Vlaanderen fourteenth in Spain but wants more
After the MXGP triple header at Mantova in Italy it was time to travel to Spain for the twelfth round of the MXGP World Championship and the Gebben Van Venrooy Racing team were hoping for some good results from Calvin Vlaanderen.
The brand new track at intu Xanadú – Arroyomolinos in Spain offered the riders a totally different challenge from Mantova as it was a hard pack track which required good throttle control.
Vlaanderen’s day got off to a good day during timed practice to put in the tenth quickest time for a good gate pick for the main races. Unfortunately, in the opening race, Vlaanderen didn’t take a good start as he was buried down in sixteenth after the first official lap. The track was very difficult to pass on but the Gebben Van Venrooy Yamaha rider did make two passes to come home in a solid fourteenth.
The second moto was going much better for Vlaanderen as he benefitted from a better start and was sitting strong in eleventh looking to move forward into the top ten. Unfortunately, some mistakes cost him and he ended up fourteenth once again – that seemed to be his position at the hard pack track.
Even though fourteenth aren’t the results that Vlaanderen is looking for it’s still solid points on the board and he continues to gain experience in the MXGP class. After twelve rounds of the championship he has now moved up to thirteenth in the championship standings.
The team now prepare for a triple header event taking place at Lommel which is considered the most challenging track on the calendar.
Calvin Vlaanderen (14th overall): Not much to comment about today, I didn’t feel great on track and struggled with bike setup. I know I need to spend more time on hard pack to get comfortable. No excuses I need to be better! See you in Lommel for some redemption.
Words: Press Release
Pic: Shot by Bavo
