Both riders were convincing class winners in the sweltering Thai heat.
By Hayden Gregory
The second round of the MXGP saw Roman Febvre hit his straps in scenes reminiscent of his 2015 campaign. The reigning champion was brilliant around the unforgiving track winning both motos to take control of the overall championship lead.
“I’m happy to win the first moto, and the second was easier, because after the second corner I was in the lead, and I could make a good gap, and ride safely to the finish,” Febvre explained. “In the first moto I had a really long battle with Tony Cairoli, and you get the stones and the dust in your face, and here it’s really difficult to pass.”
“I was frustrated because I couldn’t pass him, and even when I did I had to slow down a bit and take a break, because I was really tired.”
“I’m really happy to take the red plate, but you know it’s still a really long season ahead. It’s really nice to have it, but there are still 16 rounds to go,” the Frenchman concluded.
Round one victor Tim Gasjer showed consistency once more recording a 3-4 finish for second place overall. Monster Energy Yamaha rider Jeremy Van Horbeek recorded a third place finish on a track which kick started his eleven race podium streak in 2015.
Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev would wrap up the day in fourth place while Red Bull KTM’s Antonio Cairoli would claim fifth after recovering from a stalled bike in race two.
In MX2 racing Jeffrey Herlings extended his overall championship lead with a clean sweep to mark his 49th career GP win. The victory sets him up to reach his 50th title on home soil next weekend.
“In previous years I was not good without a start” he said after the final race, “I was always too aggressive and now I took my time and felt I could go much faster but then I scrubbed and almost went over the ‘bars, I know it was on TV it was such a sketchy moment and something stupid like that is not allowed to happen again, it was my mistake for the last two years so it seems like I didn’t learn, but I did, so I won’t let it happen again, I will try to be smarter, but overall it was a good weekend.”
Team Suzuki’s Jeremy Seewer scored his best ever GP result in second with a pair of third place finishes. Wilvo Standing Construct Yamaha Official’s Aleksandr Tonkov landed his third career podium finishing the day with a 2-4 scorecard.
Riders will now prepare for the Grand Prix of Europe in two weeks time at Valkenswaard, Netherlands.
Grand Prix of Thailand Results – Round 2
MXGP Overall result:
1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 50 points
2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 36 p.
3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 34 p.
4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 32 p.
5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 31 p.
6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 27 p.
7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 26 p.
8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki MXGP), 23 p.
9. Ben Townley (NZL, Suzuki MXGP), 22 p.
10. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 22 p.
11. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 21 p.
12. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 21 p.
13. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 20 p.
14. Christophe Charlier (FRA, HUS), 16 p.
15. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, HON), 15 p.
16. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 15 p.
17. Tanel Leok (EST, KTM), 8 p.
18. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 8 p.
19. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, HON), 6 p.
20. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 6 p.
21. Alex Snow (GBR, YAM), 2 p.
22. Thanarat Penjan (THA, HON), 1 p.
23. Chaiyan Romphan (THA, YAM), 0 p.
MXGP World Championship standings (after 2 of 18 rounds):
1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 92 points
2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 86 p.
3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 74 p.
4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 68 p.
5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 64 p.
6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 57 p.
7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki MXGP), 48 p.
8. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 47 p.
9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 44 p.
10. Ben Townley (NZL, Suzuki MXGP), 42 p.
11. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 37 p.
12. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 37 p.
13. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 35 p.
14. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 33 p.
15. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 28 p.
16. Christophe Charlier (FRA, HUS), 24 p.
17. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, HON), 23 p.
18. Tanel Leok (EST, KTM), 21 p.
19. Kei Yamamoto (JPN, HON), 11 p.
20. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 9 p.
21. Alex Snow (GBR, YAM), 3 p.
22. Thanarat Penjan (THA, HON), 1 p.
MX2 Overall result:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki MX2), 40 p.
3. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 40 p.
4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 33 p.
5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 28 p.
6. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 26 p.
7. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 26 p.
8. Alvin Östlund (SWE, YAM), 24 p.
9. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 22 p.
10. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 22 p.
11. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, HON), 19 p.
12. Roberts Justs (LAT, KTM), 19 p.
13. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 16 p.
14. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 13 p.
15. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), 13 p.
16. Maykal Grisha Ivanov (BUL, KTM), 9 p.
17. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 8 p.
18. Damon Graulus (BEL, HON), 8 p.
19. Ben Watson (GBR, HUS), 7 p.
20. Jens Getteman (BEL, KTM), 7 p.
MX2 World Championship standings (after 2 of 18 rounds):
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 100 points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki MX2), 74 p.
3. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 70 p.
4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 68 p.
5. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 56 p.
6. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 47 p.
7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 46 p.
8. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 44 p.
9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 44 p.
10. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 38 p.
11. Alvin Östlund (SWE, YAM), 37 p.
12. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 33 p.
13. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 32 p.
14. Jorge Zaragoza (ESP, HON), 30 p.
15. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 25 p.
16. Jens Getteman (BEL, KTM), 24 p.
17. Ben Watson (GBR, HUS), 21 p.
18. Damon Graulus (BEL, HON), 20 p.
19. Roberts Justs (LAT, KTM), 19 p.
20. Karel Kutsar (EST, KTM), 19 p.
