Benoit Paturel of the De Baets MX team finished in a strong seventh in the tenth race of the MXGP world championship in Maggiora, Italy. Paturel rode two good motos on the legendary circuit and managed to finish tenth and ninth in the motos.
On Saturday there was a lot of rain in Maggiora, which made the track increasingly worse. Paturel needed some time to find the right rhythm and therefore did not get further than seventeenth in time practice and finished twentieth in the qualifying heat.
On Sunday the conditions were completely different as the sun started to shine and the track started to look better and better. In the first moto Paturel got a good start and finished the first lap in twelfth place. Within a few laps he moved up to eleventh place and a few laps later he also took over tenth place. He managed to hold on this position till the checkered flag waved.
The start of the second moto was better and this time he was able to start the race inside of the top ten. He quickly got into seventh place and managed to hold on to this position for many laps. However, in the closing stages he had to give up two more places and finished in ninth place.
With a 10-9 in the heats, Paturel finished seventh in the overall standings. He now occupies sixteenth place in the world championship standings.
Lotte van Drunen was riding the fifth round of the WMX class in Maggiora. After Lotte had managed to set the second fastest time in timed training, the race started with a setback. After the start, another lady fell just in front of her, causing Lotte to crash as well and have to continue her way in the back of the field. In the muddy conditions she worked her way up to the front and eventually managed to finish in sixth.
After the race in Maggiora, Lotte remains in the lead and has a three-point lead over Daniela Guillen in the battle for the title.
Brent van de Walle took part in the EMX125 class in Maggiora. Unfortunately, he did not qualify for the race on Saturday, so he was not allowed to start in the heat.
