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 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Coenen Lucas 96 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â BEL Â Â Â Â Â 693 Â Â Â Â Â Â 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 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Horgmo Kevin 24 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â NOR Â Â Â Â 243 Â Â Â Â Â Â 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 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â van de Moosdijk Roan 34 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â NDL Â Â Â Â 130 Â Â Â Â Â Â 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 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Forato Alberto 303 Â Â Â Â Â Â ITA Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 72 Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 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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