David Braceras and Brent van Doninck of the JM Racing Honda team both put in strong performances at the fourteenth round of the World Championship in Loket, Czech Republic.
Van Doninck qualified seventh for the race on Saturday and showed solid form in the first moto. He looked set for a top-ten finish until he was hit by another rider in the heat of the battle and was forced into the pits. Fortunately, the incident didn’t lead to any injuries, but it could have ended much worse for Van Doninck. He recovered well in the remainder of the race and crossed the line in ninth. However, after the race, he was disqualified for not stopping after entering the pits, according to the race officials.
Following the disappointment of the first moto, Van Doninck was motivated to push for a top-ten result in the second.
Unfortunately, things went wrong at the start when he was caught up in a crash. He had to begin the race from last position but fought his way back to an impressive ninth-place finish.
Due to his zero score in the first moto, Van Doninck missed out on a top-ten overall result and ended the day in nineteenth place.
After a long break since the race in England due to an ankle injury, Braceras finally returned to action this weekend. It was a solid comeback after several difficult weeks. He felt good throughout the weekend and posted the tenth-fastest time in qualifying.
Unfortunately, he had bad luck in the qualifying race: he crashed at the start and later suffered a heavy fall, forcing him to retire early. As a result, he had to line up last at the gate on Sunday. Despite this setback, he got off to decent starts in both motos and rode consistently. With a 10th and 11th place finish, he secured 11th overall for the day. Not spectacular results, but a solid foundation to build on — and he is happy with how the weekend turned out.
He can now resume normal training and focus on rebuilding his confidence ahead of the next rounds.
Next weekend, the team’s home Grand Prix takes place in Lommel.
