Race Report: FIM World Motocross Championships, German GP

german-gp

Cairoli and Herlings still unstoppable at sweltering Lausitzring

LAUSITZRING (Germany), 28 July 2013 – The EuroSpeedway of Lausitzring, located not far from Berlin, hosted the thirteenth Grand Prix of the FIM Motocross World Championship and despite the high temperatures, 16000 people attended the first ever Grand Prix at the Circus Maximus. Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings handed another overall victory to KTM, while Clement Desalle and Ken De Dycker were second and third in MX1 and Jordi Tixier and Glenn Coldenhoff completed the MX2 podium.
Gautier Paulin crashed in the beginning of the first race when he was in the lead and he had to be taken to the hospital as he sustained a hefty concussion. The French rider is ok, but he will spend the night over in a local hospital near the track. Tomorrow Paulin will travel to France to have further exams and he might not be able to take part in the upcoming Grand Prix next weekend.

The final race of the fourth round of the EMX125 European Championship took place this morning at Lausitzring and Pauls Jonass obtained a comfortable victory ahead of Calvin Vlaanderen and Anton Lundgren. During the German Grand Prix also took place the opening round of the Honda EMX150 series and Britains Mitchell Lewis became the first leader of the championship after winning with great authority today. Italians Alberto Forato and Filippo Grigoletto completed the top three.

MX1
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli felt really good during the whole weekend and he admitted that it was thanks to the fact that he was finally able to do some physical training before the weekend. The Italian found the track quite demanding and whereas in the first race he could not catch Clement Desalle and had to settle down with the second position, in the second race Cairoli took the holeshot and dominated the heat until the chequered flag. At the end of the event Cairoli explained that he really likes racing in places with outstanding facilities like the ones at Lausitzring and he believes that the FIM Motocross World Championship needs to go towards this direction.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Clement Desalle finished tight in points with Cairoli but his 1-2 result made him finish on the second step of the podium. The Belgian rider explained that his start was not that good in the first moto, but he quickly found the good rhythm to take the lead and open a big gap with the rest of the riders. Desalle made several mistakes during the rest of the heat, but he succeeded to stay on two wheels and won the first race. In the second one he battled with Tommy Searle for the second position during a couple of laps, but in the end Desalle managed to open a gap with the British rider and started giving chase to Cairoli. However, Desalle could not catch the Italian and crossed the finish line second. Desalle is now second in the MX1 championship, but he is 108 points away from Cairoli.

The third overall position went for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker after finishing fourth and third in today’s races. The Belgian admitted that he struggled a lot with the heat, but in the end he was able to obtain two solid results and made it to the podium. De Dycker enjoyed riding the German track but he explained that if it had not been so hot, he would have been able to do it much better. The Belgian is now third in the point standings.

CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy Pro Circuit’s Tommy Searle was a bit disappointed today as he missed the podium being tight in 38 points with De Dycker. In the first race Searle obtained a strong third place but in the second one he was only able to finish fourth. The British rider was second in the first lap of the second race, but Desalle was coming really fast from behind and after exchanging the second position several times, Searle could not follow the rhythm and dropped down to the fourth place.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos struggled once again with his starts but as usual he was able to make two incredible recoveries. The Belgian finished fifth in both races, but while in the first one he started from the seventh place, in the second one Strijbos had to move up from an initial thirteenth position. Kevin Strijbos is still fifth in the championship and Tommy Searle is now 22 points away from the Belgian.

David Philippaerts obtained the best result of the season this weekend by finishing sixth overall. In the first race Philippaerts got stuck behind Karro and Guarneri when his compatriot crashed, and the Honda rider was down in the nineteenth position. However, Philippaerts managed to recover his rhythm and crossed the finish line in eighth place. In the second heat Philippaerts was fifth after the start and he did his best to hold such position, but in the end he finished sixth.

Joel Roelants did really well today and finished seventh overall thanks to his 6-9 result, whereas his compatriot Jeremy Van Horebeek was only able to finish eighth this weekend. Milko Potisek fulfilled his goal for the weekend as he finished ninth overall and Matiss Karro completed the top ten.

Home rider Max Nagl is still struggling with some problems in his stomach and the high temperature today did not help the German rider to do well in front of his home crowd. Nagl finished twelfth in both races and finished fourteenth in the Grand Prix.

Rui Gonçalves obtained the Get Athena Holeshot Award in the first race, but unfortunately he crashed when he was racing a strong moto in fifth. The Portuguese rider was forced to retire after hitting his head heavily in the crash and he did not take part in the second moto as he was being examined carefully.

