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MX2, Agueda, PORTUGAL, 2 Juillet 2017

David Herbreteau ninth in Portugal

David Herbreteau took his F&H Racing Team Kawasaki to ninth place in the Portuguese round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship, running in high temperatures at Agueda.

The French nineteen-year-old continued his impressive form since becoming a permanent GP starter and was able to set top ten times in both practice sessions; he also showed good speed during the qualification race and was able to advance five places during the twenty-minute race. Holding twelfth place after the initial sort-out in the opening GP moto David initially lost a number of places as he sought to find a rhythm, but he regained all of the lost ground during a strong second half to finish twelfth. The second race followed a similar pattern as he slipped back to thirteenth at one stage before a strong recovery brought him back to tenth at the chequered flag. The combined results earns him ninth overall in the GP.
 
Stephen Rubini of the Monster Energy Kawasaki MX2 Racing Team also showed good speed during the practice sessions but an electrical connection on the bike was damaged by a rock on the opening lap of the qualifying race and he had to start both GP motos from the disadvantageous outside gate. He advanced quickly to fifteenth position in the first moto before a crash pushed him out of the points-scoring placings and he faced a stiff ride back to eighteenth to earn three points. The second race was soon effectively over as another rider shunted Stephen after another top fifteen start and he lost more than a minute trapped under his own bike.
 
David Herbreteau: “It was a good GP for me, the best ever in my career with a top ten finish. I had a good feeling with this track already on Saturday, posting some good results in the practice sessions and a good qualification. This morning I had again a good feeling and I had a good jump of the gate in the first moto but lost too many positions during the first few laps; that's something I must work on. I made my best lap time at the end of the race, and in the second race I had a better start and never give up even if mentally it was not easy mentally as I always had another rider just behind me to put under pressure.”
 
Stephen Rubini: “It was another tough weekend for me, even if I was in the top thirteen of both practice sessions. I had a good start in the qualifying session, but on the first lap the engine stopped as a stone damaged an electrical connection. It’s never easy to get a good start from the outside gate here; in the first GP moto I was in the top fifteen but crashed later in the race and could only score an eighteenth position. The second start was similar, but on the first lap another rider hit me and we lost more than one minute as I was under the bike. We have now three weeks to prepare for Loket; I hope that I will not be so unlucky there.”