Honda World Motocross’ Evgeny Bobryshev defied pain and discomfort from a recently dislocated thumb to score an excellent fifth position overall on his factory CRF450R at a sun-kissed Sevlievo circuit for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the second round of sixteen on the schedule for the FIM Motocross World Championship.

The event was won overall by Kawasaki's Gautier Paulin by virtue of his second moto victory after he tied on points with his French counterpart Christophe Pourcel as they each recorded a win and a second place over the two races.

The Bulgarian hard-pack was dowsed with water after heavy showers on Friday evening and some rain during the practice and qualification timetable on Saturday. Sunday dawned sunny and warm, which helped dry the bumpy and slippery terrain. The fast layout saw riders circulating within tenths of a second and therefore placed even more emphasis on the importance of a good start.

Bobryshev, who was competing with a painful and weak right hand after sustaining the injury two weeks ago at the season-opener in Holland, took painkilling tablets but still had to push his reserves and levels of determination to stretching point in order to complete the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos. The Russian made average starts, but didn’t disappoint his team or fans at the venue by taking eighth and fifth for his final ranking.

Team-mate Rui Goncalves did not fare so well. The Portuguese suffered with arm-pump in a first moto chase to ninth, but was able to at least bag twelve points for his efforts. In the second race ‘999’s speed was better, but his progress into the mid-top ten was halted half way through when his machine developed a problem and he had to stop.

LS Honda Racing’s Jonathan Barragan is still optimising his race bike in terms of suspension settings and Sevlievo represented the first hard-pack GP of the year. The Spaniard was unable to figure at the top of the leader-board due to small crashes in each outing. He was sixteenth and twelfth for fourteenth at the end of the day.

The FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship standings show all three Honda pilots on the fringes of the top ten with Goncalves eleventh, Bobyrshev thirteenth and Barragan fourteenth.

In the MX2 class Max Anstie took his Gariboldi Honda-Esta CRF250R to a decent fifth position overall. The young Brit, who turns nineteen this coming week, lacked effective starts, but placed himself squarely in contention for the top five by riding to sixth and fifth in the moto classifications. The teenager’s consistency means that he retains the same slot in the MX2 points table.

Round three of sixteen will take place next week (April 29th) at Fermo for the Grand Prix of Italy.

Evgeny Bobryshev:
Race Result: 8th / 5th Championship position: 13th

“I did my best so I’m happy. I stayed on two wheels and made no mistakes. I had lots of pain on the impact of coming down the hills and jumps. It was hard to even hold on and the pain was pulsing. I had to slow down sometimes, but I didn’t want to give up. I just gritted my teeth and got on with it. The painkillers helped but not so much. I just hope it might be a bit better in Fermo. The team did a great job and the whole group has been really supportive so I am very thankful to them.”

Rui Goncalves:
Race Result: 9th / DNF Championship position: 11th

“In the first race I missed the start and it was difficult to pass. I rode with arm-pump all moto and it didn’t make it any easier. In the second I was away better, but a rider touched me on the inside of the first turn and it pushed me wide. I felt the bike wasn’t working normally after a while and in the end I had to stop. A Grand Prix to forget. We will see what happened and of course hope for better in Italy.”

Jonathan Barragan:
Race Result: 16th / 12th Championship position: 14th

“I’m not very happy. In the first race I had unbelievable arm-pump and we don’t know why. We are still working with the suspension and I think this is the main problem. The second moto went better and even though I had a crash I kept going for twelfth. I couldn’t get comfortable. We are trying to improve but we are already two races into the season.”

Max Anstie
Race Result: 6th / 5th Championship position: 5th

“I think we made some good improvements this week and we’re definitely going in the right direction. I’m really looking forward to the next GP in Italy. We’ll keep making steps from here and I think the podium is getting close and last year I got a third in Fermo. I can’t wait to have a good week. It is my birthday on Wednesday.”

2012 FIM MX1 / MX2 World Motocross Championship
Round 02: Sevlievo – Bulgaria