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CALVIN VLAANDEREN
Following a breakout year in the MX2 division, the South African turned Dutch rider Calvin Vlaan- deren appeared to be the secret ingredient that the Netherlands were missing to get their hands on the Chamberlain Trophy. The HRC rider finished 6th overall in the MX2 World Championship and collected a total of eight podium finishes throughout the season, including a win at the Indonesian GP. Vlaanderen was the second fastest rider in the MX2 Free Practice at RedBud and battled back to a 12th place finish in the MX2 heat after a poor start, but things didn’t go to plan for the twenty-one-year-old on Sunday. He started within
the top ten in the MXGP + MX2 moto, but his result was heav-
ily affected by an unfortunate mechanical failure as well as a couple of mistakes. Vlaanderen was forced to ditch his goggles in the middle of the race and soaked up loads and loads of roost throughout the moto before the eventual mechanical forced him to DNF. Unfortunately, he suffered somewhat serious dam- age to his eyes in the midst of the first moto carnage and it was unsafe for him to return to the gate for the second moto, leav- ing Team Netherlands with two eligible riders for the remainder of the event and undroppable score of 36th place.
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