Vlaanderen and Team HRC wrap up MXGP of Argentina with strong result
Calvin Vlaanderen wrapped up his Team HRC debut at Villa la Angostura with a brilliant performance in the second MX2 race of the day, as he claimed fifth place at the finish line aboard his Honda CRF250RW machine after a strong performance in the final stages of the encounter.
After an eventful start to the second race, which saw him entering turn one in sixteenth place, Vlaanderen was able to get up to speed and make his way past several opponents. As race two entered its final leg, Calvin had top-5 within his grasp as he closed in on fellow Honda rider Hunter Lawrence; he made a successful move on the Australian during the final lap and then narrowed the gap down to 0.129secs on fourth-placed Ben Watson as the two were almost side-by-side at the finish line.
In the opening MX2 race of the day and the season, Vlaanderen made a great comeback from 28th to 18th after a coming together with Jorge Prado on lap four sent both riders to the ground.
As the MXGP of Patagonia – Argentina draws to a close, Calvin Vlaanderen sits 10th in the championship standings with 19 points. The next Grand Prix on the calendar will take place at Valkenswaard in a fortnight’s time.
Calvin Vlaanderen 10
Overall we can be happy to go home safe because the track was quite sketchy in some places and I did all I could to be consistent and avoid any mistake. I’m a bit disappointed with my first race as the crash cost me quite a few places and forced me to fight quite hard just to finish 18th. I did not get the best start in race two but I was able to make some passes and I was sixth for a long time, but then I moved up to fifth and almost caught fourth place on the last lap. I’m happy with my riding and my fitness, and I know what I need to work on ahead of Valkenswaard. I would like to thank my team for their amazing job and for giving me such a great bike.”
Marcus Pereira de Freitas
Overall we’re quite happy with today’s results. Obviously race one did not go as planned – that’s racing - but Calvin was really competitive in the final part of race two as he moved past Hunter and went so close to snatch fourth from Watson at the finish line. We know we have the speed to battle at the front and it’s a long season, so we look forward to the MXGP of Europe.
MX2 Race 1
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonass Pauls | 1 | LAT | 25 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 34:44.373 |
| 2 | Lawrence Hunter | 96 | AUS | 22 | Honda 114 Motorsports | Honda | +01.993 |
| 3 | Kjer Olsen Thomas | 19 | DEN | 20 | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing | Husqvarna | +12.509 |
| 4 | Watson Ben | 919 | GBR | 18 | Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team | Yamaha | +21.540 |
| 5 | Jacobi Henry | 29 | GER | 16 | STC Racing | Husqvarna | +39.686 |
| 6 | Mewse Conrad | 426 | GBR | 15 | Hitachi Construction Machinery KTM UK | KTM | +40.184 |
| 7 | Beaton Jed | 14 | AUS | 14 | F&H Racing Team | Kawasaki | +41.891 |
| 8 | Cervellin Michele | 747 | ITA | 13 | Team Martin Racing Honda | Honda | +43.238 |
| 9 | Brylyakov Vsevolod | 18 | RUS | 12 | Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team | Yamaha | +44.951 |
| 10 | Covington Thomas | 64 | USA | 11 | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing | Husqvarna | +52.725 |
| 11 | Larranaga Olano Iker | 66 | SPA | 10 | Husqvarna 8Biano Racing | Husqvarna | +58.400 |
| 12 | Geerts Jago | 193 | BEL | 9 | Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team | Yamaha | +1:03.295 |
| 13 | Sterry Adam | 811 | GBR | 8 | F&H Racing Team | Kawasaki | +1:04.475 |
| 14 | Vaessen Bas | 98 | NDL | 7 | Honda 114 Motorsports | Honda | +1:05.292 |
| 15 | Bernardini Samuele | 321 | ITA | 6 | TM Racing Factory Team | TM | +1:15.700 |
| 16 | Prado Garcia Jorge | 61 | SPA | 5 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +1:18.947 |
| 17 | Rubini Stephen | 118 | FRA | 4 | KTM Silver Action | KTM | +1:20.445 |
| 18 | Vlaanderen Calvin | 10 | RSA | 3 | Team HRC - MX2 | Honda | +1:21.035 |
| 19 | Pootjes Davy | 46 | NDL | 2 | LRT KTM | KTM | +1:28.337 |
