KEMEA Yamaha in Ottobiano – Italy
Due to organizational reasons, the Maggiora club was obliged to find a new location for the second Italian GP of the year. The choice fell on Ottobiano, just outside Milan. This is a completely new location for the MXGP calendar, but not unknown territory for most riders as they come here for a lot of testing in the spring and there is also a test for the Italian championship every time. So they knew what to expect from this sandy circuit. The sun was also present and the temperatures rose well above thirty degrees.
In the qualifying competition, Paturel finished fifth as the best KEMEA driver. Brent finished 12th and Alvin finished 22nd after a crash on the first lap.
An early storm with lots of rain could not lower the temperatures on Sunday, but provided tropical conditions for driving.
In the first series, Paturel got off to a good start and settled into eighth place in the initial phase. Afterwards he started to systematically advance and because many people started to slow down towards the end due to the heat, the Frenchman managed to finish second.
Alvin also had a solid start from the outside and came from twelfth place after the first lap to 8th at the finish. Brent started this race 15th and finished 1 place behind Ostlund in ninth.
In the second series Ostlund got off to a very good start. After a few corners he was in seventh place and immediately found a good rhythm. He advanced to fifth place and managed to hold on to this position until the end for his best series result to date. Brent also started the race well and was in seventh place after a few laps. Just after the halfway point, however, the heat started to take hold and Vandoninck had to slow down the pace. He eventually crossed the finish line in 12th place. Meanwhile, Paturel had had a very bad first lap and was at the very back. He gave everything and after a few fierce duels he came back strongly to seventh place. In the daily results, Paturel just missed the podium with a difference of 2 points. Alvin finished seventh and Brent finished the top 10.
Benoit Paturel: “I am disappointed that I have once again missed the podium with a fourth place. The first heat was again very good and I felt comfortable on the track. In the second series I crashed twice in the first round and was able to start a catch-up race again. It was very hot but I gave it everything I could. I know I belong on the podium and I have the speed for it. So let's stay positive and work hard to get there again.”
Alvin Ostlund: “I am very happy with the results this weekend. I felt good all weekend and despite my bad starting position I had a good start in both motos. The heat made the matches very tough, but in the end it wasn't too bad for me. I'm already looking forward to the next match. The previous two races went really well and I am gaining more and more confidence, which is reflected in the results. I have never ridden in Portugal but it seems like a very nice circuit.
Brent Vandoninck: “ This was one of the most difficult races I have ever done... I have never been a big fan of tropical conditions, but I just can't handle them well. I know it's the same for everyone, but luckily we don't have too many competitions like that in a year. My wrist has also been playing tricks on me all weekend. Nothing is broken in the wrist but he suffered a hard blow and that just needs time to heal. Initially, things did not go badly in the matches. I was quite happy with 9th place in the first heat considering the circumstances. In the second series it went even better and I rode seventh but then got hammered. I felt dizzy and could barely finish the series. 12th is not really good but on to Portugal now. I now have an extra week to let the wrist heal. I'm only going to ride once this week to let him rest as much as possible.”
Images @ cdsimages
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