Solid fifth for Vlaanderen on return to qualifying action
Team HRC’s Calvin Vlaanderen returned to world motocross championship action with an impressive fifth place finish in the MXGP of Indonesia qualification race. In hot and humid conditions at the Palembang track, Vlaanderen gradually eased into the day, posting decent times in both free and timed practice sessions. Then in the qualification race, he got a great start on his CRF250RW, rounding the first corner in second position, showing that his speed is still good after such a long layoff. As the chequered flag was waved, Vlaanderen eventually crossed the line in fifth place, which is a strong finish in difficult conditions and especially as this is his first GP since round five back in May.
Vlaanderen has a warm up session at 10:25am tomorrow, which is then followed by the two main races at 12:15 and 15:10 where he will be hoping to score well and get his season back on track.
Calvin Vlaanderen 10
Obviously I have really good memories from last year when I got my first overall win in Indonesia so it’s good to be here. I’m actually very happy with how today went. I took it pretty steady in free practice and timed practice and then had a great start in the qualification race, almost grabbing the holeshot. I got passed by a couple of guys after making some small mistakes but I tried to follow some lines and ride a smooth race until the finish line. I didn’t have too many expectations coming into the weekend but I’ll be happy with two more good starts, some solid riding and just building up my levels for the rest of the season.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
It is great to have Calvin back with the team and out on the track in the MX2 class. It was also really good to see him get such a good start and run up near the front of the field for the first half of the race. We haven’t really got too many expectations for results, because he’s missed the last five rounds but today was extremely promising and bodes well for the rest of the season, where he can get back to challenging for the podium positions.
Qualifying Race
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
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Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
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