Without a doubt, the 2017 MXGP of Trentino is a race that will go down in MXGP legend with Red Bull KTM’s Cairoli and Prado winners at the Trentino GP in Italy.
The MXGP Overall winner, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tony Cairoli, provided one of the most amazing displays of heart and determination ever seen in a World Motocross Championship race, while MX2 stablemate Jorge Prado Garcia scratched his name in the record books claiming his first career victory.
Tony Cairoli goes into beast mode
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tony Cairoli is the champion of the weekend. The Italian came into Sunday’s race with pole position and used it to his advantage in Race 1, where he took the Fox Holeshot and won after leading every lap.
The Italian crowd loved what they were seeing out of Cairoli, creating an amazing atmosphere.
When the gate dropped in Race 2 though, everything changed.
The Italian started well enough, going across the Fox Holeshot line just behind Gajser but he made a mistake and got stuck in the second corner.
The error put him back in 20th spot and the Italian fans couldn’t believe their eyes.
With his first race being a victory and Gajser out front Cairoli needed to place second in Race 2 to claim the GP win. And after the first lap, Cairoli crossed the line in 15th position having already passed several riders.
But with 13 of the world’s best motocross riders between him and the overall, the task of winning seemed impossible.
Cairoli found motivation in the form of the Italian fans cheering and he started his amazing comeback, gaining positions one lap after another – he would eventually catch the #4 of Arnaud Tonus in sixth position, who forced Cairoli to get creative with his passing.
Cairoli finally found a way through and passed Tonus on lap 13 and he would use this same spot on the track lap after lap, passing Gautier Paulin, Clement Desalle, Jeffrey Herlings, and most significantly Evgeny Borbryshev for second on the penultimate lap.
The eight-time champion wore his heart on his sleeve and with his miraculous ride, he claimed the 79th overall of his career in front of his home crowd in dramatic and historic fashion.
In the press conference, Cairoli said: “I just kept pushing and pushing trying to make passes and it worked, I’m really happy! I had some sketchy moments but if you want to win you have to take some risks. It’s a very special race, one of my best GPs ever!”
Watch: MXGP of Trentino highlights
Team HRC’s Tim Gajser had a good weekend, after briefly leading in Race 1 he eventually finished third.
For Gajser this is one of his closest GPs to his home country of Slovenia with many fans and national media making the trip he wanted to provide them with a win. He did so in Race 2, grabbing the holeshot and leading all 19 laps. And though he would have liked to take the overall, he gladly maintains the MXGP Red Plate. “I’m quite happy with the weekend,” said Gajser. “The Slovenian crowd was amazing, thank you to them for making the trip.”
Wilvo Yamaha MXGP’s Arnaud Tonus made history of his own in Italy, scoring his first MXGP podium finish.
Tonus rode incredibly over the weekend – he nearly grabbed the FOX Holeshot in Race 1, only missing out only to Cairoli and he was in third the first 10 of 19 laps before passing the championship leader Tim Gajser. Tonus finished the race in second and thanks to Cairoli’s pass on Bobryshev in Race 2 his seventh place resulted in him finishing third overall.
“It feels a bit weird to be on the podium,” Tonus said honestly. “The first moto was great for me and it was a big step in the right direction.
“Overall I’m really happy for my team, they have been working really hard so I’m very pleased to be up here.”
Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev narrowly missed out on the podium with his 7-3 results. Bobryshev started Race 2 just behind his HRC teammate Tim Gajser and stayed there for 17 laps before being passed by the undeniable Cairoli. Bobryshev’s consistently strong performances have him fourth in the championship going to Valkenswaard.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin was one of the fastest riders this weekend.
After finishing second in Qualifying and claiming the fastest lap on Saturday, he battled among the top five in both races finishing fourth in Race 1 and sixth in Race 2. Paulin’s fifth overall is likely to motivate him to a race win in the upcoming rounds. He now sits fifth in the championship tied with Bobryshev on 145 points.
Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle had good starts in Trentino. In Race 1 his position never changed but in Race 2 he shuffled around a bit before getting back to where started. His consistent 5-5 results put him in sixth overall on the weekend and he will remain third overall in the championship.
A good start in Race 2 propelled Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings to his best performance this season finishing fourth. Combined with his 14th in Race one, Herlings moved to eighth overall.
Full and mobile friendly MXGP results are available on our 2017 MXGP of Trentino results page.
