The 24MX Honda team just had the time to clean the bikes, enjoy a night at home before heading for Spain where round 7 of the MXGP series takes place this weekend! After an absence of many years on the calendar the return to the popular Talavera de la Reina venue was greeted with much enthusiasm from fans, riders and media. The track, situated about 120 km south-west of Madrid, is hard pack and mostly set on natural terrain.
Xavier Boog is keen to recover the points he lost in Valkenswaard due to a damaged radiator in the first moto. Prior to the Dutch Grand Prix, Xavier was 8th in the MXGP World Championship. With another DNF behind his name -the first occurred during the opening round in Qatar- he slipped back to 10th and trails Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev by six points. The 26-year old Frenchman from Colmar near the German border continues to improve his speed and build his confidence after an injury-marred 2013 season.
In his return to GP racing in Holland Jens Getteman scored four points. The past three weeks the Belgian has been working hard to get back to his best level on the bike but he currently lacks race rhythm. Flashes of his speed, a podium place at the Hawkstone Park International and top five results in Wuustwezel and Moerbeke are the writings on the wall for the improvements he made compared to his debut season in the 450 class.
The Honda Europe supported team of Steven Lettani only raced in Talavera two years ago with Jonathan Barragan who claimed the Spanish Elite MX title that year. However the squad also recorded a GP win in Spain, with Tanel Leok steering his CRF450R to victory in Bellpuig in 2010. Since its beginnings in the early sixties the “Circuito Carlos Martinez Zorita” has established itself as one of the most important motocross tracks in Spain. Talavera has welcomed many international race series from MX3 over sidecar to well-attended 250cc GP’s from 1994 until 2000. The course features plenty of elevation changes and offers spectators good visibility. With past success for Stefan Everts, Fred Bolley, Gordon Crockard, Ryan Hughes and Julien Vanni, Talavera saw many Honda riders come out on top.
Xavier Boog: “I only really raced the second moto in Valkenswaard, but the good thing was that I got up to speed quickly. That’s a big step forward over the previous GP’s. Overall the result could have been a lot better with the DNF in moto 1 of course! Now, I’m pumped to go back to a hard-pack track. I never raced in Talavera, but I practised some times at the track before. We used to go there before in between Agueda (Portugal) and Bellpuig (Spain). So I know the track, I like it and I’m looking forward to have strong results there.”
Jens Getteman: “I’ve never raced in Talavera but it sounds like a nice track. With some more races under my belt the next GP’s are going to be very exciting for me. Just maybe I did feel it a little bit last weekend that I rode a race on Thursday, but on the other hand I needed some racing to get ready for my first MXGP again. And I felt that I needed to do that race! So I think that was the best choice. That’s all behind us now. My bike works really well, I feel fit so it’s more a matter of riding more at World Championship level and improving my weak points: aggressiveness from the start and the endurance to be consistent over one moto.”