Qatar: Cairoli, Desalle and Herlings take Qatar MXGP top honours

Losail (Qatar), 2 March 2013 –The GP of Qatar was for the first time held under lights. The competition also launched a new three-race format (instead of four motos). MX2 and MX1 races resulted in the top 18 riders advancing to the Super Final. They were joined by the top 2 MX2 & MX1 from a Last Chance Final for the combined final. This format is being used at the four overseas races – Qatar, Thailand, Mexico and Brazil.

Antonio Cairoli won the Super Final, Clement Desalle took second and Gautier Paulin completed the top three.

Desalle obtained most points in the MX1 class, ahead of Antonio Cairoli and Gautier Paulin.

Jeffrey Herlings was the first MX2 rider in the Super Final by finishing in the seventh place and he took away red plate for winning the first MX2 race.

MX1 Race 1 Report

Rockstar Energy Suzuki MX1’s Clement Desalle started the race in the fourth position and he gave chase relentlessly. By lap fourteen, the Belgian rider was already leading the heat. Desalle admitted that he had to push a lot to overtake all the riders, but at the same time he said that he felt really good on his bike.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker started third, but he succeeded in overtaking Bobryshev and Strijbos who were at the front, and he led the following seven laps. His compatriot Desalle was coming really fast from behind, and even if De Dycker gave his best, he had to settle down for the second position.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli had a good reaction when the gate dropped, but he hit something with the bike, he lost a bit of power and he lost some speed. Besides, Nagl almost touched him, so the Italian closed the gas and he dropped down to the last position. However, after a few corners Cairoli was already among the top twenty, and by the middle of the race the Italian was fourth. The Red Bull KTM Factory rider admitted that he got really tired by the end of the race, as he was able to see the leading group and he did not want to finish fourth. In the end, Cairoli finished third of the MX1 race 1.

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin admitted that he had really good feeling on his bike during race one, and although he crashed while he was fifth, he was able to recuperate himself really quickly and crossed the finish line fourth.

Kevin Strijbos, winner of the ‘Get Athena Holeshot Award’, could not keep the lead, and after making several mistakes, he had to settle down with the sixth position, ahead of Tommy Searle and Shaun Simpson.

MX1 Race 1 top ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 40:02.285; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:08.309; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:09.774; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:11.672; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:13.348; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:19.233; 7. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:45.330; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, TM), +0:48.315; 9. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:49.098; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, KTM), +0:56.834;

MX1 Championship top ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 47 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 45 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 38 p.; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 34 p.; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 30 p.; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 30 p.; 8. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 22 p.; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, TM), 20 p.;

MX1 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 47 points; 2. Suzuki, 47 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 38 p.; 4. Honda, 34 p.; 5. Yamaha, 22 p.; 6. TM, 20 p.;

MX2 Race 1 Report

The first group to race today were the MX2 riders wheres Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings won the heat with more than thirty seconds difference over the second classified Glenn Coldenhoff. The Dutch rider managed to overtake Coldenhoff in the second lap and he pulled away from the rest of the pack until the finish line.

KTM’s Glenn Coldenhoff had an excellent start and obtained the ‘Get Athena Holeshot Award’ and he dominated the first two laps of the race. His compatriot Jeffrey Herlings was coming much faster from behind, so Coldenhoff focused on keeping the second position from Christophe Charlier and Romain Febvre.

The third classified was Monster Energy Yamaha’s Christophe Charlier, who exchanged the fourth position several times with Febvre in the beginning of the race, when Coldenhoff, Herlings and Teillet were racing at the front. The French rider, who had won the qualifying race the previous day, made a small mistake in the first lap and he had to enter the pitlane to have his bike repaired. In the end, Teillet could not finish the race.

Wilvo Nestaan JM Racing KTM’s Romain Febvre had a really good start and he managed to move from fifth to third in the first half of the race. However, he made a mistake  and he lost many seconds on Coldenhoff. The French rider ended fourth in the race.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Dean Ferris was fifth after the start, but Febvre overtook him easily in the beginning of the race. Ferris kept on giving it all, but he was not able to catch the front group and had to settle down with the fifth position. As soon as the race finished, the Australian and his team made several important changes on the bike in order to try to ride for the top positions in the following heat.

Arnaud Tonus, as well as Valentin Teillet, had to pull out from the race due to a mechanical problem, while Max Anstie crashed while he was riding fifth and he had to call it a day.

MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:51.449; 2. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:31.544; 3. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:32.888; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), +0:44.961; 5. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), +0:59.726; 6. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:03.051; 7. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:11.094; 8. Julien Lieber (BEL, Suzuki), +1:12.485; 9. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), +1:17.280; 10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:28.001; 11.

MX2 Championship top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 38 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 33 p.; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 26 p.; 8. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), 25 p.; 9. Julien Lieber (BEL, Suzuki), 24 p.; 10. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 21 p.;

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 50 points; 2. Yamaha, 42 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 25 p.; 4. Suzuki, 25 p.; 5. Honda, 12 p.; 6. TM, 2 p.;

Super Final Report

The MX1 and MX2 lined-up for the Super Final and it was Clement Desalle who took the holeshot of this final heat. The Belgian was leading the race, but Cairoli was coming really fast from behind, and the Italian did not think twice and he used the first opportunity to overtake Desalle. The Belgian rode a consistent race and he finished second in front of Paulin, who admitted that he did not have a perfect start, but he managed to move from sixth to third.

The fourth position of the Super Final went for Honda World Motocross’ Evgeny Bobryshev, who once again rode a very solid moto. The Russian rode third most of the race, but having four laps to go, he was overtaken by Paulin. In the end, Bobryshev crossed the finish line fourth.

CLS MX2 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Tommy Searle did not have a really good start in the Super Final, but he managed to move from eighth to fifth, crossing the finish line ahead of Strijbos, who had had a good start but he could not hold his initial third position.

Seventh was Herlings, the best MX2 rider in the Super Final, ahead of De Dycker, Frossard and Philippaerts. The second best MX2 rider was Dean Ferris in thirteenth and the third one was Romain Febvre in sixteenth.

Jeremy Van Horebeek crashed in the beginning of the Super Final and his bike was too damaged to keep on racing. Maxime Desprey and Jason Dougan did not finish the Super Final either due to some mechanical problems.

Super Final top 10: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 39:55.020; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:07.472; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:09.834; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:11.515; 5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:11.809; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:16.592; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:25.914; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:39.408; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +0:44.527; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), +0:53.888;

 

 

Losail Motorcross Championship Support Race

The South African rider Anthony Raynad won the second race of Losail MX Championship round 2 at Losail MX Track. The Yamaha rider, crossed the finish line with a gap of 36.830 ahead Dennis Stapleton, the winner of yesterday race. Stapleton lead the race in the first two laps but in the third lap, Raynare overtook him and lead the race until the end.

The third rider to cross the line was the rider from the Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki, Livia Lancelot from France. Raynard and Lancerlot were competing in the MX2 category whereas Stapleton rides in the MX1 category.

In the MX1 category, the winner was Stapleton.  Sean Gaugin from UAE and Olivier Eveleigh were second and third respectively. In the MX2 category, the winner was Anthony Raynard. Llivia Lancelot was second and Ross Runnals was third.

Regarding the championship standings, Dennis Stapleton is leading the MX1 category with 50 points and Mishary Aboushaibah from Kuwait is second. In third place Moaath Al Ansari also from Kuwait. In the MX2, Abdullah Al Shatti from Kuwait is leading his category. Hassan Ahmed from Bahrain is second and Barak Aljasmi is third.