Honda World Motocross team rider Rui Gonçalves has once again started the season with a consistent result, as he finished seventh overall at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands, held at the Valkenswaard circuit last weekend. The rider from Portugal didn’t have the perfect off-season with a minor shoulder injury, keeping him from training as much has he might have liked.

We caught up with Gonçalves after his top ten finish in Holland and asked him about his off-season and also about his opening Grand Prix. Not surprisingly, his aim is to be better than he was in 2011 and race for the win as often as possible.



Q: Rui, how did your winter go?



Gonçalves: I had a good winter, we went to the mountains again and off to Sardinia, but I started riding and I went off the track, I hit a big rock and crashed. I was unlucky and I hurt my shoulder and I had to stay off the bike for like three weeks. I recovered well from that, but I missed some time riding my bike in the winter. It was kind of good and not good, I was lucky the shoulder wasn’t too bad, but I lost important time on the bike.



Q: What was your goal before Valkenswaard?



Gonçalves: Everything is going better and better and I was looking for a solid start in Valkenswaard and then see what happened. I finished sixth in the MX1 Championship in 2011, so for sure I want to improve that result. I want to be more consistent in every race and ride up front as much as I can and stay healthy.



Q: Which circuits are you most looking forward to in 2012?



Gonçalves: I like every circuit, which is why I am looking for consistency, because I need to be good at every track. I mean the MX1 class has a couple more riders and everyone wants to be their best and my goals it try and do the best I can and improve that is everyone’s goal I think.



Q: How did you feel in Valkenswaard?



Gonçalves: In the first race, I didn’t get such a good start and I didn’t feel myself; I was riding a bit tight and making a lot of mistakes. Also when coming through the lappers I was losing a lot of time, so I only managed to finish 10th, although I knew for the second race I needed to change something. So that’s what I did, I approached it differently and tried to go straight away even if I didn’t get such a good start. Then halfway through the moto, I just got better and better with consistent lap times to finish fourth. I am really happy, as the team has worked really hard to achieve this and I want to thank them all for the effort that everyone has put in. I’ll now go home to keep working hard and prepare for the next Grand Prix in Bulgaria.







 

Photo: Rui Goncalves - Honda image

Read the next news: Three Men and Bulgaria (17 Apr 2012)

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