REVO Husqvarna UK riders Dylan Walsh and Alvin Östlund showed their fighting spirit at a tough and testing MXGP of Trentino, round four of the FIM Motocross World Championship.
Situated in the foothills of the Dolomite Mountains in North West Italy, the Pietramurata circuit was hard-pack and unforgiving. Heavy rain in the lead-up to the event left the surface in prime condition but long, deep ruts formed making the track super-technical.
At this level good starts are essential with gate position determined by the qualification race and both riders struggled on Saturday with Alvin finishing 25th and Dylan 33rd.
With poor gate choices for Sunday’s two points-paying races the team knew it was going to be a hard day at the office, especially as Dylan was still feeling the after-effects of his big crash the previous weekend in Valkenswaard.
Alvin completed the first lap of the opening 30-minute plus two lap moto in 19th and could only improve to 18th at the flag and Dylan advanced from 26th to 21st.
In race two Alvin was running as high as 13th at half-distance but lost a couple of places in the closing laps to end the moto 15th for 17th overall. Dylan moved into 15th during the early stages of the race and was in the points in 17th until the final lap when another rider took him down and he dropped back to 23rd.
In the championship chase Alvin moved up a place to 14th but Dylan has dropped to 19th after failing to add to his points total.
The team is back on home ground next weekend with round two of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship at Lyng in Norfolk.
Mark Yates (Team Principal): “Dylan’s still hurting from Valkenswaard and I think he’s down-playing how much. If anything he’s maybe a little too tough for his own good sometimes.
“Saturday was bad but we saw an improvement on Sunday. Alvin’s struggled too and it’s just been a weekend we needed to get through before the Maxxis round next weekend but after that we’ve got a bit of time to regroup.
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“The track has played havoc with a lot of riders, not just Dylan and Alvin. Neither rider has been happy with their performances and both know they can do better but Alvin’s scored enough points to put him 14th in the championship although Dylan’s dropped a few positions. It’s still early in the season and both riders have time to make their presence felt.
“It’s been tough all round but the team has pulled together well and I’m proud of the way we’ve kept going forward. There’s a real feeling of unity and we’ll keep our heads high and keep building.”
Alvin Ostlund: “I’m not so happy. The track was difficult and I had a small bike issue in qualification so I didn’t get a great choice of gates but I managed to finish 18-15 so it’s not too bad.
“It was very close and the track was very tight – I really needed good starts. I need to work on them to fight for top-10 finishes.”
Dylan Walsh: “It’s been a disappointing weekend but I’m still recovering from last weekend. In the first race I came from almost last up to 21st and in the second one I got taken out on the last lap when I was 17th. My shoulder’s weak but I’m building it back up.”
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