A presentable and reasonably well attended Bellpuig circuit hosted the Grand Prix of Catalunya last Sunday, the sixth round of seventeen in the Motocross World Championship, and was won by a Spaniard for the first time since the FIM series first visited the country in 1962. MX1 Factory rider and KTM Silver Action Team’s Jonathan Barragan, was the history maker in an event that enjoyed a complete reversal of weather conditions. Given the deluge of rain and mud at the same venue thirteen months earlier, a hit to the attendance figures of 20,000 was perhaps only natural but the majority of the visiting spectators to Bellpuig left Sunday afternoon with sunburn and a coating of dust thanks to a glorious climate and the hottest meeting of the season so far.
The headlines were undoubtedly seized by the Spaniard who revelled in his second victory of the season. Close behind though was the attention and eye-catching performance by 15-year-old Ken Roczen in only his second Grand Prix. Roczen was proactive in the first MX2 sprint and then fought for the lead in a duel with Anthony Boissiere that amazed the entire circuit, save for his Teka Suzuki team who have known that the flicks, scrubs and sheer natural talent of the German is going to make him a star.
Yamaha Red Bull De Carli’s Tony Cairoli, the MX1 series leader, was the fastest rider across the rough and bumpy hard-pack but two falls in the first moto, both his fault, left him in eighth as Barragan escaped from the pack for the flag. Cairoli, who had dominated practice and taken pole position on Saturday, was more diligent in Moto2 (and didn’t have a leaky gas tank — a consequence of his first prang) to hound Red Bull KTM’s Max Nagl. When the German made a mistake with two laps to go, Cairoli captured his sixth win from the last eight motos. Barragan survived a small crash in the opening thrusts of the moto to take fourth.
Cairoli mounted the third step of the podium (his fourth appearance in a row) behind Yamaha Monster Energy’s David Philippaerts who quite startlingly went 3-3 with a broken left index finger sustained just seven days beforehand in Portugal. The World Champion, who underwent laser therapy all week in the UK and used a special clutch lever, was just three points from Barragan as he collected his second rostrum trophy against the odds and keeps his hand in the dispute for his crown.
KTM’s Jeremy Van Horebeek was a surprise victor in MX2 but his fast and reliable performances to second and third in the motos justified the 19-year-old Belgian’s success, making him – incredibly – the first rider from the country to actually win an MX2 GP.
Works KTM pilot Rui Goncalves, owner of the two previous rounds, claimed Moto1 in a five-rider sprint to the line but a crash left him fifth in Moto2 and therefore second on the podium as the Portuguese steadily gains ground in the championship.
Boissiere expertly kept Roczen (and the wishes of a buoyed crowd vying for the German to create history) at bay for his first chequered flag since 2005 and was third overall just ahead of the lively teenager in fourth.
In spite of a first-race fall and a lack of focus that meant a result of 11th, Marvin Musquin was able to enjoy becoming the first-ever Honda rider in the six-year history of MX2 to lead the standings in the category. The match of red plate and red plastics might be short-lived if the rumoured switch from a damaged relationship with his NGS team to the factory shade of KTM orange occurs before the British Grand Prix in two weeks time. Musquin sailed to the top of the points table with a margin of four thanks to Gautier Paulin’s horror of a GP, with a dirt-rendezvous in Moto1 and his role in a first corner Moto2 pile-up, meaning the Frenchman was unable to break the top fifteen on both occasions and was clipped from the top of the MX2 summit for the first time this year.
Cairoli was able to extend his lead in the MX1 standings after Ken De Dycker was one of the several riders to touch a fallen Tanel Leok on the first lap of Moto1. The Belgian wrecked his clutch and then crashed again while last on the next lap to end his participation. Sixth later on with a sore left wrist was not enough to stop Barragan hopping into second spot in the standings and now 36 points away from Cairoli’s red plate.
KTM’s Stephanie Laier won the third round of the Women’s World Championship and beat Teka Suzuki’s Larissa Papenmeier, enjoying her second podium in a row, and world champion Kawasaki’s Livia Lancelot in third. The French woman picked up her third trophy and owned the second moto after a crash left her fifth in the first sprint on Saturday afternoon. Honda’s Ashely Fiolek had returned to the States to prepare for the imminent launch of the WMA.
The normally busy and vibrant British Grand Prix will take place at Mallory Park for round seven of fifteen in two weeks time.
MX1 Race 1 top ten:
1. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 40:38.899
2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), +0:10.982
3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:11.453
4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:16.273
5. David Vuillemin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:17.446
6. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), +0:18.617
7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:19.177
8. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), +0:51.165
9. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), +0:54.074
10. Aigar Leok (EST, TM), +1:05.652
MX1 Race 2 top ten:
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 39:22.225
2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:01.314
3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:13.691
4. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), +0:18.063
5. Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Honda), +0:20.186
6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +0:23.058
7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), +0:23.655
8. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:23.983
9. David Vuillemin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:33.488
10. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:39.470
MX1 Overall top ten:
1. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 43 points
2. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 40
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 38
4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 36
5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), 36
6. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 31
7. David Vuillemin (FRA, Kawasaki), 28
8. Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Honda), 26
9. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), 25
10. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), 20
MX1 Championship top ten:
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 231 points
2. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 195
3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 183
4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 175
5. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 174
6. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), 162
7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), 162
8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 155
9. David Vuillemin (FRA, Kawasaki), 101
10. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 100
MX2 Race 1 top ten:
1. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 39:21.424
2. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:01.818
3. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), +0:05.871
4. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +0:06.426
5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:07.891
6. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:07.954
7. Anthony Boissiere (FRA, KTM), +0:24.346
8. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), +0:29.578
9. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), +0:33.182
10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KTM), +0:34.051
MX2 Race 2 top ten:
1. Anthony Boissiere (FRA, KTM), 39:35.739
2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:02.240
3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:05.212
4. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:06.794
5. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:09.792
6. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:10.777
7. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +0:19.102
8. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), +0:20.462
9. Marvin Musquin (FRA, Honda), +0:29.925
10. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), +0:36.699
MX2 Overall top ten:
1. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 42 points
2. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 41
3. Anthony Boissiere (FRA, KTM), 39
4. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 37
5. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 33
6. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 32
7. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 31
8. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 28
9. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), 23
10. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), 20
MX2 Championship top ten:
1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, Honda), 184 points
2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 181
3. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 179
4. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 166
5. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 141
6. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 136
7. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 126
8. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 100
9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 97
10. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 89
