PR: First podium for Julien Lieber & Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube in Qatar
Julien Lieber of the Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube Team achieved his very first podium of his career in Losail, Qatar. Lieber rode two strong heats and finished second in the overall standings with a third and second place in the heats. Valentin Guillod has made a consistent start in this new season and finished eighth and sixth in the overall standings.
The first match of the season always brings some extra excitement. Despite this, both riders looked forward to this race with confidence because they knew that their preparation for the new season had been good. During qualifying on Friday, it was Julien who crossed the finish line in seventh position, thus securing a good starting place. Unfortunately this could not be said of Valentin. He was in a good position in the early stages, but he made a mistake while riding in sixth place and therefore only finished twentieth. This meant that Valentin had to start from the outside in both motos.
In the first moto it was Julien who had the best start and came through the first corner in around seventh place. With a good rhythm he came to fifth place in the first half, but the fanatical Belgian saw that there was more to it and started to put pressure on Jeremy Seewer and Pauls Jonass. Both drivers had to acknowledge their superiority in Lieber and he moved on to third place. He was also linked up with second man, Dylan Ferrandis, but there was not enough time to launch a serious attack, so he crossed the finish line in third place. Valentin had to start from the outside and only finished the first lap in thirteenth place. On the treacherous circuit, Valentin did what he could and managed to gain several places in the first half of the race. However, riding in eighth place, he was unable to pass seventh man, Max Anstie, and was thus flagged in eighth place.
The second round was even better for Julien Lieber than the first round. He started third and moved into second place after a few laps. Julien drove tight lap times and held on well in second place. He managed to keep the competition at bay and eventually crossed the finish line in second place, 2.7 seconds behind winner Jeffrey Herlings. Valentin also got off to a much better start this time. The first part of the race went well and he fought back to fifth place. However, in the middle of the race he had to give up this position to an unleashed Dylan Ferrandis and fell back to sixth place. Valentin continued to fight for what he was worth and managed to hold sixth place until the finish.
In the daily rankings, Julien finished in second place and Valentin took eighth place. The championship continues in Thailand next weekend.
MX2 Qatar Grand Prix Results:
First heat:
1 Jeffrey Herlings
2 Dylan Ferrandis
3 Julien Dear
4 Tim Gajser
5 Jeremy Seewer
8 Valentin Guillod
Second heat:
1 Jeffrey Herlings
2 Julien Dear
3 Alexander Tonkov
4 Paul's Jonass
5 Dylan Ferrandis
6 Valentin Guillod
Day result MX2:
1 Jeffrey Herlings 50 Points
2 Julien Lieber 42 Points
3 Dylan Ferrandis 38 Points
4 Tim Gajser 32 Points
5 Aleksandr Tonkov 31 Points
8 Valentin Guillod 28 Points
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