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Mathis Valin closes on medal rankings
Kawasaki Racing Team MX2's Mathis Valin narrowly missed the podium for the first time in five GPs of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at the old-school Montevarchi track in the heart of Tuscany, but the French teenager moves closer and closer to the world championship medal rankings as the series approaches the halfway stage.
He protected his pole position gate well in Race 1, but could not carry sufficient momentum through the tight Turn 1 and was pushed back to eighth. He immediately staged a recovery to take sixth on Lap 4 before a small slip left him with it all to do again. Matching the pace of the leader, he mounted an impressive double-pass to move into fifth after 20 minutes but then faced a lonely ride to the finish. A slight drizzle as the riders came to the line for Race 2 made the track even more slippery, but Valin put the KX250SR power to the ground perfectly out of the gate to allow him to make room into Turn 1 and before the end of the opening lap he was second and pressuring the leader. The pace of the leading quartet was so hot that a single mistake would prove the most likely cause of a switch of positions, and unfortunately that fell to Valin as the rear wheel lightened up in a slippery turn. He maintained the pressure, but his next chaser took advantage of his efforts to slip through as they approached the two-lap board. 5-4 motos earned him fifth overall. He remains sixth in the championship standings but has now closed to within 11 points of the bronze medal.
"I was feeling better with every session and managed two good motos. I think I could have had three holeshots this weekend, but I braked a little too early today. In the second moto I was pushing to try to pass in front, but I always had someone pushing me from behind."
- Mathis Valin
DRT Kawasaki's Kay Karssemakers narrowly missed his seventh Top 10 GP result of the season as he earned 11th overall from 12-11 moto finishes. The Dutchman had an uneventful ride in the first moto but put in a strong display in Race 2 as he held an impressive seventh against the factory riders until half-distance before he suffered stomach cramps and was pushed back to a lonely 11th at the finish. He remains 10th in the championship standings.
"10th in qualifying was OK for me on a hard pack track like this, and I got a really good jump in the first race today - I think I was P5 into the corner - but I made a mistake at the third corner, and that cost me. I rode a really good first corner in the second moto and had a good flow for 15 minutes, but then I got stomach pains and had to slacken my pace; I don't want to use that as an excuse, but it is what happened."
- Kay Karssemakers
Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki's Francisco Garcia confirmed his domination of the European EMX250 Motocross Championship with his 11th moto success from 14 starts this year to secure his fourth overall victory of the season with a perfect 1-1 weekend. The Spanish teenager now leads the series standings by 78 points from Bud teammate Jake Cannon, while third is now more than 100 points back. Kawasaki's lead in the Manufacturers' standings is now 56 points.
Garcia, confident in his ability to chase down any rivals, took no risks through the tricky Turn 1 in the second moto of the weekend and stayed cool through the opening laps on a racing surface which was extremely slippery after heavy watering by the track crew to combat the high temperatures. He quickly advanced from 10th, leaving Turn 1 to fifth at the completion of the opening lap and then allowed the race to settle, staying off the rear wheels of the front three for a couple of laps before closing them down at will. Having analyzed racing lines, the intelligent youngster made a spectacular double pass for second on Lap 5 and swept into the lead on Lap 7 of 15 to control the remainder of the race from the front.
"It was more difficult to make up the difference today, but I worked out where I could pass. I now have five motos in a row, and I can win on all sorts of different tracks - sand in Latvia two weeks ago and this weekend on hard pack. I have a big lead in the championship, but I don't look at the points; I just want to win every time I go to the start!"
- Francisco Garcia
It was a frustrating weekend for Bud teammate Jake Cannon as incidents on the first lap of each moto made life difficult, but the Australian showed character to push all the way to the finish of both motos, advancing four positions during the final two laps of Race 2 to finish 11th in moto and seventh overall. He was rewarded for his efforts with a further consolidation of his second position in the series standings, 29 points clear of third.
"I did my best to make the most of the situations I put myself in, but it was more difficult to make passes this morning; the track is really tight, and there was mostly only one line today after they watered the track, but on to Portugal next weekend."
- Jake Cannon
