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Fast Freddy was ready to make his factory Honda debut for the third time on Saturday. He had some newfound confidence and was ready to prove himself worthy of the ride. In qualifying, Fredrik surprised many and was
able to make his Honda team happy by qualifying an impressive 6th place going into the races. Freddy was ready when the gate dropped for the first 450 moto and got a fantastic start. He was running 8th early on and putting down fast laps. He began to catch 7th place slowly and looked to have the speed to take it over. Then, the 5th place rider made a mistake, moving everyone up a posi- tion. Noren was now battling for 6th. Andrew Short then had a mishap and handed the position over to Noren. The rest of the race was quiet for the Swede as he took home a season best, 6th place at the checkered flag. Noren got another great start when the gate dropped for the second moto and was sitting 8th early on. Then, in the heat of a battle for 7th, Freddy’s legs came off the pegs and he stalled his bike in a corner. He got back going quickly and was back up to 9th by the halfway point. Noren continued to put down fast laps and made the pass for 8th place with just a handful of laps to go. Noren was hungry for more and continued his charge. He made his way passed two Yamaha riders and was now sitting in a familiar 6th position. He would hold on for 6th place again, which was good enough for 6th overall, his best finish of the season.
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