MX1 reactions after Teutschenthal
Ken De Dycker, Monster Energy Ricci Yamaha (GP winner, 1-1)
“I always expect to do well and achieve a good result. Here it became reality, partly thanks to the hard work we put in after the French GP. did work. We did a lot of testing then and now seem to be moving in the right direction. This GP win was the best birthday present I could give myself! There was hard fighting in both series. Tony came on hard at the end of the second series. At that point I started to get tired and wanted the race to end as quickly as possible. When I passed the start and finish I saw that there were still 3 minutes to go. Then I realized I would have to go deep. Luckily he couldn't get too close and there was still some excitement at the end. The track wasn't exactly easy but I tried to stay calm and saw a few places where I could overtake. My goal was to get as close as possible to certain riders in order to pass them in those places. I hope this is a turning point in my season. Even though the next GPs will not be easy, I now have more confidence and I want to continue strong until the last GP.”
Clément Desalle, Rockstar Teka Suzuki (second, 3-3)
“I'm not really satisfied because I'm second and I wanted to win here today. But still the ride went well. I also didn't have any major crashes and my shoulder still feels strong, which obviously makes me happy. In the first series I made a mistake that I would pay dearly. I fought a nice duel with David and had a lot of fun with it. However, in the second race I made another mistake at a crucial moment, when I was forced to the outside in a corner. Ken and Antonio were too fast today. I now look at it GP by GP and always want to do my utmost.”
David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team (third, 2-5)
“In the first series I had a good feeling on the bike, and I also liked the circuit. But I had hardly slept the last four days due to a cold and that really started to weigh on me in the second series. It was difficult to overtake here because there was only one fast line, the rest of the circuit was just bumpy. I also lost a lot of time and energy when I was held up by Nagl. But to still take the podium after feeling so ill is of course a boost. I am now going to take a few days off in Belgium before I start training in the run-up to Latvia.”
Antonio Cairoli, Red Bull KTM Factory (fourth, 6-2)
“This is not exactly one of my favorite circuits. I've always had a hard time here. In the first heat I had a bad start and fell in with Tanel Leok. Then I was last, but I was able to come back to sixth place. I was satisfied with my speed, but not with sixth place, although I still managed to gain a lot of points. In the second series I almost had the holeshot together with Max, but then I started to suffer from pumped up arms. De Dycker was very fast, but at the end of the series I almost caught him and he only had half a second left on me. Something like that is of course wonderful for the audience. Of course I would have liked to win, but that is just not always possible.”
Xavier Boog, Kawasaki Racing Team (fifth, 4-4)
“In the first series I took the holeshot for the first time in my GP career. It was a great experience to lead for a few laps in a GP, even though I was under enormous pressure. When Desalle passed me I got a lump of mud on my glasses so I had to throw them away ten minutes into the series. After that it became difficult to follow another rider without glasses. When I followed in the wake of the doubled riders, I had to relinquish the role and settle for fourth place. In the second series I would equal that result but I rode better. I had a good start again and was able to fight at the front for many laps. When you ride against guys like Cairoli and Desalle you learn a lot. My self-confidence is increasing match after match and hopefully I will be on the podium soon. Every time I was in the lead I felt pressure and was stressed. But next time it might feel different because I now know what it is like to lead the peloton.”
Maximilian Nagl, Red Bull KTM Factory (sixth, 5-7)
“I decided to do my best because this is my home GP. Moreover, this is also one of my favorite circuits. On Saturday I felt some pain but all in all it was ok. However, this morning I had to stop after three laps in the warm-up because of the pain. Before the match itself I received a painkilling injection and that really helped. I had a pretty good start in the first heat and then hung fifth. I would also finish fifth which was certainly good for me. In the second heat I took the holeshot but after 10 minutes my injury started to hurt. We only discovered this weekend that I have a blocked back due to two bones in my back. A remnant of my crash in France, I am now going back to Belgium to be helped by my osteopath.”
Evgeny Bobryshev, CAS Honda (seventh, 8-8)
“It was a great day and I'm quite happy with my results because the two previous GPs just didn't go well for me. After France I was in trouble for a while because I had dropped a lot of points. Fortunately, things are going a lot better now. The track was quite good, but overtaking was difficult. If you really wanted to get the most out of it, the chance of a huge crash was high. There were many potholes and bumps in the circuit which did not make it any easier. When I went really fast my legs hung next to the bike in the corners! In the second series I wanted to go past Nagl, but that turned out not to be possible. However, all in all I am satisfied.”
