MXGP
Team Italy just scored the winning goal in the final of the Football World Cup! Maybe not yet, but their star Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli got the same response with the tens of thousands of screaming ‘TC222’ fans cheering and celebrating as the Italian sensation brought home a breath-taking double victory. Just seconds after the race a noticeably happy and emotional Tony Cairoli said with a smile from ear to ear “I’ve wanted to win this race so much and to have so many fans here pushing me all the way, I am happy to do it here today, I liked the track, it fitted me better than last year and I just want to dedicate this race to my father, Benedetto Cairoli.”
‘Watch this space’ could be the next butt patch for Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek as he continues to pick up momentum. The Belgian youngster looked more aggressive than normal on his retro looking YZ450FM, it’s evident he’s getting hungry for his first MXGP victory. If it wasn’t for the flawless form of his good friend and rival Tony Cairoli, it would have been a win for Van Horebeek here today. Nonetheless he rode well with two second place finishes landing him on the podium for the ninth time in succession this season.
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos has missed the box for the last handful of MXGP rounds, while his teammate Clement Desalle has been racking them up. This weekend it was Strijbos who landed on the box with third after Desalle threw away second place in race one with a super gnarly crash over a jump forcing him to settle for fourth. During the press conference a content Strijbos said “This season has gone pretty good so far only the last two races in England and France were not so good, but after that I sat down with the whole team and we made a plan to try to make it better and we worked hard the last few weeks and it’s coming back now. I definitely want to be on the podium every time.”
One of the top performances of the weekend has to go to the 2008 FIM Motocross World Champion DP19 Racing’s David Philippaerts. The local man with a ton of fans of which he shares with fellow Italian legend Antonio Cairoli had the crowd in fits of celebration as he fought his way to his best race finish since 2012. A plausible fifth in race two which was hard fought against Hitachi Construction Machinery’s Shaun Simpson, who was all over him like a rash, combined with his ninth in race one landed the Italian star in fifth overall for his best finish this year.
Bad luck struck Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Steven Frossard who rode a stellar race in race one filling the gap of his missing teammate and last year’s victor Gautier Paulin just fine. The Frenchman bought home a third in that race which came undone when he was forced to retire due to a technical problem with the bike in race two.
Clearly, the Italian fans know how to fire up their riders with the third top Italian MXGP star TM Ricci Racing’s Davide Guarneri also riding amazing today on his retro style red TM for a remarkable eight overall.
Heartbreak for HRC Team’s Evgeny Bobryshev who was looking more like the ‘Bobby’ of old out on the iconic track of Maggiora. After taking home a remarkable fifth in race one, race two saw Bobryshev crash three corners in when he was struck from behind by another rider. The Russian MXGP star was immediately stretchered off of the track by the medical crew and taken to the track’s medical center before being transported to a nearby hospital with a suspected broken tibia and fibula.
MXGP Race 1 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:47.796; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:04.109; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:10.121; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:20.361; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:23.524; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:41.674; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:45.162; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:45.566; 9. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:50.193; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +1:10.566.
MXGP Race 2 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:39.495; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:04.774; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:05.986; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:24.914; 5. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:31.560; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:34.934; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:48.210; 8. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +0:49.759; 9. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:51.107; 10. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:51.136.
MXGP Overall top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 44 p.; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 38 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 32 p.; 5. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 28 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 28 p.; 7. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 27 p.; 8. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 24 p.; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 20 p.; 10. Gregory Aranda (FRA, KAW), 19 p.
MXGP World Championship Classification Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 443 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 405 p.; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 402 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 314 p.; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 217 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 211 p.; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 205 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 184 p.; 9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 166 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 163 p.
MXGP Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 443 points; 2. Suzuki, 421 p.; 3. Yamaha, 402 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 372 p.; 5. Honda, 301 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 209 p.; 7. TM, 191 p.
MX2
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings, as he stormed his way to his 40th Grand Prix overall, “It was amazing, I’ve won 23 GP’s in the last 18 months so that has helped and today I made 40 GP wins, so that’s pretty amazing. Today the track was really good, the rain was the perfect watering just enough to keep the dust away and give the track a lot of grip. I made a lot of passes in the race, so it shows it was possible to make passes, it was a lot of fun!”
Maggiora loves a bit of retro and although the word ‘retro’ may not apply to last year, it was good to see Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier line up like his old self, finishing with two thirds for second overall and moving up into third in the championship standings.
Being knocked back to the third step after a bad start in race two ruined his solid performance in race one for second, CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Arnaud Tonus explained, “Yeah I made it difficult for myself today, I didn’t qualify so well yesterday so I didn’t have a good pick at the gate. In the second race my jump was also not so good and I struggled to find good lines to pass and lost a lot of time at the beginning of the race. Anyway I am just happy to be on the podium.”
This season’s early bloomer CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Dylan Ferrandis rounded out MXGP of Italy with an outstanding ride in race two to charge forward and run away with second place. Combined with his seventh in race one, the Frenchman ended up in fourth overall ahead of fellow young gun Tim Gajser.
