2019 MXGP of Britain – Round 2
Tony Cairoli goes 1-2 to claim MXGP round win
MXGP Qualifying may have put Tim Gajser at the top of the standings yet when the gate dropped it was Antonio Cairoli who took the early Fox Holeshot and lead, only for that to be soon taken away by none other than Gajser, who then put in a blistering pace to create a gap.
Behind the former World Champions, it was Jeremy Van Horebeek, but he was passed by Gautier Paulin and then made a mistake which allowed Ivo Monticelli and Clement Desalle through.
Behind Van Horebeek it was Arnaud Tonus and now Jeremy Seewer. Three laps into the race Van Horebeek made it back past Monticelli and into the top 5.
Only a lap later Gajser took a violent high-speed crash while leading Cairoli but miraculously sprung back to his feet and rejoined the action on his damaged Honda in third position barely ahead of Desalle.
Surprisingly Gajser wasted no time putting in more fast laps even as his broken front number plate dangled on the bent bars. Gajser instead of stopping or even slowing won over many fans as he pulled away from Desalle and closed in on Paulin.
Max Anstie made a hard charge to move from 12th into seventh, while Cairoli took the race win and Gajser took third behind Paulin.
Race 2 started in similar fashion when Cairoli took the holeshot and Gajser took the lead but this time Gajser’s gap was bigger. Paulin was the third veteran who found himself at the front but the rider in fourth was new Arminas Jasikonis who had Seewer giving chase.
Jasikonis’ teammate Jonass was sixth before being passed by Van Horebeek but then held seventh until fading four positions in the last five laps.
The top five never changed positions during the race. Cairoli made a late charge in an attempt to catch Gajser, but it was too late, and the Slovenian claimed the Race 2 win 1.7 seconds ahead of the Sicilian and a massive 54 ahead of Paulin in third.
The overall win went to Cairoli for his 87th time and who later revealed a shoulder injury, but Gajser’s ride was remarkable when considering his rebound from the race 1 crash.
Paulin’s 2-3 gave him third overall as Desalle took fourth and Van Horebeek placed fifth leaving the top five riders shuffled but unchanged since Patagonia. The series will now head to Valkenswaard for the MXGP of the Netherlands next weekend.
Tony Cairoli
“It was a great weekend and for sure this track is one of my favourites. I had difficulty to push from the beginning because of a problem during the week and I was stiff. It meant I got arm-pump after three-four laps. I had to be careful because on this track if you are tight then you’ll crash because it is tricky and there are a lot of strange ruts and kickers. I was cautious and in the end it paid off. Hopefully I can be better for next week in the sand. For the championship everything is going well and that’s my goal.”
Tim Gajser
“We had a great weekend! I was feeling great on the bike and the track both yesterday and today. I’m really happy to finish on the podium on this special day for me. The first race we started well and the beginning was good, but then I made a mistake and I fell down and finished third. The second race was better as I took the same start and worked my way to the front and I’m just so happy to win my first race in more than a year, after all my injury problems so I’m thankful and happy. A huge thanks to all the team because they all put in huge amounts of work and it’s paying off. We will continue working hard and to keep pushing!”
Gautier Paulin
“Every weekend on the box is a good weekend. I was happy with the first moto. In the second moto I was riding stiff in the beginning, but overall we had a good weekend and made a big step forward since Argentina. This was always the goal and this is what we are working really hard towards. I am really happy with my team Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha MXGP and the work they are putting in.”
Clément Desalle
“It was not an easy weekend as yesterday I injured my hand in the crash and when I woke up this morning it was still painful so I knew it would be a tough day with so many big jumps on the track. My first start was ok from the fourteenth gate and I scored a fourth position, not so bad in the circumstances. My second start was much better, but at the end of the first downhill, in the same corner where I had crashed in the qualifying race, another rider hit my front wheel and I crashed with several other riders including my teammate. From there I came back from last to seventh to save important points. Now I will take care of my hand and recover during the week as we have another GP next weekend.”
Filling in for Romain Febvre, Dean Ferris’ return to racing did not go to plan. The Australian got faster with every lap completed throughout the weekend, but did not get a chance to prove his potential with a fall at the start of Race 2 cutting his Grand Prix short. Ferris fears a knee injury and will be examined by medical professionals.
Dean Ferris
“It was a tough weekend, but I got more comfortable in every session. I thought the last fifteen minutes of the race I found my groove and had some really good lap-times, so I was content with that. In moto two, I went down on the start and I have hurt my knee, so that will need to be assessed.”
