Cairoli heads to Kegums

Red Bull KTM Factory rider Antonio Cairoli is without question the most successful rider when it comes to results at the Grand Prix of Latvia. The Italian legend has picked up victories in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013 at Kegums, and also finished second to Clement Desalle in 2010.

Only injury the last two years have robbed him of even more success at the beautiful sand circuit, and this weekend you can be sure he will be looking to recover from a less than spectacular performance in Valkenswaard last month.

It wasn’t that Cairoli didn’t do something special, but mistakes cost him his chance of a third GP victory in 2017.

“It was a tougher weekend than expected,” Cairoli said. “Other than the first race everything went in the right direction, with victory in the qualifying race and a good feeling on the track. Unfortunately, at the first start I made a small mistake out of the gate and I slid the bike a bit too much, losing traction. From there it was an uphill struggle and I had to push really hard to claw back over twenty positions. Everything was going well, until I got into ninth position, behind my team mate. Just as I was going to pass him, I got a huge face full of sand that got inside my goggles and consequently into my eyes. From that moment, I lost most of my visibility and I had to settle for the ninth position…certainly not the one I was hoping for in this race.”

Despite the opening moto blues, Cairoli came back strong in the second race to dominate and show that he can go into Latvia with a lot of confidence.

“Between the two races I was very angry about what had happened and I was also worried because my right eye was giving me some issues, preventing me from seeing too well. Despite everything, however, I managed to start in front, which simplified my job, controlling my opponents until the finish line, even if I was not as fast as I could have been without the visibility problem. It's a shame that we missed the podium by just one point, but today we have gained precious points and we are getting closer to the red plate.”

Now with a race victory to his name, and his consistent results at Kegums, you can be sure the Italian will want to stand on top of the GP podium come Sunday evening and make a step closer to the red plate, currently owned by HRC Factory rider Tim Gajser, who just happened to win in Kegums in 2016.

Author:

Geoff Meyer