KTM Red Bull Factory rider Jonathan Barragan rode to fifth place in the MX1 Grand Prix in Faenza, Italy in a race that replaced Durban on the competition calendar.
The Spanish KTM factory rider earned his first MX1 pole position riding on a track that was completely new to him scored fifth place in both heats for overall fifth on the day.
"Today I did not have very good starts and it was difficult to get past the other riders during the race," Barragan said. The track was hot, hard and at times during the MX1 race, also dusty. But Barragan has been training at home in Spain and said he had no problems with the hot summer temperature or the conditions. "I don't have any more problems with my shoulder and physically I feel good. Today I picked up a few more championship points and now I will try aim at fighting for third place at the end of the season.
Barragan's strongest competitor for that third place will be his team-mate in the KTM Red Bull lineup Italian David Philippaerts, who on Friday was not sure if he was going to be able to compete in Faenza, a track where he rode many times as a boy.
While Barragan had a double victory at the ADAC masters in Austria last weekend, David crashed in training for that event and damaged ligaments in his shoulder. The injury is still badly inflamed and although he made the starting line, he rode with considerable discomfort. He managed to finish sixth immediately behind Barragan in race one but jarred his shoulder going over a bump in race two.
The pain disrupted his rhythm and he had to settle for eventual 10th place overall. Philippaerts still retains a slight edge of six points over Barragan in the season's standings and is in fourth place while Barragan is currently fifth.
Results - Sebastian Pourcel, France, Kawasaki
- Joshua Coppins, New Zealand, Yamaha
- Mike Brown, USA, Honda
- Billy Mackenzie, Britain, Kawasaki
- Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM
Images - Archer R.
Related News
