Cruel fate for 24MX Honda duo!
It was pleasantly busy last weekend at the Eurocircuit for the 5th round of the Motocross World Championship. Both 24MX Honda riders showed off their speed in the sand. However, with a 15th place in the final ranking for Filip Bengtsson and a 21st place for Christophe Charlier respectively, they received too little pay for their work.
The difficult ruts and many potholes reminded the MXGP riders how tough it is to ride in the sand. Multiple Swedish champion Bengtsson was nevertheless looking forward to this first Grand Prix on loose surfaces. On Saturday it immediately became clear why. Filip stormed to a good 6th place in the timed training, which he confirmed with a top 10 in the qualifying race. Teammate Charlier finished day one in 17th place, but the Corsican made progress with the setup of his engine.
Fillibang started the competition day in top form with a 3rd fastest time during the warm-up. He also immediately attacked in the first heat. Starting from fifth place, he attacked Paulin's position, which was third. Unfortunately, Bengtsson slipped away from the front. He fought his way back into the race from 17th place. Bengtsson caught Glenn Coldenhoff and Ken De Dycker in his sights, but ultimately had to settle for 9th position. Charlier used his energy sparingly. After a decent start he progressed to eighth. However, his motorcycle was damaged in a fall and he had to abandon the race.
In his typical style, Bengtsson pulled a lot of punches from the start in the second heat. In the pursuit of Cairoli, who was 8th, he lost control at the back and was thrown from the bike with a spectacular highsider. However, the number 11 of the 24MX Honda Racing team was not deterred. Bengtsson came back strong again. This time, unfortunately, his progress was halted by bad luck. Wildcard rider Jeffrey Dewulf crashed just before Filip and the fast Swede had nowhere to go. Bengtsson suffered abrasions to his back and a concussion from the serious crash. Filip spent the night in Eindhoven hospital for check-ups and observation.
The second series did not go well for Christophe either. He was running smoothly and was 11th when he crashed early in the race. Charlier held on and fought back. From 29th and last place, “CC23” returned to 18th position.
Filip Bengtsson: “Of course it's never great if your weekend ends in the hospital. I'm really disappointed because it went so well in the first series. Coming back through the field was tough in these conditions but I felt good and the bike went perfectly. In the second moto I was surprised when I lost the rear engine on a bump. Fortunately, I quickly got back into my rhythm and I knew that a good result was still possible. When Dewulf got into trouble just before me, the song was over. There was no way I could avoid him and it was a big crash. I had already hit my head the first time before, but that second fall did nothing to improve the situation! Having to end Valkenswaard like this is sad, but the team has done a great job and I know I have the speed and physicality.”
Christophe Charlier: “A tough weekend, that's the least you can say! The track was very difficult because of the many ruts but also because of the rain, which resulted in many soft pits. In fact, the track was perfect for making mistakes! You could see this in the many falls and it was almost impossible to avoid someone who had made a mistake. Of course it was frustrating that I was left hungry in the first series. On the other hand, I did gain confidence from the course of the weekend. When I started on Saturday morning I felt anything but comfortable, but by the end of the weekend I felt good. In both heats I had the speed and rhythm for a top-10 place in the sand. Those are the positive elements that I remember.”
