Quick thoughts: MXGP of Netherlands – Valkenswaard

Some thoughts on the third round of the MXGP World Championship which took place in the Netherlands at a sandy Valkenswaard circuit.

• The weather: Just twelve months ago Valkenswaard had one of the coldest races in history as temperatures at times were as low as minus ten.  This year was the complete opposite and some of us even needed some sun tan cream as temperatures were in the twenties – a difference of thirty degrees from the same event last year!

• The track: On Saturday the track got really rough towards the end of the day but then the track crew went to work overnight. It left the riders with a totally different and faster track for the first set of races on Sunday. The track did get rough for the final MX2 and MXGP races though which was good to see but it would be nice to see the track crew let tracks develop themselves so they could get rougher and more technical.

• No stopping KTM despite shoulder problems: Both Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado are carrying shoulder problems but it didn’t stop the pair from going 1-1. Despite the problems they might have, they looked incredibly good.

• Big crashes: A number of top riders including Tim Gajser, Courtney Duncan, Gautier Paulin, Max Anstie and Ivo Monticelli all took pretty big crashes at the weekend. They all seemed to walk away injury free though but perhaps they’ve used their jail out of free card.

• EMX125 class: The series is really stacked this year with so much talent. There’s certainly a few future stars racing in that class.

• Bad luck: Conrad Mewse has really good speed this year and can even work his way through a pack which has been a weakness in the past but he had no luck in Valkenswaard with two DNF’s.

• Under the radar: Julien Lieber has been sneaky good this season and finished a strong sixth overall at Valkenswaard, encouraging!