Top Ten in the Grand Prix of Andalusia for Calvin Vlaanderen

• The Dutchman Finishes in the Top Five in the second moto at Almonte

The Grand Prix of Andalusia, the second round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, took place this weekend at the Almonte track in the Doñana National Park, located in the southwestern corner of Spain, overlooking the Gulf of Cadiz on the Atlantic Ocean shore.

At the start of the first heat, Calvin Vlaanderen, who finished fifth in Saturday's qualifying race, was hit by a rival exiting the first corner and crashed, becoming trapped under his Desmo450 MX bike. Restarting last, the Dutchman, who hit his right thumb in the crash, attempted to make up as much ground as possible to get into the points, climbing to 18th place at the end of the 19-lap race. After starting in eighteenth place, Jeremy Seewer, never completely at ease on the Almonte track, finished the first heat in 16th place. Determined to finish the weekend on a high, Vlaanderen began the final heat of the day with a strong start, crossing the finish line in seventh place on the first lap; eighth after two laps, the Red Bull Ducati Factory MXGP Team rider found a good feeling with the challenging, sandy track, gaining positions and climbing to a fifth-place finish, which earned him ninth place on the day and ninth place in the championship standings. Seewer's second heat proved itself to be more challenging, starting 25th but managing to finish in nineteenth place, taking 20th place overall in the Grand Prix. The MXGP now moves to Frauenfeld, where the Swiss Grand Prix will be held next week.


Calvin Vlaanderen: “Overall a good weekend, I'm just a bit disappointed about the first race today, which ruined our overall results. We surely made good steps from where we were in Argentina, both yesterday in qualifying and today in the second moto which is very good, top five is our goal for the moment but on a good day we could fight for a podium; I think we're close to that, we still have things to improve and to work on but this was a good step forward. I'm happy, it's nice to give the team these results because they work very hard, they work day and night a lot of hours, so to give them back a little bit of hope, motivates them and me as well so we have to keep going like this.”


Jeremy Seewer: “It was a difficult weekend; the track didn't help with the situation we're in right now, this is the most problematic kind of track for me at the moment. On paper it always looks pretty bad but on the outside we are very competitive and you can't even compare it to last year, it's a different story now but that's how it is, this is the reality and I can't do more than this; I train really hard and it's not that I'm not trying.”

Difficult weekend for the Beddini Racing Ducati Factory MX2 Team, which leaves Spain, where was held the first round of the 250 European Championship with no results. Qualifying sixth in his group, nothing suggested that the two heats would turn into an ordeal for Simone Mancini. A crash at the start of the first race compromised his entire weekend, finishing both races outside the points.

Simone Mancini: “It's been all around a very difficult week; the weekend had started on a good foot in qualifying, the speed was there and I was riding quite well, then in the first manche I fell pretty badly and didn't know how to react, so the weekend took a very dark turn. I have to roll up my sleeves and react like I know I can and from Switzerland on it'll be another story.”