The Honda World Motocross team will close a turbulent season this weekend in Lierop, The Netherlands, where Evgeny Bobryshev will be looking to finish the year on a high following three consecutive podium finishes in the MX1 World Championship.
Bobryshev, who was injured earlier in the season, has made a strong return to form in the last few races and with three podiums on the bounce to add to his rostrum finish in the early part of the season, the Russian will be looking to bow out of the 2013 season in style aboard his Dunlop-shod factory CRF450R.
The Lierop track is notoriously tough though, and while Bobryshev has been training hard to bridge the gap in moto speed to the leading duo of Clement Desalle and Antonio Cairoli, the Russian expects it to be a challenging weekend.
Unfortunately for the team, despite his best efforts, Max Nagl will sit out of proceedings once again this weekend. The German rider has been working up-to 40-minute motos, but the Epstein-Barr virus he has is incredibly difficult to treat, and he has to balance his training with considerable rest in order not to suffer from extreme fatigue like earlier in the season.
Nagl is regularly visiting his doctor and is gradually building his strength, although Lierop is not a particularly suitable comeback track for such an illness, which can only really be gauged on physical feeling. Nagl’s main goal is to be fit and race ready for the Motocross of Nations at the end of the month, where he will carry the number one plate for team Germany. Nagl will attend the race this Sunday as a spectator.
Evgeny Bobryshev #777:
“I raced at a Belgium championship event last weekend and in the first race I finished third, but I hurt my foot a little bit, so I didn’t do the second one, as we didn’t want to risk anything. I was fine again on Monday, and we’ve been working closely with Showa for the last few days on the setting in the sand. We’ve found something I’m happy with, although we will continue to improve over the weekend. Coming into this weekend I’m feeling positive, as Lierop is close to my house and the Dutch crowds are amazing. I like the track; the ground is good but very tough, although I like the design with the fast corners. My goal is still just for consistent races; I don’t want to say anything about goals, but we’ve had a nice consistent run of motos in the last few events. The podium is always good, but the goal has to be about finishing in the top five and finishing well. I’m disappointed overall with the season, because it started in a really good way and I prepared well, but then with the injury I dropped very low, and it was very difficult to come back. It just wasn’t what we expected. Thankfully things have become better towards the end of the year, but we have continued to work hard and we will do the same again this weekend.”
Max Nagl #12:
“In the last two weeks the training has been hard, and I’ve put a lot of effort in to get back to doing 40-minute motos to be at the level to race in Lierop. I decided if I could do it in training on Wednesday, then I would race, but I couldn’t comfortably do the distance. If I race I want to be at the very best level, but I am not there yet. We have decided to focus on the nations which is important for myself, team Germany and for Honda. After the German grand prix I rested for nearly five weeks, which in terms of the illness I have, was just enough to recover for the moment to be able to have training time to race. Normally the recovery time should be a lot longer, and the average recovery is three to six months. At the moment we are only just at the three-month stage. I am still visiting the doctor every week to keep things under control and to make sure I’m not going backwards, but it’s such a balancing act with no real markers on how much is too much from a training side, as it’s just about listening to my body. It’s tough because if I don’t train I won’t be fit enough, but if I overdo it then I could be out for a long time. I am feeling good, in fact I am a lot, lot better than before, but it has been disappointing not to be at the races. The possibility for me to go backwards again is quite high, so I have to make sure I have rest periods, but if I do it everything correctly I am safe. After the nations I will have another recovery period and we will go from there, but with the right amount of rest I should be in a perfect condition for next season. I want to thank everyone for the support during this really difficult time with quite a complex illness. I wish I had hard and fast answers to be able to give everyone a timeframe, but for now I will just do my best and everything possible to make sure I recover in the right way.”