Gonçalves wants to show himself on the MX Racing Husky
Former Factory KTM and Honda rider Rui Gonçalves will lend his services to the MX Racing Team Husqvarna this season. But the Portuguese veteran has already had his share of bad luck and has only recently recovered from a concussion he suffered just before the opening Grand Prix of the season in Qatar. The 29-year-old has changed teams over the last three years, but now he is with Ilario Ricci's team with support from the Austrian Husqvarna engines. This means that he is now linked to an experienced team and technology with which Gonçalves achieved the best years of his career by finishing second in the 2 MX2009 championship. The #999 now only has to ensure that he is physically fit again. to then become a permanent fixture in the top ten of the premier class.
“I was looking for things to make it better and better, but just before Qatar I had a big crash. Still, I'm almost back to 100% now,” he said. “The bike is not new to me and is comparable to what I rode in 2013. It is easier to work with, especially because I already knew the brand well from the past. It is therefore easier to find a good setting and the team is really working hard on that with me.”
Gonçalves is one of the longest serving Grand Prix riders because he started his career in 2001. That experience was used by having to constantly test with the Dixon Racing Yamaha Team in 2014. With limited resources he still finished eleventh in the final championship standings and only missed points in four of the thirty-four series that season. “The goal is always to want to go faster and find better settings. Last season with Yamaha we did a lot of testing and were always looking for innovations,” he explains. “We were not a factory team and at a certain point the options were simply exhausted. The engine was quite good, but we still had some problems with the power at times and we didn't have many options to work on the electronics.”
Gonçalves' performance has decreased somewhat in recent seasons as injuries started to take their toll, but he now gets the chance with Ricci and Husqvarna to prove himself again and compete in the leading group of the MXGP, which is extremely strong. in 2015. “There's a magical thing you can say on Sunday morning 'I'm ready,'” he laughs. “The competitions are really at a high level at the moment, but I have done a good winter preparation and that should start to pay off.”
Text: Adam Wheeler / OTOR
Photo: Facebook/Gonçalves
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