geerts – who returned from injury – finished 10th.
Flanders – who holds dual South African and Dutch citizenship – was eagerly anticipating his home race at the Motorsportpark in Arnhem. But things weren't going well for Calvin.
In the qualifying race, he only managed 16th place after a crash beyond his control. Misfortunes never come alone. In the first race, he couldn't avoid a crash, after which he had to fight back from 31st position. And he did. His comeback brought Calvin up to twelfth place.
Another poor start (eighteenth) for Flanders in the second race. Calvin, as always, kept fighting and managed to move up to P13.
Calvin Vlaanderen, 12th in GP: "It was a tough day. I struggled to find my rhythm all weekend and had a big crash in free practice, which also cost me some confidence. My starts in the motos were poor, and it was difficult to overtake at this track. But I can go home healthy and now I can reset for the last three GPs.
Renaux had a difficult qualifying race (in which he moved from P32 to P17), but he made a very good start in the first moto. Maxime shot out of the gate in sixth place on his YZ450FM and hung with the leaders for a long time. Ultimately, Maxime had to drop one position when an unleashed Lucas Coenen shot past.
Maxime started the second race just inside the top ten, but quickly dropped back to 13th. Ultimately, the Frenchman was able to make up two more places.
Maxime Renaux, 8th in GP: It was a tough day in the sand. I knew it would be difficult… and it was. The results aren't what I had in mind. We're closing the season with three consecutive GPs, all on hard surfaces. I'm looking forward to that, especially with the Motocross of Nations in the United States in mind.
Geerts – eleventh in the qualifying race on Saturday – is facing the worst of the worst. The Belgian, however, reacted well to the start gate in the first race. He dove into the first corner around sixth position, but was hit from behind and crashed. Jago – like his teammate Vlaanderen – was forced to make a comeback.
From P30, the pace climbed to P17. Jago got off to a good start in the second race and settled nicely into seventh place. The Belgian – who loves driving in the sand – held on to that position. In the closing stages, Febvre briefly overtook him, but Geerts immediately caught the Frenchman.
Jago Geerts, 10th in GP: This weekend was a bit disappointing. I crashed in the first moto, was pinned under the bike for a while, and I also injured my knee. The physiotherapist did a good job between heats. My knee was good enough to start. I had a reasonable start and finished seventh after a solid race. All in all, a good end to the weekend.
Photos: Full Spectrum Media
