Cairoli and Searle dominate qualifying races in Teutschenthal

Sunday 23 September: Day one of the German Grand Prix took place this morning in Teutschenthal and although the temperature was a bit low, loads of German fans came already today to see the comeback of their idol Ken Roczen to the MXGP. Copy and images courtesy of Youthstream.

From left to right: Roczen, Cairoli, Searle and Osborne.

It was Antonio Cairoli who won the MX1 qualifying race, while Tommy Searle obtained his fourth pole position of the year. Apart from the MX1 and the MX2 qualifying races, it also took place the MX3 qualifying race and Matthias Walkner, the red plate holder of the series and the favourite contender for the title, succeeded in crossing the finish line first, ahead of Dennis Baudrexl and Martin Michek. At the end of the day, the women disputed the first race of the German round and Livia Lancelot managed to win it, closely followed by Meghan Rutledge (NOTE: Australian), and Larissa Papenmieier finished third. Natalie Kane was fourth and Anne Borchers completed the top five.

MX1
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli was fourth in the pre-qualifying practice, but he managed to make a good start in the qualifying heat and he obtained his eleventh pole position of the season out of sixteen possible. The Italian had already opened a comfortable gap with Max Nagl and Ken Roczen, when he slipped and hit the fence with his right finger. The Italian thought about stopping because during three laps he was bleeding a lot and he could not even feel the finger anymore, but he started feeling better and he decided to keep on racing until the end. The 2012 FIM MX1 Champion succeeded in winning the heat and he hopes to be able to do well tomorrow.

Home rider Max Nagl did not have a good pre-qualifying practice either, but he had an excellent start in the qualifying practice and he finished second behind his teammate Cairoli. Nagl quickly passed Simpson in the beginning of the race, but he could not give chase to Cairoli, who had already opened a big hap. However, he was able to keep a good rhythm and kept his compatriot Roczen at the back.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken Roczen was extremely happy to be back in the FIM Motocross World Championship racing in front of his fans, as well as next to his friend Cairoli. Roczen clinched the best lap time in the pre-qualifying practice and he was third in the qualifying heat. Roczen admitted that he did not have a good start in the qualifying race and he was down in the twelfth position in the opening lap, but he quickly moved up, and by the end of the second lap he was already fourth. However, when he overtook Simpson he tried to pass Nagl, but he had to surrender as Nagl was really fast and he preferred to keep some energies for the main races tomorrow.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Shaun Simpson had an excellent start and after taking the holeshot he led the first laps. However, Cairoli overtook him quickly and he then lost two positions with Nagl and then Roczen. The British rider was satisfied with his riding today, so he hopes to finish among the top five tomorrow.

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin was eighth in the opening lap, but he managed to overtake some riders to finally finish fifth. At the moment he is third in the championship, so his main goal for tomorrow will be to try to finish on the podium, but above all to keep the third place in the championship standings.

Josh Coppins - Qualified 7th.

Ken De Dycker did not have a good start today and had to settle down with the sixth place, ahead of Josh Coppins and Clement Desalle, who had some problems with his bike during the heat. Gregory Aranda was ninth and Jonathan Barragán completed the top ten.

Evgeny Bobryshev hurt his right thumb today and he could only finish eleventh, while Christophe Pourcel had a bad start and could only finish fifteenth.

The German fans were out in force and both Nagl and Roczen delivered.

Tony Cairoil won by 5.4 seconds.

MX2

Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Tommy Searle

Tommy Searle did not start from the inside and he actually did well, as he was second in the first corner. His compatriot Elliott Banks-Browne was leading the heat, but Searle managed to overtake him in the first lap and dominated the race until the chequered flag. The runner up in the series enjoyed racing the track today, so he hopes he can obtain a good result tomorrow.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Zach Osborne did a really good race today. After starting down in the seventh position, he found really good lines and he managed to reach the second position by the middle of the heat. This will be the last weekend for Osborne in the FIM Motocross World Championship before he goes back to the USA, so he would love to finish on the podium.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings was second in the pre-qualifying practice behind Searle, but he had a bad start and he had to fight from the initial eighth position to finish fourth. The Dutch rider was proclaimed the 2012 FIM MX2 World Champion in Faenza, so this weekend he will take no risks in order to be at his 100% for the Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, which will take place in Lommel next weekend.

The fifth place was for HM Plant KTM UK’s Elliott Banks-Browne, who started at the front of the qualifying heat and he managed to lead the first lap. The British rider kept the second position during the first half of the race, but he then dropped down several places. Banks-Browne was riding comfortably in the fourth place, when Herlings reached him and he could not stop the Dutch rider to overtake him in the last two laps of the heat.

Jose Butrón did a very solid moto and he ended sixth ahead of Jake Nicholls. UEM EMX125 Champion Tim Gajser had a really good start, but he made a mistake when he was riding third and could only finish eighth. Arnaud Tonus managed to take the holeshot of the qualifying race, but he crashed in the opening lap and he was down to the thirteenth place. The Swiss rider finished ninth and Alexander Tonkov completed the top ten.