01-03-2022	MXGP News
iXS Hostettler Yamaha duo show good speed in GBR

For the iXS Hostettler Yamaha squad, the first stop of the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship marked the beginning of a new chapter. Matterley Basin, a favourite amongst the fans and stars of the sport, hosted that first round and provided both Valentin Guillod and Kevin Brumann with a platform to show what they are truly capable of.

 
Entering the Grand Prix of Great Britain riding a wave of positivity, after a rather productive off-season with the team, Guillod showed top-ten speed at points. For instance, he sat in eleventh early in moto one before a spectacular crash on lap four. A badly bent bike meant that he had to overcome adversity for the rest of that moto to salvage a fifteenth. Seventeenth was his result in moto two, after struggling with rhythm, and he was eventually awarded sixteenth in the overall classification. A valiant effort, yet he deserved so much more aboard his YZ450F.

Brumann, the MX2 pilot beneath the iXS Hostettler Yamaha tent, was in the thick of the action in moto one on Sunday, as he started down in nineteenth and charged his way up to fifteenth at the chequered flag. An even worse start in the second moto left him with a significant amount of work to do, but he was not to be deterred and moved from outside of the points to sixteenth at the chequered flag. A very consistent 15-16 scorecard put him in fifteenth overall at the Grand Prix of Great Britain, a respectable result to build on this coming weekend.
 
There is indeed no time to rest for the iXS Hostettler Yamaha squad – round two of the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship will be run on Sunday, March 06, at Mantova in Italy. The sandy track is going to host the Grand Prix of Lombardia.

Valentin Guillod: "I was feeling much better on Sunday and freer on the bike. I had a good start in the first race and was riding in eleventh, until I had a big crash. The bike made many backflips! I was keen to continue to race, even though the bike was quite destroyed. I managed to finish fifteenth. I had another good start in the second race, but I lost my rhythm with ten minutes to go and had to settle for seventeenth. I am very proud, because I have only been training for this season for six weeks. My next MXGP round will be at Kegums, in Latvia, because I will be racing the French Elite series this weekend."
 
Kevin Brumann: "My start was kind of okay in the first race. I managed to charge up to fifteenth. It was a solid race, with good flow and progress. I had a pretty bad start in the first race, but I managed to get back to sixteenth. I struggled during the whole of that race. Overall, I am kind of happy. I can build on this going forward now!"