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Valin Battles Through Tough Conditions in Lugo for Top-10 Finish
Kawasaki Racing Team MX2’s Mathis Valin fought through challenging conditions to secure a tenth-place finish in the opening moto at the Spanish round of the MX2 FIM Motocross World Championship in Lugo, located in the northwestern province of Galicia.
After a difficult qualifying session left him with an outside gate pick, the French teenager faced an uphill battle in both races. Overnight and morning rain had transformed the track into a muddy challenge by the time gate dropped for the first moto. Despite a strong jump out of the gate, Valin was unable to cut across the pack into the narrow first corner. However, the technical conditions suited him better than Saturday, and he showed grit and determination throughout the race, charging from sixteenth to an impressive tenth with a late double-pass on the final lap.
By the time race two began, afternoon sunshine had dried the track significantly. Once again forced wide in the opening corner, Valin found himself back in eighteenth and remained there for the duration of the moto, earning 15th overall for the day. Despite missing three of the eight rounds so far, his double-digit points haul in Lugo lifts him to 18th in the series standings.
Mathis Valin:
"It was a difficult weekend—one to forget—but everyone has a bad day during a long season. Normally, I’m strong in the mud, but this weekend just didn’t go my way. I was riding well in the last fifteen minutes of race one, but the second moto was a write-off. We’ll go back to the team base, analyze everything, and see what we need to work on."