Venezuelan Anthony Rodriguez really showed good speed at the last Grand Prix in Portugal. The HRC guest rider put two top ten results together and will now head back to America, where he will race the AMA 450cc championship.

In qualification Rodriguez had a good start and showed us what he we expected of him. He had a great battle going on throughout the race and ended up coming in eighth.

Rodriguez was here last weekend for the second race of the HRC agreed plan, and he did a great job for the Honda factory team, finishing eighth overall. It was good to see such a strong start from him in the second race, right up there in fourth. HRC are quite impressed and sorry that they have to let him go back to the US.

Going into the Grand Prix of Portugal, the rookie GP rider knew a little about the Agueda circuit.

A-Rod will now head back to US to ride the 450MX class

“I have seen some videos of the track. I was 100% sure this weekend will be much better for me as the dirt was the dirt I am used to riding on in America! I will be less of a disadvantage then I was in Italy as being 80 kilos means you get dug a little bit deeper in the sand tracks. Agueda suits me much more. In light of what happened in Italy, I had hoped to do what I know I am capable of doing in Portugal.”

“I had a much better start (in Portugal) than I did in Ottobiano, I finished in eighth and had some really good battles with Ben Watson, we passed each other quite a few times. It was pretty hard and pretty fast on the track but I liked it. Overall I was happy with how my race went on the Saturday. The good gate will mean I get a much better start instead of starting dead last.”

“Agueda has been quite a lot better than Ottobiano for me, for sure! Securing eighth position Saturday in qualifying helped so much with gate position. Being able to have a decent start made such a difference and proved I have what it takes to run up there with the front runners. I knew I could hang with these guys but I knew I couldn’t hang with them the whole race. As some people may or may not know I have had very little preparation for these races. After the AMA Supercross I didn’t have a bike to ride in the US at all until this ride. Because of this, my fitness is not all the way there and I wish I had the proper time to do the training I really need to do for these races. I did the best I could with the cards that I had dealt and I did my best, I rode my heart out there.”

HRC/ Bavo Swijgers image

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