07-03-2022	MXGP News
Busy weekend of racing for iXS hostettler Yamaha

The iXS hostettler Yamaha squad managed to operate in two series on the first weekend in March. Valentin Guillod started his campaign in the French Elite Championship, whilst Kevin Brumann tackled round two of the 2022 FIM Motocross World Championship in Italy. It was a rather busy weekend of action for the team, but one that provided many positives.

Kevin Brumann showed more speed at the Grand Prix of Lombardia – the rankings do not quite tell the full story. Brumann struggled to find his flow early on Saturday, but progressed well throughout the day to ultimately finish nineteenth in the qualification race. Sunday kicked off with Brumann showing good composure in the first stint – smart line choices in the first two corners helped him progress to eleventh place. The youngster showed good speed before a small crash dropped him to sixteenth; he eventually recovered to fourteenth.

Moto two featured a much better start for Brumann, but tangling with another rider in turn one dropped him to nineteenth. A quick remount ensured that he was within reaching distance of the opposition and, having found his flow quickly, some smart decisions helped him secure sixteenth at the chequered flag. Brumann took the same result in the overall classification, that being sixteenth, and has entered the top fifteen in the championship standings now.
 
Meanwhile in France, Valentin Guillod rode in the deep sand of Loon Plage at the first round of the French Elite Championship. The soft sand made for some testing conditions early on, but the power within his iXS hostettler Yamaha helped him holeshot both races. Third was Guillod's ranking in moto one and he backed that up with a strong fourth in moto two, which helped him secure third on the overall podium. A fantastic way to begin his bid for the MX1 title.

Kevin Brumann: "I showed steady improvement over the weekend. Although my start in race one was not good, I managed to make good ground in the first two corners and that took me to eleventh. I made a small mistake, which dropped me to fourteenth and that's where I finished. My start in race two was much better but I was unfortunate to get tangled up with another rider in the first turn, which dropped me way back. It was disappointing, but I'm happy that I found my flow quickly and was able to make my way back through to sixteenth. All things considered, I'm quite happy with my weekend and looking forward to what's next."
 
Valentin Guillod: "I'm really happy with third overall today. The sand was super soft and we had to make some adjustments to the bike early on, which really worked and allowed me to take the holeshot in both races. I was really happy with that. Overall, it's a good start to the championship and I'm happy to finish third behind two guys who are sand specialists. Thanks to iXS hostettler Yamaha for giving me the opportunity to fight for this championship and for getting my bike dialled in on what was a challenging track."