Cairoli and Herlings successfully open Thai MXGP chapter
Monday 11 March: The second Grand Prix of the 2013 FIM Motocross World Championship took place at Si Racha, Thailand, for the first time in the history of the series, in front of 17,000 spectators.
Friday they were watering.
Saturday there was no need - caused a Qualifying delay.
Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings were the
ones who dominated the event. Cairoli won once again the Super Final
and Jeffrey Herlings improved the seventh position he obtained in Qatar
and finished fourth against the MX1 bikes. Cairoli not only won
the Super Final, but also the MX1 Grand Prix and he is now leading the
MX1 class. Gautier Paulin was second in the Super Final and second
overall and Clement Desalle was third in the Super Final and third also
in the overall result of the MXGP.
Jeffrey Herlings was the best MX2 rider in the Super Final and he was
also the MX2 overall winner. Romain Febvre was second overall in the
Grand Prix and Jose Butrón completed the top three after making two
consistent races.
MX2 Race 1
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings could not take the
holeshot of the first race but after the second corner he managed to
overtake Romain Febvre easily. The red plate holder rode consistently at
the front and he crossed the finish line with forty seconds advantage
on the second classified.
Wilvo Nestaan JM Racing KTM’s Romain Febvre obtained the GET Athena
holeshot Award after another fantastic start. The French young rider
rode a solid moto and he kept the second position until the chequered
flag.
The first MX2 race was really tough for Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s
Max Anstie because in the first half of the heat he got stuck behind
Jose Butron and it was not until the eleventh lap that Anstie could
overtake the Spaniard. In the end Anstie was third and he entered really
motivated in the Super Final.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Dean Ferris could not start at the front, but he
managed to finish fifth in the first race. His teammate Mel Pocock
broke his goggles before the start and he had to enter the pitlane right
after the gate drop to get a new ones. The British rider gave all his
best and he ended fifteenth.
Jordi Tixier could finally take part in the races today, as his cut in
his chin was much better. The French rider thanked all doctors that
treated him yesterday in the track and in the hospital in Pattaya
because they did a really good job and today he was ready to race. In
the first heat Tixier gave it all and he managed to move from eighth to
sixth.
Glenn Coldenhoff was seventh followed by Alessandro Lupino and
Christophe Charlier. Petar Petrov rounded up the top ten of the first
MX2 race.
MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM),
38:59.025; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), +0:40.448; 3. Max Anstie (GBR,
Suzuki), +0:46.613; 4. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:52.882; 5. Dean Ferris
(AUS, Yamaha), +0:56.827; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:01.620; 7.
Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:08.162; 8. Alessandro Lupino (ITA,
Kawasaki), +1:13.475; 9. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +1:26.379;
10. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +1:29.833.
MX1 Race 1
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli obtained the GET Athena
holeshot but he got arm pump in the first corners of the race and he
dropped down to third. After a few laps the Italian started feeling
better and in lap nine he took back the lead and kept it until the
chequered flag.
His teammate Ken De Dycker had also a good start and he rode third
during the first laps of the heat and when Cairoli slowed down his
rhythm, De Dycker moved up to second place. After two laps Evgeny
Bobryshev, who was leading the race, made a mistake and dropped down to
third, so De Dycker became the leader of the race. However, when Cairoli
recuperated his speed, De Dycker could not keep the lead and the
Belgian rode second until the end of the race.
The third position was for Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Clement
Desalle who rode fourth during most of the race and he managed to move
up to third when there were only two laps to go. The Belgian suffered a
big crash when he was riding third, but fortunately he could go back
quickly on his bike and kept the position until the end.
Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin did not have a good start in the
first race but he did an incredible recovery from tenth to fourth. The
French rider felt really well on his Kawasaki and the way he rode the
first moto said it all.
CLS MX2 Kawasaki Monster Energy Pro Circuit’s Tommy Searle started sixth
behind Rui Gonçalves and after four laps the British rider managed to
overtake the Portuguese. However, after some laps Paulin was coming
really strong from behind and Searle dropped down one position. Finally,
the British ended fifth as Bobryshev dropped several positions when he
was riding third.
