Benoit Paturel finished on the podium on Sunday in Switzerland, and dedicated the race to his mother, who passed away unexpectedly in July. The Kemea Yamaha Official MX rider from France was third in both motos for third overall on a hot, sunny day in front of nearly 25,000 fans. His teammate Brent Van doninck held back on the loamy ruts and continued to rebuild his 2016 season after two bouts with injury.
Wilvo Standing Construct Yamaha team rider Alvin Östlund struggled at first on the choppy motocross circuit, but improved in the second moto to finish 20th overall. The Swedish teenager is without teammate Aleksandr Tonkov of Russia, who continues his recovery from a back injury in May.
In the first moto Paturel started strongly in eighth and held a steady speed on his YZ250F to pass American Thomas Covington and Italian Samuele Bernardini and settle into the top five for the final ten minutes of the race. With lines opening throughout the moto Paturel found himself passing directly into third at the finish behind Max Anstie of the United Kingdom and Jeremy Seewer of Switzerland. At the end of the second moto the same three riders occupied the same three positions.
Van doninck struggled with his start in the first moto, but improved from 21st to 11th at the finish, taking on and passing Italian Ivo Monticelli and Conrad Mewse of the United Kingdom along the way. With diminished physical fitness after a two-month recovery from thumb surgery, the Belgian rode within his limits on Sunday to finish 14th overall ahead of a three-week pause before the next scheduled race in Assen.
Östlund bounced and jostled his YZ250F on the Swiss track, suffering to finish just out of the points in the first moto as the pack stretched out into a single file line. In the second moto Östlund crossed the line 19th to take two points and finish 20th overall.
Paturel’s mother passed away just before MXGP of the Czech Republic in July, and the French rider dedicated his podium finish in Switzerland to her memory. He moved into third overall in the 2016 FIM World Championship standings on Sunday, and leads Anstie by 17 points.
Van doninck earned 16 points in Switzerland, but falls to 15th overall, just four points behind Calvin Vlaanderen of the Netherlands. Östlund drops one place to 13th overall, eight points behind Covington.
Benoit Paturel
3rd and 3rd for 3rd overall. Championship position: 3rd
“This is for my mom. I love you so much, and I’m proud to be here on the podium for you.”
Brent Van doninck
11th and 14th for 14th overall. Championship position: 15th
“Physically I was so tired, and to be 100 per cent again I will need more time since my surgery. It’s hard, and you need to be so good to be here.”
“I hope to be better in Assen, and for the next three weeks I can train to get ready. For the team and for myself this is our next goal.”
Alvin Östlund
22nd and 19th for 20th overall. Championship position: 13th
“The conditions today are only found in racing, and this makes it difficult for me. To find speed in training for ruts and lines like today is the next level for me, and I’m grateful for the team to help me find it. I go straight home to Sweden and keep training and then after a week back to Holland in preparation for Assen.”
