Frossard consolidates third in the series

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Steven Frossard consolidated his third place in the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Loket in the Czech Republic and Kawasaki Team CLS teammate Jeremy Van Horebeek narrowly missed the podium. The Kawasaki duo issued a warning to the opposition on Saturday as Frossard took pole and Van Horebeek finished third in the timed qualification session, but their justifiably high expectations were not fully realised under different conditions on race day as the track dried out from the heavy rainfall which had fallen for 36 hours.

Both riders made a good getaway in the opening moto on Sunday with Frossard initially third and Van Horebeek sixth, but both riders encountered unforeseen difficulties during the early laps. Frossard was brought down by another rider at the second corner of the race and had to battle his way from the back of the pack with a painful back and damage to the bike after being run over. Van Horebeek meanwhile found himself held back for several laps by slower riders on the single groove track and was only able to true speed after finally finding a way past. The Belgian went on to finish fourth, the Frenchman 14th.

Their hopes of better fortune in race two were soon shattered as another rider fell in Frossard's path on the opening lap, while Van Horebeek made a comparatively poor start and had to battle forward from an initial 12th. Shaken by the first lap incident Frossard found it difficult to settle down and had to be satisfied with fourth place to the chequered flag, but Van Horebeek again showed good speed and determination to finish just one place behind his teammate.

Despite not achieving his expected success Frossard has further consolidated his third place in the series, while Van Horebeek has advanced to seventh and is eagerly eyeing a top five finish at the end of the season.

Having spent Saturday getting acquainted with the conditions he unfortunately had a big crash during Sunday morning warm-up and was badly shaken; after just a few laps of racing Michael and the team decided to withdraw him from racing for the rest to day to ensure that he is ready to challenge for honours during the final three GPs of the season.

Steven Frossard: “I really enjoyed the track on Saturday; it was wet and slippery and I’m used to these conditions as I train on a similar track in winter. I posted the fastest lap and was confident for the races; I had a great jump out of the gate in the first race and was third leaving the first corner, but at the next one Simpson came across my front wheel and I crashed. One rider rode over me and I had no feeling in my back for the rest of the race; the throttle cable was also damaged but I fought back to finish fourteenth. I got another good start in the second race, but Charlier crashed on the first lap and I jumped onto his bike. I was riding stressed after that and couldn’t do better than fourth. I had higher goals this weekend but I suppose that’s motocross. Thankfully I didn’t lose any positions in the series standings, but that’s not enough to be satisfied.”

Jeremy Van Horebeek: “I’m happy with my results this weekend, even if it’s always frustrating to miss a GP podium by just a single point. On Saturday I posted a good lap time during the timed practice period when it was wet and I enjoyed the track more than on race day. I had a good start in the opening race and battled with Roelants for several laps before I passed him and Simpson to finish fourth. I was happy with my riding, but my second start wasn’t as good; I was twelfth at the second corner, and moved quickly to sixth after three laps, but the I lost too much time behind Simpson. I got into a bad rhythm and when I finally passed him halfway through the race the leaders were a long way ahead. But it was a good performance, much better than last week in Lommel.”