Strong finish to French GP for Vlaanderen
Calvin Vlaanderen has wrapped up his MXGP of France with a fifth-place finish in the second moto of the MX2 World Championship at Saint Jean d’Angely. With the championship reaching its halfway point, the Team HRC rider still lies fifth in the standings ahead of the team’s home round at Ottobiano – the third of three back-to-back events for the series.
The first part of the day was not as kind to the 21-year-old South African rider, who was only 12th at the chequered flag of race one after a poor start to the encounter, a small crash and a challenging ride over the the deep ruts and stones of the French track.
The second race saw Vlaanderen get a good jump out of the gate aboard his Honda CRF250RW machine and race through the first corners in sixth place. He then moved up to fourth and set his sights on third place but a coming together – brilliantly saved – with Cervellin cost him a couple of positions.
Calvin eventually managed to pass the Italian rider for fifth place – which was also his overall finish at the MXGP of France.
Calvin Vlaanderen 10
Our GP of France overall was not what we wanted, but it wasn’t too bad either. I didn’t feel too comfortable with the bike in race one, especially due to the harsh track conditions; I crashed on the first lap and I could only get back to twelfth. I was a bit disappointed with the result, but in the second moto I felt a lot better. My start was good and I was riding strong, but I had a very spectacular incident with Cervellin – and somehow I managed to keep it on two wheels. It took some time to build some speed again, but I managed to finish within the top-five and end the day with a bit of a high.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
We are leaving France without the type of result we came here for, but we have some positives to carry into the next round at Ottobiano. Race one was difficult, but Calvin showed what he’s made of in the second moto as he rode well and finished with a good result despite the collision with Cervellin – which cost him a couple of positions. The next track on the calendar is a sandy one, which on paper should suit Calvin’s style a bit better, and it’s also the team’s home round, so we look forward to it.
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
84 Rue de Poursay, 17400 Mazeray, France - View in Google Maps
