Sevlievo in Bulgaria, one of the oldest tracks on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar, was the destination for the Wilvo Yamaha MXGP squad this past weekend. The slick, hard-pack hills prompted some close racing and also provided a platform for both Shaun Simpson and Jeremy Seewer to thrive on.
Spirits were high after Jeremy Seewer qualified in eighth, with Shaun Simpson in eleventh, because both riders knew exactly what they had to improve in order to make progress in the main motos. A poor start and mistake unfortunately hindered the former in the first of two motos, however, so he had to work his way up from the lower half of the top twenty. The conditions at Sevlievo did not exactly make that easy, as the fast nature of the circuit ensured that everyone was fairly close all day, but he pushed forward and into tenth at the chequered flag. It was an impressive effort and one that did not go unnoticed.
The second encounter was fairly similar for Jeremy Seewer, who did not grab the greatest start and therefore had some work to do. Tenth was the position that he eventually acquired and that left him in ninth overall on the day, so it was certainly a consistent outing. The twenty-two points that were acquired at the Grand Prix of Bulgaria helped him maintain eighth place in the premier-class series standings. Twenty points is the cushion that he has over the rider in ninth with three rounds of the FIM Motocross World Championship left to run.
Shaun Simpson was also on for a solid day, following a consistent eleventh in the opening moto, but a crash early on in the second moto cost him dearly. Another mistake then forced him into pit lane for repairs. Simpson never gives up, however, and returned to the track to complete a full-length moto and secure seventeenth overall on the day. Simpson runs sixteenth in the championship standings currently and, with three rounds left on the calendar, may be able to enter the top fifteen before the final chequered flag falls. The Grand Prix of Turkey next weekend will provide another opportunity for him to make progress.
Jeremy Seewer: “A track like this, for me, is the toughest to race the MXGP class on. I feel like I am riding well and have good speed, but it was really hard especially with my starts letting me down today. Two tenth place finishes are not what I want, but I felt good and I had fun. Everyone had the same speed today, so it was one of those tracks where you needed a good start, but I will keep working, I know what I need to improve, so I will be looking forward to seeing what next weekend will bring.”
Shaun Simpson: “I feel like I have been rolling along quite nicely since the Grand Prix in Loket and two decent finishes in Lommel, then again in Switzerland last weekend. This weekend does not fit the bill in terms of the type of track I like, or that I excel on, but it is the MXGP series and you have to ride everything that is put in front of you. Everyone has to ride and be good on the same track and I had a good mentality going into the first race where I finished eleventh. A little disappointed I did not finish inside the top-ten, but it was still some solid points on the board. The second race went wrong right from the start. I hit the bank on the start and crashed, taking [Jeremy] Van Horebeek down with me, then got up to twentieth and went down pretty hard. I decided to continue with twisted handlebars to get some training in before the next round.”
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