Despite a bike malfunction in qualifying leaving Tony Cairoli with last gate pick for the main races, the #222 has dominated the opening round of the MXGP. The 33 year old defended a narrow margin from Romain Febvre in the first race, but was able to take the win.
In the second race Cairoli again ripped a good start start and was in third place pursuing Tim Gajser and Romain Febvre for what was a battle for the overall win.
Tony Cairoli: “I’m really happy about this race because we unfortunately had a problem yesterday and on this track the start is really important because there is not much difference between the riders and the lap-times. I did my best to get to the front both times and it worked; I was in the top ten and could manage to work my way through. It was a nice race and nice event. So many fans, it is like being in Italy for me!”
Standings MXGP 2019
1. Tony Cairoli 50 points
2. Tim Gajser 44
4. Jeremy Van Horebeek 35
3. Clement Desalle 33
5. Gautier Paulin 32