The Honda World Motocross team is heading home to Italy for the penultimate round of the MX1 World Championship in Faenza with the aim of concluding the closing stages of the Grand Prix season with good results.

Following on from his fourth overall in Lierop, The Netherlands less than one week ago, Evgeny Bobryshev has had a few days rest from the bike with some physical training. Today the Russian rider will head out with the team in Italy for a testing session to refine the settings of his factory CRF 450R in preparation for round 15 of 16 of the World series this weekend.

The Faenza track, in the Romagna region, is a technical circuit on a hillside, which has been omitted from the World Championship calendar for three seasons. The picturesque track will host the penultimate round of the championship before the season finale in two weeks’ time in Germany and is one Bobryshev enjoys, having won a local race there last year.

Teammate Rui Gonçalves is also looking to end his season on a high. A recent run of good form in the lead up to Lierop has left the Portuguese rider feeling confident of his chances at the Italian race. Gonçalves has raced the Italian championship in the past, as well as Grand Prix races there, so the Honda pilot is familiar with the track and is feeling strong going into the weekend.

Rui Gonçalves #999
“After Lierop I did quite a bit of physical training while also recovering from last weekend. Everything is fine and we had a good programme, so I am happy coming into this weekend. We are now on our way to Italy, and it’s a home GP for the team members, so we want to put on a good show and stay out of trouble in all of the motos. I’ve done some racing there in the past in the World Championship and the Italian series; it’s a nice track, but the last Grand Prix there in 2009 was a washout with lots of mud. Having said that the layout is good on natural terrain with some uphill and downhill parts. The ground is quite hard, but I am sure the organisers will do a good job and with good preparation there will be some nice lines. A good start will be important here, as we w ill need to get get away with the front for a good result, but as I said we need to stay out of trouble and have some good luck. The race itself is a popular event and I can speak the language so it’s nice to talk to the fans, but the main aim will be to put in some decent results for the team.”

Evgeny Bobryshev #777
“Coming into the weekend I feel it’s important because we have an Italian based team, so I want to do a good job for them. From my point of view I want to do my best with no crashes and aim for good results. Faenza is a favourite track of mine; I won a local race there last year, so I have a good feeling with the circuit, but I hope the weather isn’t too hot. I’ve been doing physical training this week with a bit of a rest after Lierop, which was tough and we also have some testing today to improve the feeling a little bit with the suspension. Overall the feeling is improving each week and to finish off the year well we need to just find something more on the bike, but the package is finally there after a really tough season with injuries. The ground is really hard at Faenza, but it’s nice when it’s ripped and watered, although if it’s hot it is just l ike concrete. I expect there will be some changes this year to the layout, but it’s quite a technical track and I am looking forward to the weekend.”

(Image credit Sarah Gutierrez

Rui Gonçalves and the Honda World Motocross team put on a fighting performance that didn’t reap the deserved overall result today in Loket, Czech Republic for round 12 of the MX1 World Championship with the Portuguese racer going 11-5 for seventh overall.

In the opening moto of today it was Evgeny Bobryshev who got a fairly good start from his outside gate position, which he was forced to accept after retiring from yesterday’s qualifying race with a damaged radiator, while Gonçalves got caught up in the pack after missing the start and gated outside the top 20.

Bobryshev, who was 10th after lap one, pushed hard in the opening stages and passed Shaun Simpson for eighth on lap seven of the 35-minute plus two-lap moto. The 24-year-old Russian tried to make further progress around the notoriously difficult and hardpack Loket track, although Simpson made a charge in the final stages, demoting the Honda pilot to ninth at the chequered flag. Gonçalves rode hard throughout to work his way back to 11th place, despite the track being incredibly difficult for making passes, and maintained his position while fending off Tanel Leok.

In moto two Gonçalves stormed out of the gate into sixth position at the end of lap one aboard his factory CRF 450R. In the intense heat the Portuguese star made a pass on lap two for fifth place, which he retained with some strong riding until the chequered flag, setting his fastest laps in the final stages, for seventh overall. Bobryshev gated into 10th place, and although he lost out to Kevin Strijbos on lap nine, the Russian star regained his top 10 moto finish for 11th overall.

The races were won by Antonio Cairoli, and the Honda World Motocross team has a week off before heading to the Honda Xtreme Academy training school for young Honda riders in the UK prior to the Grand Prix of Great Britain on the 18th and 19th of August in Matterly Basin.

Rui Gonçalves #999: 7th overall
“It was a positive weekend. I was riding well and I felt good all weekend. In the first moto I messed up my start. (Davide) Guarneri was next to me and he moved before the gate dropped, so I moved as well and I almost hit the gate. I started pretty much behind everyone, and I wasn’t in the top 20. I made my way through to 11th, but it was really difficult to pass. I got close to the top 10, but it was even harder to pass them. I was pretty happy with how I was riding, and my lap times were good, which was important for the second moto. I had a good rest between motos, and in the second one I had a good start, a good pace and a good rhythm. The guys behind me were pushing, but I didn’t give up; I kept pushing and in the end I came close to the pack ahead of me. Fifth was okay, and it’s a shame for the first moto, as the overall could have been a different story, but it’s been a positive weekend. I’m happy to be here again after two good races in Latvia and Russia. We will keep focussed until the last round, and I’d like to thank the team, everyone behind me, and everyone who still believes in me.”

