While the 2013 Junior World Champion leaves the Parc Ferme after placing his bike at the end of the last race day of the Grand Prix Polisport of Portugal, we collect his first impressions after the first two Grand Prix in the Senior classes!
Matthew, again, you have led the race for two laps but you failed to conclude...
Matthew PHILLIPS: "I'm really disappointed to finish third today but I'll have plenty of time to train and change some details on the bike. It is imperative to go in the mountains and on various special tests typed Xtreme to train because this is where I lost the first place... My times are very good in the Cross Tests and the Enduro tests but I need to improve and have more confidence in myself in the Xtremes in order to get stronger to the next Grand Prix... "
What do you think of your first races in the Seniors categories?
M.P: "Not bad! There really is a very big level and to make mistake is prohibited; we must always be 100%! It will really be a very tough season. I want that first win so I'll work harder during training to be able to pick it up maybe in Greece!"
"Ivan is mentally very strong..."
How do you feel with your 300cc 2T?
M.P: "Pretty good! I will have a lot of tests to do now because we didn’t have time to change anything between the first two rounds. But now we have three weeks and I think the team is satisfied with my results so it's rather nice!"
Do you think you can beat Ivan CERVANTES?
M.P: "I definitely need to improve in order to become faster in the Xtreme Tests. In the Xtreme he won between 10 and 15 seconds over me in each lap. He is never afraid to push the limits on this type of special test and this is where he makes the difference. He really has excellent skills. He was impressive during the two weekends and we can’t remove the fact that he really runs very fast and he is physically and mentally very strong. He will be hard to beat... but not impossible! "
For his first two Grand Prix in the Enduro 3 class, 2013 Junior World Champion has impressed all observers realizing that a former Junior rider had never done before: signing four podiums in as many race days from his first Senior season...
With Mathias BELLINO (FRA - HVA), Junior World Champion in 2012, Matthew PHILLIPS represents the future of the Enduro and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him getting on the top step of the podium before the end of the season!
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