Injury update: Michael Ivanov
The opening Grand Prix of the 2017 FIM motocross World Championship was a trying affair for Vamo-Honda rider Michael Ivanov. Ivanov came into the Qatar race in great shape but a first lap collision in the qualifying race knocked him out of contention for Saturday’s races.
For the 5th consecutive year the Losail International circuit kicked off the MXGP season. Although the nocturnal setting and bright lights were a novelty for the Belgian Vamo-Honda squad Ivanov had previous experience at the track. Micael had scored points in Qatar last year and was keen to improve on his personal best.
Having shown great speed aboard the Vamo-Honda CRF250R in his international pre-season races Ivanov carried high hopes for himself. Unfortunately nerves got the better of him on Friday. In spite of his mistakes and crashes Micael captured a 23rd position in the timed practice session. The qualifying race was frustratingly cut short as he got hit by another rider in the opening lap. He went down and sustained a crack in his left thumb and left him with a sore shoulder and blow to the head. After consultation with the doctor Ivanov decided to pull out of the event.
As a result Ivanov also will have to sit out the Indonesian GP. However the 19-year old Belgian should return to action in Argentina for round three of the World Championship.
Michael Ivanov:
“Free practice was very difficult because I was so nervous! The bike was completely new so I needed some time to get used to it. In time practice I crashed three times but I still managed an okay lap. So that was good. The (qualifying) race on Saturday was over before I knew it. It’s hard to accept if you can not race. Especially when it’s not because of a mistake you made yourself but when someone else hits you! That’s disappointing but it’s part of the sport. The good thing is that the injury is not so bad. Also we got confirmation of how got our technical package is. The bike is really good, that gives me confidence for the rest of the season.”
Steven Vandeweyer, team manager:
“It was very untypical for Micael to make that many mistakes like he did on Friday. On the other hand everyone who has every swung a leg over a bike knows what these first race jitters can do to you! Of course there was some anticipation within our team before the first GP as well. Ivanov has made great progress this winter and we know what he is capable of. Not being able to race was disappointing but that’s how it is. We did look into getting Lars (Van Berkel) over to Indonesia to replace Micael but in the end we decided against. For Van Berkel we’ll stick to our plan to focus on the European MX2 rounds and the Dutch Masters of Motocross series.
