KEMEA Yamaha Official MX team: GP9 Talavera de la Reina, Spain
With a second place in the final standings of the Spanish GP in Talavera, Benoit Paturel has given the KEMEA Yamaha team the first podium of this season. The Frenchman, who finished fourth and second in the heats, proved that he has the potential to be at the front of the battle for the podium.
Benoit was at the front all weekend and felt great on this circuit. A third place in the qualifying round provided a good starting place and a lot of confidence for the races on Sunday. In the first heat, Benoit finished ninth after 1 lap and immediately attacked to move forward as quickly as possible. He eventually ended up in fourth place in the wheel of Pauls Jonass, but was unable to outsmart him.
In the second heat the Frenchman had a rocket start and fell just a few centimeters short of winning the holeshot award. He came out of the corner first and led for two laps. Once Herlings had taken the lead, Paturel tried to keep up with the World Cup leader as best as possible and they both opened up a gap on the rest. Paturel was eventually able to easily maintain his second place and finished within a relatively short distance of Herlings. With this he finished second in the final standings and is doing well in the World Cup standings. He consolidates his fourth place in the standings and is now 11 points ahead of fifth place.
The weekend went a lot less well for Brent Vandoninck. He has been struggling with a thumb injury for several weeks and has not been able to ride at full speed. He crashed early in qualifying and left the race. In the first moto Brent started outside the top 20 but quickly entered the top 15. He was in thirteenth place when he made a mistake halfway through. He did not immediately get going again and had a lot of pain in his thumb, so he decided to stop the fight. He did not start again in the second heat and will have this week examined to see what should be done with the thumb.
In addition to Paturel, Valentin Guillod is also feeling very good on the Spanish circuit. This year too, he made many jaws drop with his mega scrub over the jumps in Talavera. With a fourth place in qualifying he proved that the speed was also good.
At the start of the first moto, Guillod was pushed out in the first corner and crashed. He started at the very back and was already 16th on the first pass. He drove super fast lap times and impressively returned to seventh place. In the second series, the Swiss crossed the line in 8th place after a good start. He rode sixth for a long time, but had to give up two places in the final phase. He finished ninth in the final standings and remains in this position in the World Championship standings.
Benoit Paturel: “ It's fantastic to finish on the podium! I've had a more difficult period, but my confidence has grown in the last few matches. I looked at it game by game and this is the great result. I have to thank everyone on the team and behind me for believing in me, but in particular I would like to thank Jacky Vimond. It is thanks to him that I am here! He does everything for me, both before and after the cross and I am extremely grateful to him for that! This only makes me want more and I'm already looking forward to next week in front of my home audience.”
Brent Vandoninck: “I have been struggling with my thumb since I returned from my hip injury. The doctor had already indicated to me that it would require surgery, but that I could drive if I really wanted to. Initially I was able to drive but it got worse and worse. I tried riding with a brace this week but that was even more painful. I'm going to consult some doctors this week and see what is best to get the thumb back in order. It is better to stop now and try to do a few more races at the end of the season than to continue to struggle now. That only has a demotivating effect and does not yield anything. I hope to be back within 7/8 weeks and show some more beautiful things.”
Valentin Guillod: “I'm actually satisfied with this weekend. The riding went very well and I felt strong on the bike. Unfortunately the result is not the same, but without that crash in the first moto the final result would have been a lot better. I rode the fastest lap of the first moto and was able to make up a lot of time on the first. In the second moto I quickly felt the effort of the first moto, but all in all I look back on the Spanish GP with satisfaction.
Images @shotbybavo
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