| 20 | van Doninck Brent | 172 | BEL | 1 | Husqvarna 8Biano Racing | Husqvarna | +1:32.864 |
| 21 | Weltin Marshal | 56 | USA | 0 | Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda Team | Honda | +1:35.459 |
| 22 | Souza Gustavo | 891 | BRA | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Honda | +1 Lap |
| 23 | Östlund Alvin | 161 | SWE | 0 | Yamaha SM Action - M.C. Migliori | Yamaha | +1 Lap |
| 24 | Villaronga Sergio | 276 | CHI | 0 | Wildcard Rider | KTM | +1 Lap |
| 25 | Seibel Pablo Julian | 375 | ARG | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Honda | +1 Lap |
| 26 | Vasquez Javier | 194 | CHI | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Honda | +1 Lap |
| 27 | Bratschi German | 122 | ARG | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna | +2 laps |
| 28 | Righi Luciano | 133 | ARG | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna | +2 laps |
| 29 | Toro Lautaro | 833 | ARG | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Kawasaki | +2 laps |
| 30 | Sanayei Darian | 57 | USA | 0 | Bike It DRT Kawasaki | Kawasaki | +9 laps |
| 31 | Lesiardo Morgan | 44 | ITA | 0 | Marchetti Racing Team KTM | KTM | +9 laps |
MX2 Race 2
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jonass Pauls | 1 | LAT | 25 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 34:00.087 |
| 2 | Kjer Olsen Thomas | 19 | DEN | 22 | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing | Husqvarna | +5.260 |
| 3 | Sanayei Darian | 57 | USA | 20 | Bike It DRT Kawasaki | Kawasaki | +10.726 |
| 4 | Watson Ben | 919 | GBR | 18 | Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team | Yamaha | +13.864 |
| 5 | Vlaanderen Calvin | 10 | RSA | 16 | Team HRC - MX2 | Honda | +13.993 |
| 6 | Lawrence Hunter | 96 | AUS | 15 | Honda 114 Motorsports | Honda | +14.909 |
| 7 | Prado Garcia Jorge | 61 | SPA | 14 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +33.086 |
| 8 | Beaton Jed | 14 | AUS | 13 | F&H Racing Team | Kawasaki | +34.461 |
| 9 | Brylyakov Vsevolod | 18 | RUS | 12 | Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team | Yamaha | +40.040 |
| 10 | Geerts Jago | 193 | BEL | 11 | Kemea Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team | Yamaha | +41.654 |
| 11 | Östlund Alvin | 161 | SWE | 10 | Yamaha SM Action - M.C. Migliori | Yamaha | +42.403 |
| 12 | Larranaga Olano Iker | 66 | SPA | 9 | Husqvarna 8Biano Racing | Husqvarna | +52.294 |
| 13 | Vaessen Bas | 98 | NDL | 8 | Honda 114 Motorsports | Honda | +55.826 |
| 14 | Pootjes Davy | 46 | NDL | 7 | LRT KTM | KTM | +58.704 |
| 15 | Rubini Stephen | 118 | FRA | 6 | KTM Silver Action | KTM | +1:01.066 |
| 16 | Jacobi Henry | 29 | GER | 5 | STC Racing | Husqvarna | +1:02.444 |
| 17 | Bernardini Samuele | 321 | ITA | 4 | TM Racing Factory Team | TM | +1:02.648 |
| 18 | Covington Thomas | 64 | USA | 3 | Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing | Husqvarna | +1:15.747 |
| 19 | Mewse Conrad | 426 | GBR | 2 | Hitachi Construction Machinery KTM UK | KTM | +1:28.035 |
| 20 | Lesiardo Morgan | 44 | ITA | 1 | Marchetti Racing Team KTM | KTM | +1:39.955 |
| 21 | Sterry Adam | 811 | GBR | 0 | F&H Racing Team | Kawasaki | +1 Lap |
| 22 | Vasquez Javier | 194 | CHI | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Honda | +1 Lap |
| 23 | Souza Gustavo | 891 | BRA | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Honda | +1 Lap |
| 24 | Seibel Pablo Julian | 375 | ARG | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Honda | +1 Lap |
| 25 | Bratschi German | 122 | ARG | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna | +1 Lap |
| 26 | Villaronga Sergio | 276 | CHI | 0 | Wildcard Rider | KTM | +1 Lap |
| 27 | Toro Lautaro | 833 | ARG | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Kawasaki | +5 Laps |
| 28 | van Doninck Brent | 172 | BEL | 0 | Husqvarna 8Biano Racing | Husqvarna | +6 Laps |
| 29 | Righi Luciano | 133 | ARG | 0 | Wildcard Rider | Husqvarna | +10 Laps |
| 30 | Cervellin Michele | 747 | ITA | 0 | Team Martin Racing Honda | Honda | +14 Laps |
| 31 | Weltin Marshal | 56 | USA | 0 | Jumbo No Fear Vamo Honda Team | Honda | +18 Laps |
Location Information
Neuquen, Argentina - View in Google Maps
