It was not a last minute decision / Article / LSM.lv

Paul Jonass will start in the next two seasons in the Belgian team “Standing Construct GASGAS”, the strongest motocross rider in Latvia confirmed on Wednesday in a conversation with LSM.lv. Jonas emphasized that talks with the factory team started already in the summer, when the stages of the world championship took place in Ķegums.

IN SHORT:

• Paul Jonas has a contract with the team “Standing Construct GASGAS” for two years
• The team will provide the best equipment for Paul Jonas, the rider himself must attract sponsors for the trip
• The agreement provides an opportunity to train at your own discretion – this is an important condition for Paul Jonas
• The modest start to the season and the injury worsened Paul Jonas’ position in the contract negotiations
• There were also talks with other teams until they reached the table

(supplemented by Paul Jonas)
Due to a back injury, Jonas has not climbed on a motorcycle since the summer solstice, but the rehabilitation phase is coming to an end and he is already preparing to return to training on the track in November.

Seeing red for 2021!????Stoked to join Standing Construct GASGAS Factory Racing Team for my next chapter???????? pic.twitter.com/IM4Wrn4m88

– Pauls Jonass (@ PaulsJonass41) October 29, 2020

“We started working already in the summer, when the MXGP stages took place in Latvia. Even then we were talking to the management of GasGas, the owners, what is the situation, what are the options,” Jonas said about the negotiation process. “I want to be on this team and they want me to ride their motorcycles. It was definitely not a last minute decision we had been working on for a while.”

In the new contract, Jonas also has a certain sense of stability and security, namely that it is concluded for several seasons.

“The agreement is for two years. Of course, the details of these agreements are usually discussed for some time, but in this case we agreed quite quickly,” Jonas explained.

The inexpressive introduction of the season and the trauma gained during the training influenced the discussions. “When I signed the new contract, I was not in the best position, because the start of the season had not been successful and I was still injured,” said the Latvian athlete. “But I am very pleased that we signed a contract with GasGas. within two years. “

Jonas confirmed that the contract with GasGas includes a condition to attract its sponsors to cover travel and daily expenses, but

the most important thing for the driver at the moment was the equipment for starting on the track.

“The main goal was to get very good equipment and be part of the factory team. They provide all the equipment, the best equipment. I have to take care of living, coaching and traveling to the competition myself, so I have to attract private sponsors there. The team provides technical terms, ”Jonas described the conditions for cooperation with the team.

The Latvian motocross leader of the previous two seasons represented the Husqvarna factory team, starting with the Lithuanian Arminas Jasikoni. Jonas also had discussions with the current team, but in the end it was decided to try his hand at another unit.

“With [līdzšinējo] The team, of course, had conversations, but I myself really didn’t want to stay there because I felt like I wanted to work a little differently the way they do. GasGas offered me the opportunity to train more, as I think is more appropriate for myself, than others think. There were conversations, but I didn’t want to stay that short, ”Jonas described the conversations with his previous team.

In the autumn, other factory teams are always active in the rider market, in turn

Jonas was one of the best athletes to be attracted in 2020.

The rider pointed out that negotiations had also taken place with other units, however, they had not materialized in concrete results. “Negotiations also took place with other teams, but, let’s say, we did not reach the point when a specific agreement is put on the table. After negotiations with GasGas, I wanted to start in this team and with this motorcycle, so I am happy with this choice and how everything is going, ”Jonas explained.

The World Motocross Championship season will end in early November with three races on the Piedmont track in Italy. The leader of “Standing Construct GASGAS” in the most prestigious MXGP class is Glen Koldenhofs from the Netherlands, who is seventh in the overall standings before the remaining stages. True, Koldenhof did not start in the last three stages because, like Jonas, he injured several vertebrae of the spine.

Koldenhof proved during the season that GasGas is a competitive technique for fighting for places on the podium. Koldenhofs also won the Latvian Grand Prix, which was the first of three stages in Latvia, where the world championship resumed in August. Next year, Jonas will be joined by Braein Bogers on a motorcycle at the GasGas plant. He entered the MXGP class in 2018, spending two seasons in the Honda factory team, but was unable to compete with teammate Tim Gayser, so in 2020 he rode in a private team, starting with a KTM motorcycle.

Jonas pointed out that

In the GasGas factory team, both drivers will have the same opportunity to prove themselves.

“It is not usually the case in the factory teams that the first number is expressed. The equipment is provided equally for both, there are the same motorcycles, so the season will start and then we will see everything,” the Latvian emphasized.

The current two-year contract with the Husqvarna team for Jonas ends in 2020 and it became clear some time ago that the motocross rider will represent another unit next season. .

23-year-old Jonas plans to resume training at a motocross center in Belgium. Paul started in the World Championship in 2020 only in the first two stages and finishes third in the overall standings.

Gas Gas is a Spanish motorcycle manufacturing company acquired last year by industry giant KTM.

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