A great day in Spain saw Romain Febvre and Kay De Wolf take victories and some really exciting racing. Below are a bunch of comments from the riders. Fullspectrum image

Romain Febvre: "It was great to take the holeshot in both motos; it makes life so much easier. In the first moto I had good lines, could ride my own pace, take a good gap and managed the race from the front. But I had to stay calm and concentrated throughout the moto as there were so many square bumps and you could not see them under the mud. I took another holeshot in race two but then I made life difficult for myself. The downhill after the table-top was very sketchy with lots of mud and braking bumps so I wanted to change my line on the second lap; but I jumped too far to the middle, missed the line and fell. It was difficul to lift up the bike there and you always lose many positions if you fall during the first laps of a race. I found good solutions to make passes and came back to second; it was a really good ride. There are so many things to think about during a race and I didn't realise at first that the overall was still on until I got the pitboard. I am so pleased to take the red plate to Ernee; the French GP is always special and I hear they have made some nice changes to the track too. I just hope we can finally have some good weather for us and for the fans; I will have special gear from J1 and I have also asked the Japanese for something nice on the bike."

Kay de Wolf: "The first moto was pretty easy – I got into second position early on in the race. I waited a bit before I passed Thibault, and then I led the rest of the race. Liam was pushing me towards the end – he did a great job there. In the second moto, I don’t really know what happened at the start; I just banged bars with other riders at the start, and that basically dropped me to last. I just tried to work my way up and kept pushing to the end – and it paid off! In the last three laps I made four more passes, so that was a crazy second moto! I want to thank the team and everybody around me – my girlfriend, my family, everybody supporting me at home – I really appreciate it!”

Sacha Coenen: “I felt pretty good this weekend on the bike and the track and we showed good speed. I had a bad start in the first moto but did well to come through to sixth. Holeshot and leading for most of the second race but then I just lost the front! 2nd…it’s better than last week. We’re improving.”

Andrea Adamo: “Two completely different races. One was very muddy and when I did the sighting lap I saw there were many ruts from the European Championship races but they were full of water. The start was demanding, and I didn’t have the best one. I had to capitalize on what I could manage. My day was decent, and I won the second moto on a drier track. Good to win...but also not the best weekend. I’m happy that I’m competitive more or less each weekend but I need to be more regular because the rest of these guys are fast.”

Liam Everts: "Overall, there were positives to take from the weekend. I really wanted to be on the podium again, especially after how strong I felt in the first race. The second moto just didn’t go to plan - a small mistake in those conditions makes a big difference. Still, I gave everything I had, and I’m proud of how we kept pushing as a team. We'll take the lessons and come back swinging in France."

Lucas Coenen: “I needed a good start and almost had it in the second moto! I was a bit on the edge for the first lap but I got up to 3rd and then had to send-it to take the lead. Romain [Febvre] was really strong this weekend. I didn’t feel so great on the track. It was really slippery in some places and tough to pass, in the first moto especially. Anyway, I’m so happy. We had a really good gap in the second moto. We’re consistent and this is our third podium in a row. We need to keep on like this!”

Ruben Fernandez: Last year I wasn’t able to race here in Lugo, which was a massive shame but this year I am very happy to get to stand on the podium and see all the friends, family and fans who came out to support me. It is a special feeling to do so at a home GP and now I want to keep getting up on the podiums more in the future. I actually would have liked a little bit more coming into the weekend, but the conditions weren’t easy and in the end, this was all I could manage, especially after yesterday. I really enjoyed the past couple of rounds, racing in Portugal and Spain and getting podiums in both, so let’s keep the feeling going.

Ferruccio Zanchi: Overall, I should be happy with my performance, but I know I left a possible podium visit on the table after crashing in that second moto. The first race I got a good start and rode in fourth the whole race. I stayed consistent and didn’t let the pressure from behind phase me. In the second moto, I got an even better start and was in second position and feeling really good, but made a mistake coming into one of the 180s on a choppy section of the track. I remounted down in 14th and did make it up to 10th but I know I could have stayed with those guys up front and really fought for a podium. So yes, a disappointment, but still an improvement on previous rounds, which I guess I have to be happy about.

Valerio Lata: A weekend to forget really as I never really felt comfortable around the track. The rain certainly didn’t help things but I know I need to improve in this weather because being outside the top 10 isn’t good enough. Now we have a weekend off, so I will work hard to get better and come into Ernee looking to get back to fighting for the top five positions.

Jeffrey Herlings: “Getting better and better. P6, and the next step is P5 and then the podium. The weather didn’t help today and we’ve been unlucky with the mud in the last two rounds but I’m already looking forward to the next GP. I’m excited. This was not a great Grand Prix but also not a bad one because we’re racing the best riders in the premier class. From where we are coming from, this is OK. We need to improve our starts to gain a bit more confidence then we should be immediately better.”

Sacha Coenen: “I felt pretty good this weekend on the bike and the track and we showed good speed. I had a bad start in the first moto but did well to come through to sixth. Holeshot and leading for most of the second race but then I just lost the front! 2nd…it’s better than last week. We’re improving.”

Pauls Jonass: "I made life difficult for myself today with the crash at the start of race one and mistakes in race two. I came through quickly in the first moto but I just blew myself up and got arm pump after I got to eleventh so I just had to ride cautiously and stay there. I pulled out some good passes to sixth, with a gap to the guy behind, in the second race but then I had a small tip-over with two laps to go. I am disappointed with those mistakes, but on the positive side I was feeling good on the bike all weekend; the speed is there as I showed with P2 in Timed Practice and I was moving forward both motos so I aim to be battling for podiums soon."