David Philippaerts did a really good first race and he ended sixth ahead
of Strijbos, who did an incredible recovery from his initial eleventh
position. Rui Gonçalves finished eighth and Steven Frossard and Joel
Roelants rounded up the top ten.
Evgeny Bobryshev had a fantastic start and managed to lead the race
during the first five laps but he made a mistake when he was at the
front and De Dycker and Cairoli overtook him. The Russian was riding a
consistent moto in third, but he suddenly started feeling dizzy due to
the heat and with two laps to go, he went from third to last.
Jeremy Van Horebeek keeps on struggling with his thumb and he could only finish fifteenth in the first race.
MX1 Race 1 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM),
39:04.412; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:10.685; 3. Clement Desalle
(BEL, Suzuki), +0:17.533; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:25.044;
5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:31.640; 6. David Philippaerts (ITA,
Honda), +0:34.070; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:36.997; 8. Rui
Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:55.535; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha),
+0:58.921; 10. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), +1:01.405.
SUPER FINAL
Once again the Super Final was the most expected and espectacular race
of the weekend and with the grid completely full with the best MX1 and
MX2 riders it was finally Antonio Cairoli who took the holeshot and
dominated the heat until the end. Gautier Paulin started the Super Final
being third behind Desalle but in the end of the race he managed to
make a move on the Belgian rider and he crossed the finish line second,
which gave him the second overall position in the MX1 class. Clement
Desalle finished third in the Super Final and third in the MXGP and
during the press conference he highlighted the outstanding treatment he
received by the doctors at the medical centre of the track after the
first race, which let him race with almost no pain during the whole
race.
Jeffrey Herlings was once again the best MX2 rider in the Super Final
but this time he finished fourth ahead of Tommy Searle. The Dutch rider
was very satisfied with his race and he explained that he could have
overtaken more riders if he had had a 450cc machine. His new challenge
is now focused in the MXGP of Brazil where he believes he has some
chances to be fighting for a top three result in the Super Final.
Rui Gonçalves was sixth and his teammate Xavier Boog was seventh, while
Joel Roelants, Steven Frossard and Ken De Dycker rounded the top ten.
Romain Febvre rode in top ten most of the race, but in the end he
finished eleventh being the second best MX2 rider in the Super Final.
Christophe Charlier was the third best MX2 classified rider in
fourteenth and Alessandro Lupino was the fourth one in seventeenth.
Super Final top 10: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM),
40:29.807; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:17.338; 3. Clement
Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:19.927; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM),
+0:32.228; 5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:39.004; 6. Rui Goncalves
(POR, KTM), +0:48.891; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, KTM), +0:51.171; 8. Joel
Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), +0:59.330; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha),
+1:05.281; 10. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +1:12.554.
MX1 Championship top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA,
KTM), 95 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 87 p.; 3. Gautier
Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 78 p.; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 70 p.; 5.
Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 64 p.; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 55
p.; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 52 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS,
Honda), 47 p.; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 47 p.; 10. Xavier Boog
(FRA, KTM), 41 p.
MX1 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 97 points; 2. Suzuki, 87 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 78 p.; 4. Honda, 59 p.; 5. Yamaha, 48 p.; 6. TM, 26 p.
MX2 Championship top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED,
KTM), 100 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), 82 p.; 3. Dean Ferris
(AUS, Yamaha), 69 p.; 4. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 65 p.; 5.
Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 63 p.; 6. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 60 p.; 7.
Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 57 p.; 8. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki),
56 p.; 9. Julien Lieber (BEL, Suzuki), 47 p.; 10. Max Anstie (GBR,
Suzuki), 37 p.
MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 100 points; 2. Yamaha, 78 p.; 3. Suzuki, 59 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 56 p.; 5. Honda, 29 p.; 6. TM, 3 p.