Paulin seals another podium with one of his best rides, and Bobryshev moves into third in the World Championship
With motocross often comes the need to fight through injury and pain, and Gautier Paulin demonstrated today that he could do that in spades.
Carrying the right knee injury sustained just last weekend in the Czech Republic, coupled with the fact that this weekend Lommel was even more rutted and ragged than usual, Paulin was unsure how his knee would hold up.
After yesterday’s qualifying race, the Frenchman conceded that he felt more tired than if he’d done two motos, yet he regrouped today to come out fighting, setting the fastest time in warm-up by a crushing margin of 3.6seconds on the CRF450RW.
A strong ride in race one saw him take second behind Shaun Simpson, and then in race two they found their positions reversed. With Paulin taking the early lead, and setting the fastest lap, the pair were fighting for the Grand Prix victory. As the 30-minute moto went on, in temperatures of nearly 30 degree Celsius, the physical toll of this track started to show and Paulin slipped back to third.
Gritting his teeth and pushing through that pain barrier, he set about chasing down Romain Febvre, and even started closing on leader Simpson, to seal second and his fifth podium of the season.
Evgeny Bobryshev meanwhile also had a stellar weekend, recording two fourth place finishes to take fourth overall. Importantly, with his haul of points Bobby now moves into third position in the World Championship, with four races remaining.
As the temperature soared, the deep sand was even more treacherous and demanding than usual. Incredibly rutted, deep and bumpy, staying on the bike was a stern enough test, and physical and mechanical endurance to push to the end were really tested.
Roger Harvey
“Both Gautier and Bobby rode very good races today – strong and consistent without any real mistakes. Gautier did very well with the pain his knee was causing him and that really was a fantastic ride from him in a very difficult situation. Bobby also rode another two very consistent races using his head, and has been rewarded with third in the World Championship so we now hold the number two and three spots. I’m very pleased with the way everyone has worked this weekend, and whilst we are still aiming for the top we absolutely will work hard to keep both guys in the top three.”
Gautier Paulin 21
“I gave 100 per cent today, not one little bit less. With the situation with the knee, this feels as good as the win in Valkenswaard and I’m really happy. We're always training here, but the track was pretty tough. I hurt my right knee in the first moto in Loket, so yesterday the qualifying was tough. I woke this morning more tired than if I made two GPs. I like to push my body to the limit, and this morning I said: ‘ok, now you have to get the job done so just push’. I want to thank HRC Honda because they have been working hard to make a big step with the engine which helped me a lot also today. I was really enjoying the track and feeling good on it with my riding. I needed to push 100 per cent today right to the end, and I did it but I had to dig deep in my mind to overcome the pain. I’m really happy with this second, and now we’ll go and rest a bit and be back at full fitness for the next race.”
Evgeny Bobryshev 777
“I’m really pleased with the weekend. It was so tough here that actually I’m glad we’ve finished it. It’s like I’ve never seen Lommel before – so rough and bumpy. It was a good consistent weekend with just one or two little mistakes, so we have to be happy. It’s also a great feeling to see my name third in the World Championship. I know there are still four races left and anything can happen, but it’s great to be there at the top, and that’s where we want to stay this season.”
Results Session 1
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|
Results Session 2
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|
Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|
Location Information
Dodenveldstraat, 3900 Overpelt, Belgium - View in Google Maps
