Riders' reactions after Mantova
Tony Cairoli (Red Bull-KTM) – Winner in MX1, won two series: “The riding went excellent and I had a good time. The atmosphere in Mantova was, as always, absolutely great. The KTM 350 suits me incredibly well, it actually rides much more like a 250 than a 450! In the first and second races it went perfectly, but in the last race my start was not optimal. Desalle passed me and I couldn't catch up again. We haven't done a lot of testing yet, so I'm sure we can still improve a lot.”
Steve Ramon (Teka-Suzuki WMX) – 2de in MX1: “I'm satisfied, because Mantova is always a difficult race for me. And it is certainly progress compared to last year. In the first series I suffered from arm pump, but the other two races were fine and I always made a good start. The riding also felt good and the last series was the best because I immediately found the right rhythm. Of course, it's never a bad idea to be on the podium in your first race of the season, and you certainly won't hear me complaining!”
Clément Desalle (Teka Suzuki WMX) – 3rd MX1: “I actually started in Mantova without too many ambitions. Gaining competition rhythm was the most important thing, the result mattered less to me. In the first race I had a crash and I decided to take it easy after that. Physically I feel fine, but I don't want to rush anything. The engine ran well, in the meantime we will of course continue testing. Overall, however, I am quite satisfied.”
David Philippaerts (Yamaha-Monster Energy) – 4th in MX1: “All in all I'm quite satisfied. The first heat was okay and we tried a few things on the bike. First and foremost, I wanted to get some sense of competition here and see where I stood in terms of speed. Many riders crashed and I especially didn't want to make any mistakes because the track was treacherous. We learned a lot from Mantova, that was the main thing. The season starts even earlier than usual and I don't feel 100% yet, although I am happy with my current level given the time of year.”
Tanel Leok (LS Motors-Honda) – 6th in MX1, one heat win: “What a great way to start the season! In general I am very satisfied with my weekend. I felt good on the bike and the speed was also okay. The construction of the circuit could perhaps have been better, because the jumps were very steep. As if we were launched into the air! But that was the same for everyone. Mantova is always a great race, with good races and a lot of spectators. Everything is going well at the moment. This competition gives us a great basis to start with. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season!”
Jonathan Barragan (Kawasaki Racing Team) – 7th in MX1: “I have to admit that I had hoped for a better result, but due to the bad weather in recent weeks we have not been able to test as much as we wanted. It wasn't until last Thursday that I rode the factory Kawasaki for the first time. There is of course quite a difference with my training bike and I still have to get used to the suspension and power. However, we have a good team and I am sure we will be there when the GP season starts.”
Ken Dycker (Yamaha-Monster Energy-Ricci) – 12th in MX1: “Today was really the first step. We have mainly been busy developing the engine and looking for the right settings. The last series was difficult, the low sun even made it dangerous. We will continue to work and it is possible that I will ride Montevarchi next weekend with a view to more testing with the team.”
Kevin Strijbos (Fazza Team-Jobé-KTM) – 15th in MX1: “The weekend went well, better than expected on Saturday because I haven't been back on the bike for long. Sunday wasn't really my day. When I was in the suit I didn't feel completely comfortable and I couldn't push as I wanted. In any case, this was a positive first step. Now it is a matter of building up step by step, the feeling on the bike is good in any case.”
David Guarneri (LS Motors-Honda) – 20th in MX1: “Of course it would have been nice to achieve good results in front of our own audience. However, Mantova became a weekend to quickly forget. The circuit was tough and even dangerous in some places. I didn't have a favorable starting position at the start and that made it even more difficult. At the start of the second series I crashed with another pilot. I had a lot of pain in my elbow, but in the end it turned out not to be so bad. Yet I did not start the last series.”
Sebastien Pourcel (Kawasaki Racing Team) – 27th in MX1: “For the first time in 10 months I raced again. Even though the results weren't great, the feeling on the bike was okay. Unfortunately I crashed during qualifying and that left me in a hopeless position at the start. Still, I managed to get off to a good start every time. That is certainly a boost for the future. I twisted my ankle in a rut in the first race and I didn't want to take any risks in the other heats. That's why I held back for a while in the second race to catch up with the leaders. And I did a good job of following them. The pain in my shoulder is much less now. That is important and I know what I have to do to be ready for the first GP within two months.”
Shaun Simpson (Red Bull-KTM) – Winner in MX2: “To be honest, I didn't go to Mantova with the idea of beating Musquin and Roczen. I mainly wanted to race again and have fun. On Saturday the feeling was immediately good. During the races I had two good starts and I was able to stay out of trouble - apart from a collision with De Reuver in the second race - which allowed me to achieve strong results. I also had a good start in the third series, but when I entered the second corner I was pushed out. Before I knew it, I crashed! I had to squeeze everything out to get back, but I still managed well enough to take the overall victory in MX2.”
Marvin Musquin (Red Bull-KTM) – 2de in MX2: “The start was not easy today between the 450s but it was a good training of course. I thought it was positive that the riding got better and better as the day progressed. In the last series I was among 450 men like Nagl and Philippaerts, so certainly not bad.”
Arnaud Tonus (Teka Suzuki Europe MX2) – 3rd in MX2: “It's great to be on the podium here. I had a few good races even though the track was difficult. When you ride together with the MX1 you still have to push extra, but I thought it was a good way to get into a competitive rhythm. The second and third series were the best for me. In the first series things didn't go quite the way I wanted.”
Ken Roczen (Teka Suzuki Europe MX2) – 8th in MX2: “My first start was bad and I was outside the top 20, but I kept going and finished 11th. I felt good on the bike and my arms were not sore. In the second heat I had a perfect start, but someone bumped into me and crashed next to me. As a result, I was held up for a while and so I was around 13th place. I saw Xavier Boog riding in front of me and thought I could still catch him, but I faltered for a moment on the straight line at the start. I hurt my left knee, but because I didn't want to take any risks, I stopped afterwards. In the last series the story was over quickly when I had problems with the block. Normally my knee is fine, although I will visit the doctor just to be sure.”
Photos credit: CDS, Ray Archer, Sarah Guttierez, Massimo Zanzani
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