Fifth gate-pick secured by Calvin Vlaanderen in Bulgarian qualifying race
Team HRC’s Calvin Vlaanderen enjoyed another solid Saturday of racing today at Sevlievo, the venue hosting the MXGP of Bulgaria. With the fifth-gate pick in his bag, Calvin is looking forward to return to action tomorrow as the two, seventeenth-round MX2 races will get underway tomorrow at 13:15 and 16:10 local time (GMT +3).
After a brace of encouraging results in the first two sessions of the day – he was fifth and third, respectively, in free and timed practice – the 22-year-old from Cape Town got a good start to the race as he hit the brakes of his Honda CRF250RW machine on the inside line at turn one. On top of the second uphill section, Calvin made a great pass for fourth place but then lost the position soon afterwards due to a small mistake.
The standard bearer of Honda Racing Corporation in the quarter-litre class of MXGP maintained a solid pace and rode smartly, while making sure to keep at bay Hunter Lawrence, when the fellow-Honda rider narrowed the gap down to one second. Today’s fifth place grants Vlaanderen a good gate-pick for tomorrow, for what will be another hot day of racing in north-central Bulgaria.
Calvin Vlaanderen 10
I’m quite happy with day one here in Bulgaria. I had a good feeling in free and timed practice. I had a good start and was happy with that but made a kind of mistake on the first lap and got passed. In the first two laps I kind of struggled to find a good rhythm but then I managed to get up to speed and ride at my own pace. I need to find some lines for passing because otherwise it’s going to be tough tomorrow. If we get two good starts, we know we can run at the front.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
Calvin had a very positive day. Fifth place is not too bad, plus he got a good start - even though he was pushed out of line at turn one. He showed he has the speed and that’s the most important thing. The team worked hard and did everything right; the bike is performing well and Calvin loves this track so we can say we are ready for battle here in Sevlievo.
Qualifyig race
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Rider standings
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Location Information
44, 5401 Sevlievo, Bulgaria - View in Google Maps
