MXGP 2016 – Round Seven – Teutschenthal, Germany
Related Link – Click here to read about Hunter Lawrence’s double victory in Germany
The gnarly old school clay track that sprawls itself over the hills of Teutschenthal always spawns incredible scenarios. Last year both red plate holders crash out of the grand prix in Germany, while this year, at the seventh round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, it raised the race intensity ten fold with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings being pushed to the wire in both races for the race wins and the grand prix overall in their respective classes.
MXGP 2016 – Round Seven – Teutschenthal, Germany
It was a welcome return to the podium for Tony Cairoli who has been making a recovery from a lingering pre-season injury. In fact it was a near perfect weekend for the Italian, who was the fastest qualifier on Saturday then delivered two impressive moto wins to take home the GP silverware.
Cairoli kicked off his day with an inspired first race. He took the holeshot on the KTM 450 SX-F and immediately assumed control of the track while the two riders who currently top the leader board, Tim Gajser and Romain Febvre, were buried down in the pack. By mid race Gajser had found his way up to second place and went on the attack. He managed to briefly pass Cairoli but the Italian quickly responded and while Gajser threw everything possible at him, the eight times world champion was having none of it. He went on to win the opening moto by more than four seconds.
The Italian was equally inspiring in his second moto, grabbing the holeshot once again and taking charge at the front while the young pretenders did battle behind him. This time he was never really challenged throughout the race and while Evgeny Bobryshev and Romain Febvre battled it out for the minor podium places in the last stages, this allowed him to go into cruise mode in his final lap.
Tony Cairoli
“I feel good for sure although I still miss something. The skills I have on this very difficult and technical track helped me to win today with a perfect score. Winning the qualification on Saturday and the two races today, it hasn’t happened often but I gained some strength this week in my arm and I very happy about that. I feel better and when you feel better you can respond and go on the attack.”
KTM MXGP Team manager Claudio De Carli
“We knew it was going to happen sooner or later. He already had a podium in Argentina and Kegums so it was only a matter of time. Tony and the team have worked hard on the development of the bike and on his physical condition, which has improved and this has helped him be where he is today. He really needed one victory to unblock him a bit and it came in Saturday’s qualification. This motivated him to do what he is capable of doing. Today he rode really well and when he was overtaken and made the pass again he did it with a lot of class like only Tony can do. We still have work to do to be 100% fit but we are going in the right direction.”
Cairoli’s win allowed him to start to narrow the points gap between the two leaders Gajser and Febvre who are separated by only eight points. He will also have the benefit of the support of his army of fans, the more than enthusiastic Italian ‘tifosi’, at home in Italy during next week’s races.
Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser is arguably the most exciting rider to watch on the track. The Slovenian is just on the edge at all times. He doesn’t care, he’s strong and he’s confident and he will pin it to the checkers in every race. In race one, he threw everything but the kitchen sink at Tony Cairoli, but couldn’t make a pass stick and in race two he bounced back to fourth after clipping fellow Honda rider Evegeny Bobryshev in a battle for second. His results for the day were enough for second overall, his seventh consecutive podium and, more importantly, the championship lead.
Team HRC’s Evegeny Bobryshev nursed his injured shoulder to an impressive third overall this weekend.
Evgeny Bobryshev
“You know I was almost sick in the last few laps because I was pushing so hard and riding through so much pain. My shoulder was so tired I couldn’t hold the bike properly, but I thought ‘I just have to give this all’. At the end of the race I didn’t know I finished third overall. I’m really pumped to be on the podium. After the crash in Latvia I’ve had no time on the bike, and especially as the track here in Germany is so tough, it’s an amazing feeling to be on the podium again. I wouldn’t do this without the team and the medical centre because again they’ve done such a great job with my shoulder. And also I want to say such a big thanks to the team and I’m so pleased for this podium for them after all the work they put in. At the start of the second race I saw I was in second and I though ‘great, I’m behind Toni so I’ll see how much I can hold’, but then I could stay there. Febvre was pushing so hard behind at the end, so I’m so happy to take second in race two, and to give HRC a double podium with Tim.”
