Five minutes with Pauls Jonass
Although Standing Construct GasGas rider Pauls Jonass ended the season with an injury, his second full MXGP campaign was certainly a success. The 24-year-old Latvian started strongly in Russia and gave his team a home stage in Lommel. He wants to make further progress before 2022.
The ex-MX2 world champion was immediately good for three podium places in his first MXGP year. This earned him the title of 'Rookie of the Year' in 2019. A remarkable achievement in itself because Jonass recovered from knee surgery in the winter of 2018. The adjustment to the 450 clearly went well for him.
Due to a heavy fall during the lockdown in 2020, he had to write off last season almost completely. His move to the Belgian Standing Construct GASGAS Factory Racing team meant a new start.
“I was surprised by my speed in that first GP in Orlyonok. After such a long absence, I immediately finished third in the second heat. Quite a good start," that was also Pauls' GasGas debut. “On the other hand, I had no doubts about my speed. We also had a good winter. But maybe the other guys still needed to get in shape?”
Fast but irregular
Even though the speed was there, 2021 would still be a mixed season for the two-time youth world champion. “I was still making rookie mistakes. On paper this was my third year in MXGP, but in 2020 I only rode two races and in 2019 I struggled with my knee injury.”
The Belgian GP was a highlight for both himself and the team. Thanks to a fourth and third place, he stood on the podium together with Romain Febvre and the returning Jeffrey Herlings. Although he would often show top-3 speed, he ultimately had to settle for one podium and an 8th place in the final standings. Due to a rib injury he missed the last two GPs in Mantova.
“If you miss a year of competition, it is difficult to come back. It takes time to gain the confidence to compete with the leaders again,” Pauls explains. “It's been a constructive year and I've been healthy for the most part, which is a good thing. It's also been a long year. I went full throttle from November because I had missed so much and I was ready for March! Then the start of the championship was postponed until May and then it became June. It was anything but easy and by the time Arco arrived, I started to feel it mentally.”
Back on Husqvarna
Pauls Jonass' positive attitude is also noticeable in his approach to the new season. “The level was very high in 2021, but overall I'm really happy with where we are,” he concluded. “I wanted to use 2021 as a springboard to get closer to the top in 2022.”
Next year we will see Jonass again in white. Although he continues to compete for Standing Construct, Tim Mathys' team is exchanging GasGas for Husqvarna. Although the formation from Geel is changing brands for the third time in four years, the team internally opts for regularity. In addition to Jonass, his teammate Brian Bogers and other key figures within the team will also remain in post for 2022.
Tekst: Adam Wheeler & Tom Jacobs
Photos: Red Bull Content Pool Samo Vidic, JP Acevedo
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