Honda Gariboldi’s teenage dream Tim Gajser is fast becoming a solid top five guy. While the seventeen-year-old Slovenian would have loved to have stood on the podium today, his fourth and fifth place results were only enough for a respectable fifth over all.
MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:59.483; 2. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:16.222; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:29.958; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:32.756; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:36.815; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:37.753; 7. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:38.583; 8. Max Anstie (GBR, Yamaha), +0:43.364; 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +1:06.588; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:18.881.
MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:18.701; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:32.011; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:35.589; 4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:36.284; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:37.154; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:38.568; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:47.649; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:50.646; 9. Julien Lieber (BEL, Suzuki), +0:57.312; 10. Damon Graulus (BEL, KTM), +1:00.811
MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 40 p.; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 36 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 34 p.; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 30 p.; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 24 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 24 p.; 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, YAM), 22 p.; 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, SUZ), 20 p.
MX2 World Championship Classification Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 444 points; 2. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 389 p.; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 331 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 327 p.; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 314 p.; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 269 p.; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 240 p.; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 223 p.; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 213 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 192 p.
MX2 Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 474 points; 2. Kawasaki, 419 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 334 p.; 4. Suzuki, 299 p.; 5. Honda, 279 p.; 6. Yamaha, 265 p.; 7. TM, 6 p.
EMX250
Just as expected the racing in the EMX250 was fierce. While race one yesterday, in considerably dryer conditions than today, saw Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Suvillan Jaulin ride super smooth for the win ahead of Hitachi Construction Machinery UK KTM’s Ben Watson and Honda J-Tech’s Thomas Kjer Olsen, race two this morning wrote a different story.
Before the gates had even dropped race one’s winner Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Suvillan Jaulin jumped too early and almost hit the gate dropping him way back right off the start. The red plate holder CNC Doors KTM’s Steven Clarke was out to redeem himself after his crash in race one, taking the holeshot ahead of Creymert Racing’s Brent Van Doninck.
Race one’s runner up Hitachi Construction Machinery UK KTM’s Ben Watson was having troubles of his own, getting tangled with another rider on turn two and then crashing yet another time before the end of lap one. Meanwhile the battle for third was as wild as ever with last years EMX125 vice champion Nicolas Dercourt onboard his Tip Top Racing Team Yamaha going head to head with Honda J-Techs Thomas Kjer Olsen and the fastest Italian in the class Martin Racing Technology Team’s Michele Cervellin.
Dercourt, Olsen and Cervellin got the better of early race challengers HSF Logistics Motorsport Team’s Frederik Van Der Vlist, Ceriel Klein Kromhoff and KTM Sarholz Henry Jacobi before being left with only three to duke it out for third. Approaching half way Olsen made the move on Dercourt to take over third, while up front Van Doninck was starting to reel Clarke in.
Coming into the closing stages of the race, choosing the battle to follow became difficult. Van Doninck was closing in on Clarke, who each and every time turned it up again in response while Dercourt was using everything in his repertoire to push pass Olsen.
In a nail biting end to the race, the lad from England, no stranger to wet conditions, Steven Clarke took the win just over a second clear of Brent Van Doninck. Thomas Kjer Olsen managed to just hold on for a hard fought third ahead of Nicolas Dercourt. Getting the job done for the Italian fans Michele Cervellin rounded out the top five just ahead of yesterday’s race winner Suvillan Jaulin who salvaged a respectable sixth.
After the mix of points from the dryness of race one and wetness of race two it was J-Tech Honda’s Thomas Kjer Olsen’s time to shine with his first overall victory of the season. Yesterday’s race one winner Bud Racing Kawsaki’s Sullivan Jaulin still came away with second overall with the red plate holder and race two winner CNC doors KTM’s Steven Clarke rounding out the top three for the weekend.
EMX250 Race 1: 1. Sullivan Jaulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 30:32.243; 2. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), +0:06.188; 3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Honda), +0:07.542; 4. Nicolas Dercourt (FRA, Yamaha), +0:09.410; 5. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), +0:14.176; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +0:16.764; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:22.033; 8. Ander Valentin (ESP, Yamaha), +0:39.770; 9. Steven Clarke (GBR, KTM), +0:40.480; 10. Davide Bonini (ITA, KTM), +0:42.951
EMX250 Race 2: 1. Steven Clarke (GBR, KTM), 29:30.070; 2. Brent Van doninck (BEL, KTM), +0:01.529; 3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Honda), +0:20.320; 4. Nicolas Dercourt (FRA, Yamaha), +0:20.958; 5. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:24.962; 6. Sullivan Jaulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:46.704; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:47.809; 8. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), +0:57.603; 9. Henry Jacobi (GER, KTM), +0:59.760; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), +1:00.278
EMX250 Overall: 1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HON), 40 points; 2. Sullivan Jaulin (FRA, KAW), 40 p.; 3. Steven Clarke (GBR, KTM), 37 p.; 4. Nicolas Dercourt (FRA, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), 33 p.; 6. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 29 p.; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 28 p.; 8. Brent Van doninck (BEL, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 23 p.; 10. Ander Valentin (ESP, YAM), 23 p.