Evgeny Bobryshev #777: 11th overall
“It hasn’t been good here for me. I don’t like the track so much, as it’s stoney, slippery and there’s few lines, as well as it being difficult to pass. It’s just one speed, so what you get on the start is pretty much where you finish, or you can maybe make up one or two places. I had a good start in the first race, and in the middle of the race I struggled to find my lines. (Shaun) Simpson passed me and then I got back into it again, so I got close to pass him back, but it wasn’t enough. In the second race I had a bad start and only made up a few positions. I am looking forward to Matterly Basin, as although I didn’t race there last year, I do know the track and I like the ground. Here the ground is unique, so it’s difficult to train on anything similar to improve, but at Matterly t here is grip and that’s more for my style.”

Paolo Martin: Honda World Motocross Team Owner
“I think the races were very good. I can see Rui is improving a lot, and he is being rewarded with good results for his efforts. His focus is good and he wants to be in the front. Normally he starts well and then struggles to keep going forward, but in the last few races we’ve really seen him fight for the positions. He has in the past been riding tight, but today we saw him with quick responses from the body, so I feel that it’s getting better and better. With Bobby, his condition is not good enough, and he’s really only riding with his heart. With a bit longer on his training schedule, and a little bit of luck, we will see him back at the front of the pack. It takes time to improve the condition after so many injuries. We want to be back in the same level of last year, we’ve just had a tough year and we will keep working; our riders have needed recovery time, which ha s been put back each week with more injury. Now we are injury free must improve the condition to get back to the front.”

(Image credit Sarah Gutierrez)

Honda World Motocross rider Evgeny Bobryshev enjoyed two strong motos at his first ever home Grand Prix in front of a bumper crowd to earn fifth overall with teammate Gonçalves one place behind in sixth for round 11 of the MX1 World Championship in Semigorje, Russia.

After yesterday’s wet races, conditions couldn’t have been more different for today’s event with baking hot sunshine and a dry track greeting the riders this morning. In the opening moto of the day Gonçalves made a good jump from the start, although he was punted off the track in the second turn, while Bobryshev made a poor start and gave himself a lot of work to do.

With a hard charge, Gonçalves recovered to 10th place by the end of lap one, while Bobryshev settled into eighth before making some good passes in the proceeding laps. While the Russian-ace was unable to make enough of an impression on fifth placed Kevin Strijbos, he managed to maintain a strong sixth position. Gonçalves also made good progress to go on and take eighth place with some consistent riding in the Russian heat.

In the second moto Gonçalves got another good start into fourth position by the end of lap one around the hard but sandy Semigorje track. Despite some good, strong riding from the Portuguese racer, he slipped back a few places and had to fend off some hard attacks from Gautier Paulin to finish in sixth place for sixth overall. Bobryshev again had to recover from a bad start, and with more energy for the second heat the Honda pilot steered his factory CRF 450R from seventh up-to fifth place with good lap times in the closing stages to take fifth overall.

Antonio Cairoli won both races to take the GP win and the Honda World Motocross team now has one weekend off after the long trip back to Europe before heading to the Czech Republic for round 12 of the series.

Evgeny Bobryshev #777: 5th overall
“Today went okay for me. In both races I had two pretty bad starts, but I made a lot of places up on the first few laps. In the first race I found it a lot harder than the second one, I’m not sure why, but by the end I was really tired. I managed to keep the sixth place, so I had to be happy with that. The second race felt easier; after recovering from a bad start I tried to ride my own race to go faster with no mistakes. It’s been an amazing experience having a home race, as the fans were cheering me like I was leading, which was really fun. I want to thank the Moscow Region, all my team, the fans and of course Investment Trade Bank who organised the race. It’s been an interesting weekend, as I’ve been trying to give all my fans a lot of attention, and it was nice to have that support from them. I am excited already for my home GP next year, but I hope I come here withou t having had injury and in turn meaning I will be more fit so I can give them even more to cheer about.”

Rui Gonçalves #999: 6th overall
“It was a pretty good weekend. Coming into the race I was a bit scared with the problems in my arm, but I didn’t want to make a big issue with it, as I just had to deal with what I had. Yesterday was okay, and today I had a pretty good start in the first moto but in the second corner I tangled with Christophe (Pourcel) and Shaun (Simpson), which pushed me right off the track. I got into the top ten quite quickly, and finished eighth. I was pretty happy with that, as although it’s not the result I aim for, the track was quite one speed and it was difficult to make the time up. In the second moto I had another pretty good start, but I made some mistakes in the opening parts and wasn’t riding smoothly or at my best. Once I settled down I got going halfway through, and even though I was pushing really hard, I could stay focused, I found good lines and managed to keep my position to the end. I had some positives from this weekend and I am happy, as we have some momentum coming from Latvia and I can do a good job in the week. I’d like to thank the team, my mechanic, and my girlfriend for being behind me.”

Lorenzo Resta: Honda World Motocross
“For sure it’s been a good day, as we’ve had sunshine at the track, a smile on our face and most importantly smiles with both Bobby and Rui. Both riders had great races while battling really hard, but I hope people understand how far we are from a good condition, good riding, and confidence with the bike after all of the issues we’ve had recently. If they take everything into account, today we made a little bit more of a miracle with our results and strong motos. I am also proud of how Bobby dealt with the pressure of this massive crowd screaming his name, and he’s been followed by an army of fans everywhere he has gone during the weekend. I’d also like to offer our thanks to our sponsors and for all of the support we received from everyone.”

(Image credit Sarah Gutierrez)