Changeable weather conditions and the wide open championships in both MX1 and MX2 championships made for another fantastic weekend of racing at Round 7 of the FIM World MX GP season in Agueda, Portugal at the weekend.
MX2
Jeffrey Herlings of KTM Red Bull made it look business as usual in the qualifying race on the Saturday before race day on Sunday winning by 15 seconds over his championship rival Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Tommy Searle of Floride Pro Circuit Kawasaki.
Things seemed to be going the same way as Herlings sprinted off into the lead in the first moto on Sunday and didn't look back from there, winning over his team-mate Jeremy Van Horebeek by 25 seconds and taking a commanding grip on the day, extending his championship points lead. Bud Racing Kawasaki and Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Valentin Teillet got an impressive 5th place in the first race, with Bike It Cosworth Monster Energy Yamaha and Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Arnaud Tonus making a great comeback from injury with a 7th place.
The second race was much closer as the two main rivals of Herlings and Searle clashed for the lead, with the weather deteriorating both riders struggled to get the upper hand,. A controversial hold-up from Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Mel Pocock (who got an excellent 7th overall for the weekend himself) on Herlings saw Searle get the advantage to take the win and keep Herlings within striking distance in the championship.
MX2 Results
1. Jeffrey Herlings 1/2 KTM
2. Tommy Searle 3/1 KAW
3. J v Horebeek 2/6 KTM
4. Max Anstie 10/3 HON
5. Jake Nicholls KTM
6. Jordi Tixier KTM
7. M. Pocock YAM
8. R Febvre KTM
9. G Coldenhoff KTM
10. D Ferrandis KAW
MX1
The MX1 class was as close as ever as the increasingly dominant top four of Tony Cairoli, Clement Desalle and Raptor Titanium sponsored riders Christophe Pourcel of CP377 Kawasaki and Gautier Paulin of Kawasaki Racing Team battled at the front of the field on both races, Desalle gaining the advantage on the day for his first overall MX1 GP win of 2012.
Desalle of the Rockstar Energy Suzuki MX1 team took the first race by a convincing 6 seconds over 2nd place Christophe Pourcel, with Tony Cairoli in 3rd and Gautier Paulin in 4th.
The second MX1 moto saw Paulin and Cairoli take it right to the wire in one of the closest battles of the year so far as Paulin beat the Italian by one second over the finish line. Desalle got 3rd to secure the overall win for the day with a 1-3 result, beating Paulin just who got 4-1 overall for the day.
Paulin's team-mate and fellow Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Xavier Boog got a great 6th overall for the day and now sits 7th in the championship standings, just ahead of fellow Raptor Titanium sponsored rider Kevin Strijbos of HM Plant KTM UK who sits in a solid 8th position.
MX1 Results
1. Clement Desalle 1/3 SUZ
2. Gautier Paulin 4/1 KAW
3. Tony Cairoli 3/2 KTM
4. Christophe Pourcel 2/4 KAW
5. Ken De Dycker 5/5 KTM
6. Xavier Boog KAW
7. Rui Goncalves HON
8. Jonathan Barragan HON
9. T Leok SUZ
10. D Philippaerts KAW
MX2 Points
Jeffrey Herlings 317
Tommy Searle 293
J v Horebeek 268
Joel Roelants 204
Max Anstie 191
Jordi Tixier 187
Jake Nicholls 175
Al Lupino 129
Jose Butron 126
D Ferrandis 125
MX1 Points
Tony Cairoli 295
Clement Desalle 258
Gautier Paulin 255
Christophe Pourcel 254
Ken De Dycker 211
David Philippaerts 190
Xavier Boog 185
Kevin Strijbos 171
Rui Goncalves 156
Tanel Leok 142
The championship goes to Belgium next week for Round 8!
No comments:
Post a Comment