The FIM Motocross World Championship made a return to Spain this past weekend, for round seven of the 2014 series. It was an explosive round – there was some great action under sunny skies, on the historic track of Talavera de la Reina. But, for some riders, the Spanish GP was not a good one. We look at all of this in ‘Hot and Cold’.
Hot:
Jeffrey Herlings: Well, normality has now been resumed! Jeffrey Herlings is back to being a dominant figure, on all conditions. The slick, hard-pack conditions in Spain were the perfect setting for Tonus to gain some momentum, but it was not to be, as he had nothing for the Dutchman. In the opening MX2 moto, the two guys started in first and second. However Jeffrey extended his gap at the front to thirty-two seconds, and crushed any hope that his rival may have had. Another strong showing in moto two handed the series leader the overall victory; he now has a twenty-seven point lead in the championship, as a result of this.
Dylan Ferrandis: It is hardly surprising that Dylan Ferrandis returned to form on a hard-baked track like Talavera de la Reina, as the French always thrive on that terrain. Since his first moto win at the Qatari GP, Dylan hadn’t really performed like most thought he would. But, he returned to the podium this past weekend, following a brace of third places. Ferrandis’ ride in the second moto was more impressive – he cut his way through a fierce battle to acquire the spot. The tracks that are coming up should suit the Frenchman, so he should be able to build on this ride in the coming weeks.
Clement Desalle: Following a lacklustre showing in Valkenswaard, Clement Desalle rebounded at the Spanish GP, with a double moto victory. The second moto was arguably his strongest ride of the year, as he kept Cairoli at bay for a handful of laps. In the end, he beat the Sicilian by just one second. Although the gap was not the largest, the win would have done wonders for his confidence moving forward, which could make for some exciting racing. At this stage, Clement is twenty-four points down in the title fight, which isn’t too bad – it could be a lot larger.
Lewis Gregory: The inaugural EMX300 series has garnered very little interest thus far, as there have been just over ten riders on the line at the first two rounds. But the British fans have had a reason to take note of what has been going on, as Lewis Gregory has been a frontrunner. In fact, the popular GL12 Yamaha pilot topped the podium at Talavera de la Reina. Gregory had a very strong ride in race one on the Saturday, as he took a sensational victory; he then followed that up with a third today, which was good enough to hand him the win, to the delight of the British fans!
Steven Clarke: The EMX250 series has been ruled by British riders so far, as Ben Watson, Steven Clarke, James Cottrell and Adam Sterry have all broke into the top five at some point in the first four motos. Surprisingly, Steven Clarke has now established himself as the man to beat; he has a commanding twenty-point lead in the title fight. Clarke took the first race win in Spain, and then finished second in moto two, so he tied for the overall victory. Inconsistency is rife in the EMX250 field, and Steven has undoubtedly been the strongest across the two rounds.
Cold:
Tyla Rattray: Rattray has been back on-track for a while now, and has completed four rounds. But, he has not produced the type of results that we expect of him, yet – he finished eighth overall at the Spanish GP. Since his return, Tyla has been consistent; he has finished in the lower half of the top ten in the last six motos. However, he should be higher up than that – especially now that he is one-hundred percent. Of course, he would have lost some raw speed in his time off, but he does not seem to be getting any closer to the elite group, which must be worrying for him.
Evgeny Bobryshev: Unsurprisingly, Evgeny Bobryshev had another hard crash at Talavera de la Reina; he does this too often. Luckily, he again managed to get up, and finish the moto, but he garnered a lacklustre amount of points, because of this. The Russian finished eighth overall, and now sits eighth in the championship. Intriguingly, Joel Roelants and Xavier Boog (two riders on private Honda squads) are nipping at his heels in the points race, which cannot be good for the HRC backed rider.
Ken de Dycker: Ken de Dycker has had a rough go of it, since his return at Valkenswaard one week ago. The lanky Belgian has garnered just two points over the last two rounds, so he seemingly is not in a position where he can push for the whole moto, which makes me wonder why he doesn’t take some more time off. Maybe he was under pressure to return from his team and sponsors? De Dycker should have a two week break now, which will give him some more time to build up some speed and strength.
Max Anstie: Well, Max Anstie’s season is well and truly off the rails. Seriously, this is weird; Max is rarely a factor in the top ten nowadays, but it was only two months ago that he was looked at as Jeffrey Herlings’ greatest challenger! Rarely do we see a rider’s results vary so much in such a short time span, so there must be an underlying issue there. Anstie finished in nineteenth overall this past weekend, following moto finishes of twentieth and fourteenth. Of course, mistakes and falls played a part in this, but he should still finish higher than this, undoubtedly.
Thomas Covington: Thomas Covington seemingly has a lot of speed, and potential, but we all knew that he would have to deal with a steep learning curve this year. So, it isn’t too surprising that the results have not really been there, in recent weeks. But still, I would have expected him to finish a little higher at Talavera de la Reina. In the first race, he didn’t score any points after getting caught up in an incident in turn one; he then scored six points in moto two, with a fifteenth, which is a little better. Thomas has ridden Matterley Basin before, so he will know what to expect from the next round, which will help him move back into the top ten, I’m sure.
Words: Lewis Phillips
Image: Suzuki Racing
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