Victory for Dylan Ferrandis as Ryan Villopoto debuts
CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Dylan Ferrandis showed why he is going to be one of the contenders for the 2015 FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship by blending speed and spirit under the lights of Losail to fight for a hard-earned third position. MXGP launched in the desert coinciding with the Grand Prix of Qatar for the third year on the bounce and the Frenchman recovered from a second race crash to earn his spot on the podium despite dealing with illness.
Dylan wrapped his hands around four trophies in 2014 and already has one notch on his 2015 scorecard. Running with his new number “4” Ferrandis was lucky to escape unscathed from a heavy tumble in the formative stages of the second race and just when he was starting to size-up an attack on leader Jeffrey Herlings. He then needed to recover his composure to regain ground from eleventh back up to fourth to make the box.
“I was sick this weekend so my goal was to make the podium; I’m pleased about this,” he said. “I was surprised to pass Jeffrey in the first moto. I made two good laps but then mentally I wasn’t ready to lead the moto and I was making too many mistakes. I was really feeling good in the second moto but made a crash when I was chasing Jeffrey. Anyway it is good to be up here.”
His teammates Jordi Tixier and Thomas Covington also tasted some of the bumpy Losail terrain as the Frenchman and American assumed the final two positions in the top ten. Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie had the scariest get-off of them all after seeming to miss a gear on the take off to the large step-up jump and was lucky to hobble away from a major incident while closing on the top three.
Over in the premier class there was little doubt about who was the main draw in Losail. Increased crowd attendance was a sign that many were tuning in to see the Grand Prix debut of multi-AMA Champion and Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Ryan Villopoto. The 26-year-old did not have a dream maiden outing however and finished seventh overall in what was only the first part of his adjustment to a new series and fresh form of racing. A few key mistakes like an engine stall in the gate and several small spills stopped the American from running his aggressive speed nearer the front of the pack.
“All I know is that every time we went on the track we got better,” he said. “From yesterday until now we got better all the time. We scored okay points and for me it has been about learning the system and how it all works. I haven’t ridden on Saturday and raced on Sunday or done two twenty-minute practices and a twenty-minute race followed by a fifteen-minute practice and then into the motos; that is more riding on the weekend than we have ever had in the States. I’m getting used to that.
Teammate Tyla Rattray fared better in 17th overall and was searching for a more effective set-up all weekend. The South African will get more time to refine his suspension and Villopoto is poised to gain more Grand Prix experience with the second round slated to take place in Nakhonchaisri west of Bangkok.
