After dropping out of both motos at the previous GP and surrendering the red plate (points lead) to rival Clement Desalle, Red Bull KTM’s Antonio Cairoli rebounded at a cloudy and sometimes rainy MXGP of Latvia, July 15, after capturing the overall win and taking back the red plate.
Cairoli went 1-2, taking full advantage of what turned out to be a difficult day for Desalle, who fell in both motos. He ended up with a 7-4 for sixth overall.
Cairoli now leads Desalle by 12 points in the MX1 Championship.
Antonio Cairoli
Second overall in Latvia went to Belgian Ken De Dycker. It was the KTM rider’s first podium of the year. De Dycker, Cairoli’s teammate, went 2-3 on the day.
Kevin Strijbos made it an all-KTM podium. After finishing 10th in the first moto, Strijbos came roaring back and won the second moto. It was his first GP moto win since 2007.
Portugal’s Rui Goncalves (Honda) and Frenchman Gautier Paulin (Kawasaki) rounded out the top five overall.
Kawasaki’s Christophe Pourcel struggled in Latvia and was unable to crack the top 10 overall, finishing 11th overall. His best finish was ninth in the first moto. However, he remains third in the champion but 23 points behind Desalle.
In the MX2 class, Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Joel Roelants claimed the overall win with a 1-2. The Belgian climbed from fifth to first in the first moto and took second in the second moto despite having to pit for new goggles.
Jeremy Roelants (Photo: Milagro)
Belgian Jeremy van Horebeek put his KTM into second overall after winning the first moto, which followed a third in the first moto.
Frenchman Jordi Tixier (KTM) completed the podium with a 5-3.
Great Britain’s Max Anstie (Honda) and Hollands’ Glenn Coldenhoff (KTM) rounded out the top five overall.
The top two riders in the class, points leader Jeffrey Herlings and Tommy Searle, both suffered DNFs on the day.
After finishing second in the first moto, Herlings, on the Red Bull KTM, was sidelined in the second moto with mechanical problems while running second, and Searle, on the Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki, DNF’d both motos with an engine problem in the first moto and a rear-tire issue in the second moto.
Despite not finishing the second moto, Herlings gained big points on Searle on the day and now leads the Dutch rider by 41 points. Horebeek trails Searle by 11 points.
American Zach Osborne had a terrible day. The Yamaha rider crashed out of top contention in the first moto and then crashed again in the second moto, this time hitting his hard enough that he chose to pull out of the race.
RESULTS
MX1
MX1 Race 1 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 40:10.291; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:14.660; 3. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:19.982; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:25.045; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:29.425; 6. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), +0:30.185; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:48.051; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:49.206; 9. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:50.222; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:50.592;
MX1 Race 2 top ten: 1. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 40:41.137; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:09.646; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:14.187; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:21.801; 5. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:23.040; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:34.385; 7. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), +0:40.746; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:51.920; 9. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:54.297; 10. Marc de Reuver (NED, Kawasaki), +1:20.375;
MX1 Overall top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 36 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 33 p.; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 32 p.; 7. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), 29 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), 26 p.; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 26 p.; 10. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 22 p.;
MX1 Championship top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 392 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 380 p.; 3. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 357 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 348 p.; 5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 299 p.; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 279 p.; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 258 p.; 8. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), 230 p.; 9. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 219 p.; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 212 p.;
MX2
MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), 39:26.119; ; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:11.964; 3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:15.035; 4. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:17.148; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:31.514; 6. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:38.080; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), +0:43.017; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:44.453; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:46.327; 10. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:03.649;
MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 40:08.550; ; 2. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:05.653; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:40.065; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), +0:45.920; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:50.273; 6. Nikolaj Larsen (DEN, Suzuki), +1:45.706; 7. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:49.834; 8. Jens Getteman (BEL, Suzuki), +1:53.832; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +2:01.686; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Husqvarna), +2:05.292;
MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), 47 points; 2. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 45 p.; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 5. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 29 p.; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), 25 p.; 7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 25 p.; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), 24 p.; 9. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), 24 p.; 10. Jens Getteman (BEL, Suzuki), 21 p.;
MX2 Championship top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 428 points; 2. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 387 p.; 3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 375 p.; 4. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), 310 p.; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 279 p.; 6. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 255 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), 224 p.; 8. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 197 p.; 9. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 190 p.; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Husqvarna), 183 p.;
