A Difficult day for the AGV riders at the GP of the Netherlands

“What a sand surface!” was what Gautier Paulin had to say after the race. He had to dig deep to stay out of trouble during this third round of the Motocross World Championship series which was made even harder by the freezing conditions that reigned over the two days of the meeting.

“What a sand surface!” was what Gautier Paulin had to say after the race. He had to dig deep to stay out of trouble during this third round of the Motocross World Championship series which was made even harder by the freezing conditions that reigned over the two days of the meeting.

It was an unusual and very demanding GP of the Netherlands from which the French Kawasaki rider emerged with his head held high even if this time he wasn't on the podium. "The track was weird" explained Gautier - "the sand below the surface was frozen and extremely slippery, not the sort of conditions we're used to. I was fourth after qualifying on Saturday and had a good starting position. In the first race I started fairly well and found myself in seventh place. I had good feeling with the bike and managed to come home in fifth. In the second race however, I didn't get a good start and only found my rhythm in the last ten minutes of the race but by then it was too late to make a comeback and I finished seventh. It's not the result I had hoped for but we'll keep on working hard to be ready for the next races".

Also racing with AX-8 Evo helmets were David Philippaerts and Shaun Simpson who didn't achieve the results they had been hoping for. The Tuscan Honda rider only completed the first round and came home in ninth place. In the second race he had mechanical problems and was forced to retire. Much the same applied to the Scot who was let down by his TM works bike on lap 12 of round one.

The world circus will move to Italy for the GP of Trentino at Arco di Trento near Lake Garda on 14 April.