Hear from the riders following the GP of Mantova.
Tim Gajser (1st MXGP): “It’s just been an amazing day today. In the first race I made life easy for myself with the holeshot and then I could make a little gap and control the race. In the second race it was different. Toni was pushing really hard until the finish and I think we were both so tired at the end because we both really wanted to win in front of our fans. Every time I made a move he came back at me and I was almost ready to settle for second, but I thought ‘give it one more try’ and that time I could make it stick and pull away enough. I’m so happy to have taken that win and the overall victory here. It feels like a home GP again because of all the fans and all the support here, and I’m so thankful that motocross in Slovenia is growing and more and more people are getting interested in it. I want to thank the team for the job they did this weekend because it was incredible. We’ve been dreaming of races like this and now it’s all coming true. It’s a special win that I will remember. I really want to watch it back on the TV now to see how exciting it was for everyone else!”
Gautier Paulin (2nd MXGP): “Yesterday I was struggling a little bit in qualifying but we made some adjustments overnight and it worked much better today. From the warm-up I improved a lot. In both races I had pretty good starts, and this weekend to get third and second means we did a good job. I am definitely happy about the weekend. Now it was really hot, and in Matterley I said I wanted to work hard to better in some areas that I missed with injury, so to be on the podium here and in these conditions actually I can’t believe. I’m really happy for me and for the team, and after a hard time earlier in the season it’s just such a good feeling.”
Clement Desalle (3rd MXGP): “It’s a first step to get this podium result; I have been waiting for it for a few weeks! The weekend didn’t start so well on Saturday, but with the team we were able to do better today, and that’s good to get this podium before the summer break. This weekend I got two decent starts and that makes life easier. It was not an easy weekend with the heat and such a rough track, but I never gave up to get this podium. We have three free weeks before Loket; we’ll continue to work with the team to be even better in the next races. We know what we have to do for that.”
Glenn Coldenhoff (6th MXGP): “I never like riding in such hot conditions. I had a good start in the first moto but I dropped back a bit but with my eighth place I was able to stay in the top 10. My start wasn’t quite as good in the second race and I had to come back from seventh to fourth. I rode a good race but in the end Desalle passed me and I finished fifth. Also my riding was a bit tight in both motos.”
Evgeny Bobryshev (7th MXGP): “Today just didn’t go as well as yesterday did. The starts were not so strong and I got boxed in a bit, but the feeling just didn’t flow as well today. I came back well through the field from the starts and could gain some places, and even we had the fastest lap early on in race one, but just couldn’t hold the pace ‘til the end. It’s a shame after the performance yesterday, but that’s just the way it goes.”
Max Nagl (10th MXGP): “The weekend started well for us. I got a good start in qualifying and raced to third position. On Sunday I think it was close to 40 degrees and that made it really difficult to retain a good race pace. I didn’t get a good start in the first race but somehow I managed to be second in the first turn. I did my best and closely followed Tim Gajser for the first 22 minutes of the race, but then I felt the heat getting on me. I finished fourth which wasn’t so bad. In the second moto I had a bad start so I started riding aggressively. Unfortunately I had three small crashes during the race and ended up finishing 16th. It was a disappointing result for the team and me as we could have been on the podium again. I’m still fourth in the championship standings but I think a third or even a second position is within my reach. We’ll keep on working with that goal in our minds.”
Christophe Charlier (12th MXGP): “We really struggled with the heat during the whole weekend. In the qualifying race I crashed right after the start so couldn’t do anything better than 19th. Then in the final races I had bad starts in both motos and that made my job a lot harder. Once again I showed I have the speed to battle for the top in my class but unfortunately without getting good starts it’s impossible to make it happen. We now have a small break in the series. My plan for the following GPs is to continue battling for the top 10 in my class. If my starts are good, I know I can do even better than that. “
Jeffrey Herlings (1st MX2): “We made a very good weekend. We were fastest in the time practice and although I had a bad start in the qualifying I managed to work my way to the front for the win to have a good gate pick for today. I had an average start in the first moto but I was in the lead after 10 minutes and won the race by around 30 seconds. Then I was second at the start of the second moto but I was in the lead after two turns and from then on we dominated.”
Dylan Ferrandis (3rd MX2): “I was happy with my results on Saturday even though I crashed while leading, as a lapper didn’t move. But Sunday was not as good, and it is difficult to understand why. In the first moto my start was average but I had a good first lap and passed Herlings, but then I crashed twice; I came back and passed Pootjes but he took me out! I was happy to come back to third. In the second race the gate moved but didn’t fall and I hit it, so I was late into the first corner. I passed almost the entire field to finish sixth; I had good lines and was one of the fastest riders on the track to get this overall podium.”
Thomas Covington (4th MX2): “We had a great GP here in Mantova. On Saturday I struggled a little bit. The track was rough and difficult and I couldn’t find a good rhythm. We spoke a lot with my team manager on Saturday night and along with our WP engineer we made a lot of changes in our suspension set-up. I felt better straight away on Sunday. In the first moto I got a big holeshot and rode in front for a few laps before eventually falling back in fourth. Then in the second moto there was a problem with the gate. I think I was 15th in the first lap and had to battle my way to fifth place. I missed the overall podium by one-point and it’s a bit of a bummer but I’m really happy with how I raced. I’m getting better every weekend and I think the top five in MX2 is where I belong.”
Pauls Jonass (5th MX2): “Today I had a pretty okay start in the first race then a rider crashed in front of me in the second corner and I had nowhere to go. I crashed into him and had to start again from last and went on to finish tenth. I got a better start in the second race and I think I was fourth in the first laps. I quickly came back to second and went on to finish in second. I got some good points so that’s a good way to go into a three-week break.”
Jeremy Seewer (7th MX2): “That was one of the most disappointing races of the year. In terms of lap-times and rhythm I was one of the fastest guys behind Jeffrey. I didn’t have the best start in the first race but then Bernardini closed the line and I almost went down. I had to come back to seventh and then crashed and finally made sixth. For the second I don’t have much to say…it is just ridiculous that they didn’t restart the race because everyone saw that the gate didn’t drop. I did everything I could but made a mistake near the end and that’s how it is when you take a lot of risks to pass those riders; it wasn’t easy on that track. I made the best of things today. I’m not happy and it is not fair for anyone. I have a few more points over Pauls but there are still a lot of races to go and it is not my goal just to race against him. I want to be upfront and doing my best.”
Conrad Mewse (10th MX2): “I struggled a lot with the conditions this weekend but still I’m happy I got away with another top 10 result in my class. The heat got to me and I wasn’t really used to it. I got an OK gate pick finishing 20th in qualifying. In the first race I didn’t take a very good start and struggled a lot to come back so I finished 16th. Then in the second race I actually got a much better start and I finished ninth. It was a very difficult race and I was very tired after the second moto. It’s really nice to get another top 10 result and hopefully we can go on from here and look for even better results.”
