Promising debut for all-new 2017 CRF450RW in the USA
Evgeny Bobryshev gave the all-new Honda CRF450RW a promising debut today at the MXGP of the Americas, held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Whilst race one proved something of an acclimatisation run for the Russian, who was using the new machine for the first time in anger at an MXGP event, in race two Bobby was right in the podium fight for the duration of the race.
From the start, EB777 launched towards the front with a strong start and was quickly fighting for second position. As the race progressed, that fight became for third, but Bobby and the team were very encouraged with the promise and potential the new bike showed on its maiden outing.
Meanwhile on the number 21 machine, Gautier Paulin started the day strongly and was attacking the front of the field in the opening free and timed practice sessions, but sadly it wasn’t to be his weekend. Two bad starts left him in the melee, and his day was cut short when he caught his foot in a rut in the second race, crashed and twisted his knee.
Evgeny Bobryshev 777
“I really enjoyed my day today – the track was great and riding the new 2017 CRF was fantastic. In the first race I needed to understand the bike in a race condition so it took us a little time to get really used to it, but the second race was way better. I had a good start and sat in fourth place for the whole race pushing for third. The speed was the same so I couldn’t make a pass unfortunately, but we definitely had podium pace here with the new bike. I really feel comfortable on the bike and I really enjoy to ride it – I know that there are many more positive results coming.”
Gautier Paulin 21
“It was a really good venue and a really good track here in Charlotte, and I enjoyed riding it a lot. They did a lot of hard work since the rain yesterday and the condition of the track today was good. Unfortunately though I had two bad starts today which made it hard. My riding was good but I’m not happy with myself about the starts. The track was really technical and had some nice flow, and I think with good starts we could have been in the mix today. In the second moto, I also twisted my ankle badly which is why I had to stop. On the inside of one corner I got my foot stuck in the mud so I lost the front end because of that, and when I crashed it twisted my ankle. The team have worked on it already tonight and it’s feeling better, but at first there was so much pain I couldn’t continue.”
Roger Harvey
“It’s really been a day of two halves today, and I must start by congratulating Tim Gajser and the whole of the Honda Gariboldi team for wrapping up the MXGP World Championship title with one round still to go. Actually, Tim sealed his second consecutive crown after the first moto, so he could relax a little in the second race and take the fight to the American riders who were fast here today. We’re very heartened by Bobby’s debut of the new 2017 bike too, as after taking the first race to adjust and bed himself into the new machine, race two saw Bobby right back to form again and running strongly at the front, fighting for the podium, so we’re very excited to continue building on this ahead of its full MXGP campaign next season.”
Race 1
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|
Race 2
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|
Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|
Location Information
Charlotte Motor Speedway, Concord Parkway South, Concord, NC, United States - View in Google Maps
