• 4th place in MXGP race one for Calvin Vlaanderen
• Simone Mancini finishes top 10 overall in EMX250
The Miravalle track in Montevarchi hosted the MXGP of Italy this weekend, round nine of the FIM Motocross World Championship. After hot temperatures on Saturday, the weather changed significantly, with muggy conditions in the early hours of Sunday giving way to light rain and significantly cooler temperatures in the latter part of the day.
After finishing 11th in Saturday’s qualifying race, Calvin Vlaanderen got off to a great start in race one, taking fourth place on the first lap. Third after four laps, the 29-year-old Dutchman managed to finish the first race in fourth place, setting the fourth-fastest lap of the race and demonstrating his pace to be among the best in the class. At the start of the second race, the Red Bull Ducati MXGP Factory Team rider was just outside the top ten on his first lap and took tenth place after two laps, finishing 10th, which earned him sixth overall on the day, his best result so far aboard his Desmo450 MX.
Calvin Vlaanderen: “It was a positive weekend, the best overall result that we have got this year so we can’t be disappointed with that. I’m very very happy with my race, in the first moto I showed myself that I’m back and I can still still run in the top five and still do it comfortably; it was nice to feel like I was riding easy and comfortably and still can keep up with the front guys so that was a big confidence boost for me. In the second race I struggled to find the flow at the beginning, but the guys in front got away from me and then I couldn’t couldn’t catch them towards the end, but all in all I’m happy with the weekend and yeah big thanks to the team; we’ve been working hard the last months and we made a nice change last week and it’s definitely making me feel more comfortable on the bike. I’m looking forward to the next GP.”
In MX2 Ferruccio Zanchi, born in Florence, is taking on his home race for the first time aboard a Ducati and he does so with determination, despite his disappointing last-place start due to his retirement from Saturday’s qualifying race. At the start of race one Ferro produced a masterpiece, moving his #73 Desmo250 MX into the top 15 and getting into tenth place after two laps. His impressive pace allowed him to finish 10th, despite a crash that slowed his progress toward the top of the standings. Starting in thirty-second place in the second race, after contact with a rival forced him off the track at the first corner, Zanchi resisted and was already 20th after the first lap. Determined to give his fans a strong performance, the Beddini Racing Ducati Factory MX2 Team rider climbed to 12th place, getting the better of the reigning World Champion until a mistake pushed him down to thirteenth place, which he then crossed the finish line in, taking 12th place of the day and his best points haul of the season.
Ferruccio Zanchi: “It was a pretty positive home race weekend, even if the results don’t show how good we did. We had good speed all weekend long, but a mistake in race one and a crash in race two compromised the result a bit. Despite this, we saw positive things, we’ll continue working, and next week we’ll have another opportunity to do better. Thanks to the entire team for their work and to all the fans who made me feel at home, pushing me to give all.”
In EMX250, Simone Mancini was unable to repeat his strong performance from Saturday, which made him finish 4th after a comeback in the first heat. Starting 14th, Simone lost two positions due to contact after one lap and struggled to find the pace that would allow him to gain more ground trough the pack, crossing the finish line 14th after 15 laps and taking 8th place overall in the seventh round of the season.
Simone Mancini: “I’m not completely satisfied with my weekend, even though it’s my second-best result of the season. On Saturday I felt good; I set a good third-fastest time in practice, and even though I wasn’t able to start with the leaders, I worked my way up to fourth place. Today, however, partly due to a technical problem, I wasn’t able to find a good pace and struggled on a track that was very different from yesterday. Next week we’ll be in Portugal, and I can’t wait to do better.”
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