Following a successful run of events across Europe, iXS hostettler Yamaha travelled to the last round of the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship with Valentin Guillod in tow. Guillod was incredibly strong when he last raced in the Grand Prix series, that being in Sweden, and was eager to continue his fine form at the Grand Prix of Turkiye.
Claiming that Guillod was the star of the Grand Prix is really no stretch, as he battled with the factory riders and showed podium potential aboard his YZ450F. ’92’ was so close to taking the fastest time in free practice on Saturday morning – he was second in the classification and just 0.143 off of the rider in first. Such speed was clear for all to see in Sunday’s first moto, as he chased the race leader in the first half. It was an incredible display and it seemed that he was going to be rewarded with third place, but a fall on the final lap demoted him to sixth.
Guillod was never quite in a position to contend in the second moto, but he recorded another solid ride on his YZ450F and reached the finish in ninth. 6-9 scores left him in eighth overall at the end of the Grand Prix. It was a superb result, yet it could have been so much better without that mistake in moto one! Still, Guillod made quite the statement aboard his ‘blue’ steed and delivered iXS hostettler Yamaha’s strongest result of the season.
Valentin Guillod and Kevin Brumann will be united again at the Motocross of Nations on September 24/25. The riders have been selected to represent Team Switzerland at RedBud, in the United States, later in the month.
Valentin Guillod: “It was a very positive weekend. It takes a long time to get back to a good level, but we are there now. I was riding around the top five all weekend – I am very happy about my speed. I was riding great in the first race; it is just a shame that I crashed and dropped to P6 on the last lap. I struggled a bit, physically, in the second race, but finishing ninth was another good result. Eighth overall on the day shows everyone that I am coming back.”
Words: Press Release
Pic: MXGP.tv
