PR: Bad luck kills fast Damon Graulus
After an excellent qualifying race on Saturday, both GP rounds on Sunday were disappointing for Damon Graulus. The 24MX Honda rider showed his speed in the sixth GP of the FIM MXGP World Championship but ultimately ended the weekend without points.
Two years ago, Damon reached the podium in the EMX250 class in Valkenswaard. Once again he showed that he can handle the black sand of the Eurocircuit well.
In the qualifying race, Graulus even managed 13 after a good startde, to end up as 15de to cross the line. Jaap Corneth made his debut for 24MX Honda in his own country. For the ex-ONK125 champion, his return was in itself a boost after the big blow he made in Qatar, the opening round of the FIM MXGP world championship.
With very limited preparation and the last aftereffects of his injured leg, Jaap took advantage of the European GP to further adapt to the Honda CRF450R and his new team. Corneth thus gained useful experience and also received an indication of his current form after his long inactivity. Together with the team, it was therefore decided not to start on Sunday and to focus on the coming matches.
On Sunday the drivers were presented with slightly different conditions, initially with less grip. Things quickly went wrong for Damon Graulus in the first heat. An early slide made him 21th to the 34th and last place. Although the young Belgian came back strongly, he had to settle for a 23th place.
In the second moto Damon started well. Seemingly effortlessly, the stylish rider from Vossem entered the top 15. Graulus had his race strategy in order, taking into account a late offensive, but due to a problem with the clutch he had to abandon his plans early on. A stop in the pit lane also did not help. Although he returned to the match, there was no other option than to stop the fight.
Damon Graulus: “It's frustrating to experience a weekend like that. The speed was good and there would certainly have been a nice end result, now we had to leave Valkenswaard without any points. That is difficult to accept, but that is the way it is. I know that all the ingredients are there to compete for top 15 rankings. At the moment, the riders from the top 12 are still a bit too strong, but that also says a lot about the strength of the MXGP class at the moment! In any case, I'm looking forward to the next matches.”
Next weekend Damon Graulus will travel to Gaillac, France for the fourth round of the 24MX Tour.
Photos: shotbyBavo, CDS
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