MX1 Race 1 top ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 39:51.482; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:24.303; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:49.505; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:53.674; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +1:03.417; 6. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), +1:08.995; 7. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:15.077; 8. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), +1:17.307; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:22.140; 10. Milko Potisek (FRA, Yamaha), +1:24.246;

MX1 Race 2 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 39:23.445; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:18.991; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:36.843; 4. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:41.582; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:44.381; 6. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), +1:06.379; 7. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), +1:16.462; 8. Herjan Brakke (NED, Yamaha), +1:19.671; 9. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), +1:19.830; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +1:27.620;

MX1 Overall top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 47 p.; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 38 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 32 p.; 6. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), 28 p.; 7. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), 27 p.; 8. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 22 p.; 9. Milko Potisek (FRA, Yamaha), 21 p.; 10. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), 19 p.;

MX1 Championship top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 611 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 503 p.; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 479 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 465 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 397 p.; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 375 p.; 7. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 327 p.; 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 314 p.; 9. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 230 p.; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), 219 p.;

MX1 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 623 points; 2. Suzuki, 531 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 512 p.; 4. Honda, 392 p.; 5. Yamaha, 244 p.; 6. TM, 174 p.;

Click here to obtain the complete results
Photos of the whole round are available here

MX2
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings had a perfect weekend at Lausitzring after dominating the qualifying race yesterday and wining both heats today. The red plate holder could not take the holeshot in any of the races, but he quickly moved to the lead and crossed the finish line of both motos with a comfortable advantage over the second classified. Next weekend Herlings will have the first opportunity to be proclaimed World Champion, so he is already looking forward to racing in Loket, Czech Republic.

It was not an easy weekend for his teammate Jordi Tixier who finished second overall. In the first race he started fifth and after the first five laps he managed to overtake José Butrón and he was able to keep a consistent rhythm until the end of the race. With three laps to go Dean Ferris crashed while he was riding ahead of the French rider, so Tixier crossed the finish line third. In the second race Tixier took the holeshot and kept the lead for four laps, but he had to slow down because he was making a lot of mistakes and he was risking too much. Tixier crossed the finish line second, so he ended second in the Grand Prix.

Standing Construct KTM’s Glenn Coldenhoff was visibly emotional when he crossed the finish line and realized he was third overall and had just obtained his maiden podium in the FIM MX2 World Championship. The Dutch rider gave it all in both races and at the end of the second one he was hardly able to stand up. Coldenhoff obtained a consistent third position in the first race, but in the second one he had to fight hard with Max Anstie to keep the third position until the chequered flag.

KTM Silver Action’s José Butrón admitted that it has been a very tough weekend for him, but he was satisfied with his fourth overall position. In the first race the Spanish rider started third, but he struggled a lot to keep the rhythm and he was only able to cross the finish line in sixth. In the second race Butrón was determined to give it all and after a poor start in the twelfth position, he did an incredible recovery to finish fourth.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Max Anstie had one of the best weekends of the season by finishing fifth overall. The British rider did not have a good start in the first race, but he managed to move from his initial thirteenth position to a final fourth place. Anstie was fifth after the start of the second race and in the second half of the moto he exchanged the third position with Glenn Coldenhoff who was riding third. In the end Anstie made a mistake when he was third and he had to settle down with a ninth place. This weekend’s fourth overall position gives Anstie some extra motivation to face the upcoming weekends where he will give it all again to finish on the podium.

Dean Ferris was not lucky this weekend. In the first race the Australian rider started second and at the end of the race Christophe Charlier overtook him and after four laps Ferris crashed and was only able to cross the finish line in ninth. In the second race Ferris started down in the tenth place, but he managed to find a good rhythm and crossed the finish line in fifth, which gave him an overall sixth place.

Jake Nicholls finished eighth in both races and ended seventh overall in the Grand Prix, followed by Christophe Charlier, who made an incredible first race finishing second, but he crashed in the first stages of the second race and a problem on his Yamaha forced him to retire.

Mel Pocock obtained the Get Athena Holeshot Award in the first race, but he crashed in the first lap and was only able to finish sixteenth. In the second race the British rider was sixth and finished ninth overall ahead of Harri Kullas.

MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:47.667; 2. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:34.115; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:42.729; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), +0:44.118; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:10.971; 6. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:19.279; 7. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:21.692; 8. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +1:23.772; 9. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), +1:35.854; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +1:36.466;

MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:05.841; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:54.401; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:05.710; 4. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:11.258; 5. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), +1:27.121; 6. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), +1:38.774; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), +1:55.586; 8. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 9. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), -1 lap(s); 10. Tim Gajser (SLO, KTM), -1 lap(s);

MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 33 p.; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), 30 p.; 6. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 28 p.; 7. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 26 p.; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 22 p.; 9. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), 20 p.; 10. Harri Kullas (FIN, KTM), 19 p.;

MX2 Championship top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 642 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 483 p.; 3. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 416 p.; 4. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 365 p.; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 362 p.; 6. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 341 p.; 7. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 318 p.; 8. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), 282 p.; 9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), 259 p.; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), 238 p.;

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 647 points; 2. Yamaha, 466 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 365 p.; 4. Suzuki, 306 p.; 5. Honda, 267 p.; 6. TM, 57 p.; 7. Husqvarna, 1 p.;

Click here to obtain the complete results
Photos of the whole round are available here

MXGP GERMANY – QUICK FACTS
Circuit length: 1500m
Type of ground: hand sand
Temperature: 37° C
Weather conditions: sunny
Crowd attendance: 16000