The next stop in the FIM World and European Motocross championship for the Gabriel SS24 KTM team was in Frauenfeld, Switzerland. It was a contrasting weekend the boys faced with Saturday seeing soaring temperatures in the 30’s and then a lot of overnight rain making Sunday a mud race.
Their EMX250 rider Cas Valk qualified third quickest, just 1 second off of pole position. In race one he had a great start from the middle gates and was within the top 5. He made the passes needed to get into second and rode well to finish in this position. With track conditions very slick and wet on Sunday, Cas did get a good start but washed out on the face of a jump on the opening lap and had to come through from outside the top 20. He managed to get back up to 6th and this was enough for third overall on the podium! He is now third in the championship, 19 points off the red plate holder with 2 rounds to go. It’s still all to play for!
Cas: “Quite a good weekend in Switzerland, it’s a shame about the mistake in the second race on the first lap in the mud, 2 rounds to go in the emx and we we keep fighting!”
Looking forward to getting back to the hard pack tracks the teams MXGP rider Josh Gilbert qualified 27th in timed practice, with only 4 seconds seperating the top 28 riders. He bettered his gate pick for Sunday in the RAM qualifying race where he secured 20th place after coming through from outside the top 30. Moving onto the races Josh had a blinder of a start on his KTM 450 SX-F in race one where he crossed the FOX hole shot line in third! It took a few laps for Josh to settle but he found his flow and finished the race in a respectful 16th place! In race two he didn’t get as good of a start after being closed off In the first corner, he was initially outside of the points but by the end of the race had found himself in 19th place. Ending his weekend on a positive note with two solid point scoring races.
Josh: “Really positive weekend, we have changed a couple of things on the bike which has allowed me to feel more comfortable and I feel like it showed this weekend. I also feel like my shoulder is nearly back to full strength and I have regained my confidence. I’m really looking forward to lining up at the British championship this weekend. A big shoutout to the team for their hard work over the last few weeks, it’s very much appreciated!”
Team Manager Shaun Simpson: “What a weekend! The changing conditions on track made setup key this weekend but we got both riders feeling comfortable. Cas was unfortunate to make a mistake on lap one of Moto two which was costly for the overall and the championship. We need maximum points in the last two rounds of the EMX championship.
“Josh looked much more like himself this weekend. Comfortable and flowing. He nailed a great start in race one and his pace was good. It was great to be back in the points both motos too. We need to take this positive weekend in to the British at Schoolhouse and fight up front.”
Race Report by Gabriel SS24 KTM – Images courtesy of Ray Archer
