Goncalves strong in Loket qualifier

Rui Gonçalves rode a strong race to take third position in Saturday’s qualifying heat for the GP of Czech Republic in Loket.


Having got the jump off the start, Gonçalves surfaced from the mud
melee in second position as they rounded the first turn. Lunchtime rain
had altered track conditions from the morning practice sessions but this
did not deter the Portuguese who quickly found his rhythm as he and
race leader, Max Nagl began to gap the rest of the field.

He
would remain in second position for much of the race but as the moto
reached its climax, lapped traffic began to feature. On a one-line track
that was proving difficult to pass, Gonçalves was held up by a gaggle
of back-markers, which allowed Desalle to close in and make his move
from an advantageous position behind. It would finish with Nagl taking
the win ahead of Desalle and the Honda man.

Team-mate Bobryshev had a moto to forget. Not getting the strong
start that has been a feature of his riding this season, he then crashed
on lap 2, dropping down to 16^th. From here he would improve to 13^th by moto end but will be looking to further regain his focus before Sunday’s main events.

Rui Gonçalves, Honda World Motocross
“Yeah
I got a good start and had good speed through the moto. I am keen to
carry on the momentum from last week and feel good out there. Towards
the end, I came across a big group of back-markers and just found it
difficult to get by them. Desalle had a bit of an advantage coming from
behind but that’s the way it is. I am looking forward to doing the same
again tomorrow hopefully.”

Evgeny Bobryshev, Honda World Motocross
“That
was a bad race for me. I had a bad start and t
hen
crashed on the second lap. It was totally my own fault, I was just
pushing to hard and the front bounced out of a rut and put me down. I am
pleased in a way that I have got that out of the way in qualifying and
hope to be much stronger on race day.”