MXGP series 1: 1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), 34:52.131; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:17.744; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:35.535; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:40.515; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:41.742; 6. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +0:56.455; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +1:00.201; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +1:04.855; 9. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, 24MX Honda Racing), +1:08.710; 10. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +1:12.812; 11. Steven Frossard (FRA, KTM), +1:16.994; 12. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), +1:35.888; 13. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:38.958; 14. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:39.348; 15. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:52.183; 16. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), -1 lap(s); 17. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s); 18. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 19. Angus Heidecke (GER, KTM), -1 lap(s); 20. Dennis Ullrich (GER, Suzuki), -1 lap(s); 21. Martin Barr (GBR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 22. Nick Triest (BEL, KTM), -1 lap(s); 23. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 24. Rick Satink (DOWN, Husqvarna), -2 lap(s); 25. Christophe Charlier (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), -6 lap(s); 26. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, House), -6 lap(s); 27. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), -8 lap(s); 28. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), -13 lap(s); 29. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), -14 lap(s); 30. Rui Goncalves (POR, Husqvarna), -14 lap(s); 31. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, Honda), -14 lap(s)
MXGP series 2: 1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), 34:24.814; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:04.761; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:10.118; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:11.589; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:12.309; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:28.128; 7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:39.579; 8. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +0:41.763; 9. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:43.720; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:44.567; 11. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), +0:45.657; 12. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +1:11.324; 13. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:14.037; 14. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:14.747; 15. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:38.453; 16. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), +1:53.193; 17. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:54.693; 18. Christophe Charlier (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), -1 lap(s); 19. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s); 20. Dennis Ullrich (GER, Suzuki), -1 lap(s); 21. Angus Heidecke (GER, KTM), -1 lap(s); 22. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 23. Rick Satink (NED, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 24. Martin Barr (GBR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 25. Nick Triest (BEL, KTM), -1 lap(s); 26. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, Honda), -2 lap(s); 27. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, 24MX Honda Racing), -11 lap(s); 28. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, Yamaha), -11 lap(s); 29. Rui Goncalves (POR, Husqvarna), -12 lap(s);
GP of Valkenswaard final standings: 1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 50 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 44 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 38 p.; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 38 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Tyla Rattray (RSA, CAW), 28 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 27 p.; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 25 p.; 10. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 19 p.; 11. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 14 p.; 12. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 14 p.; 13. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 14 p.; 14. Xavier Boog (FRA, CAW), 14 p.; 15. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, 24MX Honda Racing), 12 p.; 16. Steven Frossard (FRA, KTM), 10 p.; 17. David Philippaerts (NOW, YAM), 9 p.; 18. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 9 p.; 19. Tunnel Leok (EST, WEST), 8 p.; 20. Alessandro Lupin (STONE, HON), 6 p.; 21. Christophe Charlier (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), 3 p.; 22. Dennis Ullrich (GER, SUZ), 2 p.; 23. Angus Heidecke (GER, KTM), 2 p.; 24. Mike Vanderstraeten (BEL, HOUSE), 0 p.; 25. Rick Satink (NOW, HOUSE), 0 p.; 26. Martin Barr (GBR, KTM), 0 p.; 27. Nick Triest (BEL, KTM), 0 p.; 28. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, HON), 0 p.; 29. Jeffrey DeWolf (BELL, YAM), 0 p.; 30. Rui Goncalves (POR, HUS), 0 p.; 31. David Guarneri (ITA, TM), 0 p.;
World Championship standings after 5 rounds: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 214 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 209 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 184 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 178 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 156 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 138 p.; 7. Ryan Villopoto (USA, CAW), 124 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 98 p.; 9. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 92 p.; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 86 p.; 11. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 78 p.; 12. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 75 p.; 13. David Guarneri (ITA, TM), 70 p.; 14. Tyla Rattray (RSA, CAW), 68 p.; 15. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 68 p.; 16. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 55 p.; 17. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 42 p.; 18. Steven Frossard (FRA, KTM), 42 p.; 19. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 39 p.; 20. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 38 p.; 21. Christophe Charlier (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), 30 p.; 22. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, 24MX Honda Racing), 27 p.; 23. Rui Goncalves (POR, HUS), 24 p.; 24. Xavier Boog (FRA, CAW), 14 p.; 25. Alessandro Lupin (STONE, HON), 13 p.; 26. Nathan Watson (GBR, HUS), 12 p.; 27. Tunnel Leok (EST, COW), 9 p.; 28. Paul Coates (GBR, YAM), 7 p.; 29. Gregory Aranda (FRA, CAW), 5 p.; 30. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, HON), 5 p.; 31. Cedric Soubeyras (FRA, YAM), 4 p.; 32. Angus Heidecke (GER, KTM), 2 p.; 33. Yutaka Hoshino (JPN, KTM), 2 p.; 34. Dennis Ullrich (GER, SUZ), 2 p.
Photo: Christophe 'CDS' Desmet
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