De Dycker builds up confidence in Agueda
The Portuguese Agueda was the setting for the 12th round of the FIM MXGP World Championship. The typical red soil made its return to the calendar after an absence of three years. For 24MX Honda rider Ken De Dycker confirmed Agueda's rising form level. Although luck was not on his side, Keeno can take confidence for the remaining GPs. Damon Graulus had an exceptionally difficult Grand Prix in Portugal that he would rather forget as quickly as possible.
De Dycker was also fast during previous matches in Agueda. He never finished outside the top 6 in the last three editions and his best result was second place in 2009. De Dycker needed some time on Saturday to win on the slippery, treacherous surface that was strewn with stones.
But during the qualifying round on Saturday afternoon, 'Keeno' did get the right lines. From his 20th position at the starting gate, he managed to maneuver his way to the front and came out of the first corner in sixth place after the leading group. In the tumult of the first lap, De Dycker lost two places, but he still managed to maintain eighth place for most of the race. Unfortunately, Ken had to give up when his front brake got blocked by a rock. Started 17th, Damon Graulus tried to continue, but this time he did not succeed. Ultimately he only qualified 22nd. The sympathetic Vossem native thus concluded one of his weakest Saturdays since his switch to the MXGP.
Ken De Dycker piloted his CRF450R to another great start in the first moto. Right from the outside he rounded the first corner in 8th place. Unfortunately, De Dycker was unable to capitalize on his strong start. After a fall on the first lap, he later suffered a hitch in a track that injured his foot and left the race.
In the last heat of the weekend Ken was away in the top-15. After having to give up a few positions, he fought back to 16th to finish 18th. Graulus felt anything but good all weekend and finished the first race in 21st place. Inexplicably lethargic and empty, Damon wondered between heats whether he should start in the final. Graulus did what he could, but still had to throw in the towel prematurely.
The MXGP Championship will take a two-weekend break before continuing in the Czech Loket where the 13th round will take place on July 22 and 23.
Ken Dycker: “I obviously cannot be satisfied in terms of results, but I do notice that the speed is coming back. My qualifying race went great until I had a problem with my front brake. In the first moto I crashed quite hard, then I also got my foot stuck in a rut. Fortunately, with some ice on my ankle during the break, I was able to continue. That second heat didn't deliver what was in it, but I still felt stiff from my fall and I just didn't have the strength to attack anymore. All in all it was an encouraging weekend. This is certainly motivating for GPs such as Lommel and Assen where I would like to show myself.”
Damon Graulus: “The past two weeks have been very difficult for me. Physically, things are not going as they should at all. On the contrary, it is clear that there is something wrong with my body. This week I am undergoing various investigations to find out exactly what is going on so that I can compete again for the positions where I belong in the next GPs. I would like to apologize to the team and sponsors for my poor performance over the past few weeks. Thank you to my mechanic Luc, the 24MX Honda team and everyone who supports me.”
