Fillibang 9th in Latvian MXGP
Sunday, July 12, 2015 — After the unusually hot conditions in Sweden last week, the riders in Latvia literally got a cold shower. The GP in Kegums, the second since his comeback from injury, was a boost for 24MX Honda's Filip Bengtsson. The fast Swede finished 9th in the 12th round of the FIM MXGP World Championship. Teammate Christophe Charlier finished 14th.
Bengtsson started his weekend strongly. After an excellent 6th time in timed training, he raced to 10th place in the qualifying race. Although Charlier needed some time to get used to the wet sand, he became faster as the race progressed. Christophe finished 16th, just 3,5 seconds behind the 11th, David Philippaerts.
Due to the heavy rain from Saturday to Sunday night, it became quite a job to find fast lines in the damp, loose surface. For Fillibang, the sand hare turned out to be a relative problem. During the warm-up session he achieved the 5th fastest time. In the first heat, Filip climbed to 8th place after a mediocre start. However, in the hunt for Butron, who was 7th, he had to give up a place to World Cup leader Febvre. Shot Racegear rider Christophe Charlier had a good start. He was 7th in the initial phase when he made a mistake. This caused CC23 to drop to 14th, but he was still able to come back to 12th place.
After a bad start, Bengtsson came back well and finished 11th. It took a long time for Charlier to get into his rhythm. However, he got stuck into Searle's wheel and completed a positive second half of the race, which earned him 14th place. Charlier is now 18th in the World Cup standings, but the difference with 14th place is barely 31 points. Filip climbs to 23rd position after the Latvian GP.
Filip Bengtsson: “After a difficult weekend in Uddevalla, this was certainly a step forward. In the first moto I missed my start but I was able to come back well. I was just behind Butron who was 7th but I was unable to overtake him. Due to a mistake in the last lap I just lost one place to Febvre. My reaction at the gate was good in the second start. However, because I upshifted a little too early on a very difficult section just before the bend, I lost a lot of speed. I was able to make up some places and when I was 11th behind Waters I had a good rhythm. Although I lost a place to Van Horebeek, I was still able to benefit from a mistake by Ferris and so I arrived in 11th.”
Christophe Charlier: “I'm not very satisfied with this GP. Both days I had a hard time adapting to the circuit. The circuit was very tough and especially in the first heat there was only one line. Although things got better as the weekend progressed, it wasn't enough. In MXGP you have to be in a good position from Saturday onwards. Now I'm looking forward to Loket, which is one of my favorite courses in the championship. Then I will prepare Lommel, which will be a great challenge. I know that it can be much faster in the sand, but I have to work on that to reach a higher pace without taking unnecessary risks.”
MXGP series 1
1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), 34:26.145; 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:05.257; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:45.698; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +1:00.847; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +1:08.496; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:12.170; 7. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:18.466; 8. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +1:19.095; 9. Philip Bengtsson (SWE, 24MX Honda), +1:24.412; 10. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:27.896; 11. Evgeny Bobryshev (US, Honda), +1:31.278; 12. Christopher Charlier (FRA, 24MX Honda), +1:34.136; 13. Nathan Watson (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:35.471; 14. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:36.755; 15. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), +1:40.702; 16. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:48.045; 17. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +1:54.384; 18. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 19. Davis Ivanovs (LAT, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 20. Maxim Nazarov (RUS, KTM), -1 lap(s); 21. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, Honda), -1 lap(s); 22. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), -14 lap(s); 999. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), -3 lap(s);
MXGP series 2
1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 35:49.255; 2. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:02.389; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:03.218; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:24.352; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (US, Honda), +0:31.334; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:42.152; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:44.601; 8. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:46.418; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:48.018; 10. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:49.190; 11. Philip Bengtsson (SWE, 24MX Honda), +1:05.120; 12. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:08.173; 13. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), +1:11.166; 14. Christopher Charlier (FRA, 24MX Honda), +1:12.688; 15. David Guarneri (ITA, TM), +1:46.058; 16. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +1:52.087; 17. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), -1 lap(s); 18. Maxim Nazarov (RUS, KTM), -1 lap(s); 19. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, Honda), -1 lap(s); 20. Davis Ivanovs (LAT, Kawasaki), -4 lap(s); 21. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), -8 lap(s); 22. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), -8 lap(s); 23. Nathan Watson (GBR, Husqvarna), -14 lap(s);
MXGP of Latvia final standings
1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 47 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 40 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 37 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 36 p.; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, COW), 28 p.; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 26 p.; 9. Philip Bengtsson (SWE, 24MX HONDA), 22 p.; 10. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 20 p.; 11. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 19 p.; 12. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 18 p.; 13. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 18 p.; 14. Christopher Charlier (FRA, 24MX HONDA), 16 p.; 15. David Philippaerts (NOW, YAM), 9 p.; 16. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 8 p.; 17. Nathan Watson (GBR, HUS), 8 p.; 18. David Guarneri (ITA, TM), 6 p.; 19. Tunnel Leok (EST, WEST), 6 p.; 20. Maxim Nazarov (RUS, KTM), 4 p.; 21. Davis Ivanovs (LAT, COW), 3 p.; 22. Tyla Rattray (RSA, COW), 3 p.; 23. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, HON), 2 p
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