Suffering with illness since the beginning of the week, Max Nagl had to dig deep in both MXGP motos. Getting a great jump out of the gate he raced a strong first moto to cross the line in third place. Again starting well in the second moto, Nagl battled for a place on the overall podium but saw his chances of a top three result ended when he lost the front end of his Husqvarna in a slow-speed corner. Quickly picking himself up and regrouping he crossed the finish line sixth. Earning the same amount of points as eventual third placed rider Evgeny Bobryshev, Nagl secured fourth overall due to a lower moto two result.
Max Nagl
“It was a really tough weekend for me as I caught the flu a few days ago and that didn’t allow me to race at my full potential. I was happy to get another good start in moto one. I quickly found myself in third and fought hard retaining this spot until the end of the moto. Then in moto two I was racing in third again. I pushed hard knowing I could make it to the overall podium but made a small mistake in a corner and ended up crashing. I went on to finish sixth to earn the same points as Bobryshev but my second moto score kept my away from the podium. A tough GP is over and now I’ll do my best to be 100% again next weekend in Italy.”
For Nagl’s MXGP teammate Christophe Charlier the GP of Germany was further proof the Frenchman has the speed to fight for top honours in the class. Blasting his way to a perfect start in MXGP’s moto one, Christophe was first into the first corner but made a small mistake, which allowed Tony Cairoli to officially claim the holeshot. Holding on to second position for the first four laps, Charlier rode a smart race to cross the line in a strong fourth. Not letting a first corner crash ruin his second moto he battled hard from last to cross the line in 13th position.
Christophe Charlier
“It was a very positive weekend. I felt good on the hard-packed terrain and my riding was pretty good too. All the hard work we’ve been putting in is starting to bring us the results we’re all looking for. I got a great start in moto one leading the pack to the first corner. My riding was good and I ended up getting fourth, which is my best moto result so far in the season. In moto two I hit the ground hard in the first corner but got back on my bike and tried to push as hard as I could. I think crossing the line in 13th position shows the speed is there to fight with the top guys.”
There’s nothing like a bit of controversy to spice things up, especially between teammates. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek and Romain Febvre had a discussion on the start line before race one regarding gate pick. Coincidently or not, Van Horebeek and Febvre came together on the opening lap of that moto and Febvre hit the deck. Febvre struggled to come back in that race and only finished tenth. In race two, he put in a solid ride for third, which left him in fifth overall and has seen him relinquish the red plate. Van Horebeek slipped two spots to 6th overall.
Romain Febvre
“I took a bad start, and when you are behind it’s really difficult to create new lines. It’s not so difficult to change lines, but with the guys in front of you kicking up stones it becomes really painful. Nobody feels pressure from having the red plate, because it’s a positive motivator, and Gajser and I are used to having it. It’s gone, but there is still a long way to go.”
Jeremy Van Horebeek
“I crashed in the wind on a big jump and came off the track in the landing. In addition to the difficult lines on the track there was also a really big wind today, and that made it hard for riders in some of the turns. My starts improved all weekend, and the work we did before Latvia is paying off. I went to Italy last week to do some more tests, and the team worked really hard to make the changes to the engine. We are getting there.”
Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos and Ben Townley entered the start gate with eighth and 17th spots respectively after their efforts on Saturday. Strijbos had a decent first half of the opening moto and was closing on Christophe Charlier for fourth position until he lost some pace and could not tag along with the Frenchman; fifth place was still his joint-best classification of the season. Townley – as he would in the second moto also – weathered a mediocre start and set about gaining the ground and positions he could to arrive to seventh. The New Zealander coped with rocks and roost and repeated the ranking later in the day for his most consistent outing of the season so far. The second race was forgettable for Strijbos: The Belgian could not find an effective feeling or rhythm around the German soil at its most roughest and trickiest and crossed the finish line in 10th.
