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.
MX2 Qualification Race
- 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
HRC General Manager – MXGP
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 Time/Gap
1 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 25 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 25:54.249
2 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 22 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP 0:04.744
3 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 20 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:19.667
4 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 18 JK Racing Yamaha Active 0:22.901
5 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 16 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:23.013
6 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 15 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:26.260
7 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 14 JM Honda Racing 0:41.735
8 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 13 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 0:48.187
9 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 12 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 0:50.649
10 Fredriksen Hakon 427 NOR 11 Wildcard Rider 0:51.330
11 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 10 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team 0:57.137
12 Watson Ben 919 GBR 9 MRT Racing Team Beta 1:04.039
13 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 8 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP 1:09.843
14 van de Moosdijk Roan 34 NDL 7 KTM Kozak Team 1:12.934
15 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 6 Wildcard Rider 1:18.919
16 Spies Maximillian GER 5 1:21.183
17 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 4 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team 1:33.380
18 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 3 KTM Kozak Team 1:36.606
19 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 2 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:37.761
20 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 1 Ducati Factory MX Team 1:38.525
21 Van Berkel Lars NDL 0 1:50.125
22 Talviku Jorgen-Matthias 261 EST 0 Wildcard Rider 1:53.080
23 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 0 Honda HRC – MXGP
Rider Standings
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team
1 Febvre Romain 3 FRA 700 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
2 Coenen Lucas 96 BEL 693 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
3 Coldenhoff Glenn 259 NDL 510 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
4 Fernandez Ruben 70 SPA 451 Honda HRC – MXGP
5 Vlaanderen Calvin 10 NDL 412 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
6 Bonacorsi Andrea 132 ITA 383 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
7 Renaux Maxime 959 FRA 378 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
8 Herlings Jeffrey 84 NDL 337 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
9 Seewer Jeremy 91 SWI 328 Ducati Factory MX Team
10 Gajser Tim 243 SLO 305 Honda HRC – MXGP
11 Geerts Jago 93 BEL 252 Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP Team
12 Watson Ben 919 GBR 245 MRT Racing Team Beta
13 Horgmo Kevin 24 NOR 243 Honda SR Motoblouz
14 Pancar Jan 253 SLO 230 TEM JP253 KTM Racing Team
15 Bogers Brian 189 NDL 228 Fantic Factory Racing MXGP
16 Gifting Isak 517 SWE 201 JK Racing Yamaha Active
17 Guadagnini Mattia 101 ITA 175 Ducati Factory MX Team
18 Jonass Pauls 41 LAT 162 Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP
19 van Doninck Brent 32 BEL 133 JM Honda Racing
20 van de Moosdijk Roan 34 NDL 130 KTM Kozak Team
21 Sterry Adam 811 GBR 101 KTM Kozak Team
22 Koch Tom 226 GER 79 MRT Racing Team Beta
23 Guillod Valentin 92 SWI 72 Wildcard Rider
24 Forato Alberto 303 ITA 72 Honda SR Motoblouz
25 Brumann Kevin 87 SWI 59 Wildcard Rider
26 Spies Maximillian GER 41
27 Stauffer Marcel 411 AUT 38 Wildcard Rider
28 Cairoli Antonio 222 ITA 37 Ducati Factory MX Team
29 Gilbert Josh GBR 27
30 Ludwig Noah GER 22
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