MX2 Comments after Uddevalla
Steven Frossard, Monster Energy CLS Kawasaki (GP winner, 1-2)
“I have been waiting for this first GP victory for a long time and now it has finally happened. I have been on the podium many times in the last two years and even won heats. But I have never been on the highest scaffold before. It's a great feeling. I expected it to be a tough GP, especially after my crash with Roczen during yesterday's qualifying race. But today I had two incredible starts from fourteenth on the grid. I really wanted to win here and I am also very happy for the team, my parents and all the people who had confidence in me and supported me. Even when Roczen passed in the first moto I continued to believe in a series victory because the riding went smoothly. Since he was not a threat for the overall victory, I let him through when he started pushing in the second moto. I knew that second place was enough to win the GP. I would also like to thank my trainer Willy Linden. He told me earlier this season that we would reap the benefits of his physical training program in July and that was proven today. I am in excellent shape.”
Jeffrey Herlings, Red Bull KTM Factory (second, 2-4)
“I've had my ups and downs this season. But now I seem to be getting back on track with my win last week in Kegums and my second place here. I feel good on the bike and I hope it continues to evolve like this. The circuit here can be situated halfway between a Dutch and French track. The top layer is sandy, but the bottom is hard. But I do love it.”
Gautier Paulin, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team (third, 5-3)
“I've had the feeling for a while that a result like this was possible, because the speed was there. Moreover, I also worked hard to get back to my highest level. This is my first podium and with it I have set a standard for myself. I probably lacked self-confidence because of the injury. I know I'm physically strong but I needed a GP like this to make everything come together. The way I rode in the last laps of the second series gives me energy. Now I'm going to Belgium to prepare for Lommel. I want more results like this.”
Jeremy Van Horebeek, Monster Energy CLS Kawasaki (fourth, 3-6)
“It was only on Thursday, after a doctor's consultation, that I and my father decided to travel to Sweden. I couldn't train last week due to the injuries I sustained in Latvia. To win the qualifying race on Saturday was simply fantastic. I had a good start and was then able to control to win my very first qualifying race. When I got up this morning I had pain in my back and neck. But I didn't want to give up and decided to do my best in the two heats. I had a good start in the first moto and was able to keep a good rhythm for a long time. In the last five minutes I started having a hard time. In the second moto I could only keep my rhythm for ten minutes. Then things just got hard. But I'm happy to finish fourth overall. I am now seventh in the World Cup standings, but my goal is still the top five. With five GPs to go, that is still possible.”
Marvin Musquin, Red Bull KTM Factory (fifth, 4-5)
“I had problems at the starts and if you start badly it's just difficult to get back to the lead. The circuit was very difficult and I didn't really feel good here. Although I was, I was also too tense and made mistakes. I am disappointed with this weekend, but I still scored quite a few points, which is of course good for my championship.”
Joël Roelants, Negaan JM Racing KTM (sixth, 8-8)
“My thumb was still bothering me and the helmet camera I received from Youthstream didn't really help during the first series. After a fairly good start I fell back to tenth place. After that I was able to overtake Simpson and I was also given eighth place at the finish line after Roczen dropped out. At the beginning of the second moto I was eleventh. Then I finally found the right rhythm and was able to outpace Lupino and Simpson. In the final phase Zach Osbourne came up fiercely, but I managed to hold him off and crossed the line in eighth place.”
Zach Osborne, Bike-It Cosworth Yamaha (seventh, 7-9)
“What happened on Saturday was not my fault. Tonkov just landed on top of me and I still have the tire tracks in my back to prove it. It was difficult to have to start from the outside today. Because that meant that you had to travel about 20 meters extra to the inside of the first bend. The first race was okay, but in the second I just rode better. The mere fact that I was able to finish ninth from so far back on a circuit where overtaking was not easy is in itself good. In a way I am disappointed with that 7e in 9. e place because my speed here meant there was more to it. But in life, it's not always sunshine.”
Ken Roczen, Teka Suzuki (eighth, DNF-1)
“In fact, this should have been an overall victory. My start was good and the series went well, but two laps before the end…. It just wasn't meant to be. The second heat, on the other hand, was very good. The track was just very tough and I enjoyed it. I was finally able to win another series. Now we have two matches in Germany and we will gradually start thinking about Lommel and the sand.”
Michael Leib, Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki (ninth, 13-7)
“Since I came to Europe, I have managed to score points in every heat I have completed. My goal here was to get into the top ten in every moto. In the second lap of the first moto I had to throw away my motocross goggles. With all the mud flying around here, it obviously didn't make the race any easier. Nevertheless, I was still able to get rid of the 18e to the 13e moving forward and that gave me confidence for the second moto. I finally had a good start, the first of this season! In the beginning I rode around too tensely, but eventually it became more comfortable and I could still be like 7e end. I really enjoyed that race, in which I performed some nice overtaking maneuvers. Getting a good start just makes a huge difference. With my first top ten results my confidence has grown. I'm already looking forward to my next match in the Rockstar Elite. My mechanic Jeremy and the whole team worked very hard for me. In the second series I was finally able to show how good the Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki is by keeping a number of fast riders like Osborne, Roelants and Simpson behind me.”
Shaun Simpson, Red Bull KTM Factory (tenth, 9-13)
“I had a good start in the first heat and even got the holeshot. But after the collision with Steven Frossard I lost a lot of time. I had to put the motorcycle back in the direction of travel to resume the race. I didn't have such a good start in the second heat because I didn't see the gate fall. I also felt devastated afterwards.”
Negaan JM Racing KTM team manager Jacky Martens (about Jeremy Delincé's MX2 debut)
“Jeremy Delince also put in a great performance. As a newcomer to the GP, he immediately had to increase the pace by about 25%, while he was not able to train more than 15 minutes with the 250SXF this week. Everything is new for Jeremy and his great effort during the first race meant that he met the man with the hammer after 15 minutes in the second race. Jeremy is a boy with a lot of potential. I was able to conclude an agreement with his current team so that Jeremy will compete for Negaan-JMRacing during the GP of Loket and Lierop. At the same time we are working on Dennis Verbruggen's comeback during the Lommel GP on August 1. Axel Alletru's situation is stable. Axel flew back to France from Latvia last Thursday, after which he had a scan on Friday and had surgery last Saturday.”
Photos credit: CDS, Ray Archer & S. Guttierez
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