Hard weekend for Honda HRC in Finland
Litti-KymiRingHonda HRC duo Ruben Fernandez and Valerio Lata both had difficult weekends at the sandy KymiRing circuit in Finland
Honda HRC duo Ruben Fernandez and Valerio Lata both had difficult weekends at the sandy KymiRing circuit in Finland, costing points in their championship battles, but providing them with plenty of motivation when the series resumes in two weeks in the Czech Republic.
After a fourth in the qualification race yesterday, Fernandez had hopes for a podium heading into today and he was looking good early on in race one. He utilised his gate-pick well, powering out the gate on his Honda CRF450R inside the top five. He kept that position for the majority of the moto, only relinquishing it as the circuit got rough at the end of the moto. Race two started off in a similar vein, with the #70 even closer the pack round the first bend. Unfortunately a couple of corners later, he suffered a big impact from a rider behind him and was forced to remount at the back of the field. Showing his determination, he was scything his way through the field and had made it inside the top 10 in only a few laps, however unbeknownst to him initially, the earlier collision had caused severe damage to his bike, and he was forced to pull off the track. It was a big shame for the Spaniard as another top five result was within his grasp, along with a closing of the gap to third place in the championship standings.
It didn’t go much better for Lata in the MX2 class, as he couldn’t find any rhythm in the sand, on a track that was running a GP for the very first time. Throughout the weekend, he seemed to be fighting the track, rather than flowing with it and as a result, he wasn’t able to break into the top 10 in either race. His 13th overall is not the level he expects from himself and he knows he has to work hard to get better when we head to Loket, Czech Republic on July 26-27.
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MX2 Race 1
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 35:13.030; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:03.703; 3. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:10.113; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:25.788; 5. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:34.540; 6. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:48.976; 7. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +1:00.675; 8. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:04.121; 9. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:19.338; 10. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:21.535;… 13. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s);
MX2 Race 2
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, Husqvarna), 34:45.532; 2. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), +0:08.740; 3. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), +0:17.805; 4. Thibault Benistant (FRA, Yamaha), +0:29.246; 5. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:38.586; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:50.955; 7. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:01.829; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:05.479; 9. Rick Elzinga (NED, Yamaha), +1:21.447; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +1:36.573; … 13. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s);
MX2 GP Overall
1. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 50 points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 38 p.; 5. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 31 p.; 7. Mathis Valin (FRA, KAW), 27 p.; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Rick Elzinga (NED, YAM), 23 p.; 10. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 23 p.;… 13. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 16 p.;
MX2 Championship
1. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), 613 points; 2. Andrea Adamo (ITA, KTM), 570 p.; 3. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 565 p.; 4. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 482 p.; 5. Liam Everts (BEL, HUS), 464 p.; 6. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 458 p.; 7. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, TRI), 393 p.; 8. Valerio Lata (ITA, HON), 297 p.; 9. Cas Valk (NED, KTM), 289 p.; 10. Guillem Farres (ESP, TRI), 272 p.;
A very disappointing way to end the GP, which ended up being a real challenge due to the track and the weather. In the first race I got a good start and was inside the top five for most of the race before I lost my rhythm and dropped down to sixth. Then in race two I got another good start and was in second place, when another rider hit my bike and we went down. I remounted as quickly as possible and was working my way back through the field when it became apparent that the bike was damaged and I pulled into pitlane. Obviously this isn’t what I wanted and isn’t a fair reflection of how I was riding, but I’ll just have to regroup for Loket next time out.
A very disappointing way to end the GP, which ended up being a real challenge due to the track and the weather. In the first race I got a good start and was inside the top five for most of the race before I lost my rhythm and dropped down to sixth. Then in race two I got another good start and was in second place, when another rider hit my bike and we went down. I remounted as quickly as possible and was working my way back through the field when it became apparent that the bike was damaged and I pulled into pitlane. Obviously this isn’t what I wanted and isn’t a fair reflection of how I was riding, but I’ll just have to regroup for Loket next time out.
Definitely not my best weekend, and one that I really need to make sure doesn’t happen again. I never got to grips with the track and despite trying everything with the team, we couldn’t make it easier to ride and I just struggled in every session. This has really made it clear that I need to work on riding in the sand and make sure I do better when we visit Lommel and Arnhem.
Definitely not my best weekend, and one that I really need to make sure doesn’t happen again. I never got to grips with the track and despite trying everything with the team, we couldn’t make it easier to ride and I just struggled in every session. This has really made it clear that I need to work on riding in the sand and make sure I do better when we visit Lommel and Arnhem.
Sometimes you just have weekends like this and there isn’t so much that you can do. The collision for Ruben could easily have left no damage, but instead it was serious enough for him to have to pull out of the race. He was moving forward and showing speed in the sand, so we couldn’t have asked for more from him. Valerio knows that this isn’t the level we expect from him, and we will do everything we can to help him improve so that he back nearer the front.
Sometimes you just have weekends like this and there isn’t so much that you can do. The collision for Ruben could easily have left no damage, but instead it was serious enough for him to have to pull out of the race. He was moving forward and showing speed in the sand, so we couldn’t have asked for more from him. Valerio knows that this isn’t the level we expect from him, and we will do everything we can to help him improve so that he back nearer the front.
