Steve Cox | July 2, 2017
Covington Podiums at Portuguese MXGP: Red Bull KTM’s Antonio Cairoli will turn 32 years old only about a week after the conclusion of the 2017 MX GP World Championships conclude in September, and he’s busy trying to prove that age is just a number. Cairoli’s latest triumph, a 2-1 performance to win the Portuguese MXGP, has vaulted him to a seemingly untouchable 91-point lead with seven races left to run in the 19-race championship series.
In MX2, Suzuki’s Jeremy Seewer traded moto wins with Red Bull KTM’s points leader Pauls Jonass to take the overall win, while American Thomas Covington (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna) was the top qualifier and parleyed that into a 3-3 score for third overall on the day.
Covington Podiums at Portuguese MXGP
In MXGP, points leader Cairoli grabbed the holeshot, but his young teammate Jeffrey Herlings passed him to take the moto victory while Cairoli hung on for second in front of Suzuki’s Arminas Jasikonis. In moto two, Cairoli again got out front early, but this time he wasn’t to be headed on his way to the moto and overall victory.
It was Cairoli’s first-ever win in Portugal on a KTM, with all four of his previous wins in Agueda coming in his Yamaha days. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle sits second in points but had an off day on the redesigned circuit, going 6-10 for eighth overall. Third place in points, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Gautier Paulin, had an even worse day, going 12-11 for 12th overall. The end result is that Cairoli is only 9 points away from holding a two-race (four-moto) points lead. If Cairoli can hang on to win the title, it’ll be his ninth World Championship.
Covington Podiums at Portuguese MXGP
In the MX2 class, American Thomas Covington went out and won the qualifying race on Saturday over points leader Pauls Jonass, and on Sunday, Covington took the early lead and held it for most of the race before Jonass passed him with a few laps to go. While Covington was trying to go to school on Jonass’s lines and maybe make a move back by for the win, Seewer snuck up on him and passed him for second on the final lap. Jonass took the win over Seewer and Covington, and Covington crossed the line only 2.7 seconds behind the winner, Jonass.
In moto two, Jonass got the start, and Covington was again trying to match the points leader’s pace when, around halfway, Seewer went by Covington, then chased Jonass down out front and relegated him to second with just a handful of laps left to run. Seewer took the moto and overall win over Jonass, and Covington finished a very strong third both in the moto and overall.
Covington Podiums at Portuguese MXGP
“It’s good to be on the podium again,” Covington said. “I’ve been inconsistent in the past with one good race then one bad so it’s good to see that coming along. I never found the rhythm but it’s good to be on the podium and put the American flag up there on the 4th of July weekend.”
There are seven more rounds left to run in the championship, and it resumes in three weeks’ time with the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic on July 23rd.
MXGP
- Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 2-1
- Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 1-2
- Arminas Jasikonis (Suz) 3-3
- Romain Febvre (Yam) 5-4
- Max Nagl (Hus) 4-5
MX2
- Jeremy Seewer (Suz) 2-1
- Pauls Jonass (KTM) 1-2
- Thomas Covington (Hus) 3-3
- Thomas Kjer Olsen (Hus) 4-5
- Benoit Paturel (Yam) 6-4
MXGP Points Standings
- Antonio Cairoli 478
- Clement Desalle 387
- Gautier Paulin 383
- Jeffrey Herlings 382
- Tim Gajser 310
MX2 Points Standings
- Pauls Jonass 501
- Jeremy Seewer 463
- Thomas Kjer Olsen 377
- Benoit Paturel 363
- Julien Lieber 355
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