The twelfth round of the FIM MXGP World Championship was held at the legendary Foxhill Circuit in Great Britain. Returning to the Grand Prix calendar after a 26-year absence, the iconic venue hosted the first of the final three European rounds before the championship heads to Turkey, China, and Australia.
For Calvin Vlaanderen and the Red Bull Ducati Factory MXGP Team, the weekend ended in disappointment, despite the Dutch rider once again showing he had the speed to fight for a top-ten finish.
After finishing ninth in the qualifying race, Vlaanderen started the opening moto from 13th position. With a strong race pace, he worked his way up to ninth place before crashing on lap 11, dropping back to 16th. The Ducati rider refused to give up and recovered to finish in 13th place.
Vlaanderen also made a good start in the second moto, entering the first corner in seventh position. However, shortly afterwards he came together with another rider and crashed. He was then hit by an oncoming competitor. Although Ben Watson sportingly helped him get out from underneath his bike, Vlaanderen was unable to continue and was forced to retire from the race.
Calvin Vlaanderen:
“It was a disappointing way to end the weekend. I actually felt much better going into the second moto. I had more confidence and was in a good mental place after the sighting lap. Unfortunately, I made contact with another rider and crashed. Then I was hit hard from behind, which knocked the wind out of me for quite a while. Thankfully, I’m otherwise okay. Now we’ll put this weekend behind us and focus on the next Grand Prix.”
