A moto tenth for Mathis Valin in Spain
Words and images courtesy of Kawasaki Press Racing
Kawasaki Racing Team MX2’s Mathis Valin raced to tenth in a muddy first moto at the Spanish round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship. This event took place at Lugo in the north-western province of Galicia.
The French teenager faced two difficult races from an outside gate after a disappointing Qualifying on Saturday. Track conditions were very different for the first GP moto on race day after incessant rain throughout the morning. This made life even more difficult at the narrow first turn as he could not get across the pack at turn one despite a perfect jump out of the gate.
The more technical track suited the youngster more than on Saturday. He grittily pushed for the entire race to advance from sixteenth. He snatched tenth with a double-pass on the final lap. The race track had dried significantly in the afternoon sunshine before race two. Once more pushed wide at turn one Mathis was kept back in eighteenth throughout the moto. He earned fifteenth overall on the day. Despite missing three of the eight rounds to date his double-figure scoreline has lifted the KRT rider to eighteenth in the series standings.
Mathis Valin: “It was a difficult weekend – one to forget – but everyone has a bad day during a long season. Normally I am good in the mud but this weekend was simply not for me. I was riding well the last fifteen minutes of race one but the second moto was nothing. Now we go back to the team base to analyse it and see what we have to work on.”
Team Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Francisco Garcia retained his third place in the European EMX250 Motocross Championship standings. He achieved this with a solid fifth in the second moto on Sunday morning after a DNF on Saturday.
The young Spaniard, fourteen points from the points-leader at the start of the weekend, was optimistic that he could intensify his title challenge on home soil. He was hopeful after posting second-fastest time in Timed Practice. He held a solid sixth place halfway through the first moto on Saturday before being forced to pull out.
Heavy rain for three hours before the second moto on Sunday morning rendered track conditions extremely difficult. Nevertheless, he limited the damages with a spirited ride from a twelfth-placed start to fifth at the chequered flag.
A mid-grid gate cost Bud teammate Jake Cannon as he tangled with other riders at the tight first turn. Consequently, he started well outside the top-twenty in each moto. The Australian teenager salvaged thirteenth- and fourteenth-placed finishes. Bike It Kawasaki’s Bobby Bruce was a non-starter after a heavy crash during Timed Practice.