JM Honda Racing riders over Mantova 1
Dylan Walsh (JM Honda Racing) completed his first ever MXGP race in Kegums last month. However, Julien Lieber's replacement continues to make progress step by step. With a 14th place in the second race of the GP of Lombardy (Mantova), Walsh recorded his best series so far. Teammate Artem Guryev had to settle for 1th place in Mantova 27.
The 9th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Mantova took place in very different conditions compared to those in Faenza - also in Italy - two weeks ago. In much cooler weather and under a threatening sky, Jacky Martens' riders set to work on the compact and sandy circuit.
In his fifth GP so far, Dylan delivered his best qualifying. Less than three seconds behind pole sitter Tim Gajser, the #53 JM Honda Racing rider set the 19th fastest time. Guryev also never performed better in terms of time this season than his qualification today. After a solid start in race one, Walsh started to make progress. However, this ended prematurely when he made a mistake on the third lap, at which time he was 13th. Because Dylan damaged his clutch in a duel, it completely gave up the ghost a few laps later and he had to give up.
Fortunately, the recovery brought improvement. Although this time too, there would certainly have been a higher ranking. The British MX2 champion was eighth away and launched an attack on Desalle on the opening lap when he crashed into the Belgian's rear wheel and crashed. Although he was knocked back to just inside the top 20, Walsh was still able to manage a 14th place.
Artem had difficulty reaching his best level in the first series, so he did not get further than 24th place. A crash in the first corner and a few mistakes undid all the hard work to come back. The combative Russian ultimately finished 25th.
Dylan Walsh: “Overall it wasn't a bad day but there is of course still a lot of room for improvement. My first goal is simply to achieve two regular series. Too bad I had to come in in the first race because it went quite well. In the second moto I was even better at the start of the series, but I crashed in the battle for seventh position. I was able to get back to the front reasonably well and finished 14th. OK given the circumstances, but not where we want to be.”
Artem Guryev: “A day of ups and downs. In the first series I never got into my rhythm. The second round went better in terms of both driving and bike feeling. Even after my fall at the start, I fell a few more times, but the track was very slippery and treacherous. Luckily I didn't get any injuries today. Let's rest first and then we can focus on Wednesday's match.”
Photos: CDS
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