EKS Brand Weekend Report
FIM World motocross championships, Locket, Czech Republic. Rui Goncalves 3rd, Steven Frossard 8th Evengy Bobreshev 12th.
After missing the podium in Lommel due to a mechanical problem on the last lap, EKS BRAND, Honda World Motocross team member, Rui Gonçalves obtained his maiden MX1 podium of his career, finishing third ahead of Leok and Nagl. Gonçalves finished third in both heats and he admitted that he is ready to be back on the podium in the upcoming GP. Rui now joins EKS BRAND MX-1 racers Frossard and Bobryshev as MX-1 podium finishers. Rui now sits 6th overall in the World Championship point standings.
Rui Gonçalves
“I am really happy to be on the podium, especially after last weekend. I felt that I proved it is where I deserve to be as I had good speed all weekend and consistency. I was top-three in every heat this weekend. I would like to thanks the team for everything they have done for me and for preparing a great race bike.”
EKS BRAND racer Steven Frossard had a bit of bad luck in the second heat after finishing a solid fifth in the first heat, but in the second one Cairoli landed on him during the opening lap and he was down to the 25th position. Frossard did all his best and managed to cross the finish line 12th, which gave him a final eighth position. Frossard now sits 3rd in the World Championship point standings.
Steven Frossard:
"Loket is always a bit difficult for me. In the first moto I had a good start but Desalle pushed me in a corner and I lost some positions. It was so difficult to pass. We were together as a group for a long time and I tried everything but it was not possible. It was not fun riding and wasnt a great moto. Bobryshev hit me in the first corner of the second race and I almost crashed but managed to keep upright. I fought back quickly to eighth but then Cairoli landed on me from a jump and I went down. It was hard to restart but I came back to twelfth, which wasnt too bad and I felt better with the second heat. I lost some points on Desalle today but could pull away a little bit from Bobryshev".
For EKS BRAND racer Evgeny Bobryshev it was a weekend to forget; after an impressive fourth position in the first race, he unfortunately had a DNF in the second one, as he had to pull out after crashing at the start and also later on during the second lap. Bobryshev now sits 4th overall in the World Championship point standings.
Evgeny Bobryshev
“The first moto was good with fourth place and I was looking to build on this in the second. But I crashed off the start and then again, and fell on my arm quite hard. I was a long way back and the front-runners started to come round to lap me. I did not have the strength in my arm to push and I was not just going to ride around getting out of people’s way, that’s not my style, so I pulled in.”
AMA Grand National Championship, Sammy Halbert 1st, Henry Wiles 4th.
If there was one race on the AMA Grand National Championship schedule that EKS BRANDS Sammy Halbert had circled, it was the Castle Rock TT. Halbert wanted desperately to win his home race and last night he did just that, the Fredericktown Yamaha rider turning in a near perfect night as AMA racing returned to the Northwest.
Halbert beat his rival in the AMA Grand National Championship, Jared Mees, by 2.142 seconds in the National after earlier beating Mees in the points-paying Dash For Cash and Halbert now holds a 10-point lead in the championship over Mees, 251-241, after gaining six points on the night. Jake Johnson, sixth at Castle Rock, is third with 231 points. Last night's win was Halbert's fourth of the season 13-race-old season.
Rookie Brad Baker finished third last night on his Magor League Moto-backed Honda, the Washington rider ending up just .6 of a second behind Mees.
EKS BRANDS Henry Wiles, in his second race back from knee surgery, finished fourth ahead of semi-retired Washington legend Joe Kopp.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE EKS BRAND RACERS!