Vlaanderen comes through to sixth in MX2 qualification
Calvin Vlaanderen continued his impressive return from injury by placing sixth in the qualification race at the MXGP of Asia, hosted in Semarang, Indonesia. The Team HRC rider didn’t get the best of starts but rode through the pack in this competitive MX2 class to finish just six seconds off a podium spot.
After staying in Indonesia between these two GPs, Vlaanderen hasn’t been able to have any on-bike training, which is why he took his time in free practice to feel comfortable on this impressive Semarang circuit. Timed practice was decent, with a sixth place there giving him sixth gate pick, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to capitalise on this and instead rounded the first corner well outside the top 10. As he has proved before, coming through the field isn’t a problem for him and despite the difficult conditions with the hot temperatures and inconsistent watering of the track surface, Vlaanderen crossed the line in sixth place, right on the heels of the riders in front.
The CRF250RW rider now 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 keep this good recent run going and aim for a possible podium position.
Calvin Vlaanderen 10
It was a nice day today, little bit cooler than last weekend, which was a bonus. The track was quite well prepared for us in the qualification race, although there was a bit too much water in places. I started off slow in free practice, just trying to get my rhythm after changing a couple of things on the bike. I felt pretty good but I feel like I’m missing a little bit of that sprint speed that I need for a good hotlap in timed practice. In the race I had a bad start but I was riding well and I was making a lot of passes and I felt I could probably go even faster if needed, but I thought it would be better to save a little bit for tomorrow when the points are at stake.
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
It was really nice to see Calvin riding so well today in the qualification race. He passed some really good riders and showed that with a bit more time on the bike, he can be fighting with the guys at the front of the field. His laptimes were solid and it was especially good to see him post his fastest time near the end of the race, when the others were getting slower. With a better start he should be right up there challenging for a podium spot and that is more than we could ask for after only just returning from injury.
Qualification Race
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Rider standings
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Location Information
Semarang, Semarang City, Central Java, Indonesia - View in Google Maps
