Podium performance for Vlaanderen at the MXGP of Asia

Team HRC’s Calvin Vlaanderen scored his first MX2 overall podium of the season, just two rounds after coming back from his ankle injury. After a fifth in race once, the CRF250RW rider knew he had to ride extremely well in race two to make it on the box, but that’s exactly what he was able to do at the Semarang circuit in Java, Indonesia.

Despite similar conditions to yesterdays’ qualifying moto, Vlaanderen was able to battle the heat and the tricky track surface to ride through the field in both races, proving that his resilience is there, even if he is still not back to being 100%. In the first moto he ended the first lap in eighth place, before settling into a solid pace that allowed him to close up to those in front. He made three paces in the space of five laps but couldn’t quite get any further as time expired, ending the race in fifth place.

A better start in race two meant that he was looking good for a podium spot if he could just make a couple more passes. The riders around him also needed to make passes for their podium aspirations, but Vlaanderen wasn’t to be denied, finishing in an impressive third place and taking the last spot on the podium. After starting the season with three fourth place overall’s in a row, this result was well deserved and a great way to head into the final third of the 2019 season.

The next round of the world motocross championship takes place in Loket, Czech Republic on July 27-28, which is another track that Vlaanderen likes after winning a moto last year and finishing second overall. With another couple of weeks of riding, he’ll be hoping to come out swinging once again and work his way even further towards the front of this MX2 class.