Encouraging Fifth at MXGP Round Six in Spain For Vlaanderen
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Calvin Vlaanderen placed fifth overall at the MXGP of Galicia following an impressive third in the opening race and a seventh in Race Two. For Andrea Bonacorsi, it was a mixed weekend with 15th being the overall result for the young Italian.
Despite being sick in the days leading up to the GP, Vlaanderen was on form. In Race One, the gritty number 10 started strong in fourth place and quickly moved up to third, which triggered an intense battle for the spot. After briefly dropping to fifth before regaining third on lap four, Vlaanderen found his flow and reeled in the race leaders – Jorge Prado and Romain Febvre, but ultimately ran out of time and crossed the finish line just over two and a half seconds from victory.
In Race Two, Vlaanderen powered his YZ450FM to an emphatic holeshot and led half a lap before Prado demoted him to second. Riding with confidence around the rough and choppy Lugo circuit, the tall Yamaha star held second until lap seven when he lost a position to Tim Gajser. Despite losing a spot, Vlaanderen maintained a hot pace until the closing stages of the race where he fell and lost a handful of positions. He ultimately finished the race in seventh position which was enough to secure fifth overall.
Just one week after an outstanding debut, Bonacorsi had hoped to build upon his performance in Portugal. Unfortunately, while challenging the top-10 in Race One, the Italian suffered a heavy landing off one of the big jumps, which damaged his rear wheel and ultimately prevented him from finishing the race. In Race Two, the ‘132’ felt ill, but pushed through some stomach cramps to finish on the cusp of the top-10, in 11th.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP team now looks forward to the next stop on its busy schedule, with the seventh round of the MXGP World Championship taking place next weekend in Saint Jean d’Angely, France.
Calvin Vlaanderen
7th MXGP of Galicia, 34-points
7th MXGP Championship Standings, 191-points
“Today has been really good. The goal coming in was two top fives and I was quite close to that. Race One was great and I rode really well, fought hard, and maintained my pace. I just focused on myself and it all paid off so I was happy with that one. With a result like that though, the aim is to then get on the overall podium. I took the holeshot so that helped massively and then I just gave it everything I had. But about 20 mins in, fatigue set in, which I think was from pushing too hard in Race One and also from being sick during the week, and the mistakes crept in. I tipped over as well and ended up seventh. So that was a little frustrating but I’ve been really happy with my riding and my speed this weekend.”
Andrea Bonacorsi
15th MXGP of Galicia, 10-points
20th MXGP Championship Standings, 38-points
“Today was a learning day for me. My riding didn’t flow so well but I learned a lot about the bike. I was fighting for the top 10 in Race One but then I had a bike issue so I had to stop. During Race Two I felt a little bit unwell and struggled with my breathing, but I was able to regroup and finish ok. I’ll keep on learning and now it’s onto France next weekend.”
