Take a look at some interesting comments from todays MXGP and MX2 rounds in Sardinia as a surprise winner celebrated and the favourite was struggling with sickness. More comments to come later tonight.

Calvin Vlaanderen: “I’m speechless. Honestly, it was the perfect weekend. I was first in every single session that mattered; first in Timed Practice, first in Qualifying and first in both motos. I don’t know what to say; it is just years and years of hard work. This is what I have dreamed of; to become a MXGP class winner. To be here right now it’s like a dream. I just wish my family was here and everyone from back home.”

Jorge Prado: "It is so good to be racing on my MC 450F. I took it a little easy on Saturday, but I saw that I was riding quite well and that really motivated me. Finishing second overall is a great way to return to the MXGP class! I am going to keep working now and go for it in the upcoming rounds. The championship is still alive.

Glenn Coldenhoff: “The first race didn’t start so well. Somebody crashed in front of me in the second turn and I had to come all the way from the back. But also, coming into this weekend I have been sick all week and we did everything we could to line up here healthy, but it seemed like it was staying with me. In the second race, I had a better start and saw Calvin (Vlaanderen) pushing hard straight away, so it felt a bit like a Dutch race for me because we have been battling in the Dutch Championship all season. I wanted to go with him, but I couldn’t follow today, so congratulations to Calvin, he was riding so good. I still had a good feeling on the bike, it’s good to be back on the podium. It’s been a tough road, but I always knew I could do it, and here we are again.”

Maxime Renaux: “It was a tough weekend like we expected, really hot weather and a brutal track. In the first race I crashed in the second corner and crashed twice in the first lap. To start dead last and push to sixth was really good. I messed up the second corner again in the second moto, and had to come from a little bit further back, so I was really tired at the end of the moto after using a lot of energy in the first race. Not the best day for me, but still good points for the championship.”

Jeremy Seewer: “I struggled so much with bike set-up yesterday. We’ve made the bike work really well on the hardpack, but in the sand, there is still some room for improvement and yesterday I struggled a lot. I lost a lot of confidence yesterday, so to come back from that was mentally tough and I am happy I did it. I am satisfied with the result; maybe one small crash too much, but it’s racing. It’s how it goes. I still collected good points and managed to set up my bike really good. In the second moto I was feeling really strong, and my fitness is also very good. Overall, there are a lot of positives to take into the next few races, so I look forward to that, and being back on the podium again.”

Tom Vialle: “It’s nice to win again. I’m so happy because it was so tough today. We had great pace and in this sand it was not so easy. I was battling all day with Jago and he was really pushing in the second moto but I could control the race. It was a great victory. I’m really happy to win today. It was a tough track and it was really hot also. In the first race I didn’t have a super start let’s say and I was around sixth in the first corner. I passed quickly after two laps, was already behind Jago and just tried to push all the race, but the track is not easy to pass when you ride on the same speed and then I had a small mistake on the last lap. But anyway, I was feeling actually pretty good and in the second race I had a much better start, I took the lead after a few corners until the end. I could control the race and it was really nice to win. The bike was working amazing today, so I am pretty happy”.

Jago Geerts: “It was a tough GP with a really rough track, and the hot weather didn’t make it any easier. I put together two good motos today. In the first, I took the lead on the first or second lap and just kept a good pace until the end. Tom (Vialle) was also pushing me, so I knew the second race would also be tough. Tom had a better start in the second heat, which made it easier for him and harder for me as I tried to follow him. I ended up second overall, but with no big mistakes, and the same points and the winner, so it was a good day.” 

Thibault Benistant: “My weekend was good in the end with a podium. I had a good Qualifying Race and two holeshots today, which is a really positive point and something I am really happy about. I felt pretty good; I managed my race and my energy well because this track is really tough, maybe one of the toughest of the year. I wanted this podium so bad because I have come close a couple times this year, but I got it done and I am really happy about that.”

Tim Gajser: Obviously, these aren’t the results I wanted coming into the weekend, but leading up to the race I knew it would be a struggle. I hadn’t been feeling well at all, and I knew that with the high temperatures and the difficulty of the surface, I would need to be at my best to be able to compete in this MXGP class. In race one, I got my second holeshot of the year and controlled the majority of the race. It was just the final two laps I ran out of energy and had to settle for second. Unfortunately, in race two, I didn’t get as good a start and although I was feeling like I could run the pace and move through the field, I crashed whilst I was in sixth and that really hurt my momentum as I re-joined the race in 12th. I kept running, and finished the moto there, only dropping a couple of points in the championship battle but I am a little disappointed how it turned out overall. I would like to say thank you to my girlfriend Spela, who missed her first event in six years as she was too sick to travel, I really appreciate everything she does and I missed her a lot. Also, a big thank you to Giulia and Filippo and the whole of Team HRC who helped get me through these two races, it wasn’t easy and without everyone’s work, my results would have been worse. Now, I just need to get myself fit and healthy again and get back to my previous form.    

