Struggling with the start

After a hard fought first Red Bull Rookies weekend, Bo takes home 18 championship points. A fine result were he is really happy about. Not so happy he was with both his starts in the race. Losing precious spots is quit hard to make up in a 16 lap race. ” In my next practice sessions I’m going to focus on my start. I know what I’m doing wrong so that’s were I am going to put my focus on. When I am able to get a good start I can be in the group fighting for the podium.” Coach Barry Veneman was very pleased with Bo’s results: “Bo knows the track from the Spanish Open with the Honda FTR, but that is absolutely not the same as on the KTM. He has to make the switch and adapt, wich takes time. The KTM is a complete different bike than he is used to. The heat was also a factor to all the riders. Everyone can make a bad start, but when you look at how he fought his way back, I think he did a very good job. In the Red Bull Rookies Cup it’s not that easy to close a gap, everybody is going fast. Bo put in a good result this weekend and he can be proud of it.” A sixth position on the grid was a fine opportunity for a good result. In the first race an eight place was the best he could do. After the start a group of seven is formed at the front. Bo has to make his way up from fourteenth, he’s on the chase right away. After four laps he’s in eighth. The gap to the frontrunners is already quit big and Bo chooses to consolidate his eighth place. “I was really disappointed that I couldn’t get to the leading group. When I got to eighth they were already to far gone. I stayed calm, because I knew when I kept on pushing I would fall off. I tried with the other guys in the group to close te gap, but they were doing the same laptimes as we were, so we never got closer. That was frustrating aswell because I knew if I’d been up there I could have stayed with them for sure.” In the second race on Sunday Bo gets a second shot. After the first corner he’s in ninth and he’s on the charge to make it to the frontrunners. When he has arrived in sixth he’s with Gutierrez and they slowely catch up to the leaders. Soon after that the leaders up the pace and Bo and Gutierrez can’t make up time anymore. “I knew Gutierrez wasn’t able to close the gap to the leaders, so I took over the lead. In the last four laps I saw we wouldn’t get there so I let Gutierrez past to follow him. My tires were already completely worn out from pushing all these laps. I knew I could pass Gutierrez in the sixth corner and I did in the last lap. At the finish I was only one second behind fifth place. I’m quit happy with this sixth.” Free practice on Friday wasn’t that smooth at all. Finding a good setup is not that easy. With tracktemperatures of 50°C and 33°C in the air Bo put in a ninth and a fifteenth time. During qualifiying it was a little cooler and the adjustments made to the setup of the bike seemed to work quit well; a sixth time was set with a 1.51,466. Bo’s results in the races were also noticed by Red Bull Rookie Cup Coach Gustl Auinger: “The first race is Always the hardest, staying on both wheels is very important. Bo did a great job finishing within the top ten in both races. He’s got plenty of talent and speed to perform well this season. “