Bobryshev closes in on podium finish
Evgeny Bobryshev #777: 4th overall
“In the first race the start wasn’t so bad, but I made a mistake on the first lap and crashed. I lost a lot of time so the guys at the front got away, but I just rode my own race, tried not to make any mistakes, and I was catching Simpson. In the last few laps it was tough, but I got him just before the end and I was fighting right to the finish. In the second race I got a good start, and I didn’t push too much in the beginning. I knew the guys would be tired, so I had a little plan to push more at the end, but unfortunately I too got tired. Leok passed me and I couldn’t go with him, but Simpson was in front and I managed to get him in the end to finish fourth. We made some little steps overnight with the suspension that made me feel better and we are definitely going in the right direction overall. I just need a little bit more time training on the sand tracks to get myself in the p erfect condition. My aim is just to stay consistent now for the last two races and enjoy my riding while continuing to train hard.”
Rui Gonçalves #999: 10th overall
“It’s been a tough weekend overall for me. We had some bike issues yesterday, which put me on the outside of the gate. We put some different settings into the bike today and in the first moto it wasn’t great for me. I got a good start, but I couldn’t get on with the bike like normal, so we ended up where we did. I was for sure not happy about that. In the second race I got a decent start into third but Max (Nagl) crashed in front of me in the first lap and I was right behind, so I couldn’t avoid him. I hit him and went down, so I was a long way behind the pack. On the first lap I managed to get back through a few positions, but I knew it would be really tough to get up front. I kept pushing and managed to take eighth, but I was close to (Clement) Desalle on the last lap. I was pretty happy with how I was rid ing, but I was frustrated with how the weekend turned out because it could have been a lot easier if things went more smoothly. I did my best, the team worked hard to resolve our issues, which I’m grateful for. Thanks to all my family and supporters; there’s two to go, so I’ll keep working hard to try and bring the good results home.”
Lorenzo Resta: Honda World Motocross Team Manager
“Overall I am very happy with the results from both riders. With Bobby’s bike we made quite a few changes overnight after yesterday’s performance, and we saw a big improvement. For Rui we had made some changes in the first moto, which didn’t suit him, but for the second he had a much better outing. Unfortunately he crashed after a couple of corners, as Max Nagl went down right in front of him, which wasn’t his fault. I’m really happy because we were one step off the podium with Bobby, which is unexpected at the moment. It’s the best race for him in the most difficult conditions this year. I’d also like to remember that here in Lierop three years ago Timotei Potisek rode with us just a few months before he sadly passed away. He was a special guy and he was a Le Touquet winner, so it&rsqu o;s nice to come here to remember that. Now we head to our home round in Faenza, which will be important to us and we will have a journalist test there for the 2013 CRF 450R, so we are really looking forward to that.”
Image credit Sarah Gutierrez
