The penultimate round of the MXGP World Championship took place back in Italy at the old school and historic track of Maggiora. The Italian fans came out in full force for the event which saw an electric atmosphere.
After lots of rain coming into the weekend and early Saturday morning the track was wet for the first day of action however it was still in decent condition considering the amount of rain.
Vlaanderen started eighth in the qualifying race but made two passes to finish a very solid sixth for a good gate position and five championship points.
The track was much drier on Sunday and faster than qualifying day but was still very slick to test the best riders in the world. The Gebben van Venrooy Yamaha rider had a great start in the first moto sitting fifth after the first lap and ended up finishing a very impressive fourth in a very strong moto.
For the second moto, it wasn’t the best of starts outside the top ten and then a crash trying to make passes saw him drop further down the order but he was able to battle back to eleventh on a track very hard to overtake on.
The team will now prepare for the final round of the MXGP World Championship which heads to Matterley Basin in the UK this weekend.
Calvin Vlaanderen (7th overall): It was a challenging weekend with a lot of rain on Saturday. I was surprised the track was still rideable with the rain. I managed to get a good feeling on the track on Saturday and had a solid race to finish in sixth. On Sunday the track was a lot more dry and fast which made it really difficult to pass. The first race went well with a good start and solid laps to finish in fourth. The second race I didn’t get such a good start and had a crash trying to pass other riders. I was quite far back and had to fight back to eleventh. Despite the disappointing second moto I felt like I had a good feeling and was satisfied with my riding.
