Tough day at the office for Honda HRC in Lommel
Lommel lived up to its moniker as ‘the toughest track on the planet’ for the Honda HRC duo of Ruben Fernandez (MXGP) and Valerio Lata (MX2) as they struggled to navigate the sandy terrain, finishing 23rd and 15th respectively.
On a day that continued the season-long theme of rainy MXGP weekends, intermittent showers peppered the deep sand circuit, located just outside the town of Lommel, Belgium. This made things even more treacherous for the riders in both classes as the sand got even heavier, causing even more problems for the best motocross riders on the planet.
Fernandez’s day started off well in free practice as the Spainiard posted the fifth fastest time, however he couldn’t build upon that in timed practice and instead had to start in the middle of this MXGP field, with all the chaos that ensues. He actually rounded the first turn high up the field, but as he attempted to negotiate turn two, he hit the deck and watched as the rest of the field went past him. He charged up through the field and was on track to get near the top 10 by the end of the qualification race, but a crash in the middle of the moto ended those chances. Instead he crossed the line down in 23rd, knowing he has a lot of work to do, in order to challenge the top riders in the GP-scoring races tomorrow.
While Lata avoided any major incidents in his qualification race, he still struggled to match the pace of the top 10 in any of the sessions and instead had to be content with taking the chequered flag in 15th place. He knows there is work to do for tomorrow and for the future because this result isn’t satisfactory for him or the team, but right now his aim is to give 100% and keep a consistent pace without risking too much on a track that very easily catches out riders.
Thankfully the forecast is better for tomorrow, but the circuit is likely to get even rougher as more racing takes place throughout the day. This will make harder for the HRC duo, but they are well aware of the task in front of them and will doing everything in their power to improve upon today’s results.
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MX2 Qualification Race
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 26:09.242; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:04.841; 3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:06.557; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:13.239; 5. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:21.063; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:37.385; 7. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:54.906; 8. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:29.270; 9. David Braceras (ESP, Honda), +1:30.559; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +1:31.645; … 15. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +2:05.156;
Ruben Fernandez 70
Definitely not my best day and not one I am proud of. I couldn’t get a good lap in timed practice, which didn’t give me the best gate-pick. I was involved in a second turn crash and was outside the top 20, then as I was coming through, there was another mistake and I dropped to last. I came through but could only get to 23rd so not good enough and I’m not happy with my riding. I will work with the team to try and get things better for tomorrow.
Valerio Lata 18
I knew it would be a difficult weekend coming into Lommel, but this is a really tough track and punishes any errors you make. I tried to minimise any mistakes and kept it as consistent as possible in the qualification race to finish in 15th, which isn’t great, but I feel like I can build from here and do better in tomorrow’s races.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
Tough day at the office for both riders and one we need to learn from as a team and try to make doesn’t happen again. We don’t have much time to work with, but we will help and try things to improve their ability to navigate this tough Lommel circuit.
Qualifying Race
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Coenen Lucas | 96 | BEL | 25 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 25:54.249 |
2 | Febvre Romain | 3 | FRA | 22 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki | 0:04.744 |
3 | Vlaanderen Calvin | 10 | NDL | 20 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha | 0:19.667 |
4 | Gifting Isak | 517 | SWE | 18 | JK Racing Yamaha Active | Yamaha | 0:22.901 |
5 | Coldenhoff Glenn | 259 | NDL | 16 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic | 0:23.013 |
6 | Geerts Jago | 93 | BEL | 15 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha | 0:26.260 |
7 | van Doninck Brent | 32 | BEL | 14 | JM Honda Racing | Honda | 0:41.735 |
8 | Bonacorsi Andrea | 132 | ITA | 13 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic | 0:48.187 |
9 | Herlings Jeffrey | 84 | NDL | 12 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 0:50.649 |
10 | Fredriksen Hakon | 427 | NOR | 11 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha | 0:51.330 |
11 | Renaux Maxime | 959 | FRA | 10 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha | 0:57.137 |
