Paulin on the Podium at Dutch International in Arnhem

26-07-2020

Paulin on the Podium at Dutch International in Arnhem

In preparation for the MXGP season restart, which is scheduled to take place in Latvia on August 9th, two of the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP trio, Gautier Paulin and Jeremy Seewer, attended their second ‘pre-season’ event, a Dutch International in Arnhem, The Netherlands, yesterday July 26th.

After establishing his speed with a double race victory on the hard-pack clay of Faenza, Italy, last weekend, Paulin lined up in Arnhem eager to test his bike set up and racecraft on a softer surface. In Race 1, the ‘21’ bounced back from a substandard start and a ‘near fall’ to finish fourth hot on the heels of his teammate, Seewer, in third.

In the second and final race of the day, both Paulin and Seewer got off to great starts and were challenging a place at the front of the field. Seewer, unfortunately, had to retire after damaging his bike in a small crash while Paulin challenged Glenn Coldenhoff for the lead.

After showing excellent speed for the entire 30-minute plus 2-lap duration of the race, a last-lap attempt at taking the top spot from the Dutchman, Coldenhoff, gave Romain Febvre the prime opportunity to steal second position from his French counterpart in the final throws. Paulin eventually finished third in the race and was classified third overall.

After a disappointing close to what was a positive weekend, Seewer is out for redemption and will line his YZ450FM up alongside his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP teammate Arnaud Tonus next weekend, August 2nd, at another Dutch International in Axel, The Netherlands.

Gautier Paulin

3rd Position, MXGP, 38-points

“Yesterday I had a good feeling on the track. I didn’t rush on the lap-time, the times were really close and gate pick at that track was not too important. In the first race, I had a bad start, I wasn’t actually ready, and the gates dropped really quick, so I missed the start. I almost had a little crash on the first lap, so I had to come from quite far back and I came back to fourth and battled with third closing the gap to the lead. In the second race, I started third and made a pass for second but never got the opportunity to take the lead and ended up getting passed on the last lap while trying to make a pass. It was a really good fight, I really enjoyed it and felt good racing, so everything is positive and I really look forward to the GP’s. Physically I feel like I am where I want. It was a really important race for our team because we are based here in The Netherlands, so it was really nice to finish on the box and show that we have good speed and that we have a good set up with the bike. It was nice!”

Jeremy Seewer

9th Positions, MXGP, 20-points

“I was feeling really good yesterday in the sand. I felt pretty fast in the sand. I had a bad start in the first race but was riding really well and got back to third, right on the back of the front guys. In the second race, I had a good start, but I had a small crash, nothing big, but damaged the bike a lot. I continued, and my lap times were some of the fastest but the team pulled me in to stop because of the damage to the bike. It was a good race, I have good speed and my physical condition is good. I just need to work on reducing those small mistakes, and then I think I will be ready.”