Shining role for Marshal Weltin in Matterley Basin!
After a year's absence from the GP calendar due to the MX of Nations, Matterley Basin made its return for the ninth round of the MX2 World Championship. Marshal Weltin piloted his CRF250R to an impressive fifth place in the first moto, and the young American also finished eighth overall, his best GP result ever. This is also the best result of Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda at World Championship level. Micha-Boy De Waal did not score in England.
The hard and fast Matterley Basin in Winchester is one of the most popular circuits of the world championship. Sunny weather ensured that the picture was complete.
Micha-Boy De Waal adapted quickly and was the fastest of the Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda riders in time training. In the qualifying race, Micha was forced to retire after a stone damaged the radiator. Marshal often has difficulty maintaining his competition speed over one lap. That was also the case and Weltin had to settle for 26th place in the timed training. In Saturday's qualifying race, the American rode to 18th place.
Although Weltin was still looking for a great start in the GPs, the British Grand Prix caused a change. The Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda rider was initially in eighth position. Full of confidence and at a pace comparable to that of the leading names, Marhal attacked decisively. For most of the moto Marshal hung sixth, at the end he gained one extra place after dropping out
Thomas-Kjer Olsen. In the first series, De Waal suffered an unfortunate crash in the opening round. After his crash, Micha climbed back strongly from very last to twentieth place. However, a serious crash forced him to throw in the towel with a painful back.
A crash on the first lap of the final heat threw a spanner in the works for Weltin, but he once again put in an excellent performance. In the end he went from 24 to 13. Withering the pain, “MBDW” started in the second series. The driver from Veen got off to a difficult start but remained in contention for the last championship point all the way to the end. Despite Micha's determination and lion heart, he ended up 1,2 seconds behind in twentieth position.
This weekend, the 2-lap MX20 World Championship will be at its halfway point with the French GP in Saint-Jean d'Angély.
Marshal Weltin: “The first series gave me a great feeling! That fifth place is the best GP result of my career. It is very satisfying to finally be able to give something back to the team. I had to wait a long time for this result, but that was certainly not because I didn't work or keep fighting for it! The improvements we made to the bike, both in terms of suspension and engine block, turned out well. I am looking forward to continuing this momentum in France.”
Micha-Boy De Waal: “Matterly Basin was a very difficult GP for me. I was able to come back well in the opening sequence, but with 10 minutes to go I fell off hard. I seriously hurt my back. Fortunately, after examination in the mobile clinic, it turned out that I had not suffered any fractures, only serious bruises. I tried everything I could in the second race, but my lower back hurt like hell. ”
Photos: shotbyBavo
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