Impressive comeback to fifth for Vlaanderen in qualifying race
Calvin Vlaanderen scored a fifth-place finish in today’s qualifying race of the opening round of the 2018 MX2 season, which is currently underway at Villa La Angostura in Argentina.
Today’s result came at the end of a very encouraging day for the 21-year-old South African rider, who was previously third and fifth, respectively, in the free and timed practice sessions aboard the all-new Honda CRF250RW machine #10.
Vlaanderen had a satisfactory start to the race but found himself stuck on the inside line at the first corner and was forced to give up a good number of positions. After crossing the line in 15th place at the end of lap one, he started an impressive charge to the front which culminated in a successful overtaking manoeuvre for fifth on Darian Sanayei during the penultimate lap.
MX2 action will resume tomorrow morning at 10:25 local time (GMT -3) with the 15 minute warm up session, which will be followed by the two opening races of the season at 12:15 and 15:10.
Calvin Vlaanderen 10
Overall it was a good day, I’m happy with the result of the qualifying race. We worked well as a team and we were able to make some good steps forward between the two practice sessions and the qualifying race. There’s always excitement and a bit of nerves too before the first GP, but I’m happy we got the day out of the way smoothly and safely. We did what we have to do and we have a good gate pick for tomorrow, so I’m feeling good; the bike works well and I hope we can get a better start in the races and get in the mix at the front of the field.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
We’re quite happy with today’s result. Calvin has performed consistently well throughout the day. He didn’t get the perfect start to the qualifying race, but then he got up to speed and showed great form on track, which is important. The track is really fast and quite sketchy, so I think as a team we did a good job. The bike works well and we only need some fine-tuning, so we’re looking forward to tomorrow’s two races.
MX2 Qualifying Race
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonass Pauls | 1 | LAT | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 24'47.569 |
| 2 | Kjer Olsen Thomas | 19 | DEN | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing | Husqvarna | +6.321 |
| 3 | Watson Ben | 919 | GBR | Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team | Yamaha | +12.151 |
| 4 | Lawrence Hunter | 96 | AUS | Honda 114 Motorsports | Honda | +21.926 |
| 5 | Vlaanderen Calvin | 10 | RSA | Team HRC - MX2 | Honda | +27.266 |
| 6 | Sanayei Darian | 57 | USA | Bike It DRT Kawasaki | Kawasaki | +29.347 |
| 7 | Covington Thomas | 64 | USA | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing | Husqvarna | +35.985 |
| 8 | Östlund Alvin | 161 | SWE | Yamaha SM Action - M.C. Migliori | Yamaha | +40.054 |
| 9 | Cervellin Michele | 747 | ITA | Team Martin Racing Honda | Honda | +43.362 |
| 10 | Mewse Conrad | 426 | GBR | Hitachi Construction Machinery KTM UK | KTM | +43.727 |
| 11 | Beaton Jed | 14 | AUS | F&H Racing Team | Kawasaki | +44.581 |
| 12 | Pootjes Davy | 46 | NDL | LRT KTM | KTM | +49.424 |
| 13 | Geerts Jago | 193 | BEL | Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team | Yamaha | +53.277 |
| 14 | Vaessen Bas | 98 | NDL | Honda 114 Motorsports | Honda | +56.370 |
| 15 | Jacobi Henry | 29 | GER | STC Racing | Husqvarna | +1'01.357 |
| 16 | Bernardini Samuele | 321 | ITA | TM Racing Factory Team | TM | +1'06.801 |
| 17 | Brylyakov Vsevolod | 18 | RUS | Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team | Yamaha | +1'08.813 |
| 18 | Rubini Stephen | 118 | FRA | KTM Silver Action | KTM | +1'17.725 |
| 19 | Souza Gustavo | 891 | BRA | Wildcard Rider | Honda | +1'21.085 |
| 20 | Weltin Marshal | 56 | USA | Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda Team | Honda | +1'28.480 |
| 21 | Larranaga Olano Iker | 66 | SPA | Husqvarna 8Biano Racing | Husqvarna | 1 lap |
| 22 | Vasquez Javier | 194 | CHI | Wildcard Rider | Honda | 1 lap |
| 23 | Righi Luciano | 133 | ARG | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna | 1 lap |
| 24 | Seibel Pablo Julian | 375 | ARG | Wildcard Rider | Honda | 1 lap |
| 25 | Villaronga Sergio | 276 | CHI | Wildcard Rider | KTM | 1 lap |
| 26 | Toro Lautaro | 833 | ARG | Wildcard Rider | Kawasaki | 1 lap |
| 27 | Bratschi German | 122 | ARG | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna | 1 lap |
| 28 | Prado Garcia Jorge | 61 | SPA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 5 laps |
| 29 | van Doninck Brent | 172 | BEL | Husqvarna 8Biano Racing | Husqvarna | 5 laps |
| 30 | Sterry Adam | 811 | GBR | F&H Racing Team | Kawasaki | 13 laps |
| 31 | Lesiardo Morgan | 44 | ITA | Marchetti Racing Team KTM | KTM | 14 laps |
| 32 | Dunka Lucas | 934 | BRA | Wildcard Rider | Honda | 14 laps |
Location Information
Neuquen, Argentina - View in Google Maps