Suzuki MXGP General Manager Stefan Everts
“Ben did two solid seven places but messed up qualification and his start place in the gate was not ideal. Overall I’m happy that he finally finished two motos and I think he needs a few more races under his belt to get better and stronger and to get somewhere in the championship. He is impatient and wants results, so he is not happy! But it is a difficult time. With Kevin I think fourth place would have been possible in the first moto because he was catching Charlier but then he dropped back a bit. In the second moto he was just ‘off’. He couldn’t really give us an explanation. It was a pity.”
Strijbos is seventh in the world championship and one point in front of Shaun Simpson. Townley is starting to get his campaign rolling again after missing races in Argentina and Mexico and is 13th.
Ben Townley
“It is positive to keep strong for two motos without any major hiccups. My expectations and what is reality is not the same right now so I’m not happy. My mistake yesterday hurt me majorly for the starts. I had to fight for the top 10 from deep [in the pack] in the first laps and made multiple passes. I made hard work for myself and need to clean up my Saturdays to get in a better place for Sunday. The second moto was better and in the last two laps I thought I was going to get Max. It is not all fairy tales; it is a brutal sport!”
Kevin Strijbos
“The first moto was decent. I was happy with fifth but could not follow Charlier and that was a pity. The second moto was a struggle from start to finish; I had no confidence on the track and did not feel strong enough to push. I cannot say I am happy with 10th. Onto the next one.”
Clement Desalle of the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team completed only two laps during the opening practice session before deciding that the shoulder injury sustained one week earlier in Latvia was too painful to endure a full weekend of racing. Teammate Jordi Tixier has now been riding again for three weeks and expects to return to GP action in the near future.
Tommy Searle
“I posted some fast laps during the practice sessions, and then got a good start in the qualifying race but made a mistake in a corner after a few laps and couldn’t pick the bike up as I’ve had pain in my knee and meniscus from a previous crash. I couldn’t ride like my true self but I keep trying to do my best and stay positive. We’ve not had much luck in recent weeks but the speed is there and if we keep going and going the results will come soon.”
François Lemariey (KRT team manager)
“It was tough weekend for us as Clement couldn’t ride. He had to rest all week after his crash at Kegums; nothing is broken but it’s still painful and he did not have enough strength to ride. He made a test during the free practice session and we decided together that it was better not to race; he needs to be strong enough before riding so we’ll review the situation next week. Jordi has been riding again for three weeks and he will be soon back to the GPs.”
MXGP 2016 – Round Seven – Teutschenthal, Germany – MXGP Results
MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 35:21.882; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:04.991; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:12.252; 4. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:16.655; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:26.742; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:28.779; 7. Ben Townley (NZL, Suzuki), +0:42.598; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:49.103; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:51.085; 10. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +1:01.916.
MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 33:52.905; 2. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:02.783; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:03.349; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:19.696; 5. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:22.314; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:25.657; 7. Ben Townley (NZL, Suzuki), +0:29.384; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:31.077; 9. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:33.268; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:44.820.
MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 40 p.; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 35 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 35 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 31 p.; 6. Ben Townley (NZL, SUZ), 28 p.; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 27 p.; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, HUS), 26 p.; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 25 p.; 10. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 23 p.
MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 299 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 291 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 263 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 238 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 232 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 215 p.; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 169 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 168 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 139 p.; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 136 p.
MXGP Manufacturer: 1. Honda, 305 points; 2. Yamaha, 298 p.; 3. KTM, 270 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 249 p.; 5. Suzuki, 192 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 154 p.
Related Link – Click here to read about Hunter Lawrence’s double victory in Germany
MX2 2016 – Round Seven – Teutschenthal, Germany
Jeffrey Herlings, clearly suffering from a dose of flu and accompanying fever, was slower than usual out of the gates in his opening race. He put in a handful of laps at fifth and fourth position before advancing to second. He hit the front in the seventh lap after making the pass on early leader Dylan Ferrandis.
The Dutch rider then broke away on his KTM 250 SX-F, and while it was not with his usual velocity, he still finished to complete the opening moto almost 15 seconds in front. He remarked immediately after the race that he expected the second race to be much harder, as his illness was sapping his strength.
