KAY DE WOLF – RED PLATE IN INDONESIA

As Nestaan Husqvarna factory rider Kay de Wolf heads to Indonesia for the double header in Lombok, he remains the series points leader, with 473 points. His lead over Red Bull GasGas factory rider Simon Langenfelder is 48 points and that is a pretty good lead at the mid-point of the season.

Still though, with no GP win since round three in Sardinia, there must be some pressure to get back on track in these two rounds in Indonesia. The Dutchman had his worst round yet in Italy two weeks ago and will be looking at stopping the current run of Belgian GP winners.

In Italy and the famous Maggiora circuit, de Wolf went 7-6 for seventh overall and while his sizeable series points lead remains intact, he isn’t showing that same blazing speed and consistency from those first three rounds in Argentina, Spain and Sardinia.

"Not an easy weekend,” de Wolf said. “Still overall positive! I still have a good margin on the Red Plate, so I’m feeling good! Saturday was difficult; I had a crash on the opening lap, and the bars on my bike were bent, making it hard to fight back. I managed to get back up to 10th and earned one point. Then on Sunday, during the first race, I had a crash at the start because I couldn't avoid the riders in front of me. So, I had to work my way up to eighth from last, which I thought was okay. In the second race, it felt like a train ride; everyone was just lined up behind each other, and no one could really pass. I saw Simon and Haarup crash, and that was the only real event during the race. As the track dried, there was really only one line. So, in general, it was a positive weekend, and I’m looking forward to Indonesia!"

A week earlier in Latvia, de Wolf picked up 1-9 and fourth overall. Not 100% what he wanted, but with many of his rivals also making mistakes, there isn’t a lot of pressure on the red-head and that shows in his comments after the Kegums round.

"I had a mixed weekend, but I think there are still lots of positives to take from it. I had a really good Saturday, and the first race on Sunday was super positive with a win. But in the second race, I just made too many mistakes. I had two stupid crashes and should not have made them. I threw away a possible GP win and finished fourth overall instead. We are making progress every weekend, so this is the most important thing!"

Now, onto Lombok in Indonesia and you can be sure that de Wolf will want to contain his rivals and push for another Grand Prix victory. His talent is without question and with that large points lead; he has little pressure for now.

Photo Credit : Fullspectrum