Check out what a bunch of riders thought of their weekend. Some really good comments from the team press releases.
Tony Cairoli: (1st in MXGP) “I’m really happy about this race because we, unfortunately, had a problem yesterday and on this track, the start is really important because there is not much difference between the riders and the lap-times. I did my best to get to the front both times and it worked; I was in the top ten and could manage to work my way through. It was a nice race and a nice event. So many fans, it is like being in Italy for me!”
Jorge Prado: (1st in MX2) “It’s great to be back at the GPs and I had a lot of fun. I had two really good starts and that was important for the racing here. The priority was to get this first race done with good points and to be healthy and in the end, we managed a win in both motos. I felt very good on the bike today and physically very strong. I couldn’t start the season in a better way. We’ll keep working hard up to the next round in England.”
Tom Vialle: (7th in MX2) “A super-good weekend: a holeshot and running top three in MX2! I was pleased with my riding and the top ten pace. I cannot complain about this weekend and my first GP. The experience also gives me a lot of motivation to train harder and to keep getting better. I like Matterley Basin so I’m excited to go there and to continue to learn.”
Tim Gajser: (2nd in MXGP) “I’m really happy to start the season strongly with a podium, and to feel really good on the track. In the first race, I didn’t get the best of starts and it took me a couple of laps to find a good rhythm and to find the nice lines but once I did that, I passed a lot of the guys in front of me and finished in second. That was a great way to start the season off. Then in the second moto, it was even better as I almost took the holeshot and I led for a lap but I was riding tight and not enjoying my riding so Romain (Febvre) and Toni (Cairoli) passed me. After this, I found my rhythm and found the flow around the track and was able to move into second and just start enjoying riding again. Two second places is a good start to the season and I’m really looking forward to the next races. A big thanks to the whole team around me, who help me out and put together this amazing CRF450RW.”
Clement Desalle: (4th in MXGP) “It was a solid weekend and it was great to be back racing GPs as you can’t find these conditions when you train. We saw that we have a great new bike and Julien proved the performance at the starts. I scored a fourth position in the first moto; the rhythm was really high and I finished not so far from the top three. I’m just disappointed with the second start; I had a good jump off the gate but they ripped the ground in the first corner and I was surprised in a rut and touched handlebars with another rider. I was last but I came back to sixth, which is not so bad as my front brake lever was bent in the crash. It’s good to be going back home fourth in the series; we now have three weeks to work on small details we have learned at this first GP.”
Thomas Kjer-Olsen: (2nd in MX2) “I’m quite happy to start this season with a second-place overall result here in Argentina. As a racer, I’m always looking for race wins, but it is really good to start the season on the podium. In the first moto, I spun out of the gate and gave myself some work to do. I managed to get up to second on lap 10, so I was pleased with that. The second moto went well. I moved from third to second and spent the whole race there. It’s going to be a long year with plenty of racing to be done, so I am happy to head back to Europe second in the championship. The plan now is to get back to work. I want to make the most of this short break in the series and continue working before the next round at Matterley Basin.”
Mitchell Evans: (3rd in MX2) “I didn’t know what to expect this weekend at all. I just wanted to learn and, if I got a top ten, I would have been happy. To land on the podium I am absolutely stoked. It has been great working with Team 114, so we are very happy. We still have a lot of work to do, but we are going to enjoy this for sure.”
Gautier Paulin: (5th in MXGP) “The bike is working really well. The chassis is awesome on the Yamaha, I really enjoy it, and the engine too. With the little improvements we can make, I am really looking forward to it and I need to keep working on myself also. I feel like I had a good weekend, just had bad luck with another rider hitting me in the first turn. I think his bike hit my bike and I went over the bars big time, but I feel strong and fifth place to start the season, close enough to the podium, is a good start. I really enjoyed the racing.”
Arnaud Tonus: (16th in MXGP) “It was a difficult Sunday for me. I had a huge crash in the first moto. I made a small mistake and went a little bit off the track on a really fast part of the track and had a really big crash. I did not know if I was going to ride the second moto, but Yamaha’s physiotherapist worked some magic and helped me a lot to line up for the second race. It was not easy, but I am glad I was able to line up again. I finished tenth and, like I said, I am happy I went back out there. It was like a mental test and it is all good.”
Zachary Pichon:(27th in MX2) “Tough first race of the year! I ended up twenty-first and nineteenth. I was riding a bit nervous in the first few laps of each race, but I am happy to go back home with some points. Thanks team and everyone for the support.”
Jago Geerts: (8th in MX2) “Eighth overall, that’s not too bad for the first grand prix of the year. Although it could have been better. Both in the qualifying race and in the first moto I had problems with my goggles. I didn’t have a clear vision. That’s why I crashed in the first moto. A pity, as I was riding in 7the position at the moment. My start was really bad in the second moto, but the riding was much better. I came back into sixth position, which was pretty good.”
Ben Watson: (6th in MX2) “I am disappointed, to say the least. I expect much more from myself and maybe this is why I feel like this. I was not really happy with my riding all weekend, although my speed was not that bad. A bad start in race 1 and too slow to pass riders made it difficult for me. I had a better start in moto 2, but first went off track and then crashed, dropping back to 11. I could only reach position 7 after a difficult race. It’s a long season and I am looking forward to the next one.”
Mikkel Haarup: (22nd in MX2) “It wasn’t a good start to the championship for me but I will keep working hard, hoping for some better results in the coming races. I struggled a lot to find a good pace at the track here in Argentina and I also made a lot of mistakes during the two motos. In the opening moto, I didn’t get a good start but kept fighting. Halfway through the moto, I had a small crash and that made things harder. In the second moto, my start was better but I wasn’t able to find a good speed. Some riders passed me and I had another crash, which cost me a lot of time. This is not where I wanted to be at the season opener. The season is long and I feel there is still a lot for me to learn.”