Herlings also has some problems at the start of the second race and in the process he hurt his ankle, which he said later was very painful. This incident made his ride all the more impressive because he still managed to salvage the win in the last lap of the race. He was fifth at the start after the incident with his ankle and sat out more than half the race between 4th an 5th before engaging in a serious battle with Jeremy Seewer. The two had advanced up to the front of the pack but it was still Seewer who had the edge going into the last lap. Herlings finally managed to make the pass stick and went on to secure the win.
Jeffrey Herlings
“My ankle hurts pretty bad but we have to make the best of it and now I have 5-6 day to recover. It has been a bad weekend also because I was sick but I managed to keep my winning streak going and that’s really positive.” When asked about his ankle injury Herlings said: “A rider cut me off and I sort of lost my balance and landed on my ankle. That was not so nice, but I guess that’s racing.”
Herlings now has 350 points, an unblemished scorecard, having won all fourteen races for maximum points from the seven rounds so far. His nearest rival is Seewer in second place with 270 points.
You’d never guess that Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Dylan Ferrandis has literally just been given the all clear to race. He landed on the second step of the podium for the second time this year and tributes his good results to his awesome starts where he took the Fox Holeshot in race one and missed it by a hair in race two.
Dylan Ferrandis
“It was a good weekend, even if I’m not yet at my best level. After Latvia I was unable to do any activities for two days, but hopefully I will feel better tonight and we’ll be able to do some testing this week. Due to my injury we had no time to test on hard tracks before coming here, and all weekend long we worked with the team on the settings of the bike. I got two holeshots this weekend and narrowly missed the third one, and then did good races but never took any risks. I wasn’t confident on Saturday but today was better and now I just need some more weeks to be back at my best level.”
Team Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer left his diesel engine at home this weekend. Instead he was running on 100% race fuel as he rode like a man possessed all weekend. The Swiss rider was fastest in Free Practice and Timed Practice on Saturday and finished second in Qualifying. He crashed in the first moto today and came from around twentieth all the way to fourth, but the real head turner was when he put the challenge to Herlings and almost won the final race. The Suzuki star on the rise finished third overall.
Jeremy Seewer
“It was a really good weekend for me overall and started with practice. I was feeling good today but made a mistake on the first lap of the first moto that cost me a lot of places. I was happy to manage to come back to fourth because it is not so easy to pass here. I made a good start in the second moto but then Pauls [Jonass] crashed in front of me, which cost me two spots. They had put quite a lot of water on the track so I had to be careful. I took the opportunity when I had it to get in the lead and defend it as well as possible. It is amazing to be up front; it is what we are working for.”
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s MX2 rider Max Anstie raced an impressive opening moto battling his way from 10th in the first few corners to third at the chequered flag. The Brit returned stronger in moto two to grab a convincing lead a few corners after the gate dropped. Leading the way for the most part of the race, Anstie frustratingly hit a soft spot on the track while landing from a big jump and fell. Picking himself up he crossed the line fifth to wrap up the GP with fourth overall.
Max Anstie
“Despite us being a bit unlucky in moto two it was a good weekend and I feel that we’ve made a few more steps in the right direction. We could have won the second race and it felt so nice to be in that position. I was leading the race with less than ten minutes to go but jumped a bit too far, landing in a spot I shouldn’t have landed on and crashed. The track was pretty soft and that made things worse. That’s the way it goes and luckily I’m pretty solid now and haven’t hurt myself. We now have to get things sorted out again and head to the next round in Italy to do battle for the top.”
Kemea Yamaha Official MX rider Benoit Paturel scored his first Top-5 finish of 2016. Teammate Brent Van doninck finished 6th despite continuing hip pain.
Paturel started poorly in the first moto, jumping his gate too early and remaining stuck in the metal barrier as the MX2 pack roared off into the distance. But the Belgian rider put in the ride of the day to chase back through into 7th at the finish despite a hard and slick track with deep ruts that kicked many riders off their chosen lines. In the second race Paturel improved his start tremendously and held third until mid-race before slipping one position to 4th at the finish.
Van doninck crashed in the first lap of moto one and spent energy to recover his position before finishing 8th, but the Belgian MX2 rider said his hip became painful in the second moto while trying to ride on the physically taxing track, though he finished one place higher than in the early race.
