Three Men and Bulgaria

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Antonio Cairoli started his 2011 assault with an injury at the Sevlievo circuit and after his victory at the opening round of the FIM World MX1 Championship, he will be heading to the town of Sevlievo with a lot of confidence.

Antonio Cairoli: "For sure I would be happy with a podium in Bulgaria however my goal is to win, I don’t want to talk about just being on the podium. I really go to Bulgaria for the win, of course, if I see it isn’t possible, then a podium would be okay. I maybe need to work harder on hard-pack. I am excited to go to Sevlievo because the bike is so much better than last year and I know the starts will be better and I know that the power will be better than in 2011.”


Antonio Cairoli on the top of the podium at Valkenswaard. Youthstream image.

Another two riders who will more than likely put on the show of the weekend will be Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings and Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Tommy Searle.

Both Herlings and Searle have had some type of success in Bulgaria, although the British rider has tasted victory and Herlings is yet to know that feeling in Bulgaria. Both like the fast nature of the circuit, so it’s battle stations in the MX2 class.

Herlings has finished 4th and 3rd in his two visits to Bulgaria in 2010 and 2011 and feels this year he has the chance to show what he is capable of around the very fast Sevlievo circuit.


Jeffrey Herlings in the sands of Valkenswaard - Ray Archer image

Jeffrey Herlings: "I know I am really good in the sand. I also know I can be good on the hard pack and that is what I am training for. I want to show I can win on the hard tracks. I am not saying it’s going to be easy and I expect Tommy to be really fast and I expect to have a lot of battles with him, because he will be the same speed as me I guess, but I can still beat him.”

Searle, on the other hand, has won in Bulgaria in 2008 and finished second to Ken Roczen in 2011, so he must be feeling confident going into the second round of the FIM World MX2 Championship.


Tommy Searle also at Valkenswaard. Youthstream image.

Tommy Searle: "I know Jeffrey is fast and I know he is nearly unbeatable in sand. He didn’t really prove anything to me in Valkenswaard, I want to see how he is on hard pack. I need to be first sometimes, not just being on the podium every week. We go to Bulgaria and see what happens there and we see what happens on a normal Motocross circuit. I am pretty solid, they say the KTM’s are faster, but you can see this year that the Kawasaki’s are really strong. I can’t wait to get on the hard pack and see what we can do.”

Whatever happens, these three riders will all be vying for major points in Bulgaria and whoever comes out on top will have a slight advantage over his rivals.