Kawasaki Racing Team MX2’s Mathis Valin was on his way to a brace of sixths in the Dutch round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at the rugged Arnhem sand track until he crashed heavily in race two but the teenager showed great spirit to rebound for ninth overall.
The French teenager, forced to lose momentum straight out of the gate in race one as he was squeezed by the defending champion, reacted quickly to cut under the pack through turn one to emerge eleventh. He started to move forward from lap five as a duel with the current points-leader saw them both advance strongly up the leaderboard; each of them swept past the opposition in style until they had reached sixth and seventh. Showing a keen eye for new lines the Kawasaki rider kept the pressure on the red plate holder by railing the outside of the longer turns and the tactic paid off on the final lap of the race as his rival was forced into a mistake and the Kawasaki rider could inherit sixth. Another top-six finish looked on the cards in race two as he was soon breaking clear in the leading group until he crashed dramatically at the end of the waves on lap seven. Winded in the crash, he was delayed for thirty seconds before rejoining the race fifteenth. A series of consistent laps saw him move into fourteenth within four laps and, despite having lost the peak on his helmet, he was closing rapidly on the riders ahead. Twelfth seemed possible until a loose radiator shroud, damaged by the impact in the crash, became an ever greater hindrance and he had to settle for fourteenth at the chequered flag. The effort earnt him ninth overall and he has further cemented his tenth place in the series standings.
Mathis Valin: “I got blocked behind some guys at the start of race one and during the first few laps but I could show my speed in the last fifteen minutes to earn P6. I got a really good start in the second race. The track was even more challenging today but I was comfortable in sixth again until I made a mistake and had a big crash. I hit my head in the crash but at least I could finish the race.”
Bike It Kawasaki’s Kay Karssemakers made an electrifying start from mid-grid in the first moto to emerge from turn one in the top ten. He only ceded places to factory riders to finish thirteenth. The Dutchman again grabbed a top-ten start in race two and then put in a superb opening lap to push forward to seventh, a position he held impressively for nearly half the race. He even advanced to sixth for half a lap before again being passed by several factory riders during the second half. But a tenth-placed moto finish – his first top-ten of the season – was also first privateer, while his nineteen point weekend haul for twelfth overall was his highest score since returning to the GPs mid-summer.
Kay Karssemakers: “Since I came back to the GPs last month I have been working hard with both Steve and my personal trainer to get back into the top-ten before the end of the season and I achieved that in the second moto today. We have a long-term plan and are taking it one step at a time.”