Tonkov had a very fast start in the first moto, and was in hot pursuit of Pauls Jonass of Latvia and Max Anstie of Great Britain in a tight race for the podium until Jeremy Seewer of Switzerland passed the Russian and left him in 6th place. In the second moto Tonkov crashed with three laps remaining and said his chest and ribs were sore enough to keep him from finishing higher than 13th in the moto and 10th overall. Teammate Östlund struggled on the Teutschenthal course, crashing in the first turn of the first moto and then finding himseld stuck behind a pack of riders scrambling for lines.
For his Top-5 in Teutschenthal Paturel is now up to 5th overall in the World Championship, tied on points but one spot behind Tonkov in 4th. Van doninck rises back into the Top-10 with a 20-point gap to the next rider, and Östlund slips two spots to 12th.
Brent Van doninck
“The track was rough and it was really difficult today, and I’m a little bit disappointed because I know I can do better, but because of my hip it’s difficult to do two races. Especially on this course where you need to keep the leg so high. I know I can do better, and I just need to go step by step. I hope to do even better in Italy, because this week was a better result than Latvia.”
MXGP 2016 – Round Seven – Teutschenthal, Germany – MX2 Results
MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:21.787; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:14.877; 3. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:21.575; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:26.760; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:30.964; 6. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +0:34.711; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:38.264; 8. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:44.503; 9. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +0:49.671; 10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:54.844.
MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:26.873; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:02.365; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:19.820; 4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:21.421; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:38.093; 6. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +0:39.619; 7. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:41.667; 8. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +0:53.490; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:59.281; 10. Roberts Justs (LAT, KTM), +1:02.044.
MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 42 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 40 p.; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 36 p.; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 32 p.; 6. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 27 p.; 7. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 25 p.; 8. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 23 p.
MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 350 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 270 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 218 p.; 4. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 186 p.; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 186 p.; 6. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 183 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 162 p.; 8. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 157 p.; 9. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 149 p.; 10. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 129 p.
MX2 Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 350 points; 2. Suzuki, 270 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 244 p.; 4. Yamaha, 243 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 218 p.; 6. TM, 149 p.; 7. Honda, 132 p.
WMX 2016 – Round Seven – Teutschenthal, Germany
Females love cloudless blue skies, and summer time vibes, even those that don’t get the chance to lie on a towel on a grass hill or a beach somewhere. The girls racing the third round of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship were far from the beach and from water this weekend, instead they were enjoying the glorious sun here in Teutschenthal, Germany where they went bar-to-bar for valuable championship points.
The WMX world championship has thrown some curve balls over the years. Team One One Four’s Livia Lancelot had bad luck last year with another rider crashing in front of her while she was leading the championship, while it has been the defending world champion MXFontaRacing Syneco’s Kiara Fontanesi who has been in the wars early this season.
Coming into the WMX round of Germany, Altherm JCR Yamaha’s Courtney Duncan had the red plate and took the lead early on in race one. The kiwi was looking in good shape to take her fourth race win of the season, but crashed and took a while to rejoin. She did brave her way to twelfth but was injured and didn’t line up today. Meanwhile, the 2008 WMX World Champion Livia Lancelot capitalized on Duncan’s misfortune and took her first race win of the season, but had her work cut out for her in the second race after a bad start and took a hard fought victory for a perfect 50 point score and her first WMX overall victory of the season.
Livia Lancelot
“I’m so happy to win both races and get the red plate, but for sure I need to work on my starts even though I get good ones when I train. Today in the second race I was only twelfth in the first corner but came back fast behind van de Ven and Laier; I had very good lines and rode smoothly so I passed both of them to win the race. I wanted to win the GP, especially here as I like this track and it will be great to go to the French GP next month with the red plate. I don’t want to think about the championship, I just want to win races; last year I was thinking too much about the title and in the end I lost it.”