Steve Ramon, Rockstar Teka Suzuki (eighth, 7-9)
“I did my best today. Yesterday during training my hand felt good, but after the qualifying race the pain started. I knew it would be two difficult series and the riding was also difficult. I was able to finish both series, but that was not a good thing. It's just not fun to have to drive this way. Dosing the throttle was just difficult. If you can't ride the way you want, give 100% or even enjoy it, you get into a bit of a rut. I just hope that I can get back on track quickly. This week I will take a rest and then I will try to get through the next two GPs as best as possible.”
Davide Guarneri, LS Motors Honda (ninth, 11-6) "What a day! My speed was okay, but I can't be satisfied with the end result. Normally I think Teutschenthal is a nice circuit, but unfortunately that was not the case today. Sometimes it looked more like enduro! In the first series I made too many mistakes, especially at the beginning of the match. Moreover, I stopped on the second lap and later I also crashed. The laps I was able to go at full speed were certainly not bad, but given the circumstances, I could only do eleventh place. In the second series my start was less good. I was able to catch up with Philippaerts and fought with him for sixth place. It was a great duel and certainly motivating, I increasingly get the feeling that I should not be inferior to the speed of the top riders in MX1.”
Tanel Leok, LS Motors Honda (tenth, 10-12)
“I am left with a bitter aftertaste about this GP and the 10th place I had here. Especially because the riding went well and because I am completely healthy again. Series one started badly: after a contact with Cairoli my brake pedal was bent so much that I had to do some 'maintenance work' before I could continue. Even after that it still wasn't completely straight! In the second corner of the second heat I won again! Philippaerts went over his track, we collided and then someone rode on me and I fell. Once again I was last and had to start a race to catch up. My speed was good and I was able to come back quite quickly, but I crashed when I started the attack on Swanepoel. It took me a while to get away and to be honest I didn't even know my position when I crossed the finish line. Hopefully I will have better luck in Latvia!”
Gareth Swaenepoel, CAS Honda (eleventh, 13-10)
“I have a good feeling after today, it's been getting better and better in the last few weeks. I also rode well in Lyng last weekend. I qualified tenth on Saturday, which I was happy with because I was able to stay close to the leading group. Today's balance is also positive. I always had good starts. In the first series I was tenth until I crashed briefly and then managed to finish thirteenth. The second series was tough because the circuit was battered. My feeling was not good during the first laps, but after that I was able to put in a few good laps and eventually finished tenth. I expect the Latvian GP to bring me more. The circuit is sandy and loose and I'm really looking forward to it.”
Jimmy Albertson, Martin Honda (twelfth, 15-13)
“I didn't expect much from this weekend. I haven't been training or riding much lately because I needed to let my body heal. I rode my own race each time today and finished fifteenth and thirteenth, which I am happy with. I remember that at the first GP in Bulgaria I was completely fit and eager with impatience and that turned out to be much worse. It was a good weekend and I'm happy to finish a series, which hasn't happened since Portugal. It was good to ride back and now I have a base for next weekend.”
Rui Goncalves, Red Bull KTM Factory (thirteenth, 18-11)
“I had a bad start in the first series, but I am satisfied with the second series. I started quite well and was able to follow well from the start. My lap times were also a lot more consistent because I was in a good group. I think I can now compete with the top players. I hope that I can now turn things around in the second half of the season.”
Dean Ferris, Martin Honda (sixteenth, 22-14)
“I didn't qualify very well so starting was not that easy. For the first series I had the gearbox ratios changed. But apparently I missed the mark there and the bike was more difficult to ride. I had to fight for nineteenth place while I could easily have been in the top 15. For series two we then went back to the original setting. I was able to fight my way to fourteenth place, which I could be satisfied with. Everything was new for me this weekend: the race schedule, the bike… But the team was very helpful. For a first GP, fourteenth place was not bad.”
Photos credit: CDS, Ray Archer, Massimo Zanzani, S. Guttierez
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