VALKENSWAARD (THE NETHERLANDS), 25 April 2011 – Antonio Cairoli was back on the top of the podium in Valkenswaard while other KTM rider Jeffrey Herlings achieved a new victory at his home track.
Steven Frossard is the new leader of the FIM MX1 world championship and Ken Roczen kept the red plate after the second GP of the season.
Valkenswaard got a completely different podium in the MX1 class in comparison with the one in Bulgaria which shows how competitive the championship is going to be this year. Antonio Cairoli had an outstanding weekend achieving the overall victory even still having problems with his left knee. Second overall was Max Nagl thanks to his 3-1 result and the third overall position was for David Philippaerts whose last podium was back in 2010 at the Brazilian GP.
In the MX2 class Jeffrey Herlings obtained a consistent victory winning both heats with superb authority while his team-mate Ken Roczen could not keep Herlings’ rhythm. Third overall was Tommy Searle with a solid 3-3 result and he is now in the third position of the championship just two points away from Herlings.
The UEM EMX-2 Championship started this weekend in Valkenswaard with Michael Van Wezel as the first leader of the series. Second was Jens Getteman and Russian Aleksandr Tonkov completed the top three.
MX1
Red Bull Teka Factory Racing MX1’s Toni Cairoli obtained his first GP victory of the season after his ninth position in Bulgaria. Due to his knee injury, the Italian had not ridden for the last two weeks but he felt really comfortable on his KTM and managed to win both heats. Cairoli expressed his satisfaction for being back again on the top and he is looking forward to repeat such performance in the upcoming GP in the USA.
Red Bull Teka KTM Factory Racing MX1’s Max Nagl was second overall but he admitted that if he had been mentally better during the first heat he might have obtained the overall victory. The German felt much better on the second moto and took the lead after eight laps.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s David Philippaerts was on the podium after his 4-3 result. The Italian rode second most of the second moto and eventually he managed to take the lead over Rui Gonçalves. However, the Italian lost too much energy overtaking the Portuguese and had to settle down with a final third position.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Steven Frossard was fourth overall and tight in points with his team-mate Philippaerts. The Frenchman hurt his collarbone yesterday during the qualifying race and had to cope with the pain during both GP races. Frossard started the first race in the lead but Cairoli overtook him during the eighth lap. Thanks to this weekend’s results, Frossard has become the new leader of the MX1 class already on his second GP in the MX1 class.
Fifth place was Rui Gonçalves from Honda World Motocross team with a 6-4 result. The Portuguese took the holeshot of race two and led it for six laps. Gonçalves was too open on a corner and moved from first to fourth after being overtaken by Philippaerts, Nagl and Frossard.
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1’s Clement Desalle lost the red plate after his performance in Valkenswaard. The Belgian started both races among the top group but he could not keep the leader’s rhythm and finished sixth and fifth respectively. Desalle is now third in the championship, two points away from Nagl and seven points behind championship leader Frossard.
LS Honda Racing’s Ken De Dycker could not show his riding skills on the sand this weekend and a 7-8 result made him finish with a seventh overall position.
Evgeny Bobryshev did a really good start in the first race and got the lovemytime holeshot award. However, his bike stalled, he had a small crash and went down to the sixth position. The Russian struggled to keep the rhythm of the leading riders and he made another mistake by the end of the race which made him finish 10th. On the second race he got a solid seventh position. Ninth was Tanel Leok and Steve Ramon completed the top 10.
On his first appearance in the championship, Ben Townley took only part in the first race and he finished 19th. The New Zealander was very tired after the first moto and he decided not to race and keep some energy for the third GP of the season.
Jonathan Barragan, who was third in Bulgaria, had to settle down with a 12th overall position. The Spanish rider was involved in a tangle at the start of race one and he kept on making mistakes throughout both heats. At the moment, he is placed seventh in the championship standings.
Home rider Marc De Reuver finished 15th after being 11th in race one and getting a DNF due to a crash in race two.
MX2
Red Bull Teka Factory Racing MX2’s Jeffrey Herlings obtained his second overall victory in home soil. In the first race, Herlings had to stand Roczen’s pressure when the German was closing the gap but Roczen made a mistake and Herlings held the lead until the chequered flag. In the second heat, it was Herlings who crashed at the opening lap but he recuperated the lead already on lap two.
Second overall was his team-mate Ken Roczen after two solid second places. The German confessed that he had changed his training habits and he felt much more tired on the bike. However, Roczen is still the leader of the MX2 class and he is looking forward to Glen Helen in two weeks time.
CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Tommy Searle completed the third step of the podium after finishing third in both heats. The British rider confessed that it was difficult for him to get good starts on the sand and had to fight really hard to climb up from seventh and sixth positions.
Arnaud Tonus from Bike-it Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha had an excellent weekend in Valkenswaard and he missed the podium only for four points. The Swiss rider showed how much talent he has by starring in different battles with several riders like Gautier Paulin in race one or Tommy Searle in race two. Tonus has improved two positions in the point standings and he is now fourth behind Searle.
Fifth was Monster Energy Yamaha’s Gautier Paulin who didn’t manage to find a good rhythm in the sandy track of Valkenswaard and he could only be fifth and sixth respectively.
The sixth overall position was for Joel Roelants from Nestea JM Racing KTM team who had a very tight battle with Gautier Paulin during the second race. Roelants succeeded in overtaking the Frenchman and finished in a solid fifth position.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Harri Kullas finished seventh in the first race but he got an excellent start in the second heat and he was placed third in the opening lap. The Finish rider tried to keep the rhythm but he was finally seventh by the end of the race.
American Zach Osborne struggled the whole weekend trying to find good lines and catch the leading riders and his sixth and eighth positions left him eighth overall.
Max Anstie did not finish the weekend as he had expected and had to settle down with a final ninth position while Nicola Larsen got a decent 10th place.
MX1 series standings
1 Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha) 85
2 Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM) 80
3 Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki) 78
4 Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM) 72
5 David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha) 63
6 Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda) 62
7 Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki) 53
8 Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda) 52
9 Davide Guarneri (ITA, Kawasaki) 45
10 Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki) 42
MX2 series standings
1 Ken Roczen (GER, KTM) 94
2 Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM) 86
3 Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki) 84
4 Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha) 67
5 Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha) 65
6 Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha) 60
7 Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki) 51
8 Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM) 48
9 Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha) 46
10 Nicolas Aubin (FRA, KTM) 36