Jeremy Seewer:(9th in MXGP) “The weekend was tough as expected. Today was better than yesterday. We have some positives to take away like my starts were good. My endurance is not so bad, I just struggle with the quick laps especially in Time Practice. I am missing some riding hours, but starting the season inside the top ten is good points on the board and we have some weeks now to get stronger for the next GP.“
Arminas Jasikonis: (6th in MXGP) “It was a good beginning to the season for me. I’ve never been a huge fan of the track here in Argentina, but I did my best and this sixth place in the overall standings shows we are on the right track. It’s good to start this long season with this result. I’m also really happy with the way my bike worked. The team has worked hard to develop a great machine that perfectly suits my riding style. The season has just started and I feel there is still a lot of room for small but important improvements in my riding and my approach to racing. I’m now looking forward to the next GP in the UK.”
Joel Rizzi: “It’s great to kick this season with a podium finish at the Michelin MX Nationals, I enjoyed racing in the Expert MX2 class this weekend and was great to put the 150 SX up front. I look forward to next weekend at FatCat Motoparc”
Shaun Simpson: (8th in MXGP) “Every year the pace at the first Grand Prix is extremely fast, but this year it’s seems to have gone up another level. The track on Saturday was super fast and didn’t rough up for some time. I didn’t feel the need to risk it all on Saturday for a fast lap time, however, I was slightly disappointed with my time which left me with a poor gate pick for the qualifying race. In the qualifying race I didn’t have such a great start and struggled to get in the grove and by the time I started picking people off it was a little too late leaving me 15th after a small crash for Sunday’s races. Race one was a real workmen performance, I didn’t get such a great start but managed to pick riders off until the end leaving me 11th at the flag. Race two I ripped a decent start coming around the first corner in around sixth place, I stayed there for the majority of the race battling with Paulin & Desalle as they were coming through, I struggled in the last ten minutes with not having done much riding since hurting my shoulder at Hawkstone. I’m happy to walk away with eighth overall and l’m looking forward to starting my British Championship campaign off next weekend at FatCat.’
Pauls Jonass: (10th in MXGP) “Considering the limited time I had on the bike during the off-season, I am really happy with my results here in Argentina. I had two decent motos, made no mistakes and learned a lot. This was my first race in the MXGP class on the FC 450 and everything was new for me. I have to take this experience and continue working to become a better 450 rider. The races in this class are a lot more intense and also the starts are massively important for each moto. I’m happy we took the decision to come here in Argentina and I’m motivated to get back to work as soon as we return to Europe.”
Julien Lieber: (11th in MXGP) “I got two more great starts today to take the holeshot award each time. In the first race, several riders passed me quickly and I secured a seventh position. At the second start, I got another holeshot, but Gajser was inside me and pushed me to the outside so I lost several positions; then during the first lap Anstie braked hard in a tight corner and I hit him and crashed. I was a long back when I restarted and I came back right behind Seewer, who was eleventh at the finish, but I couldn’t find a way to pass him and lost my rhythm. Of course, I’m disappointed with this second race, but overall it was a good weekend.”
Tommy Searle: (7th in MXGP) “It’s been a really good race for me and I can go home happy with my performance. I got a bad start in the first race and ended up just riding around comfortably but I wanted to leave my mark on the second race. I pushed hard, I felt good, and I was really impressed by the BOS suspension set-up; it’s the first time we raced properly with it and we actually didn’t need to make a single change all weekend. I was impressed, now we need to work on the engine as we raced with a stock one here so we’ll go back and work hard to be even stronger in England.”
Henry Jacobi: (5th in MX2) “I had a good Saturday and finished 3rd in the qualifying race. Sunday went well with a good start in race one and I could get 3rd again. A bad second start didn’t give me the podium I wanted but coming from 20 to 5 is a very good result to start the season with.”
Adam Sterry: (9th in MX2) “A solid first GP for me. The overall result didn’t really show what I was capable of but I was happy with my speed, starts and the riding. The crash second race cost me but I’m happy I came away healthy. It’s been my best start to a GP season so we will build from here!”
Brian Bogers: (18th in MXGP) “I felt pretty good today and it was better than yesterday so that was positive. I feel like I need a lot more of the race rhythm after being out for such a really long time. However I think I will get it back quickly and already the second moto was better than the first, even though I was 17th compared with 16th. The goal was the top 15 for this weekend and I think it was close to that with two solid motos with nothing strange happening, so I’m pretty happy with this weekend and it’s nice to know where I am now and where I need to improve from here.”
Calvin Vlaanderen: (4th in MX2) “It was a solid and consistent day today. I’m reasonably happy with how it went and obviously, I want to be on the podium at the end of the day but we’ll take fourth overall and it’s a good base for the season. It’s important to come out of the first round healthy and get rid of the nerves and just ease into the season after all the hype that comes with round one. I had two pretty good starts on my CRF250RW and could ride quite comfortably at the speed I was going and although I was a little bit off the speed of the first three guys, I feel like that will come on a different track. Overall I’m happy with how the day went and it’s a good weekend to build from.”
Dylan Walsh: (15th in MX2) “I’m just feeling really disappointed. It’s been a bad weekend for me. “I struggled all weekend and put too much pressure on myself but hopefully I’ll go better now I’ve got the first round out of the way. “On the plus side, I’m leaving Argentina healthy, in one piece and ready to have a go next weekend.”
