Christophe Pourcel missed a first win of the season in Agueda after he crashed while leading the second heat of the Portuguese Grand Prix. Despite some heavy rain on Friday evening and fog this morning - that forced the organizers to postpone the warm up - the weather has been perfect in Agueda for the third round of fifteen in the series. The track was demanding and the conditions were difficult for the riders, with warm temperatures and high humidity but the racing was once more again in both classes.
Christophe Pourcel had a good start in the opening MX2 race, even if his countryman Nicolas Aubin claimed the holeshot and led the first laps. Christophe took over by the third circulation and pushed for a few laps to secure a comfortable gap over his rivals. Antonio Cairoli was his pursuer when the Italian reached second place after ten minutes. For almost half the race the gap didn’t alter but suddenly the 2005 World Champion dropped his lap-times and passed Christophe less than ten minutes before the flag.
Aubin got another holeshot in the second moto but Pourcel was leading the race before the end of the opening lap, pulling away with a strong rhythm. Unfortunately he had a spectacular crash landing off a jump shortly afterwards, and was pretty lucky not to be injured even if a jolt of pain to his tibia forced his retirement.
Gregory Aranda scored Grand Prix points for the first time in his career with nineteenth and seventeenth positions in both races. He had a good start in the first race and was ninth for a couple of laps but felt tired after fifteen minutes and lost several places. His second moto was different as he crashed early and then fought back to reach the top twenty.
The first MX1 heat of Sébastien Pourcel was pretty similar to Aranda’s MX2 effort, with a good start and an average result. Third in the first part of the race, Sébastien was unable to keep this pace for the entire distance and finally scored tenth position. His second race was much stronger; he got a great start in second behind Leok, took the lead when Leok crashed and then dominated the race for seven laps. Strijbos and later Coppins overtook him, but Seb kept a good speed to collect his first top three moto result in the class. Fifth overall he is currently sixth in the World Championship standings.
Christophe Pourcel:‘My first heat was not so bad, even if I didn’t win it. When I was in the lead I was suddenly searching for air and decided to slow down for a few laps to recover. Antonio came back and passed me then I took again a good rhythm but it was impossible to pass him back. I prepared carefully my second heat and I had the race under control when I crashed on a jump. That’s racing, today I crashed and Tyla broke his bike, and tomorrow will be different. It wasn’t a good day, even though I did get lucky because I could have had a big injury from this crash.’
Sébastien Pourcel:‘I don’t really understand what happened in the first heat, I felt tired and without any energy after ten minutes. Everything went well on Saturday, I took food and drink regularly before the race but on the bike I was unable to ride normally after ten minutes. I tried to secure a result. I made mistakes and finally got tenth place and eleven points. I had a great start in the second race and then got the lead when Leok crashed. I kept the lead for seven laps and I was pretty happy, as it was easy to make mistakes on this track! Coppins and Strijbos were a little bit faster and passed me and then I made sure of third place. I now need to work differently as since Spain I have always some problems to keep my speed in the opening race. I have a better feeling in the second heat and now the goal is to get a top five in both races.’
Gregory Aranda:‘I got a good start in the first race and was ninth for six laps but suddenly I felt tired, maybe I pushed too hard to stay with the leaders. It was the first time that I was in the top ten, and a great experience but finally I finished nineteenth. I missed a good start in the second race, then crashed on the opening lap but never gave up as I knew that this race would be difficult for everyone. It’s the first time that I scored points in both motos and now the next goal is to be in the top fifteen.’
Patrick Geladé: ‘Christophe had a great start this weekend with a strong qualifying heat and then a good race, even if he lost it due to some physical problem with the weather conditions. He prepared the second one carefully and got another great start, taking the lead promptly. When Cairoli crashed we forgot that racing can be like this and we were waiting his first GP success of the season when he crashed too. He had pain to his leg and retired; for sure we’re disappointed but the championship is long and we’ll continue to work hard. In the MX1 class Sébastien had a strong second heat, as usual I will say, and was racing with Coppins and Strijbos. He can battle with them, I think he is back on the 450 to the level he had last year at the Nations and I’m sure that he will be even stronger in the following races. Gregory qualified through the Last Chance but scored points in both races, now we expect to see him in the top fifteen.’
Roger Pourcel:‘Today the first race of Christophe was perfect for thirty minutes but it was not enough as there was still ten minutes to go. When he will be fit it will be better, for sure, he will be able to win some races. He was stronger in the second race but he made a mistake and then his moto was finished. Of course we lost points, but he didn’t gain any injury and that’s important. Seb was strong in the second race, but I was unhappy after the first one as he didn’t work enough. If he wants to get some GP wins he must practice harder, that’s my opinion as I’m sure that he has the potential to win. I don’t want to see him third, fifth or second, he must win now! Saturday was difficult for Greg, we had to push him all day long and finally on Sunday he scored points in both heats. That’s a first stage, now we want to see him in the top fifteen, and later in the top ten.’
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