12 | Watson Ben | 919 | GBR | 9 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta | 1:04.039 |
13 | Bogers Brian | 189 | NDL | 8 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic | 1:09.843 |
14 | van de Moosdijk Roan | 34 | NDL | 7 | KTM Kozak Team | KTM | 1:12.934 |
15 | Brumann Kevin | 87 | SWI | 6 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna | 1:18.919 |
16 | Spies Maximillian | GER | 5 | 1:21.183 | |||
17 | Pancar Jan | 253 | SLO | 4 | TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team | KTM | 1:33.380 |
18 | Sterry Adam | 811 | GBR | 3 | KTM Kozak Team | KTM | 1:36.606 |
19 | Guadagnini Mattia | 101 | ITA | 2 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati | 1:37.761 |
20 | Seewer Jeremy | 91 | SWI | 1 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati | 1:38.525 |
21 | Van Berkel Lars | NDL | 0 | 1:50.125 | |||
22 | Talviku Jorgen-Matthias | 261 | EST | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha | 1:53.080 |
23 | Fernandez Ruben | 70 | SPA | 0 | Honda HRC - MXGP | Honda |
Rider standings
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Febvre Romain | 3 | FRA | 700 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki |
2 | Coenen Lucas | 96 | BEL | 693 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
3 | Coldenhoff Glenn | 259 | NDL | 510 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic |
4 | Fernandez Ruben | 70 | SPA | 451 | Honda HRC - MXGP | Honda |
5 | Vlaanderen Calvin | 10 | NDL | 412 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
6 | Bonacorsi Andrea | 132 | ITA | 383 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic |
7 | Renaux Maxime | 959 | FRA | 378 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
8 | Herlings Jeffrey | 84 | NDL | 337 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
9 | Seewer Jeremy | 91 | SWI | 328 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati |
10 | Gajser Tim | 243 | SLO | 305 | Honda HRC - MXGP | Honda |
11 | Geerts Jago | 93 | BEL | 252 | Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team | Yamaha |
12 | Watson Ben | 919 | GBR | 245 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta |
13 | Horgmo Kevin | 24 | NOR | 243 | Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda |
14 | Pancar Jan | 253 | SLO | 230 | TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team | KTM |
15 | Bogers Brian | 189 | NDL | 228 | Fantic Factory Racing MXGP | Fantic |
16 | Gifting Isak | 517 | SWE | 201 | JK Racing Yamaha Active | Yamaha |
17 | Guadagnini Mattia | 101 | ITA | 175 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati |
18 | Jonass Pauls | 41 | LAT | 162 | Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP | Kawasaki |
19 | van Doninck Brent | 32 | BEL | 133 | JM Honda Racing | Honda |
20 | van de Moosdijk Roan | 34 | NDL | 130 | KTM Kozak Team | KTM |
21 | Sterry Adam | 811 | GBR | 101 | KTM Kozak Team | KTM |
22 | Koch Tom | 226 | GER | 79 | MRT Racing Team Beta | Beta |
23 | Guillod Valentin | 92 | SWI | 72 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
24 | Forato Alberto | 303 | ITA | 72 | Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda |
25 | Brumann Kevin | 87 | SWI | 59 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna |
26 | Spies Maximillian | GER | 41 | |||
27 | Stauffer Marcel | 411 | AUT | 38 | Wildcard Rider | KTM |
28 | Cairoli Antonio | 222 | ITA | 37 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati |
29 | Gilbert Josh | GBR | 27 | |||
30 | Ludwig Noah | GER | 22 | |||
31 | Tondel Cornelius | 17 | NOR | 20 | JWR Honda Racing | Honda |
32 | Fredriksen Hakon | 427 | NOR | 11 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
33 | Prugnieres Quentin | 319 | FRA | 11 | Honda SR Motoblouz | Honda |
34 | Pumpurs Mairis | 610 | LAT | 10 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna |
35 | Lupino Alessandro | 177 | ITA | 9 | Ducati Factory MX Team | Ducati |
36 | Boisrame Mathys | FRA | 9 | |||
37 | Tonus Arnaud | 4 | SWI | 8 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
38 | Nissinen Pekka | 29 | FIN | 7 | Wildcard Rider | GasGas |
39 | Monticelli Ivo | ITA | 6 | |||
40 | Nickel Cato | GER | 6 | |||
41 | Aparecido dos Santos Fabio | BRA | 5 | |||
42 | Guyon Tom | 49 | FRA | 5 | Wildcard Rider | Triumph |
43 | Talviku Jorgen-Matthias | 261 | EST | 4 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
44 | Teresak Jakub | CZE | 3 | |||
45 | Carpenter James | GBR | 3 | |||
46 | Pape Romain | 53 | FRA | 3 | Wildcard Rider | Yamaha |
47 | Kangasniemi Kasper | 40 | FIN | 2 | Wildcard Rider | KTM |
48 | Alonso Victor | 196 | SPA | 2 | Wildcard Rider | Honda |
49 | Varjonen Miro | 248 | FIN | 1 | Wildcard Rider | KTM |
50 | Evans Mitch | 43 | AUS | 1 | Wildcard Rider | Honda |
51 | Haavisto Jere | FIN | 1 | |||
52 | Adamson John | 212 | GBR | 1 | Wildcard Rider | Honda |
53 | Scheu Mark | GER | 1 | |||
54 | Valentin Ander | SPA | 0 | |||
55 | Purdon Tristan | RSA | 0 | |||
56 | Van Berkel Lars | NDL | 0 |
Location Information
Dodenveldstraat, 3900 Overpelt, Belgium - View in Google Maps