Tough opening day for Team HRC in Loket
Qualifying for the MXGP of Czech Republic made for a challenging return to action for the Team HRC duo of Evgeny Bobryshev and Gautier Paulin, riding the Honda CRF450RW.
The changeable conditions today didn’t help, with the practice sessions being run in the dry but rain falling before the qualifying race, but at the chequered flag Bobryshev came home twelfth, and Paulin fifteenth.
The was promise earlier on in the day when Bobryshev was third fastest in timed practice, but come the race Bobryshev was running seventh until a stall which cost him five places by the time he has restarted, and Paulin was chasing a setup amid the changing conditions that he didn’t find today.
Nevertheless, the focus of Team HRC is now firmly upon working overnight to ensure that tomorrow is a different day in every sense, and with a pair of good starts, both Bobby and Gautier can launch themselves right back into contention on the day where the Championship points are awarded.
Evgeny Bobryshev 777
“I started into ninth and then climbed to sixth, until Febvre passed me in the middle of the race for seventh. Then in the last two laps I stopped the bike in a corner and it took me a while to start the bike again and I lost a few positions to twelfth. It was a strange race today as it was really muddy and there were not so many people passing each other, but tomorrow is another day. Twelfth is enough for tomorrow for the race start, and tomorrow is where the points come from, but we just need to be more concentrated and make it a better day than today.”
Gautier Paulin 21
“The track conditions today changed with the rain but that was the same for everyone – we just didn’t find the best setup and a good feeling all day today. We made a change for qualifying and actually it turned out to be the wrong direction. Tixier made to jump the gate at the start and he was right alongside me so when he moved I lost some concentration and missed the start. Then the track was tricky and I wasn’t feeling good on the bike so we struggled today. Now we will make some changes, work hard on the bike overnight and we still have the warm-up tomorrow. I don’t care about the place on the gate for tomorrow, we just need to focus on finding a good feeling for the race and make sure we are improved tomorrow.”
Roger Harvey
“It was a tough day today for a number of reasons and we’re not finishing the day where we’d like to be with Bobby and Gautier, although Tim did another fantastic job today to take another victory, showing that no-one seems to be able to touch him at the moment. Rather than dwell on what could have been we must now focus on what we’ll make happen tomorrow. Bobby was on the podium here last year, as has Gautier been in previous years, so we have all the ingredients, and we’ll take the time tonight to make sure we get the mix right for tomorrow.”
Results Session
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
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Location Information
Československé armády 350/40, 357 33 Loket, Czech Republic - View in Google Maps
