Youthstream and the FIM took the progressive step of holding a briefing with riders, personnel and press on Friday in Latvia as the rain fell at Kegums and the paddock came to life for the second GP in a week and the twelfth of eighteen this season. The presence of Youthstream Directors David Luongo, Nikos Gounaris and Tony Skillington, FIM CMS President, to explain that the ‘TBC’ status next to Teutschenthal and Uddevalla for the German and Swedish Grands Prix on the 2016 provisional calendar was a sign that the circuits lack of co-operation over track preparation and safe riding conditions will not be tolerated any more was a bold move and not just a political show. “There has been no misunderstanding about what needs to be done in order for us to continue,” said Gounaris. “New venues are generally not a problem because they are happy to have us…it is more the older circuits that simply do not want to listen.”
“The feeling of the riders were that they were very upset and we want to listen and take onboard what they say and react where we can,” said Skillington. “We also have to be realistic in that a circuit cannot be radically changed on a Saturday night.”
“The work has to be done before we arrive and we know that places rely on volunteers but it their biggest event of the year and it might just mean pushing hard for five days to make it the best it can be,” said Luongo. “We pre-visit venues and they show us the machinery and make promises but they don’t always deliver.”
“We have to take a degree of risk with some places,” added Gounaris. “Otherwise we’d have a championship of eight events…”
Although Kegums has a hard base and there were some grumbles around the repetitive little bumps made to the ground by the presence of 65 and 85cc European classes, the showers on Friday and through the evening helped chop up the loose soil (close to sand in texture) and prevented the polemic situation of water on hard-pack that ‘contaminated’ previous rounds in Germany and Sweden.
In terms of the racing there were no cases of all-out warfare to get excited about in the qualification heats but it was refreshing to see riders able to make inroads and gain on rivals (to a degree) after less than ideal starts. Gautier Paulin took his HRC Honda to a second consecutive Pole with what looked like a ragged and at times risky performance in front of Yamaha’s Romain Febvre; the championship leader was also not his smooth, flowing self and didn’t stalk his countryman with the same assurance and analysis as he had done to Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos in the previous qualification heat in Sweden. Red Bull KTM’s Tommy Searle actually led the way in the opening laps and had a few of his own ‘moments’ but considering the Brit’s gashed left arm and relative lack of race time it was only natural that he could not run the pace of the Hondas (Evgeny Bobryshev in third) and Febvre. The latest talk in the paddock had Searle out of contention to keep his saddle next to Tony Cairoli for the Austrians although sources close to Claudio De Carli stated that the decision for the MXGP line-up has not yet been made and isn’t likely to be finalised until near or after the Czech Grand Prix in two weeks. Searle in any case needs to get himself in the marketplace and a similar scenario awaits two other Brits with Jake Nicholls (a crash and stiff lower back ending his day prematurely) and Nathan Watson also facing questions about their services for 2016.
Cairoli painted a despondent figure. Still struggling immensely with his fractured left arm and telling people that the motos in Sweden had resulted in the break shifting further apart the champion fell on the first lap of the Qualification heat and then was in obvious pain trying to get to the finish in eighteenth. The Sicilian badly needs the free weekend after Latvia to try and regain any kind of fitness before Loket at the end of the month and then three Grands Prix in the sand.
Over in MX2 and a rare holeshot from Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie led to a comprehensive run to a first Pole Position, quite comfortably ahead of graduate Tim Gajser and the man the absent Jeffrey Herlings (who could not travel and compete through risk of infection to his wounded finger) will be watching closely on Sunday to see how many points can be trimmed from his series lead of 78.
There was talk and opinion on Ryan Villopoto’s retirement in the paddock. Press releases and statements from the U.S. had deservedly been dedicatory towards the 26 year old’s achievements but the feeling here is that the former AMA Champion did not end his adventure or association in the best or most appropriate way. HRC’s Jean-Michel Bayle had been quite damming with his comments on Facebook (“pitiful”) and world champion Tony Cairoli, a man riding “with one hand on the bars” to use his own words was also quite disappointed. When asked if the reigning champ could walk away from the sport in similar circumstances the KTM rider quickly answered “no”.
Gautier Paulin provided another perspective when asked what he thought of his HRC mentor’s words. “He is a great champion; that is all I can say about Ryan Villopoto. When you see the page he put on Instagram with all his wins then it is kinda scary. He was so consistent and came over to Europe and I think that is hard for an American rider but he took the challenge before retiring. For sure it did not end as he wanted but he tried and we should have respect for Ryan.”
RV’s replacement at Monster Energy KRT, Steven Frossard, tangled with another rider and crashed early in the Heat race, coming back to fifteenth. The last time the Frenchman rode a Kawasaki was at Kegums last September where he scaled the podium as part of victorious Team France.
Photo by Ray Archer