MXGP of Britain Race 1
- CAIROLI Antonio ITA 6:37.831
- PAULIN Gautier FRA +1.956
- GAJSER Tim SLO +4.473
- DESALLE Clement BEL +24.293
- VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy BEL +26.271
- TONUS Arnaud SWI +27.618
- ANSTIE Max GBR +45.107
- SEEWER Jeremy SWI +46.683
- JASIKONIS Arminas LTU +49.675
- LIEBER Julien BEL +56.271
MXGP of Britain Race 2
- GAJSER Tim SLO 36:01.717
- CAIROLI Antonio ITA +1.709
- PAULIN Gautier FRA +54.204
- JASIKONIS Arminas LTU +57.637
- SEEWER Jeremy SWI +1:00.564
- VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy BEL +1:05.984
- DESALLE Clement BEL +1:20.385
- COLDENHOFF Glenn NDL +1:22.071
- SIMPSON Shaun GBR +1:26.697
- MONTICELLI Ivo ITA +1:28.257
Results MXGP Matterley Basin 2019 Top 5
- Tony Cairoli (ITA) Red Bull KTM (1-2)
- Tim Gajser (SLO) Honda (3-1)
- Gautier Paulin (FRA) Yamaha (2-3)
- Clement Desalle (BEL) Kawasaki (4-7)
- Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL) Honda (5-6)
MXGP Standings following Round 2
- CAIROLI Antonio ITA 97
- GAJSER Tim SLO 89
- PAULIN Gautier FRA 74
- VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy BEL 66
- DESALLE Clement BEL 65
- JASIKONIS Arminas LTU 56
- SEEWER Jeremy SWI 50
- JONASS Pauls LAT 40
- SIMPSON Shaun GBR 39
- ANSTIE Max GBR 39
…23. Dean Ferris AUS 6
MX2
The MX2 class saw battles in both races as the field fought for championship points, with Race 1 starting with Tom Vialle taking the Fox Holeshot for the second time this season.
Vialle led but was under pressure from Thomas Kjer Olsen and Dylan Walsh, while in the thick of the racing was Ben Watson and Henry Jacobi.
Watson made an unfortunate error dropping the bike early in the race dropping him from fourth back to ninth. Watson’s teammate Jago Geerts also suffered from mistakes while running inside the top ten putting the two Kemea Yamaha’s in a difficult position.
By the second lap Olsen took the top spot from Vialle, who then lost out to the moves of Jacobi as well when the German passed him on the outside. Local hero Conrad Mewse moved up to fourth from 11th before a mechanical issue on the last lap.
Olsen’s lead started to be chipped at by Jacobi but the title hopeful kept his cool and held the spot through to take the checkered flag and his first race win this season. Mewse’s fourth position was taken by Watson, but Mewse managed to limp his bike across the finish in sixth just behind Michele Cervellin.
Race 2 proved that KTM and Vialle made the right choice as he took his third 4 Fox Holeshots so far in 2019. Vialle again had Walsh just behind along with Olsen, Jacobi, and Calvin Vlaanderen.
Olsen took second from Walsh before the first lap was complete, while Mathys Boisrame fought in the top five on his Honda CRF250. A mistake from Jacobi allowed Vlaanderen to get past who then took third from Walsh.
Jacobi recovered and found his form to get past Walsh as well and his speed allowed him to catch the front runners and Vialle who had dropped a spot to Vlaanderen. With less than two laps to go Jacobi flew past Vialle, moving the German into third in the race but second overall.
Olsen’s dominant weekend continued winning Race 2 by 9.9 seconds over Vlaanderen. In the overall it was Olsen’s 1-1 taking first, Jacobi’s 2-3 took second, and Vialle’s 3-4 put the Frenchman on the podium in his second ever MX2 race.
Thomas Kjer-Olsen
“It’s just awesome to go 1-1 here in the UK. My weekend was really good – I won the qualifying moto and then went on the claim the overall in MX2 with two more wins. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. It’s been a long time since I got the overall win and I was happy to do it at this cool track. Matterley Basin has always been a track that I enjoy riding and this weekend I did my best to collect as many points as possible for the championship. I felt comfortable all weekend and my best moto was the last one, where the track was at its roughest. I have so much full confidence in my bike, and so much trust in all the members of my team. It was good to pay them back with this win. I also secured the red plate for the first time. Now the goal is to hold onto it and push hard during the upcoming races.”
