Fourth and fifth for Team HRC in Assen as Paulin and Bobryshev both take their turns leading the field
Frenchman Gautier Paulin finished today’s MXGP of the Netherlands in fourth place overall just ahead of teammate Evgeny Bobryshev, but the results don’t tell the full story.
In the first race, the Team HRC pairing spent most of the 30minutes running together. By midway round the first lap, Bobby was in second and Gautier third, and just five minutes in, Bobby took the lead with the #21 rider following him through to make a Honda 1-2. As a battle with Shaun Simpson, the top three were shaken up and the flag dropped with Gautier second and Bobby third, both having been strongly in contention for the victory.
Race two got off to a similar start for Bobby as he powered his way into the top three from the start, and then with stunning pace on Assen’s soft sand moved himself into the lead on the opening lap and built himself a cushion of over eight seconds. Gautier didn’t enjoy as good a start and, having been close to the edge in the first corner melee, found himself in thirteenth.
As the race unfolded, the Team HRC pairing found themselves closer together though, as Gautier climbed through the field to an eventual fourth, whilst Bobby was left ruing a couple of mistakes and a crash that robbed him of a race he surely could have won and demoted him to fifth at the flag.
Twenty five thousand fans turned out to watch the spectacle that is MXGP today for the inaugural MXGP of the Netherlands in Assen. They filled the grandstands of the TT Circuit to witness how 250,000m3 of sand had transformed the road racing circuit into a world-class motocross track.
The MXGP of the Netherlands was also the final European round of the 2015 MXGP season, and now only two Grands Prix remain – a back-to-back pairing of overseas races in Mexico and the USA in two weeks.
Roger Harvey
“In general it was a good day today. Both Bobby and Gautier showed good speed, enough to win, and Bobby’s speed in race two especially was quite amazing, but then a small mistake cost him. Really we should have been on podium today, but it was a good weekend in general to consolidate second and third in the championship. It was a difficult track and a difficult day for everyone. It’s a unique track for the grand prix series, and the grandstands filled so the atmosphere was great and I think it worked really well.”
Gautier Paulin 21
“It is not a bad weekend. It’s a transition weekend as it's now six weeks since I hurt my knee and with this week off I can start training like normal again to be strong in Mexico and Glen Helen too. In the first moto I could have won it as I had that feeling. I had a good battle with Shaun and I was in the lead but then I had a problem with lappers and he passed me. Then we had a good rhythm, but two laps to go I made a small mistake so I finished second. In the second moto I had a really bad start and I was close to crashing in the first corner and the second corner too. I was really far away from the front, and then on this track even if it’s sandy it’s really hard to pass, first because it was tight and second because it was sandy.”
Evgeny Bobryshev 777
“I had a good weekend to be honest. I was keeping third place until the end in the first moto and I was happy with that. For the second race I had a really good start and kept it wide open into the first corner and came out third. Then I was leading for ten laps until Febvre passed me, and then I made a few mistakes which cost me a win in this race. So for sure in that way I’m frustrated, but in the other way I had the speed, I got more good points and I go home healthy. I had many fans coming over here and friends from Russia so I had a lot of support. It was my GP and I was feeling for it, but we’ve still two races to go.”
Race one
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Race two
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Rider standings
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Location Information
Assen, The Netherlands - View in Google Maps
