The Honda World Motocross team heads into the final third of the season this weekend in Loket, Czech Republic for round 12 of the MX1 World Championship with strong hopes for solid motos.
After a tough season so far with injuries and bad luck, Honda World Motocross factory riders Evgeny Bobryshev and Rui Gonçalves are looking to continue the progress back to full strength over the last few rounds in Loket.
Gonçalves’ form has certainly improved recently, with a near podium finish in Latvia as well as two good motos in Russia for sixth overall, there is now the basis in place for the 27-year-old Portuguese star to repeat the pace of last year in the Czech Republic, where he went 3-3 for third overall.
Bobryshev has also increased his form of late. Although the 24-year-old Honda pilot received bad luck in the races preceding his home round in Semigorje, the Russian-ace posted two fighting results for fifth overall last time out and is beginning to show his return of consistent pace.
Last weekend both riders contested the Everts and Friends event during their weekend away from Grand Prix racing, where Gonçalves won the 450 class, as well as the super-fun big wheel class.
Loket is a strong track for the Honda pilots, with Gonçalves running in second for most of the opening moto last year, and was only just pipped at the post with a late charge from Clement Desalle, while Bobryshev finished fourth. In race two Gonçalves again maintained a strong pace for third and his first ever MX1 podium, while Bobryshev retired with injury. Desalle won the Grand Prix overall.
We’d also like to offer you a video with comments from Honda World Motocross Team Manager Lorenzo Resta and the riders with details of their thoughts about the track in the Czech Republic. To view the video: Please click here
Rui Gonçalves #999?“Loket is a cool, natural track that I enjoy. I will go there with the same attitude as at the other races and a positive feeling. In myself I feel good, and I’m hoping my results will reflect this during the weekend. At that track it’s really important to get the starts, as it’s not always so easy to pass. I’ve been doing my work in the week, and I will just focus on myself to get the best result possible. Last year we were battling for the front positions, so I hope I have the same strong feeling again and we can repeat our success.”
Evgeny Bobryshev #777
“I was really happy to go to Russia for a little bit of time at home, and after the race I pretty much came straight back to Europe. It was nice to get here, as it was a long trip both ways for us. I then had a weekend off with some fun riding only, and I think this is really important for us as racers. Apart from that I’ve just been training hard during the week and doing my job. Loket is not my favourite track in the series; it is really dependent on starts, is a bit slippery and difficult to pass. My goal for the weekend is to get good starts, not have crashes and finish with strong results. My confidence is starting to grow, as my training programme is back on track and I’ve had some solid results now to get me going forward.”??
Image credit Sarah Gutierrez
