Paulin and Herlings win the season opener
Monday 03 March: Starting the season off in spectacular style with a breath-taking night program, the opening round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Losail, Qatar, didn’t fail to impress.
If tonight’s racing is a sign of things to come in 2014, we are in for a cracker of a season with Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin taking the overall in the MXGP class ahead of race one winner Team HRC’s Max Nagl and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli.
In the MX2, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings takes the first MX2 overall victory of the season ahead of race ones’ surprise winner CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Dylan Ferrandis and Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre.
MXGP: Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier
Paulin was looking smooth and aggressive all evening. In race one the
Frenchman got off to a top five start and went right to work, passing
Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev and Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s top
qualifier Kevin Strijbos in the early stages of the race. While the goal
would have been to chase down the leader Team HRC’s Max Nagl, Paulin
found himself under heat from the current FIM Motocross World Champion
Antonio Cairoli, who eventually would pass him to take over second.
After a third in race one, Paulin came out firing on all cylinders in
race two when both he and his teammate Steven Frossard took control of
the race on the opening lap. After a brief round of cat and mouse with
fellow Frenchman Steven Frossard, Paulin managed to take the lead and
led every lap from start to finish to claim the first MXGP round victory
of the season.
Team HRC’s Max Nagl took one for the underdogs in
moto one when he dropped the hammer and passed Rockstar Energy Suzuki
World’s Kevin Strijbos on lap one. Thereafter, the German star rode
smooth and solid out front, to claim the first MXGP race win of the
season. With a win in race one and a fourth in race two, Max Nagl
secured second overall tonight in Losail.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli put
together two consistent podium finishes for third overall. Although the
reigning world champ would like to be on the box, in the big picture,
his result is not so bad. "I rode two good moto’s today and that I am
very happy about. I know that for the moment I am not in really really
good shape but it’s not so bad, and I want to be good at the end of the
season”.
Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Steven
Frossard made a solid return to the front of the pack in MXGP. While the
certainty of Frossard’s speed was up in the air, the Frenchman soon
silenced all his critics when he locked in a remarkable fourth and
second place result to miss the podium by two points.
Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek rounded out the top five this evening with two very solid fifth place finishes.
The 2008 FIM MX2 World Champion, Red Bull IceOne
Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Tyla Rattray was forced to withdraw from
tonight’s program due to an injury he got during the pre-season. The
South African former champ has gone back to Belgium to have his finger
operated on and hopes to return to be back in Arco Di Trento, Italy on
April 13th.
MXGP Race 1 top ten: 1.
Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 34:57.925; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM),
+0:01.942; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:07.827; 4. Steven
Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:15.643; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL,
Yamaha), +0:26.612; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:31.196; 7. Kevin
Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:33.585; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda),
+0:34.386; 9. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:34.597; 10. Joel
Roelants (BEL, Honda), +0:50.077.
MXGP Race 2 top ten: 1. Gautier
Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 35:04.471; 2. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki),
+0:02.773; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:09.941; 4. Maximilian Nagl
(GER, Honda), +0:13.124; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha),
+0:20.093; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:23.932; 7. Tommy Searle
(GBR, Kawasaki), +0:25.651; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:38.386;
9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:02.213; 10. Joel Roelants (BEL,
Honda), +1:05.317.
MXGP Overall top ten: 1. Gautier
Paulin (FRA, KAW), 45 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 43 p.; 3.
Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 42 p.; 4. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 40 p.;
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 32 p.; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW),
29 p.; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 27 p.; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL,
SUZ), 27 p.; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 25 p.; 10. Joel Roelants
(BEL, HON), 22 p.
MXGP Manufacturer: 1. Kawasaki, 45 points; 2. Honda, 43 p.; 3. KTM, 42 p.; 4. Yamaha, 32 p.; 5. Suzuki, 29 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 17 p.; 7. TM, 16 p.
MX2: Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings did
what he needed to do this weekend, winning the opening round. Although
the results or the riding was not up to his standards, made particularly
difficult thanks to his terrible starts, Herlings still managed to come
away with the overall victory thanks to his first and second place
finishes.
CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Dylan Ferrandis
threw a spanner in the works right from the get-go when he won the
opening race marginally ahead of the reigning champ Jeffrey Herlings. In
moto two, Ferrandis appeared to struggle on the tricky Losail dirt, but
still managed to finish sixth for second overall. He later admitted his
result in the second race was due to dirt in his eyes.
Standing on the third step of the MX2 podium in
Qatar for the second consecutive year was Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna
Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre, who rode two consistent races today for
third overall.
Forced to settle for fourth by one point, CLS
Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Arnaud Tonus had to dig really deep after a
crash in race one left him in dead last. The Swiss sensation pulled out
all the stops and managed to bounce back for tenth in race one, saving
his real moment of brilliance for moto two when he started outside the
top fifteen to finish hot on the heels of Jeffrey Herlings for second.
Rounding out the top five, KTM Silver Action’s
José Butron had a night of ups and downs when he claimed both FOX Head
holeshot awards and a fourth place in race one. Unfortunately, in race
two the Spaniard could only salvage eighth after coming together with
Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Thomas Covington whilst battling
for second.
In other news, it was a night of heartbreak for
Bike it Yamaha Cosworth’s Max Anstie when two amazing starts saw him
storm off into the lead and pull away from the field. The friendly Brit
was in ‘beast mode’, raising the bar to a whole other level. With a lead
in both moto’s of plus six seconds and at one moment more than twenty
seconds ahead of the Dutch phenomenon Jeffrey Herlings, bike problems
saw his first genuine shot at a GP victory slide right through his
fingers. Meanwhile, Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Thomas
Covington tore up the challenging circuit of Losail in race two when he
passed KTM Silver Action’s José Butron for second. The young American,
on his FIM MX2 World Championship debut, held his own against a field of
experienced MX2 stars only to be passed with two laps to go by CLS
Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Arnaud Tonus.
MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Dylan
Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 33:53.328; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM),
+0:00.329; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:02.209; 4. Jose Butron
(ESP, KTM), +0:13.569; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:13.882; 6.
Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:21.091; 7. Jordi Tixier (FRA,
KTM), +0:26.905; 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:30.193; 9. Valentin
Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:32.229; 10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki),
+0:36.827.
MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Jeffrey
Herlings (NED, KTM), 33:49.169; 2. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki),
+0:01.204; 3. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:07.646; 4. Romain
Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:09.683; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS,
Husqvarna), +0:10.437; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:12.271; 7.
Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:12.453; 8. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM),
+0:13.740; 9. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:14.739; 10. Tim
Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:15.526.
MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Jeffrey
Herlings (NED, KTM), 47 points; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 40 p.; 3.
Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 34 p.; 4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 33 p.; 5.
Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 31 p.; 7.
Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 29 p.; 8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 28 p.;
9. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 24 p.; 10. Christophe Charlier (FRA, YAM), 21
p.
MX2 Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 47 points; 2. Kawasaki, 47 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 34 p.; 4. Suzuki, 29 p.; 5. Honda, 24 p.; 6. Yamaha, 21 p.;