Trentino hosted round five of the MXGP championship with round 3 of the European 250’s alongside where the Gabriel SS24 KTM Factory Juniors team saw Gyan Doensen joined by new MX2 recruit Oriol Oliver, who is stepping in for Max, who has now had successful surgery on his shoulder.
Words by Gabriel SS24 KTM – Images courtesy of Juan Pablo Acevedo
Gyan was the first rider in the team to hit the hard pack Italian track in the warm sunny conditions, placing 5th in group A in timed practice.
Gyan didn’t get the best start in race one after a crash, which meant he had his work cut out starting from outside the top 30 but he knuckled down and got to work to come through. Picking off the riders Gyan crossed the finish in 17th.
Hoping for redemption in race two Gyan proved he can run at the front as he battled with the front runners whole moto. He secured third place at the flag which gave him 8th overall. He currently sits 7th in the championship.
For Oriol in the MX2 category, he had 15th in timed practice and bettered this in the qualifying race with 12th.
A rainy start to Sundays race schedule, Oriol did get a good start in race one and was within the top 10 but a crash on the opening lap would mean he had to come through from 22nd. He started working his way through the field but made a mistake on lap 4 which set him back to 22nd again. Oriol re grouped, gritted his teeth and pushed hard for the remainder of the moto to finish in 15th place.
In race two Oriol had a really good start and rode a consistent and calculated race to bring home a solid 6th place finish. This would give him 11th overall for the weekend on his debut for the team.
Oriol: “Good way to end the weekend here in Arco. I feel that all weekend long I got better every session that I went on track, after two trainings on the new bike I guess I needed some time to get used to the bike but it’s still a KTM so was a smooth transition. First moto I crashed first lap with another rider and lost a lot of time but could come back to P15. Second moto a good start helped a lot and could get a P6 with a good riding, happy with this one!
I want to thank the team again, without them would be not possible and I feel I am with a great people that they take care about the details, next up Switzerland!”
Gyan: “Arco done, unfortunately another inconsistent weekend but showed some good things. Big start crash in race one and wasn’t riding like myself. Second moto had a solid start, solid moto and solid riding. Finally showed everyone that I have the speed and fitness to ride upfront. Need to get the consistency in and we can fight for some top spots in the championship. Big thanks to all the team for the effort!”
Team Manager Shaun Simpson: “Great weekend in Arco, it’s nice to finally feel like we’re getting the ball rolling. Still looking for more consistency out of Gyan but he is definitely showing everyone and himself that he has the pace to run upfront and fight for those podium positions, so let’s hope this is the start of consistent results from Switzerland this weekend coming. Oriol was a great surprise for us at the weekend, rode very smooth, calculated and gave us some really good feedback on the bike. He only got better as the weekend went on so to finish the weekend with a 6th place in the second moto is definitely exciting for the team, the sponsors and everyone involved. We’re really looking forward to working together with Oriol for the next few weeks starting in Switzerland this weekend. A big thanks to everyone who continues to support the team.”