MXGP Race 1: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:13.457; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.280; 3. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki), +0:29.696; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:35.385; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:43.826; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:46.739; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:48.261; 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:49.745; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:50.982; 10. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:01.698; 11. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:09.038; 12. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:12.136; 13. Tanel Leok (EST, Husqvarna), +1:19.505; 14. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Honda), +1:24.231; 15. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +1:36.029; 16. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:42.645; 17. Maxime Desprey (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:46.256; 18. Rui Goncalves (POR, Husqvarna), +1:48.641; 19. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, KTM), -1 lap(s); 20. Lukas Neurauter (AUT, KTM), -1 lap(s); 21. Damon Graulus (BEL, 24MX Honda), -1 lap(s); 22. Ryan Houghton (GBR, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 23. Jonathan Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), -2 lap(s); 24. Sandro Peixe (POR, Honda), -2 lap(s); 25. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), -6 lap(s); 26. Ken de Dycker (BEL, 24MX Honda), -6 lap(s); 27. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), -15 lap(s);
MXGP Race 2: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 35:28.572; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:01.768; 3. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki), +0:38.744; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:44.893; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:46.220; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:48.694; 7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:54.499; 8. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:56.119; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:00.122; 10. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:01.602; 11. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:06.949; 12. Tanel Leok (EST, Husqvarna), +1:13.902; 13. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Honda), +1:18.953; 14. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:36.922; 15. Maxime Desprey (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:43.474; 16. Rui Goncalves (POR, Husqvarna), +1:52.808; 17. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), -1 lap(s); 18. Ken de Dycker (BEL, 24MX Honda), -1 lap(s); 19. Lukas Neurauter (AUT, KTM), -1 lap(s); 20. Sandro Peixe (POR, Honda), -1 lap(s); 21. Ryan Houghton (GBR, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 22. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), -11 lap(s); 23. Damon Graulus (BEL, 24MX Honda), -15 lap(s); 24. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, KTM), -19 lap(s);
MXGP Agueda final standings: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 47 p.; 3. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, SUZ), 40 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 34 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 34 p.; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 28 p.; 7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 26 p.; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 26 p.; 9. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 24 p.; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 22 p.; 11. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 21 p.; 12. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 19 p.; 13. Tanel Leok (EST, HUS), 17 p.; 14. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, HON), 15 p.; 15. Maxime Desprey (FRA, KAW), 10 p.; 16. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 9 p.; 17. Rui Goncalves (POR, HUS), 8 p.; 18. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 6 p.; 19. Ken de Dycker (BEL, HON), 3 p.; 20. Lukas Neurauter (AUT, KTM), 3 p.; 21. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, KTM), 2 p.; 22. Sandro Peixe (POR, HON), 1 p.; 23. Ryan Houghton (GBR, YAM), 0 p.; 24. Damon Graulus (BEL, HON), 0 p.; 25. Jonathan Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), 0 p.; 26. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 0 p.; 27. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 0 p.;
FIM MXGP World Championship after 12 rounds: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 478 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 387 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 383 p.; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 382 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 310 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 309 p.; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 289 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 267 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 267 p.; 10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 253 p.; 11. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 244 p.; 12. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 240 p.; 13. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, SUZ), 227 p.; 14. Tanel Leok (EST, HUS), 140 p.; 15. Shaun Simpson (GBR, YAM), 123 p.; 16. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 113 p.; 17. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, HON), 109 p.; 18. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 90 p.; 19. Rui Goncalves (POR, HUS), 83 p.; 20. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 71 p.; 21. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 61 p.; 22. Ken de Dycker (BEL, 24MX HONDA), 40 p.; 23. Damon Graulus (BEL, 24MX HONDA), 35 p.; 24. Maxime Desprey (FRA, KAW), 26 p.; 25. Harri Kullas (EST, HUS), 21 p.; 26. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 15 p.; 27. Jeffrey Dewulf (BEL, KTM), 14 p.; 28. Priit Ratsep (EST, HON), 13 p.; 29. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 12 p.; 30. Jaromir Romancik (CZE, KTM), 11 p.; 31. Evgeny Mikhaylov (RUS, HUS), 10 p.; 32. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), 8 p.; 33. Xavier Boog (FRA, HON), 8 p.; 34. Yentel Martens (BEL, HUS), 6 p.; 35. Viacheslav Golovkin (RUS, KTM), 6 p.; 36. Jetro Salazar (ECU, HON), 4 p.; 37. Vladislav Leonov (RUS, KTM), 4 p.; 38. Jens Getteman (BEL, KAW), 4 p.; 39. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), 3 p.; 40. Gert Krestinov (EST, HON), 3 p.; 41. Steven Lenoir (FRA, KAW), 3 p.; 42. Lukas Neurauter (AUT, KTM), 3 p.; 43. Ander Valentin (ESP, HON), 2 p.; 44. Peter Irt (SLO, YAM), 2 p.; 45. Joaquin Poli (ARG, HON), 1 p.; 46. Matteo Bonini (ITA, KAW), 1 p.; 47. Sandro Peixe (POR, HON), 1 p.; 48. Farhan Hendro Fahrodjie (INA, KAW), 1 p.;
Photos: shotbyBavo
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