Mitch Evans: For three-quarters of race one, I was really excited for how the weekend would turn out. However, then the heat got to me and I really struggled to finish the moto and then race two was even worse. In race one I had moved up from eighth to fifth and I was closing in on fourth place and I was really happy with how I was riding. I’d had a good start as well and had found a good rhythm and things were really flowing, on what was a very rough and difficult track. Then I just really struggled to maintain the same feeling and dropped down the field. It was really tough and a big shame because I was riding so well. In race two, I wanted to come out and try my best once again and I really got a good start, and was in the lead heading down the straight. Unfortunately, I found a soft spot of sand as I rounded the first corner and tucked the front wheel. By the time I got back on the bike, I noticed it was damaged so I had to pull into the mechanics to fix the issue. Of course, by then I was way behind the rest of the field, so I tried to do a couple of fast laps before pulling off the track. It was a disappointing weekend results-wise, but I felt my riding is getting better and I’m on the right path.

Mattia Guadagnini: "It was a tough debut, but I enjoyed it a lot! I think that making the change was the right thing to do for me, so thanks to the team. I am already feeling really, really good on my MC 450F. This is definitely a great bike for me. I feel like I could have been even higher up than eighth in that second moto, but I did not want to task risks. I could not ask for a better debut. I'm feeling so positive!"

Simon Langenfelder: “This has definitely been the hardest round of the season! I had bad luck in that second race, crashing in the third turn, but came from last to eighth so fast. I was riding very good for myself. I started losing my rhythm towards the end, so I just rode to the checkered flag and kept trying my best. It was not quite enough today."

Brian Bogers: "I crashed in the second corner in moto one; I was really happy to go from dead last to fifth. That did take a lot of energy though and I felt that at the beginning of the second moto. Once I warmed up, I felt really strong in that second one too. I think that fifth overall is a good result. I feel really good in the sand – the speed is there for the podium."

Pauls Jonass: "The starts were a big positive point this weekend. They were good and the first ten minutes of each moto was not so bad, but I struggled a lot after that. I did not get any flow on the track; I rode purely with power and adrenaline at the start of each moto. I am really disappointed, but I will put in the work this week and come back stronger."

Kevin Horgmo: “It was a really tough GP with two hard motos on a difficult track in the heat but I made a good start around third in both motos and that was a good base. I had a small tip-over in the first moto to fall back to eighth but I could come back to fifth after some nice battles with Mikkel as we both made some good passes up the leaderboard. The bike was working perfectly from beginning to end both motos and I still felt good at the end of race one so I was confident for race two. I was fourth almost all moto and tried not to make mistakes but I couldn’t quite make the pass on Thibault for third. I would have liked to be on the podium again, and with a little more luck it could have been possible; we will keep working for it at the next race.“

Mikkel Haarup:”„I just didn’t get my starts today and that made it a tough day. The first moto I worked my way up to fourth with passes from start-to-finish but my second start was even worse; I made some good passes early in the race but it was difficult to make up positions from mid-moto as the gaps were so great. But I gave it my all; on to the next one.“

Quentin Marc Prugnières: “I had two solid motos this weekend. The second moto was more difficult as I ran off the track and lost four positions when I was ninth, but I had a good rhythm to come back to sixth. It was a decent weekend – a step forward – but of course we expect more and we are already focused on the upcoming races.

Eddie Wade: “Sand is not my strong point as we saw this weekend. The heat was no problem as I live in Spain – in fact my fitness is good and I was still fresh at the end of the motos as others felt the heat – but I just need to work on my sand technique and ride it a lot more. I started to feel good in the motos but I made a silly mistake as I was closing down the top ten in the second moto which cost me points. “

Ben Watson: “It was a really tough weekend. The feeling was quite good at the beginning and we tried to find the next step; we tried a lot of things but they didn’t work out. I had a good start in the second race but there was a start crash which was out of my hands at turn one and I ended up in a big heap with a couple of other riders. We’ll keep working. “

Rubén Fernández: The track was very demanding this weekend and the heat made it much more difficult. In timed practice I felt OK, but even during the qualifying race I felt quite tired and struggled to find my flow in the sand. In the first race I got a bit unlucky and got stuck behind a fallen rider in the second turn and then another rider crashed in-front of me a few turns later and that caused me to crash. I then came through the pack quite well and quickly. I pushed so hard that I started to feel tired again and had another crash, so the first moto did not go well for me. In the second moto I had a better start and I was holding onto fourth place. Eventually I was passed by some other riders towards the end of the race but still made it over the line in seventh which was OK. Definitely my riding was better in race two and I adjusted to the sandy conditions more quickly. I’m looking forward to racing at my home GP in two weeks time. I think it’ll be very warm too - probably over 30 degrees. I’m going to prepare well for it and I would like to finish on the podium in-front of my home crowd.               

Stephen Rubini: I’m not a sand specialist so it was a struggle for me all weekend long. I worked with my team to try to progress and make me feel better on the bike and flow in the sand. On the track though it felt like I was working really hard for the same result as a normal track. I had some good first laps of the races and then I was just fighting against myself to survive the motos. It was a tough weekend for me both physically and mentally because I was trying to push and find the flow, but without this you can’t go that fast. It’s also the first time we raced in heat like this, this season and you can’t escape it. It felt like the motos were really long. I like the track in Spain, so I’m looking forward to racing at the next GP and we expect better than this weekend’s result.   

Bavo Swijgers image