Bikesportnz

It has been an exciting year for New Zealand’s Dylan Walsh, racing as an MXGP rookie in Europe.

Walsh delivered a strong performance at the final round of the 2020 World motocross championships in Italy last weekend.

Walsh finished 13th in MXGP race two after crossing the line 19th in the opening race of the weekend and he ended his 2020 campaign ranked world No.25 in the premier class.

The scenic ‘Crossodromo Ciclamino” in Pietramurata was once again the setting for more MXGP racing.

In the morning’s time practice session Walsh managed the 18th fastest time.

Walsh rode his JM Honda CRF450R to a good start in the first moto but lost valuable positions when he was held up by a fallen rider in the second corner. Early in the race the stylish Kiwi had worked his way into 12th right behind his team-mate, French rider Benoit Paturel.

A crash in lap four relegated Walsh to P21 but he eventually bounced back to 19th.

However the 2019 British MX2 champ succeeded in finishing the season strongly.

Walsh overcame a mid-pack start to fight his way up to 12th after 6 laps.

Although he lost one position to Italian rider Alessandro Lupino in the second half of the race he did end his rookie MXGP season on a positive note by scoring his third top-13 placement.

” was able to finish my GP season with a pretty decent ride today,” said Walsh.

“But the whole week here in Trentino was up and down. Obviously it was great to get more riding in but unfortunately there were some mistakes and I wasn’t always able to keep it on two wheels. Jumping into the season half way through and not being prepared for it was hard. Probably harder than we anticipated.

“I can’t thank the JM Honda Racing crew enough for helping me out and giving me an awesome opportunity.”

Photo courtesy JM Honda Racing Team

Words by Tom Jacobs

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RESULTS & STANDINGS:

MXGP Race 1:

1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), 33:44.705; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:01.946; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:27.592; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:29.763; 5. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:36.843; 6. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:47.636; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:00.457; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Honda), +1:08.856; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Husqvarna), +1:11.092; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), +1:12.032; 11. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:23.124; 12. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), +1:26.732; 13. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +1:33.063; 14. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, Yamaha), +1:34.308; 15. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:41.878; 16. Ander Valentin (ESP, Husqvarna), +1:46.566; 17. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, GASGAS), +1:49.334; 18. Tanel Leok (EST, Husqvarna), +1:50.669; 19. Dylan Walsh (GBR, Honda), -1 lap(s); 20. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), -1 lap(s); 21. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), -1 lap(s); 22. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), -1 lap(s); 23. Karel Kutsar (EST, Husqvarna), -6 lap(s); 24. Zachary Pichon (FRA, Honda), -9 lap(s); 25. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Yamaha), -12 lap(s); 26. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), -13 lap(s)

MXGP Race 2:

1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 33:53.636; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:15.977; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:19.364; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:23.276; 5. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:27.880; 6. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:31.674; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:39.182; 8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:47.984; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:58.086; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Husqvarna), +1:00.226; 11. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Yamaha), +1:00.842; 12. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, GASGAS), +1:02.559; 13. Dylan Walsh (GBR, Honda), +1:13.254; 14. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), +1:17.346; 15. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, Yamaha), +1:21.504; 16. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:22.473; 17. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), +1:23.702; 18. Tanel Leok (EST, Husqvarna), +1:24.710; 19. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), +1:30.022; 20. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), +1:51.736; 21. Zachary Pichon (FRA, Honda), -1 lap(s); 22. Karel Kutsar (EST, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 23. Ander Valentin (ESP, Husqvarna), -2 lap(s); 24. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), -9 lap(s); 25. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Honda), -13 lap(s); 26. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), -18 lap(s)

MXGP of Garda Trentino overall classification:

1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 47 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 47 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 38 p.; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 28 p.; 6. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 28 p.; 7. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 23 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HUS), 23 p.; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 16 p.; 10. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 15 p.; 11. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 15 p.; 12. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 15 p.; 13. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, GAS), 13 p.; 14. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, YAM), 13 p.; 15. Benoit Paturel (FRA, HON), 13 p.; 16. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 11 p.; 17. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 11 p.; 18. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 11 p.; 19. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, YAM), 10 p.; 20. Dylan Walsh (GBR, HON), 10 p.; 21. Tanel Leok (EST, HUS), 6 p.; 22. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 5 p.; 23. Ander Valentin (ESP, HUS), 5 p.; 24. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), 1 p.; 25. Zachary Pichon (FRA, HON), 0 p.; 26. Karel Kutsar (EST, HUS), 0 p

MXGP final standings after 18 rounds:

1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 720 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 618 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 599 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 572 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 505 p.; 6. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 476 p.; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 466 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GAS), 375 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 316 p.; 10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 298 p.; 11. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 271 p.; 12. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 263 p.; 13. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 248 p.; 14. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 228 p.; 15. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, GAS), 219 p.; 16. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 206 p.; 17. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 184 p.; 18. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, YAM), 150 p.; 19. Henry Jacobi (GER, YAM), 134 p.; 20. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 130 p.; 21. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 110 p.; 22. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HUS), 107 p.; 23. Tanel Leok (EST, HUS), 94 p.; 24. Valentin Guillod (SUI, HON), 88 p.; 25. Dylan Walsh (GBR, HON), 82 p.; 26. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), 81 p.; 27. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 76 p.; 28. Benoit Paturel (FRA, HON), 67 p.; 29. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 36 p.; 30. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 31 p.; 31. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 26 p.; 32. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, YAM), 25 p.; 33. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, KTM), 19 p.; 34. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 18 p.; 35. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA, KTM), 15 p.; 36. Thomas Covington (USA, YAM), 15 p.; 37. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 14 p.; 38. Zachary Pichon (FRA, HON), 12 p.; 39. Harri Kullas (EST, HON), 11 p.; 40. Nathan Watson (GBR, HON), 10 p.; 41. Freek van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 9 p.; 42. Lars van Berkel (NED, HUS), 9 p.; 43. Ander Valentin (ESP, HUS), 9 p.; 44. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 6 p.; 45. Kay Ebben (NED, KTM), 2 p.; 46. Artem Guryev (RUS, HON), 2 p.; 47. Rene Rannikko (FIN, HUS), 2 p.; 48. Anton Gole (SWE, HON), 2 p.