MOTOCROSS MXGP OF THAILAND 2016

GP2: Thailand - Simpson and Petrov consistent

Once more the Thai Grand Prix was a hot one, with temperatures around 40° on the Suphan Buri Motorsport Land, located 150km north of Bangkok. Shaun Simpson and Petar Petrov did two strong races in this second round of the series, while Dylan Ferrandis got injured in a crash.The unfortunate Frenchman was once more the fastest rider during the timed practice period on Saturday, but his weekend ended too early with a crash during the qualifying race. “I was pretty confident after my pole position in the timed practice session, but my start in the qualifying race was not so good; I was fifth and didn’t want to take any risks, but my rear wheel slid out in the waves and I crashed on my right shoulder. It was not really painful, and the medical staff put it back in position after twenty minutes. Now I fly back home to visit my doctor as soon as possible, we need more examinations to know what we have to do and when I can be back on the bike,” said Dylan who was second in the standings. Sixth of the opening race, Petar Petrov crashed in the second heat but managed to get a seventh overall, one position ahead of young Swedish Alvin Ostlund who impressed in his second ever Grand Prix.While Clement Desalle managed to score six extra points, racing only three weeks after he broke his radius. Shaun Simpson did another couple of strong races to finish the event in fifth overall. “I was slightly disappointed with first race, but I was a different rider in second with different and better lines and felt supple on the bike. I went on the inside and then round the outside at the second start and made a lot of positions; obviously it is not ideal to have bad starts but I made a good job of it. What I did is what I could do. It was my pace and I didn’t want to take risks and make mistakes. There had already been a lot of crashes. The track was my ‘type of going’ but my set-up didn’t feel amazing. I felt the heat more in the second moto than the first, more fatigued but I’m older and know how to cope with it. It was bloody hard work but I knew I could do the laps. It was another top six today, that was the goal” said Shaun who is currently sixth in the MXGP standings.

The series make a break now, as the next round will take place on Easter Monday in Valkenswaard (Netherlands)