- Speed is Back
- Strong Racing Phases
- Gained Valuable Experience with Setup Adjustments
After skipping the MXGP in Loket, Czech Republic, to allow his injuries to heal a bit longer, Max returned last weekend for the infamous sand Grand Prix in Lommel, Belgium. With 16th place in both time practice and the qualifying race, the weekend got off to a solid start.
“I felt good on the track, but had a bit of trouble finding the right flow during the qualifying race. Lommel just isn’t like any other sand track, and after a longer Grand Prix break, it took me a little while to get back into the rhythm,” said Max.
In the first moto, Max got slightly caught up with a rider who had crashed ahead of him in the first corner and lost valuable positions. After fighting his way back into the top 15, he eventually slipped down to finish in 18th place.
“My high pace at the beginning to move forward cost me quite a bit of energy. I misjudged my race pace a bit, and unfortunately had to pay the price for that at the end. I also went a bit wrong with the suspension setup,” Max summed up.
For the second moto, Max returned to his previous suspension setup for deep sand and immediately felt much more comfortable. After starting within the top 20, he quickly moved up to 11th place but dropped back slightly during the battles for position. Around the halfway point of the race, he was in 15th place when a larger piece of bodywork broke off and got stuck in the chain. After a pit stop, Max initially continued but then decided to retire from the race early, well outside the points, to avoid risking major engine damage.
“A shame, because overall I felt really good in the second moto and the suspension worked much better. These are valuable experiences for the future, and my speed was right there. The broken piece of bodywork got stuck with the chain and slowed the bike down, like pulling onto the brakes — which was especially dangerous during takeoffs. We removed the piece, but the hole in the airbox was too large, and I was too far from the points given the remaining race distance. To top it off, I was disqualified afterwards for allegedly riding too fast through the pit lane,” said Max.
Next weekend, the sixth round of the ADAC MX Masters is on the schedule in Gaildorf.
Results:
Quali: 16 (16 in Timed Practice)
Moto 1: 18
Moto 2: DNF
Overall: 22
Championship: 26
