| June 27, 2016
After some rather indifferent weather at the last few rounds in the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship Season, Mantova, in the Lombardia region of Italy, had some absolutely scorching heat, making it a real test for the riders to maintain the pace for their two motos. However, while the conditions were much trickier than previous rounds, the same guys still stood atop the podium in both classes.
MXGP
Much like the race in Arco di Trento, the race in Mantova can be considered to be Tim Gajser’s “home” MXGP and a vast number of Slovenian fans made their way across the border, ready to watch their hero do battle on the track with the real hometown hero, Antonio Cairoli. And battle they did, as the pair put on a real show in the second moto, swapping the lead a couple of times, but in the end the veteran just couldn’t match the rookie and Gajser went onto win both races, making it seven motos out of eight. With Romain Febvre sitting out due to a concussion he sustained in Great Britain last weekend, this was a big chance for Gajser and he took it, extending his points lead to 92 over the Cairoli.
Behind him, it was Honda’s Gautier Paulin who, once again, looked impressive, and it surely won’t be long before he’s challenging Gajser for race wins. His 3-2 was good enough to finish just ahead of Clement Desalle who made his long-awaited return to the podium with 2-4 results. It’s been a tough year for the new KRT Kawasaki rider, but finally he’s back where he belongs and with six rounds left, he should be able to move up the championship table despite an injury-hit campaign. Cairoli could only come fourth with 6-3 moto scores and now sits 32 points ahead of Febvre, who should be raring to go when the season resumes in the Czech Republic in four weeks’ time.
MX2
If a track features anything remotely close to sand, you can guarantee that Jeffrey Herlings will win in MX2. Which is pretty much like any other surface but on sand, it’s definitely more emphatic, and that was the case today as he won with leads of 29 and 73 seconds over the next best rider. This week, it was a fellow Dutch rider Brian Bogers who had by far the best MXGP of his career, scoring a second and third place that gave the jubilant youngster his first ever podium overall. He finished ahead of Frenchman Dylan Ferrandis, who somehow came third despite crashing frequently during the day. His 35 points were just enough to see off American Thomas Covington into fourth, who had his best MXGP of the season with 4-5 finishes. Injuries have ruined a season that had the potential to be a good one, but it’s good to see that he hasn’t given up and this result should give him something to build upon so that by the time the two USGPs come around, he’ll be able to battle hard with his compatriots in Charlotte and Glen Helen.
“We had a great GP here in Mantova,” Covington said. “On Saturday I struggled a little bit. The track was rough and difficult and I couldn’t find a good rhythm. We spoke a lot with my team manager on Saturday night and along with our WP engineer we made a lot of changes in our suspension set-up. I felt better straight away on Sunday. In the first moto I got a big holeshot and rode in front for a few laps before eventually falling back in fourth. Then in the second moto there was a problem with the gate. I think I was 15th in the first lap and had to battle my way to fifth place. I missed the overall podium by one-point and it’s a bit of a bummer but I’m really happy with how I raced. I’m getting better every weekend and I think the top five in MX2 is where I belong.”
Things were looking good for American Darian Sanayei midway through the second moto of his EMX250 class. He’d won the first race after a good battle with red-plate holder Thomas Kjer Olsen and was leading the second race after holeshotting, but unfortunately his bike locked up causing him to DNF, and with it went any outside chance of a championship. Still, he’s shown everyone he has the speed to win races in all conditions and shouldn’t have any difficulty securing an MX2 rider for next year.
For more information on the MXGP Championship, click HERE
MXGP of Lombardia (Mantova), Italy
RESULTS: June 26, 2016
MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 35:01.739; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:04.460; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:07.423; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:11.147; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:16.639; 6. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:25.874; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:33.524; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:38.665; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:44.531; 10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:48.997.
MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 35:17.922; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:09.544; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:17.480; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:25.145; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:33.911; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:37.557; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:38.142; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:54.421; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:59.148; 10. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:02.868.
MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 42 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 40 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 30 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 29 p.; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 23 p.
MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 532 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 440 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 408 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 401 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 396 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 351 p.; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 267 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 230 p.; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 212 p.; 10. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 210 p.
MXGP Manufacturers: 1. Honda, 540 points; 2. Yamaha, 482 p.; 3. KTM, 450 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 416 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 310 p.; 6. Suzuki, 242 p.
MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:51.899; 2. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:29.676; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:35.149; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:37.324; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:48.411; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:48.831; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:55.552; 8. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), +1:01.851; 9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), +1:05.124; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +1:07.501.
MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:08.731; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +1:13.556; 3. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:17.594; 4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:20.819; 5. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +1:27.830; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:29.220; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:29.805; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +1:35.366; 9. Conrad Mewse (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:46.304; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:52.560.
MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 35 p.; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 34 p.; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 33 p.; 6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 32 p.; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 29 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 22 p.; 9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 19 p.; 10. Conrad Mewse (GBR, HUS), 17 p.
MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 597 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 428 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 403 p.; 4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 325 p.; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 320 p.; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 308 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 274 p.; 8. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 253 p.; 9. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 253 p.; 10. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 219 p.
MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 597 points; 2. Kawasaki, 435 p.; 3. Suzuki, 428 p.; 4. Yamaha, 416 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 364 p.; 6. TM, 253 p.; 7. Honda, 227 p.
–DAVID BULMER