In only his second race for Kawasaki the young Russian showed how quickly he has settled into the English team as he raced to seventh and ninth placings in the two 35 minute motos, each run in temperatures approaching 40 degrees centigrade. After completing the opening lap of race one thirteenth, he charged to seventh at the chequered flag and again showed tremendous speed in the second moto to recover from twentieth place after a first lap crash to cross the line ninth despite the handicap of broken spokes. The two motos earnt him sixth overall in the GP and have moved him up to tenth in the points standings after two rounds.
Petar Petrov of the Monster Energy Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team qualified seventh on Saturday and then rode a strong opening GP moto to finish sixth after racing leaderboard all moto. Track conditions had changed considerably before the second moto and the Bulgarian soon found that his suspension settings were no longer ideal; nevertheless he fought all moto to advance from thirteenth to tenth at the end of the race to secure seventh in the GP. The battling ride to tenth in the second moto, combined with his top six finishes in each of the three previous motos this year, ensure that Petar holds down fifth in the series standings.
Teammate Dylan Ferrandis, second in the series before racing, had a most unfortunate weekend. He showed his liking for the track by posting fastest time in timed practice and was advancing from a moderate start during the qualifying race when he got out of shape in the waves section and dislocated his right shoulder. The track medical officer put the shoulder back into place whilst the race continued and Dylan flew back to France for further investigations by his specialist in Lyon.
Vsevolod Brylyakov: “It was a good weekend; I think this GP was difficult for everyone due to the conditions. I knew that I would be strong, and I found a good rhythm in all the races this weekend. In the first moto I made some mistakes and didn’t start so well, but I stayed calm and posted good lap times to finish seventh which was good for my second race with Kawasaki. I knew that the second moto would be more difficult for everybody and I was looking for a top five; I had a good start but at the second corner on the second lap I went off the track into a Monster banner at high speed. I lost many positions but I was able to catch back many riders, even though I lost some spokes in a wheel later in the race and didn’t jump the big tabletop anymore and I also rode safe in the waves to make sure that I finished the race. Anyway I was able to pass a couple of guys to finish ninth in the moto and sixth overall in the GP. Now I’m looking forward to the European GPs.”
Petar Petrov: “The heat didn’t really bothered me that much; this year I felt strong physically all weekend. This track is not my favourite, but overall we have some positive and negative points to take home from this weekend; I’m quite happy with the results but in the second moto we struggled with the suspension settings. The track got really dry and we didn’t have the best settings for it; it was difficult to recover after a crash but I came back to tenth to finish seventh overall. I never started a season so well; I’m fifth in the standings and I’m going back home safe so I’m pretty happy. Now I’m going back home for some training and testing sessions before Valkenswaard; everything looks good and I’m happy with the way the team is working.”
Dylan Ferrandis: “I was pretty confident after my pole position in the timed practice session, but my start in the qualifying race was not so good; I was fifth and didn’t want to take any risks, but my rear wheel slid out in the waves and I crashed on my right shoulder. It was not really painful, and the medical staff put it back in position after twenty minutes. Now I fly back home to visit my doctor as soon as possible, we need more examinations to know what we have to do and when I can be back on the bike.”