Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/707505
MOTOCROSS FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 13 / JULY 24, 2016 LOKET MX / LOKET, CZECH REPUBLIC P72 My Own Race: 12 MAX NAGL 1ST MXGP (1-1) The weekend didn't start on a promising note for Max Nagl who only carded 14th in the qualifying race. Things quickly turned around for the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory racer, however. "I managed to get two great starts in the final motos," the German said. "In the first race I quickly passed Gautier Paulin for the lead and started pushing hard as I knew Tim Gajser was following me. In the second race, Tim got the lead right after the start and I was third. I quickly passed him and started putting in fast laps to close the gap. My plan was to put pres- sure on him and that's exactly what happened. He made a mistake a few laps before the ned and when I got the lead I just went for it." 461 ROMAIN FEBVRE 3RD MXGP (3-3) If any rider is known for his prowess at the Loket circuit, it's defending champion Romain Febvre. However, starts are what held back the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory racer at the Czech GP. ""For sure I am happy to be back on my YZ450FM and racing again," Febvre said. "I was out for nearly one month to recover from my crash in England, and in that time I missed some training because it was not possible to get on the bike until I recovered completely. I was fine physically but the reaction time between my vision and my brain needed rest and attention in order to come back. Now I am 100 percent and it is very good to get this result today. The conditions here were very slippery, because this is hard-pack and there was a little bit of rain today. Next week we go back to the heavy sand at Lommel and it will be a very different GP in Belgium." 4 DYLAN FERRANDIS 1ST MX2 (1-1) Even if Jeffrey Herlings had been on the starting gate at Loket, Dylan Ferrandis might still have been the pick to win on the hard-pack natural terrain circuit. The Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team rider nonetheless took advantage of the opportunity to card his career-first double-moto victory. "In the first race I was second behind Jonass who quickly dropped, and I quickly widened the gap with my rivals to win this race," said Ferrandis. "I made sure to save some energy for the second run, and it was necessary because my second start was not as good as the first. I had to fight to get back in front of the race, and it was complicated because we had less traction. In the end, Max Anstie was on my rear wheel. He tried to make a block pass but in the end, it was he who fell. That's racing!" 64 THOMAS COVINGTON 8TH MX2 (15-4) American rider Thomas Covington raced to a commendable fourth- place finish in the second moto, though it was only good enough for eighth overall following his 15th place in the first moto. "It was a pretty difficult weekend, but I finally managed to figure things out in the second moto," said the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory rider. "In the first moto I got my bike spinning too much behind the gate so I ended up getting a really bad start. I started from the back of the pack and battled my way to 15th. Then in the second race I was second off the start and run up front with the top for most of the race before ending up fourth. I'm really happy with the second moto, as I showed that the speed is there to battle for the podium. Conditions were tough; the track was slippery and full of hard bumps. But we got things figured out in the second moto and hopefully we can keep the momentum going to Belgium."