Cairoli and Herlings continue to chip away at the championship
Monday 07 July: Round 12 of the FIM Motocross World Championship at Uddevalla, Sweden.
It has been a crazy yet entertaining day of
racing here at MXGP of Sweden, round twelve of the FIM Motocross World Championship
where unique conditions put each and every rider to the ultimate test.
While the chewed up circuit was less rutty than we have come to expect
from the FIM Motocross World Championship, it was fantastic to see a
circuit that allowed the riders to embrace their creativity, race craft
and challenged them to challenge themselves to choose lines that are
less obvious.
Ultimate physical and mental condition is crucial to the making of a
champion and both of our FIM Motocross World Champions, both Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders, Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings
authenticated that today with their dominating performances on the
tricky and demanding circuit in both races to extend their championship
leads.
MXGP
It is a bittersweet location here in Uddevalla for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli, who has left the bitter aspect in the dust with his impressive double race victory for the 70th
Grand Prix win of his career. Celebrating with a fender-bender wheelie
down to the podium the popular Italian said "I’m very happy, I’ve been
ill, so I didn’t expect a lot but I have started to feel better and
better on the bike over the last week which let me push more while
training. I hope to keep going like this and try to be on top every
weekend.”
Surprise, surprise, Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek
mounts the podium for the eleventh time from a possible twelve this
year. Although he is yet to win a Grand Prix, the Belgian feels
everything is going to plan as he moves up into second over all in the
MXGP Championship standings, even though he admitted "It doesn’t feel so
good to move up in the championship because another rider has crashed
or hurt themselves, but it is what it is and the season is still long,
so you don’t know what can happen but considering this is my second year
in MXGP, I am pretty proud of what I am doing.”
He has known as a veteran of the class but Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos looks
to be raising the intensity in each and every outing. This weekend the
Belgian said "It was really good out there, I expected a little more
after the first moto because I felt good out on the track, I had some
good lines, but the second race I had sand in my goggles which made it
really difficult to get close to Max (Nagl), but I am still really
happy.”
Meanwhile Team HRC’s Max Nagl is making a solid
return to racing, although the German appears to struggle to make passes
after a bad start, but that could be down to lack of racing.
Nevertheless, a good start in race two, after finishing eighth in race
one, saw the factory Honda rider bounce back for third landing in fourth
overall for this Grand Prix.
CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Tommy Searle is
progressively improving and is starting to look hungrier for better
results. A fifth and a sixth overall left the Brit rounding out the top
five.
Bad luck struck Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Clement Desalle,
who was right in the thick of the championship title chase, when he
clipped the back wheel of his teammate Strijbos heading into turn one,
wiping out in spectacular style and getting pummeled by the rest of the
field. While we did see the tough Belgian get to his feet after a good
five to ten minutes of laying in agony, he has gone to hospital to be
thoroughly checked over.
While Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s surprise contender Dean Ferris made his come back to the FIM Motocross World Championship
and while it didn’t go entirely to plan, some fast lap times throughout
the sessions over the weekend proved the speed is there, he is just
lacking experience and hours on the bike. The Australian admitted "I’m
looking forward to Finland where I can wipe the slate clean and try to
improve things.”
MXGP Race 1 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM),
35:22.421; 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:03.481; 3. Jeremy Van
Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:07.712; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki),
+0:11.653; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:15.019; 6. Tommy
Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:37.196; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM),
+0:39.063; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:42.436; 9. Maximilian Nagl
(GER, Honda), +0:50.853; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha),
+1:03.013.
MXGP Race 2 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM),
33:52.052; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:04.201; 3.
Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:09.408; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL,
Suzuki), +0:14.361; 5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:22.638; 6.
Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +0:38.631; 7. David Philippaerts (ITA,
Yamaha), +0:40.791; 8. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), +0:42.619; 9. Steven
Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:44.496; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM),
+0:46.857.
MXGP Overall top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM),
50 points; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 42 p.; 3. Kevin Strijbos
(BEL, SUZ), 40 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 32 p.; 5. Tommy Searle
(GBR, KAW), 31 p.; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 28 p.; 7. David
Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 25 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 25 p.; 9.
Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 24 p.; 10. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 22 p.
MXGP World Championship Classification Top Ten: 1.
Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 527 points; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL,
YAM), 482 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 470 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos
(BEL, SUZ), 390 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 267 p.; 6. Steven
Frossard (FRA, KAW), 265 p.; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 237 p.; 8.
David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 210 p.; 9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 207
p.; 10. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 205 p.
MXGP Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 527 points; 2. Suzuki,
508 p.; 3. Yamaha, 482 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 437 p.; 5. Honda, 372 p.; 6. TM,
235 p.; 7. Husqvarna, 230 p.
MX2
Everybody, including his competition, continues to be left in awe of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings and
his ability to ride a motorcycle. Not only is Herlings dominating every
MX2 race, he is also laying down the fastest lap times of the weekend
against his future rivals in MXGP. Respect is coming in from all angles
for the Dutch teen-ager as he proves each and every weekend he is the
fastest man on the planet. With MX2 world title number three fast
approaching, the ridiculously talented KTM rider said "Yeah it was a
great weekend, I feel stronger and stronger every week and keep
dominating, so hopefully we can keep this rhythm going and hopefully win
again next weekend in Finland and wrap the championship up in Loket.”
After seeing the doctor right before race two due to illness, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier
decided to grit his teeth and race. Tixier said "I had to push to ride
because I knew I needed it for the championship and actually it was good
I decided to ride because I managed to finish second on the day, so I
am really happy about my weekend, it cannot be better.”
Seventeen-year-old Honda Gariboldi rider Tim Gajser is fast becoming a
regular front runner as he uncorks yet another bottle of champagne
after posting a second and sixth place score for third overall.
It’s so close he can almost touch it; Standing Construct KTM’s Valentin Guillod is
forced to settle for yet another fourth. After a hard fought fourth in
race one, the super talented Swiss rocketed out of the gate in race two
to claim the Fox Holeshot. Despite a good effort, the track was
extremely gnarly and difficult to get traction. Any sense of urgency
resulted in wheel spin, which saw the youngster drop back to fourth.
Nevertheless, he will have another year in MX2 next year allowing each
round this season to be written off as experience.
Rounding out the top five, Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre’s
result doesn’t reflect his speed today. The Frenchman was in fact the
second fastest rider on the track, but was a little unfortunate when his
third place finish is race one came undone with a gnarly crash in race
two while battling for fourth. Despite the misfortune, hats off to
Febvre who bounced back after biting the dust reasonably hard, for
tenth.
MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM),
35:00.721; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:43.692; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA,
Husqvarna), +0:50.859; 4. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:53.496; 5.
Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:54.640; 6. Julien Lieber (BEL, Suzuki),
+0:55.972; 7. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:58.803; 8. Jose
Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:00.791; 9. Max Anstie (GBR, Yamaha), +1:01.535;
10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:07.030.
MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM),
35:06.319; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:42.354; 3. Dylan Ferrandis
(FRA, Kawasaki), +0:45.082; 4. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna),
+0:46.541; 5. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:49.060; 6. Tim Gajser
(SLO, Honda), +0:49.830; 7. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:50.272; 8.
Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +1:01.822; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI,
Suzuki), +1:15.003; 10. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Honda), +1:18.202.
MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM),
50 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON),
37 p.; 4. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 32 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA,
HUS), 30 p.; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 29 p.; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov
(RUS, HUS), 28 p.; 8. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 27 p.; 9. Christophe
Charlier (FRA, YAM), 27 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 23 p.
MX2 World Championship Classification Top Ten: 1.
Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 544 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 409
p.; 3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 389 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS),
388 p.; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 372 p.; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON),
350 p.; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 288 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov
(RUS, HUS), 284 p.; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 265 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer
(SUI, SUZ), 234 p.
MX2 Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 574 points; 2. Kawasaki,
477 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 404 p.; 4. Honda, 360 p.; 5. Suzuki, 354 p.; 6.
Yamaha, 317 p.; 7. TM, 6 p.