Gabriel SS24 KTM headed to Portugal at the weekend. Portugal hosted round seven of the world championship, which brought heavy rain and thundershowers. It was a tough weekend for riders and mechanics, with delays to the schedule and difficult track conditions.
In EMX250 Gyan Doensen put in a good lap in timed qualifying with P5, which allowed for a favourable position on the gate for a good start in race one. Gyan shot out of the start but with intense heavy downpours before both races he struggled in the deep conditions. He finished 7th and 17th in the races for 10th overall.
In MX2 Oriol Oliver had 15th in timed practice and improved his starting position to 11th in the qualifying race. Oriol had a good start in race one starting in the top 5 and getting himself into 4th before a crash in the early laps put him back to 12th. He regrouped and starting edging forward, he got himself back within the top ten by the half way point but fell again in the wet conditions and would finish 14th. In race two Oriol had a problem with his goggles and had to come from last but got back to 14th to finish 15th overall.
Oriol: “Well weekend done, decent Saturday with P11 in the qualifying after a crash in the start so was a good comeback, I was happy with that race. Sunday I was feeling good in warm up, track was technical I did P3 warm up which I haven’t done before so I was positive for the races but the storm came. The races were difficult, first moto I made my way into a good position but my mistake that I crashed 4 times during the race, and lost a lot of time to finish P14. That was on me with my mistakes. Second moto a bad start and then the water came in my goggles so I had to stop as I couldn’t see anything and change my goggles. That type of moto where nothing is going so well so finished 14th again for 15th overall. Result wise not happy but I think we can take the positives from the weekend and grateful for the team and all the work they did throughout the weekend and we will see if Lugo will be another muddy one. For sure we will try to do better, re group and go for it again.”
Gyan: “Portugal done. Felt good on saturday morning, had a crash in free practice but luckily no major injuries. Time practise I found a good flow and showed good speed and finished p5. There was more in the tank but couldn’t make it happen in the end due to some mistakes. First moto great start but lost the front in the turn which costed me the holeshot. Couldn’t find my flow and dropped back to p7. Sunday i felt very good in the sighting laps but unfortunately whilst we were on the grid it startid pouring rain and wouldn’t stop. Really bad start. Crashed 3 times which resulted in p18. Definitely not what we are aiming for and im very frustrated with myself. I’ll filgure it out, i know that. Let’s regroup and get ready for potentially another mudder in spain! Thanks to the crew for all the hard work in these horrible conditions, my sponsors and my family.”
Team Manager Shaun Simpson: “The results from both riders this weekend were disappointing but certainly didn’t reflect their speed or how they were riding. Gyan showed good speed again in qualifying but it didn’t transfer in to the motos. I really think we are one good weekend away with two consistent results from uncorking Gyans full potential in EMX250. Similarly Oriol’s weekend was tarnished with some uncharacteristic mistakes and bad luck but we are confident he will bounce back in to the top 10 again next weekend. As always, big thanks to the crew for their work in these tough conditions. We will be ready to fight again next week in Lugo.”
