JM Honda Racing about Lacapelle Marival
JM Honda Racing continued its preparation for the new World Motocross Championship season with the international competition of Lacapelle-Marival. After an encouraging weekend at Hawkstone Park, the race in France produced mixed results. Benoit Paturel was the best JM Honda Racing rider with a solid 10th place in the MX1.
The contrast with last weekend's British deluge was stark. The weather conditions in Lacapelle, about 180 kilometers north-east of Toulouse, were excellent. Ex-GP winner Benoit Paturel rode to the 8th fastest time in the qualifications and showed good speed all day. Paturel got off to a decent start in the first heat and fought back bravely in the top 10. In the end he crossed the line just 1,5 seconds after the seventh, Shaun Simpson.
In the second sprint of 20 minutes plus two laps, Benoit sent his CRF450R to the front after a bad start. Paturel still entered the top 10, although he had to give up one position to his compatriot Gautier Paulin in the final phase. Unfortunately, due to a small technical problem, Ben did not perform in the final Super Final.
For JM Honda Racing's Belgian rider Julien Lieber, the Lacapelle race was one to quickly forget. Julien was struggling with an old wrist injury and did not get further than a disappointing 19th time in the qualifications. Some hard landings may have aggravated Lieber's wrist problem. In the first moto he finished 21st. Julien then decided not to participate in the final MX1 race.
Artem Guryev never found his way on the circuit and was therefore not in a good rhythm. It also became clear that the sympathetic Russian needs more adjustment work for conditions such as those in Lacapelle-Marival.
The opening race of the 2020 MXGP World Championship will take place in Matterley Basin, Great Britain on March 1.
Benoit Paturel: “Overall, Lacapelle was definitely a positive day. Far from perfect, but there is still a lot we can build on! In any case, the first two preparatory races have confirmed that we are on the right track. Both the collaboration with the team and with my physical trainer Joël Roelants are going well. Now we have to keep working to get off to the start as strong as possible in the first GP in England. My goal is to improve gradually during the season. A big thank you to everyone who supports me!”
Julien Lieber: “It became clear early in the day that I was still experiencing some discomfort with my wrist, a result of an injury I sustained last year. I started in the first moto but I was suffering too much, so I decided not to ride anymore. Of course that is a shame, but now we have to look at how we can solve this problem as best as possible.”
Artem Guryev: “It's good to catch these kinds of matches before the World Cup starts. Especially since the weather was also good! The Honda is still very new to me, I still have a lot to learn about the engine and settings. Lacapelle was certainly a very useful exercise, we now know what we still need to work on. That will be my focus together with the team until Matterley Basin.”
Jacky Martens, team manager: “All in all, Lacapelle-Marival was positive for us. We know we still have some work to do, but that is exactly why these matches are so important. Both Benoit (Paturel) and Julien (Lieber) have not competed in a long time. It is therefore evident that they mainly need competition rhythm. Paturel has already shown some good things, which is very motivating given the circumstances.
Julien didn't take any risks after feeling uncomfortable with his wrist. Hopefully we will find a good way to deal with this in the coming days. It is still very new for Artem (Guryev) at the moment, and the track was treacherous in some places. So after he fell, it became a very difficult day. In any case, Hawkstone Park and Lacapelle have provided us with very useful feedback now that it is up to us to use that information in the best possible way.”
Photos: MXJuly
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