Barragan dissatisfied after GP of Bulgaria
The Bulgarian Grand Prix turned out to be a frustrating experience for both Jonathan Barragan and the LS Honda Racing team. Barragan, a former series winner in Sevlievo, normally feels perfectly at home on these types of courses. The great potential of the Honda CRF 450R-Jonathan Barragan combination was confirmed in moments in Bulgaria. Unfortunately, due to adjustment problems with the suspension, what was inside was not revealed. After his 16th and 12th place today, Jonathan moves up one place in the standings of the MX1 World Championship.
Changeable weather conditions affected the condition of the Sevlievo circuit on Saturday. Barragan started the first free training session in the morning with a reasonable 12th time. In the afternoon the Spanish MX1 champion fared less well. After a bad start and a crash, Jonathan qualified 19th.
The hard Bulgarian circuit was completely itself again on Sunday. The fast layout and the lack of different driving lines made the start even more important. Despite his poor position at the gate, Barragan piloted his Dunlop-shod CRF450R into an impressively leathery straight. He entered the first court in seventh place, unfortunately Jonathan lost a few places in the crowd. Barragan had to work hard, and that's exactly what he did. Just when he was about to join a fighting group of three - with the speed to break into the top 10 - he collided with Sebastien Pourcel. The LS Honda Racing rider left again, fought his sore arms and fought his way to five World Championship points.
The second heat was very similar. Once again the six-time GP winner had to chase after a weak start. From the 15th place that Barragan occupied in the opening lap, he moved up to eighth place, where he then made a mistake. This put an end to the 26-year-old Madrid's rise, but his fighting spirit remained unaffected. Knocked back to 14th place, 'JB' doubled down again and managed to collect nine more points.
Jonathan Barragan: “I'm not really happy after today. In the first race I had a lot of problems with pumped arms, we don't know why. With 15 minutes to go in the first heat I still had a few places to gain. Then I crashed together with Seb Pourcel. It was a stupid crash, we each changed tracks at the same time and as a result we crashed together! Things went better in the second series. I definitely should have finished in the top 10 but I crashed a second time. Yet I still came 12th. It was a difficult weekend in which I never felt 100% comfortable on the bike. Physically I am in good shape, I know that everyone in the team is working hard, to turn the tide we now urgently need to solve our suspension problem.”
Photos: bavo
Also to read
PHOTO: Lugo on Saturday
Yesterday the qualifying sessions for the MXGP and MX2 class were held in Lugo, Spain. We also saw the first series of the ladies and the EMX125. We already received…VIDEO: Qualy Highlights MXGP Galicial 2024
During the sixth Grand Prix of the season, Thibault Benistant (MX2) and Jorge Prado (MXGP) will start from the pole positions. The Yamaha rider managed to take advantage on the last lap when Sacha…Jorge Prado takes pole on his circuit
Jorge Prado took pole position during the sixth round of the FIM MXGP World Championship. The GasGas driver wins the qualifying race ahead of Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings. Calvin Vlaanderen is like…Sacha Coenen gives pole to Benistant
The sixth “RAM Qualifying Race” of the season was won by Thibault Benistant. The French rider gets the victory from Sacha Coenen who was the leader in the last round...
Your reactions