Results
- Qualifying Race: 13th
- Race 1: 19th
- Race 2: 11th
- Overall: 15th
The final result wasn’t what I was aiming for in Trentino, but there were still plenty of positives to take away. My speed was there all weekend, but too many crashes and difficult starts made it impossible to show my true potential.
From the first practice sessions I felt comfortable on the bike. The pace was good, and despite finishing only 17th in Time Practice, I was just two seconds off the fastest lap. That shows how incredibly competitive the MXGP class is this season. I felt like I had the speed to repeat my lap times consistently, so I went into the Qualifying Race feeling confident.
Unfortunately, my race was compromised almost immediately. I tangled with another rider just after the start gate and suffered a big crash, leaving me 10–15 seconds behind the last rider when I got going again. From there I focused on making passes one by one, and I was really happy with my riding. My lap times were comparable to the riders fighting for fifth to eighth place, and I managed to recover all the way to 13th, finishing right behind 12th. That gave me a lot of confidence going into Sunday, knowing both the bike and my riding were working well.
Overnight rain completely changed the track conditions. Saturday’s hard and slippery surface became softer with deeper ruts, but it also turned much more one-lined, making overtaking even more difficult.
In Sunday morning’s warm-up I had a very strong lap going, with sector times that could have put me around fifth place, but I crashed in the final sector after hitting one of the bumps the wrong way. It was another reminder of how technical and unforgiving the track was.
Race 1 started badly. I was around 15th to 20th off the gate, and on the opening lap I was pushed off the track into the ruts, lost my footing and crashed again. From there it was another recovery ride from the back of the field. Despite passing riders throughout the race, the track made overtaking extremely difficult, and I could only recover to 19th.
Finally, in Race 2 I got a much better start. I was quickly up to around 11th on the opening lap and settled into the fight for the top ten. Midway through the race I moved into 10th and spent several laps attacking ninth place. I felt I had the speed, but it was almost impossible to make a clean pass because everyone was riding the same lines. I kept pushing until the final laps, but while making one last attack I made a small mistake and lost a position instead, crossing the finish line in 11th.
It’s frustrating because I know the speed is there to fight inside the top ten, and I honestly believe that with a good start I had the pace to battle for sixth or seventh this weekend. At this level, starts make a huge difference, especially on a track like Trentino where passing is so difficult.
Even though the results don’t fully show it, I’m very happy with where I am physically and with the feeling on the bike. My speed is back, my fitness is where it needs to be, and now it’s all about putting every piece together on race day and turning that pace into the results I know I’m capable of.
There is now a one-month break before the next MXGP round. During that time I’ll race two rounds of the French Championship before returning to the World Championship, ready to come back even stronger.