Simon Laengenfelder: “Difficult weekend. Another mudder! It’s so difficult to stay consistent in those types of races. I had a crash in the first moto that cost me a lot of positions because it was in the first few laps but I could manage to finish 8th. In the second race I had a better start and stayed at the front. Finishing 3rd was not enough for a podium or a top five but I took some points. Now I’m hoping to rebound in France.”

Maxime Renaux:"Fourth overall. So a rather good Grand Prix, with a lot of championship points. The first moto was very good.Too bad about that early crash in the second moto. I lost a lot of time there. It was very difficult to catch-up on this track. So just off the podium. It’s a shame, but all things considered — especially the injuries — it’s still a decent result. Now I have two weeks to recover. Let’s hope it will be enough to get fit for the GP in Ernée."

Jago Geerts: "A weekend with two faces. Saturday was really crazy. Holeshot and then win the qualifying race after a fierce battle with Febvre. That felt really good after a difficult period. I knew I still had it in me. I just needed a good start. Finally all the puzzle pieces fell into place. Unfortunaly I couldn’t continue the same way on Sunday. Although I had a good start in both motos an early crash killed me each time. Without these two mistakes my result could have been much better."

Calvin Vlaanderen: "A successful weekend with a lot of championship points. After a decent start in the first moto, I managed some successful passing moves. Not easy in the mud. The second moto was even better. It started with a great start. When Febvre crashed I even had the lead for a short time. But because of a small technical problem I couldn’t ride like I wanted. Still I finished third. Nice. All in all I have a good feeling about this weekend."

Jeremy Seewer: "Another of those days where we could have gone home with a very positive result but didn’t quite manage to. I think we still made another step forward. Yesterday we struggled a bit with the track. It was again something new for us, and we had to adjust some things to get used to it to find out how the bike works in these conditions. In the first moto, I got a good start and was riding in second for 10 minutes, feeling confident, feeling good and not risking much. And then I just hit a square-edge bump, basically on a straight line, and it kicked me off big time. It was super unlucky. That incident destroyed my race, as the bike was completely bent and I had quite a tough hit. Then I had to just get through moto two, and it went well. Pulled a good start again, and I stayed there near the front and made no mistakes. I just rode solid - didn’t do anything crazy and still finished fifth. So yeah, that was very positive, and the speed was there today. We are getting there and making progress; I just can't put it all together yet. On to France.”

Mattia Guadagnini: It’s a shame about the ending, as I was improving throughout the weekend. The first moto went well; there was a lot of mud, and I managed to bring it home without making too many errors. In the second, I got off to a quality start and rode really well for the first 25 minutes. Then, I started to feel tired, but I absolutely didn’t want to give up. I tried to hold on, but first I made a small mistake that cost me three positions. I then tried to recover but had a bad fall. Fortunately, I didn’t hurt myself, though I damaged the bike. The airbag saved me, and I managed to restart. My focus shifted to salvaging some points. Compared to last weekend, I noticed improvement. The feeling has gotten much better, but I still lack training time, so it will take a few more weeks to get back to my best shape.”

Camden McLellan: “That’s the Spanish GP wrapped up. It’s been an up and down weekend for me. My speed was good all weekend, on Saturday when the track was dry, and today when it was pretty muddy. In the first moto today I started up front but I just made too many mistakes. It was the same in race two as well, so if I can eliminate these mistakes, I know I can be fighting for the podium again.”

Mathis Valin: "It was a difficult weekend - one to forget - but everyone has a bad day during a long season. Normally I am good in the mud but this weekend was simply not for me. I was riding well the last fifteen minutes of race one but the second moto was nothing. Now we go back to the team base to analyse it and see what we have to work on."

Guillem Farres: “It’s been a difficult weekend for me. The rain made things tough, but crashes didn’t help with my results either. I didn’t get the best of starts in race one but pulled through to eighth, but then I crashed on the final lap and ended up 11th. I managed to get a good start in race two, but then a few issues on lap one pushed me back. I then crashed and was way back in the pack. It was tough to pass here and I could only get back to 15th at the end.”

Andrea Bonacorsi: “I am really happy with this result. Considering what happened in the qualifying race, getting a sixth and a seventh in Sunday’s races is a good outcome. It is not exactly what we are aiming for, but after yesterday’s crash, the most important thing was to come out of it in one piece. In race 2, I struggled a bit because I was feeling a bit sore, but aside from that I felt good on track. I want to thank all the guys in the team and Fantic for their huge support – see you back on track in two weeks!”

Glenn Coldenhoff: “I am quite disappointed after that second race… The first one was okay – I had a good start, my riding was decent in the mud, and fifth place was a solid result. But in race 2, I didn’t get the start, and even though I gave it everything, I just couldn’t move forward. I was missing some pace, and that was frustrating – when you push so hard and give it your all, but still can’t stay with the guys in front. The track and conditions here were pretty special, and it didn’t really go my way. But we will keep pushing, do some testing next week, and try to come back strong in France.”

Brian Bogers: “We had some ups and downs this weekend. Of course, just one week ago I dislocated my shoulder, but I think the recovery went quite well – the shoulder feels pretty good and is improving day by day. But once again, we had some bad luck. In race 1, I had to stop twice on the first lap, probably because a stone got stuck in the chain. I lost a lot of positions but still managed to come back to 13th. In race 2, the holeshot device popped out when I was behind the gate, so I was almost last at the start, but I fought back to 13th again. I have to say, I felt quite good on the bike in the second race – and that is positive for my feeling. I think we made a good step forward.”