Antonio Cairoli has won his second straight GP in the premier class much to the delight of his hometown fans.
By Hayden Gregory
Cairoli started the round strongly, winning the first moto start to finish before being chased down in the closing stages of the second by Romain Febvre. A 1-2 result handed the Italian his second GP victory of the season as he closes in on Febvre and Cairoli for the overall.
“You know. The first moto I was riding free and I had Febvre coming very fast and he passed me,” Cairoli commented.
“I am so happy my condition is getting that I can push all the way to the finish. For sure it is nice after so long, but I know I am not 100% and that race was a good one, but for sure I look for a better one. My home GP and there is a lot of pressure and it isn’t one of my favourite tracks. It is important to have a good start here, my condition is getting better and I can push more and control the race. It isn’t one of my favourite tracks, but I am still getting stronger and stronger and I look forward to Spain where I will be even better.
Romain Febvre edged out Tim Gasjer for second in the GP with a 6-1 result. Gasjer holds onto a slim four point lead in the overall standings after a determined weekend finishing third (4-4).
“I have some pain, but nothing too bad,” Gasjer said. “I am really disappointed and I know I can do better than that. The speed was there, but it was so tough to pass. I was leading the second race and I made a stupid mistake. I am happy to keep the red plate, and looking forward to Spain. My fans were amazing today, so thanks guys.”
In MX2 racing, Jeffrey Herlings was humbled in the first moto after his 14 race win streak ended following a sensational ride by Dylan Ferrandis. The pair locked horns for the whole moto in one of the rides of the season before the Dutchman broke through for victory.
In the second race Herlings was out for revenge moving into he lead early before checking out on the field in typical fashion. A 1-2 result handed Herlings his eighth straight overall to start the season.
“It’s really good. I am bummed I couldn’t win the first moto, but fair play to Dylan, he was riding great,” Herlings said. “I was dealing with being sick last weekend, pity I can’t go undefeated, but at least we can still win all the GPs in 2016. I mean it is all about the championship. For sure racing is racing and I had some words about last week, but if he keeps it clean then I am ok. Let’s keep it on the track.”
Ferrandis backed up his opening moto with a third in the second, landing himself just behind Herlings on the podium. Pauls Jonass scraped through for third In the GP a position he also holds in the overall behind Herlings and Seewer.
“I really had a tough race with a bad start and it was hard to pass on this track, the track was destroyed and so hard pack and it wasn’t easy,” Ferrandis said.
“I used a lot of energy in the first moto to beat Jeffrey, but it’s like this and it’s good to be on the podium again and I look forward to Spain and fight for the win. It was an unbelievable race (the first moto). I fight for the holeshot; it was so different than yesterday. Jeffrey was pushing so hard and I was riding harder than 100%. The start was really important, I want to win the second moto, but it will be difficult. I am not 100%, for the French GP I should be 100%.
MXGP – Overall Classification
1 222 Cairoli, Antonio ITA FMI KTM 25 22 47
2 461 Febvre, Romain FRA FFM YAM 15 25 40
3 243 Gajser, Tim SLO AMZS HON 18 18 36
4 22 Strijbos, Kevin BEL FMB SUZ 20 15 35
5 12 Nagl, Maximilian GER DMSB HUS 22 13 35
6 777 Bobryshev, Evgeny RUS MUL HON 12 20 32
7 89 Van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL FMB YAM 16 16 32
8 24 Simpson, Shaun GBR ACU KTM 10 11 21
9 7 Leok, Tanel EST EMF KTM 13 7 20
10 8 Townley, Ben NZL MNZ SUZ 14 6 20
MXGP – Championship Classification
1 243 Gajser, Tim SLO HON 335
2 461 Febvre, Romain FRA YAM 331
3 222 Cairoli, A. ITA KTM 310
4 12 Nagl, M. GER HUS 273
5 777 Bobryshev, E. RUS HON 264
6 89 Van Horebeek, J. BEL YAM 247
7 22 Strijbos, K. BEL SUZ 204
8 24 Simpson, Shaun GBR KTM 189
9 92 Guillod, V. SUI YAM 153
10 259 Coldenhoff, G. NED KTM 146
MX2 – GP Classification
1 84 Herlings, Jeffrey NED KNMV KTM 22 25 47
2 4 Ferrandis, Dylan FRA FFM KAW 25 20 45
3 41 Jonass, Pauls LAT LAMSF KTM 20 22 42
4 321 Bernardini, Samuele ITA FMI TM 15 15 30
5 91 Seewer, Jeremy SUI FMS SUZ 18 9 27
6 6 Paturel, Benoit FRA FFM YAM 9 16 25
7 18 Brylyakov, Vsevolod RUS MFR KAW 12 13 25
8 59 Tonkov, Aleksandr RUS KNMV YAM 14 10 24
9 189 Bogers, Brian NED KNMV KTM 3 18 21
10 99 Anstie, Max GBR ACU HUS 16 5 21
MX2 – World Championship Classification
1 84 Herlings, J. NED KTM 397
2 91 Seewer, Jeremy SUI SUZ 297
3 41 Jonass, Pauls LAT KTM 260
4 6 Paturel, B. FRA YAM 211
5 59 Tonkov, A. RUS YAM 210
6 152 Petrov, Petar BUL KAW 202
7 99 Anstie, Max GBR HUS 183
8 18 Brylyakov, V. RUS KAW 182
9 321 Bernardini, S. ITA TM 179
10 4 Ferrandis, D. FRA KAW 162
