Hot on the heels of its first competitive outing of the year at Hawkstone Park last weekend, REVO Husqvarna UK made the long journey from its Belgian base to the South West of France for the Lacapelle International.
With riders Dylan Walsh and Alvin Ostlund both bouyed up on the back of solid performances last time out, the team was looking to continue its progress leading into next weekend’s opening round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Argentina.
After qualifying comfortably in sixth and ninth positions, the pair lined up on their race-prepped FC 250s for the opening MX2 moto.
Despite struggling a little with bike set-up, Dylan started well and put in a polished performance on the tough, rutty circuit to bring it home in eighth and he followed this up with seventh in race two for seventh overall but Alvin had a more difficult time.
After failing to get a good jump out of the gate in race one he was pushing hard to make passes but fell when someone crashed directly in front of him.
Recovering to 14th, he then went down again in race two and recorded a 16th-placed finish.
With two pre-season internationals under its belt the team faces a busy few weeks with the MXGP of Patagonia Argentina at Neuquen on March 3 followed by the opening round of the Maxxis ACU British Motocross Championship on March 10.
Team spokesman Sam Yates: “Our results this weekend haven’t been amazing but it was a great final shakedown for the whole team before the world and British championships kick off at the start of next month.
“The track was rough. The ruts were bad, the corners were tight and not very flowing and there were a lot of square-edged braking bumps which made getting Dylan’s suspension set-up exactly how he wanted it a real challenge. WP came over and helped but it was a very awkward place to get the suspension dialled in.
“Dylan struggled with getting into a rhythm on the track but he rode well and his results were okay. Alvin just had some bad luck – especially in the first race when someone crashed in front of him – but overall it went well and we had enough time between races to make changes and get the bikes prepared.
“We ran the British race engines today and Dylan’s feedback was good – he said it felt real strong – so we’re leaving knowing we’re where we need to be and we’ll head to the first GP and the first Maxxis round feeling confident with a good mindset.
“All-in-all we’re happy and we’re taking plenty of positives away from today.”
Dylan Walsh: “I didn’t really get comfortable today but my results weren’t too bad and it was good to get in another weekend of racing before Argentina when it really counts.
“It’s always good to be put in a race situation for myself and the team, get some starts under my belt and I’ve come through the two pre-season races fit and healthy.”
Alvin Ostlund: “It was a bad day for me. I had two bad starts and then after one lap in the first race someone crashed in front of me and I ran into him and also crashed so I was way back from the beginning.
“In the second race I had again a bad start and fell after a few laps. It was a difficult day for me but it’s better to do this now than next week.”
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