The next stop in the World Motocross Championship calendar for the Gabriel SS24 KTM team was in Belgium for the Grand Prix of Flanders – Lommel, with round seven of the EMX250 alongside.
Their EMX250 rider Cas Valk started his day 6th in timed qualifying, and with the deep sand being his favoured terrain, he knew he was one of the favourites for the weekend. Heading into race one he didn’t get the best of starts starting outside the top 20, but he dug in deep and rode tactfully to work his way up through the field. Matching the lap times of the leaders whilst coming through traffic he would cross the finish line in an impressive 4th place with third just in front.
In race two he had a better start within the top 10 and again made early passes to take the lead on lap 2. He rode his own race, clicking off the laps in the rough conditions and took the race win 19 second ahead of the field, along with second overall on the podium! He remains second in the championship just 13 points behind.
Cas: “My Saturday wasn’t the best, I struggled the whole day and made the best out of a really bad start to come back to P4. Sunday was much better, I got a much better start and made quick passes into the lead and won the race! Next weekend it is the British championship at Hawkstone and I am looking forward to this one!”
Between Josh and the team it was decided to race Lommel. With both understanding he is still returning from injury to one of the toughest tracks in the world, he could race himself back to full fitness and build on week to week. He had 28th in timed qualifying and managed to better his gate pick in the RAM qualifying race to P23 despite being caught up on the second corner.
In race one he settled in 18th for most of the moto, he paced himself through the tough track conditions and hot weather but his shoulder became tired towards the last part of the race and he dropped to 24th in the final stages. He recouped for race two and again found himself in battling for points just missing out in 22nd. This is a massive improvement in just a week and with more bike time Josh will be back battling in the points where he and the team knows he can be.
Josh: “A step in the right direction this week! Coming to Lommel when fully fit is tough enough for any rider but to come here after returning from injury is another thing. We come away with positives from the weekend and can build on these from here, Hawkstone is up next – we couldn’t of had better prep for it than Lommel!”
Team Manager Shaun Simpson: “It was great to have our two riders back under the awning again at Lommel. Josh pushed through the whole weekend and gave 100% effort in both the motos. We made significant progress since last week so I’m confident that he will be back to full fitness and speed very soon. Once again Cas stepped up and proved that he can fight for the EMX250 championship all the way to the final Moto. A tough Moto on Saturday but rode great and back to winning ways on Sunday to take 2nd overall for the weekend.
“We are still pushing every week and believe we can squeeze a bit more out of ourselves over the next few rounds. Looking forward to a strong performance from both boys this weekend at Hawkstone Park for the British Championship.”
Words by Gabriel SS24 KTM – Images courtesy of Ray Archer
