The Wilvo Yamaha MXGP crew arrived at the fabulous circuit of St. Jean d’Angely, France, for the tenth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship this past weekend. Following encouraging moments at the previous fixture in Great Britain, both Jeremy Seewer and Shaun Simpson were eager to head out onto the circuit.
A slick surface made conditions quite tricky and the start extremely important during qualification on Saturday. Jeremy Seewer was one of the few riders to make significant progress, however, as he ended the first lap in twelfth and had moved into seventh after just six laps. An entertaining tussle with another Yamaha-mounted rider ensured that the 37,500 fans had plenty to cheer about. Shaun Simpson also had a positive time of it in qualifying and secured the eleventh gate pick for race day.
The first premier-class moto on Sunday was another positive outing for Jeremy Seewer. A thunderstorm made conditions tricky, but he used all of the power within his YZ450F to power through the slop and slot into the top five early on. Seewer held his own against some for the former Grand Prix winners in the class, which confirmed that he has the raw speed to contend for podiums, and eventually crossed the chequered flag in sixth. The second moto was fairly similar; he had a great start and then battled some established stars, before eventually securing eighth place. The consistent scorecard left him in eighth overall on the day and helped him secure the same position in the championship classification.
Shaun Simpson carried some of his momentum from the Grand Prix of Great Britain into the French race, as he hovered around the top ten and had some positive moments. An eleventh in moto one, which was exactly where he finished in the final moto last week, was followed by a steady thirteenth in the second encounter, so he is still pushing forward in his return from injury. The eighteen points that were secured left him in tenth overall on the day and helped him edge closer to the top fifteen in the series standings. Simpson will hope to put that momentum to good use in Italy next weekend.
The Wilvo Yamaha MXGP squad will now turn their attention to round eleven of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the Grand Prix of Lombardia, at the relatively-new circuit of Ottobiano. The event will take place in sandy conditions next weekend.
Jeremy Seewer: “I had a lot of things to change yesterday in the practice sessions, just because it is a new track once again for me and it required a new set-up. We had it sorted before the qualifying race, so that was good. Today I had two really good starts and I managed to ride solid and stay close to the top guys. I would say it was the first day for me, this year, riding so far up front and I found that really intense and something I have to get used to. I lost a couple of spots, but at the moment I prefer to stay on the bike than to risk too much and crash. I am happy with my speed and the riding.”
Shaun Simpson: “It has been a positive weekend. I can tell you my raw speed is not there yet, but I am in and around the top-ten and I just seem to get a bit tired around the final ten minutes of the race. But, to be honest, I am pretty happy with the way I am riding, the people I am battling with are no slouches. I can’t complain, two solid rides and some solid points, I am happy.”
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