Silver Action KTM Racing’s Amadine Verstappen took the holeshot today in race 2 with the four-time FIM Women’s Motocross World Champion Kiara Fontanesi hot on her heels. Fontanesi wasted no time in taking over the lead and went to work while the last round winner, Nancy Van de Ven moved into second and set her sights on Fontanesi. Meanwhile the race one winner, Team One One Four’s Livia Lancelot was asleep on the gate and got off to a shocking start. Nevertheless the French super star knuckled down and carved her way through the pack with ease. By lap two, Lancelot had gone from outside the top fifteen into sixth where she found herself battling with Larissa Papenmeier for fifth. Papenmeier has won a WMX round here in Teutschenthal before, so she knows the lines and runs a hot pace. After a couple of laps of cat and mouse Lancelot eventually got the job done and moved into fifth.
At the half way mark, Fontanesi, who had a comfortable lead, got caught by a gust of wind on one of the biggest jumps out here and landed on the side of the down ramp before rag dolling down the track. Amazingly, Fontanesi got up straight away but was a bit beat up pulled out.
With Fontanesi out of the challenge, Van de Ven inherited the lead but got dropped back to second by the local lady and former world champion Steffi Laier who was reveling in the rough and rutty conditions. Meanwhile Lancelot was on a mission and chomped down the gap that the leaders had pulled. Her lines were dialed and she managed to make light work of both Van de Ven and Laier to take the lead with three laps to go.
Lancelot lit the candles for the second time this weekend ahead of Laier, Van de Ven, Papenmeier and Julie Dalgaard.
This weekend in Germany was the Livia Lancelot show as the French lady who owns and rides for her own team, Team One One Four Kawasaki, won both moto’s for her first overall victory and the red plate. German Steffi Laier did the locals proud with a 2 – 3 result for second overall while Yamaha’s Nancy Van de Ven uncorked her third bottle of bubbles this season in third.
WMX Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), 25:25.647; 2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:04.121; 3. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), +0:11.856; 4. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), +0:23.478; 5. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), +0:31.349; 6. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, Honda), +1:01.150; 7. Madison Brown (AUS, Yamaha), +1:27.840; 8. Anne Borchers (GER, Suzuki), +1:30.741; 9. Mariana Balbi (BRA, Kawasaki), +1:32.959; 10. Shana van der Vlist (NED, Yamaha), +1:33.976.
WMX Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Livia Lancelot (FRA, Kawasaki), 25:40.132; 2. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), +0:03.120; 3. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, Yamaha), +0:09.645; 4. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, Suzuki), +0:42.125; 5. Julie Dalgaard (DEN, Honda), +0:49.643; 6. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), +0:51.075; 7. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), +0:59.929; 8. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, Suzuki), +1:07.130; 9. Emelie Dahl (SWE, Yamaha), +1:10.109; 10. Madison Brown (AUS, Yamaha), +1:19.290.
WMX Overall Top Ten: 1. Livia Lancelot (FRA, KAW), 50 points; 2. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 42 p.; 4. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, SUZ), 36 p.; 5. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Madison Brown (AUS, YAM), 25 p.; 7. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 24 p.; 8. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, SUZ), 21 p.; 9. Mariana Balbi (BRA, KAW), 21 p.; 10. Anne Borchers (GER, SUZ), 20 p.
WMX Championship Top Ten: 1. Livia Lancelot (FRA, KAW), 136 points; 2. Nancy Van De Ven (NED, YAM), 125 p.; 3. Courtney Duncan (NZL, YAM), 102 p.; 4. Larissa Papenmeier (GER, SUZ), 96 p.; 5. Amandine Verstappen (BEL, KTM), 88 p.; 6. Natalie Kane (IRL, KTM), 77 p.; 7. Stephanie Laier (GER, KTM), 69 p.; 8. Kiara Fontanesi (ITA, HON), 67 p.; 9. Britt Van Der Werff (NED, SUZ), 63 p.; 10. Shana van der Vlist (NED, YAM), 59 p.
WMX Manufacturer: 1. Yamaha, 142 points; 2. Kawasaki, 136 p.; 3. KTM, 107 p.; 4. Suzuki, 99 p.; 5. Honda, 98 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 18 p.
Related Link – Click here to read about Hunter Lawrence’s double victory in Germany