Henry Jacobi
“My first race was pretty good. I had some special lines and I saw that nobody else was taking them so I thought that maybe I could win this race. I went for it, but I started my attack a little too late; I came up short in some corners and I just missed my opportunity. I had hoped to time it better in the second race; my start was OK in fourth or fifth, but then I got stuck a little bit during the first ten minutes as I wanted this podium so much; I put myself under a little bit of pressure and rode too tight during the first ten minutes. But then in the last fifteen minutes I found a good rhythm to pass Vialle and secure the second position overall, which is good for me and for the team. We made some really good steps during the winter; the team has only been in the world championship for a few years but everyone is doing a fantastic job and we had a very good winter preparation. I never had such a professional winter training and the Kawasaki suits me really well; I like the control in the corners and our trainer is so clever and give me such good advice. We are here now, second in the points, and we are determined to stay there!”
Tom Vialle
“It was a really good weekend: I had ridden well during the week and it fed into the practice sessions and both motos. I’m really happy with my starts because being at the front helps me find my rhythm: it is so important. I think a very good winter has helped with my transition from EMX to MX2. My feeling on the bike is another positive thing. Today has been a big step for me.”
Calvin Vlaanderen
“It wasn’t the greatest weekend, to be honest. I’m happy that I could finish off strong with a second place in the second race, but the whole weekend I actually struggled a lot. This was especially the case in the qualifying race and the first moto today, I didn’t really have a good rhythm and I seemed to be fighting the track a bit too much. I’m happy though that I could rebound for the second race and ride like I know how to ride and get that second place. It is good for my confidence and going into the week ahead, it’s good motivation to keep pushing and make sure I come out swinging next weekend.”
Jed Beaton
“I had a really good weekend here at Matterley Basin. It was my first GP after many months, and I felt strong on the bike. It was good to get a top-10 in the opening moto. In the second moto I was close to the top-10 again and ended up finishing in 13th place. Getting a top-10 result in the overall is really positive for the rest of the season. There’s still a long way to go in this series. I’m pretty happy with where I am, hopefully I can start building from here.”
Unfortunately Team Honda 114 Motorsports rider Mitchell Evans suffered early on in moto one, and while he was running a pace that matched the leaders, he was unable to get himself back in points scoring contention. The second moto was much better though as he finished in eighth place after fighting through the field from outside the top 15.
Mitch Evans
“P34 and P8 moto scores today. Bad starts both motos didn’t do me any favours. After a small crash in Moto 1 I had to make a pit stop to fix my clutch to stop it from slipping which left me almost a lap down. Will continue to work on my starts and we should be sweet. Thanks Honda 114 Motorsports.”
MX2 Race 1
- KJER OLSEN Thomas DEN 35:01.449
- JACOBI Henry GER +4.278
- VIALLE Tom FRA +16.160
- WATSON Ben GBR +28.500
- CERVELLIN Michele ITA +30.179
- MEWSE Conrad GBR +35.271
- POOTJES Davy NDL +36.018
- VLAANDEREN Calvin NDL +44.908
- BEATON Jed AUS +50.189
- WALSH Dylan NZL +54.010
MX2 Race 2
- KJER OLSEN Thomas DEN 37:10.022
- VLAANDEREN Calvin NDL +9.936
- JACOBI Henry GER +16.035
- VIALLE Tom FRA +16.935
- WATSON Ben GBR +20.044
- GEERTS Jago BEL +38.635
- POOTJES Davy NDL +43.577
- EVANS Mitchell AUS +46.268
- CERVELLIN Michele ITA +54.765
- WALSH Dylan NZL +59.920
- BOISRAME Mathys FRA +1:02.388
- VAESSEN Bas NDL +1:04.331
- BEATON Jed AUS +1:13.298
Results MX2 Matterley Basin 2019 Top 5
- Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN) Husqvarna (1-1)
- Henry Jacobi (GER) Kawasaki (2-3)
- Tom Vialle (FRA) Red Bull KTM (3-4)
- Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA) Honda (8-2)
- Ben Watson (GBR) Yamaha (4-5)
MX2 Standings after Round 2
- KJER OLSEN Thomas DEN 94
- JACOBI Henry GER 78
- VLAANDEREN Calvin NDL 71
- VIALLE Tom FRA 65
- WATSON Ben GBR 63
- PRADO GARCIA Jorge SPA 50
- POOTJES Davy NDL 50
- EVANS Mitchell AUS 49
- GEERTS Jago BEL 45
- CERVELLIN Michele ITA 41
…16 BEATON Jed AUS 20
