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Mathis Valin fifth in Argentina
Kawasaki Racing Team MX2's Mathis Valin started his FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship campaign with a solid fifth at Bariloche in Argentina after two strong rides through the pack.
A good jump out of the gate in race one was negated at the first tight left-hander when several of the leading contenders got entangled to leave the young Frenchman with a long chase from 12th after the initial sort-out. He quickly advanced to ninth before coming up against a mobile chicane who cost the connection to the leaders and left a mountain to climb when he finally negotiated him after ten laps. Once past into sixth and, with a clear track ahead of him, the Kawasaki rider immediately started lapping faster than the leaders to dive through to fifth with four laps remaining and he reduced the 10-second gap to fourth to just three seconds at the checkered flag. Choosing a wider gate for Race 2 in the hope of a cleaner run through Turn 1, he emerged eighth; he moved quickly into seventh on Lap 2, but could advance no further as the leaderboard riders all kept station to the checkered flag. The 3-4-7 moto finishes over the weekend were sufficient however for him to head to the next round in Spain in two weeks' time, fifth in the world championship standings.
"We made some good points this weekend but we have to work on making quick passes. I had tough starts in both motos so I stayed behind guys I shouldn't be behind for too long and couldn't find my flow."
- Mathis Valin