MXGP Race 1 Top 10
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 33:35.084; 2. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:02.278; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:06.158; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:07.369; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:09.722; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:11.423; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:40.550; 8. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:42.972; 9. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:44.773; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:47.504.
MXGP Race 2 Top 10
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 33:36.300; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:04.165; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:06.147; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:06.881; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:08.830; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:10.714; 7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:12.642; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:15.933; 9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:23.945; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:31.173.
MXGP Overall Top 10
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 45 p.; 3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 36 p.; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 34 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 33 p.; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 32 p.; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 28 p.; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 22 p.; 10. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, SUZ), 19 p.
MXGP Championship Top 10
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 201 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 183 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 151 p.; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 145 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 145 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 144 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 106 p.; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 101 p.; 9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 95 p.; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 90 p.
MXGP Manufacturers
1. Honda, 201 points; 2. KTM, 187 p.; 3. Yamaha, 173 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 153 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 151 p.; 6. Suzuki, 100 p.
Jorge Prado takes his first win at 16
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado Garcia won his first career MX2 GP in Trentino, at the age of 16!
The young Spaniard had the results of a veteran, finishing a strong second in Race 1 and even more impressive was his FOX Holeshot and ability to hold off his hard-charging teammate Pauls Jonass.
“I’m feeling really good, winning my first GP and doing it on a hard-packed track is really good for me as I’m normally best on sand,” offered Prado. “I don’t think there are words for the way I feel – it’s really emotional because it’s not easy to win a GP.”
Jonass was a top competitor in Trentino, challenging the overall until the end of the second race. Jonass improved significantly on his Saturday performance when he won Race 1 and took the holeshot.
Jonass now takes the points lead with him to Valkenswaard after his second overall result. “I made some little changes this morning,” explained Jonass. “I’m happy with a second place because after yesterday I was thinking that I could get a top 10 but now I’m second overall and I’m happy with the weekend.”
LRT KTM’s Julien Lieber consistent season continued in Trentino where he finished third in Race 1. He battled for third in Race 2 before being passed by the two Husqvarna riders, Olsen and Covington, late in the race leaving him unable to respond.
His consistency is proving valuable though, allowing him to finish third overall and stay third in the championship only seven points back of the current points leader, Pauls Jonass.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen had a good weekend, all in all, he won Saturday’s Qualifying Race and on Sunday he had a fifth in Race 1 and sixth in Race 2 for fourth overall.
He made some mistakes along the way and now he will look to eliminate them for the next rounds.
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Covington came into Trentino with new confidence after winning in Leon.
Thomas struggled in Race 1 though, only scoring 10 points with his 11th place finish.
But in Race 2 he found his form once again, making passes in the top five and finishing third his results combined gave him the final spot in the top five overall.
For Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer Race 1 is a race that he would love to have back.
Seewer’s start lacked and it was then compounded by a fall on the first lap where he rejoined in 22nd position.
The Swiss rider fought his way back to ninth before falling in the same corner again. He remounted quickly though and he managed to hold on to ninth at the chequers.
In Race 2, the Swiss rider started and finished in fourth position, giving him sixth overall and in turn, he handed over the MX2 Red Plate to title rival, Jonass.
Full and mobile friendly results are available on our 2017 Trentino GP results page.
MX2 Race 1 Top 10
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 34:10.629; 2. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:01.498; 3. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +0:02.887; 4. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +0:11.055; 5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:33.985; 6. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:37.855; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +0:39.695; 8. Brian Hsu (GER, Husqvarna), +0:41.316; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:45.901; 10. Conrad Mewse (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:50.089.
MX2 Race 2 Top 10
1. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 33:41.859; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:02.010; 3. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:03.078; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:03.503; 5. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +0:13.092; 6. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:23.083; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:43.966; 8. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +0:46.843; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:49.002; 10. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +0:49.844.
MX2 Overall Top 10
1. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 47 points; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 47 p.; 3. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 31 p.; 5. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 30 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 30 p.; 7. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 29 p.; 8. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 21 p.; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 16 p.; 10. Conrad Mewse (GBR, HUS), 16 p.
MX2 Championship Top 10
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 192 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 183 p.; 3. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 175 p.; 4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 158 p.; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 147 p.; 6. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 123 p.; 7. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 117 p.; 8. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 113 p.; 9. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 110 p.; 10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 99 p.
MX2 Manufacturers
MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 234 points; 2. Suzuki, 183 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 178 p.; 4. Yamaha, 168 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 138 p.; 6. Honda, 99 p.; 7. TM, 93 p.
