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Fourth MX2 podium in a row for Mathis Valin
Kawasaki Racing Team MX2's Mathis Valin raced to his fourth consecutive podium in Round 8 of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Kegums in Latvia.
The French teenager nosed in front down the long drag to Turn 1 in the first moto, only to be pushed wide in the corner as a rider from the inside gate turned late, forcing the Kawasaki rider to lose momentum and emerge eighth. He immediately set about revising the situation, making decisive passes almost every lap to reach fourth before half-distance but still with an eight-second gap to third. Slashing the deficit at more than a second per lap, he was ready to pounce with four laps remaining, making a decisive inside pass on the current champion for third and moving into second a lap later to break clear of the chasers with the fastest laps on track through the closing stages. A fourth-placed start in Race 2 was a good basis for another visit to the podium as the leaderboard held station for most of the race in a high-speed train; a tense lap mid-moto proved costly for Valin as he surrendered two positions in a handful of corners, but it did not cost him the overall podium, his fourth in a row. The 44 points championship haul over the weekend has taken him to within six points of fifth in the standings.
"I gave everything in the first moto to come back strongly for second from a poor start, but I paid the penalty and was a little tired in the second. But that's four podiums in a row, and I'm getting better every weekend. I always give my best, and I'm taking it race-by-race so we will see in the second half of the season where we stand in the championship."
- Mathis Valin
DRT Kawasaki's Kay Karssemakers enjoyed a spirited ride to 10th in the first moto. An incident in traffic left the Dutch youngster 12th at the end of Lap 1, but he was already on the move until another rider fell in his path on Lap 5 and he slipped off when avoiding the action. Relegated to 14th, he dug deep to move his way back up the rankings, snatching a deserved 10th three laps from the finish. A superb start in Race 2 saw him run Top 6 for three laps before he tightened up under pressure from a string of factory riders to be pushed back to 11th within the space of a lap before regaining his composure and taking advantage of falls by a couple of rivals to regain ninth in the moto for eighth overall on the day. The 25-point scorecard moved him solidly into the Top 10 of the series standings.
"It was another consistent weekend with 9-10-9 motos. I was riding pretty well in the first moto until I made a small mistake and fell when another rider crashed in front of me, but I came back to 10th, almost to ninth, with good lap times. I took a really good start in the second race, but I was riding a little tight and eventually had a small crash, but I fought hard again to come back for ninth. We will keep on working hard and hopefully I will be able to stay with the front group soon."
- Kay Karssemakers
Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki's Francisco Garcia extended his lead in the European EMX250 Motocross Championship to a massive 53 points at the halfway stage of the season as he put on a master class with his third two-moto sweep of the series. Kawasaki's advantage in the Manufacturers' standings was also increased to 44 points.
The Spaniard was even more dominant in Sunday morning's second moto of the weekend. He was closed down by his gate neighbors at the first shift but stayed cool to hold a tight line through the first turn to emerge eighth. Carrying outrageous speed through the turns and switching lines at will, he was already third at the completion of the first full lap and lapping a second faster than anybody else, closed down the riders ahead to sweep into the lead at the end of Lap 3 and immediately pull a gap. One anxious moment when he jumped a little short on the uphill triple did not unsettle him, as the teenager maintained his concentration to sweep home 10 seconds clear of second at the end of the 30-minute race. It was his ninth moto victory out of twelve motos and his third 1-1 overall of the campaign.
"The track was pretty sketchy and demanded respect. I got a little arm pump in both motos, but I stayed calm; I didn't need to pull a bigger gap, but I could play with the track for another perfect weekend. I have a big lead in the championship, but we cannot relax; we will remain concentrated and keep improving."
- Francisco Garcia
Bud teammate Jake Cannon again started outside the Top 12, but the Australian clearly felt more comfortable on what was to him a strange surface than he had been on day one. By Lap 3 he had advanced to 10th and at mid-moto he had moved into his eventual seventh, which earned seventh overall and, more importantly, consolidated his second place in the series standings, 13 clear of third.