Published on 23 May 2017

Graulus great in Germany!

24MX Honda:

Damon Graulus finished 13th at the Talkessel circuit in Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany, his best ever MXGP result. The 24MX Honda rider was also the second privateer, right behind Estonian veteran Tanel Leok.

Heavy downpour on Friday made the hard-pack course very rutted and demanding for day one. Although these tough conditions demanded respect for the track, these are actually the type of conditions where Damon Graulus feels right at home. The 24MX Honda rider entered the start gate 13th after a strong effort in Saturday’s qualifying race.

After a good getaway from the start the 22-year old Belgian circulated just outside the top-10 in the opening stage of moto one. When he lost 12th position to  Tim Gajser early on Graulus temporarily lost his rhtyhm. Allthough he got knocked by to 19th Graulus regained his composure.  With gritty determination Damon rode his CRF450R back to 14th to finish two seconds behind Leok.

Damon had an even better start for the second moto. He was in the hunt for tenth but still searching for his race pace the 24MX Honda rider backed off ever so slightly. Once Graulus found his rhythm around the German soil he consistently recorded lap times close to the top-10 riders. In the end he crossed the line 13th, less than 3 seconds behind Valentin Guillod.

Graulus, who didn’t compete in the overseas events is currently twenty-second in the FIM MXGP world championship. The 24MX Honda team will move south this week for the Grand Prix of France and the visit to the iconic Ernée circuit.

Damon Graulus: “I’m really pleased to (finally) get two soild motos under my belt! My starts were good and I was happy with my riding too. I had a bit of difficult moment in the first moto after Gajser passed me but I kept on fighting so it was good to get 14th. During the first laps of the second race I was on the verge of the top-10 but this was frankly just a little bit outside of my reach. I knew I was not able to maintain this pace for 35 minutes yet, however step by step we’re getting there! Big thanks to all of the team, my fans and all our sponsors. See you in France!”

Pic: ShotbyBavo