EMX250 Championship Standings: 1. Steven Clarke (GBR, KTM), 153 points; 2. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), 121 p.; 3. Brent Van doninck (BEL, KTM), 115 p.; 4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HON), 115 p.; 5. Sullivan Jaulin (FRA, KAW), 113 p.; 6. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 109 p.; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 106 p.; 8. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, KAW), 95 p.; 9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 89 p.; 10. Nicolas Dercourt (FRA, YAM), 85 p.
EMX300
The riders of the European Championship EMX300 were the first class out on the greasy Maggiora circuit this morning. Yesterday’s race one winner Italian TM Racing Team rider Samuele Bernardini had the crowd going wild once again today as he used their energy to steal yet another holeshot and went on to dominate and win by a healthy twenty-six seconds.
Meanwhile GL12 Racing’s Lewis Gregory got off to a great start chasing the Italian fan favorite Bernardini around turn one followed by yesterday’s runner up Team Maddii Racing’s Marco Maddii, Team HTS KTM’s Bence Szvoboda and Action Shop Performance’s Felice Compagnone.
Although Gregory is quick to admit he prefers wetter and more technical conditions, it didn’t pay off for the Brit today as he hit a slick spot a couple of laps in and hit the deck. After dropping all the way back to ninth, the likeable Brit went back to the drawing board and started working his way forward.
With conditions proving very tricky thanks to the constant drizzle, the boys seemed to settle into their position with the only rider opting to go off of the race line being Lewis Gregory as he fought his way forward.
Twenty-five minutes in, the two-lap board was up for Bernardini who was looking flawless this weekend in front of his home crowd. Fellow countryman Maddii was also keeping it all smiles on the fence line as he fended off a challenge from the Hungarian Bence Svoboda while Gregory started tearing into Wilvo Forkrent KTM’s Kenny Vandueren for fifth.
In what resulted in the best battle of the race, Gregory did everything he could to get around the Belgian Vandueren, with the door constantly being slammed. With the waving of the checkered flag, horns, bells and whistles went off for Bernardini as he threw a huge whip over the finish line, with fellow Italian’s Maddii and Compagnone also in the top four. Hungarian Szvoboda broke the Italian theme taking third with Capagnone in fourth. Hats off to Vandueren who held off the heavy pressure of Gregory for fifth.
In the overall result for the weekend, it was the Italians TM Racing Team’s Samuele Bernardini and Team Maddii Racing’s Marco Maddii to go one, two with Team HTS KTM’s Bence Szvoboda rounding out the podium.
EMX300 Race 1: 1. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 29:00.684; 2. Marco Maddii (ITA, KTM), +0:14.964; 3. Bence Szvoboda (HUN, KTM), +0:20.823; 4. Lewis Gregory (GBR, Yamaha), +0:27.236; 5. Felice Compagnone (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:29.296; 6. Luca Derosa (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:14.091; 7. Kenny Vandueren (BEL, KTM), +1:14.644; 8. Michele Cencioni (ITA, KTM), +1:26.745; 9. Riccardo Cencioni (ITA, KTM), +1:28.088; 10. Danilo Musso (ITA, Suzuki), +1:36.229
EMX300 Race 2: 1. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 30:05.600; 2. Marco Maddii (ITA, KTM), +0:26.074; 3. Bence Szvoboda (HUN, KTM), +0:33.820; 4. Felice Compagnone (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:45.601; 5. Kenny Vandueren (BEL, KTM), +0:49.689; 6. Lewis Gregory (GBR, Yamaha), +0:51.688; 7. Luca Derosa (ITA, Husqvarna), -1 lap; 8. Txomin Arana (ESP, Yamaha), -1 lap; 9. Stephane Watel (FRA, KTM), -1 lap; 10. Michele Cencioni (ITA, KTM), -1 lap
EMX300 Overall: 1. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 50 points; 2. Marco Maddii (ITA, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Bence Szvoboda (HUN, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Felice Compagnone (ITA, HUS), 34 p.; 5. Lewis Gregory (GBR, YAM), 33 p.; 6. Kenny Vandueren (BEL, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Luca Derosa (ITA, HUS), 29 p.; 8. Michele Cencioni (ITA, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Txomin Arana (ESP, YAM), 22 p.; 10. Riccardo Cencioni (ITA, KTM), 22 p.
EMX300 Championship Standings: 1. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 185 points; 2. Marco Maddii (ITA, KTM), 169 p.; 3. Lewis Gregory (GBR, YAM), 152 p.; 4. Bence Szvoboda (HUN, KTM), 101 p.; 5. Stephane Watel (FRA, KTM), 99 p.; 6. Michele Cencioni (ITA, KTM), 98 p.; 7. Txomin Arana (ESP, YAM), 96 p.; 8. Toms Macuks (LAT, KTM), 94 p.; 9. Jean Loup Lepan (FRA, YAM), 68 p.; 10. Kenny Vandueren (BEL, KTM), 66 p.
