MXGP

Antonio Cairoli of the Red Bull KTM Factory team is only weeks away from being crowned FIM Motocross World Champion for the 8^th time in his career. In Lommel, Belgium last weekend the Italian rider went 1-1 and picked up his 72^nd Grand Prix victory.

Despite the Lommel circuit being difficult, and a thunder storm causing all sorts of drama in the second moto of the MXGP class, the Red Bull KTM Factory rider still managed to hold his nerve and head into Brazil in a few weeks with an 81 point lead over his closest rival, Jeremy Van Horebeek.

We sat down and talked to the MXGP series leader. As usual he was modest and relaxed.

Q: Antonio, how did it feel to win the Grand Prix of Belgium?

Cairoli: This Grand Prix is like a home GP for me, so it was nice. It was also nice to win my 72^nd GP in the land of Stefan Everts, who always rode with the number 72 on his bike.

Q: How did you find the two races?

Cairoli: It was two difficult heats. The first one I had a good start and pushed for three laps, but then I got arm pump. The track was kind of strange, maybe because there were so many classes run over the weekend. I eventually found my speed and passed Kevin Strijbos, and in the end it was enough to win the moto. The second race I had a good start and the feeling was better, and I was pushing at the start and had some good laps and took a big gap. Then the storm started and at one point you couldn’t see the track because it was raining so hard. You had to slow down a lot and try and survive.

Q: Another good weekend in the next round in Brazil and you are World Champion again. Are you thinking about that at all?

Cairoli: I usually don’t look at the points. I always want to be on the podium at every Grand Prix, but of course it is time to look because the championship is nearly there.

Q: Now a long break before Brazil, how do you feel about that and what will you do in the break?

Cairoli: The long break is not good for the condition, but it is nice to have some free weekends in August. I will probably just go back to Italy and enjoy summer a little bit. For many years this period is spent at the track, so this is really good for a change.

Q: You have won a world title in Brazil before, are you excited to be going back there to win again?

Cairoli: It will be amazing. It is nice to win in Brazil, and we have a lot of fans in Brazil. They are excited I might win my title there, I get a lot of message from Brazilian fans looking forward to us coming. They are so warm and passionate and they want to be a part of the championship celebrations.

LOMMEL (Belgium), 03 August 2014 – Just when you thought the championship couldn’t get any crazier. It did. Rubber stamping the fact that in motocross anything can happen, MXGP of Belgium, round fifteen of the FIM Motocross World Championship in the fathomless sand of Lommel resulted in the perfect storm for BikeIT Yamaha Cosworth’s MX2 star Max Anstie as he claimed his first ever MX2 race and Grand Prix victory, and an actual storm for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli as he pressed on, despite the ominous dark clouds morphing into a full blown thunderstorm which drenched the circuit half way through the final race of the day, for his ninth round victory of the year.

MXGP

Recognized for his unique technique and mastered sandcraft, all bets were on Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli today, which turned out to be as safe as expected. Although the Italian said the track was a lot choppier and less rollier than normal, it didn’t slow him down any as he eased his way to his sixth double victory of the season. TC222 said in the press conference, “I want to say it’s nice to win my 72^nd Grand Prix in the land of the best rider, number 72 Stefan Everts”

While a lot of random stuff was happening today, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker’s 4 – 2 result for second overall takes the cake as the most random. It’s no secret the big Belgian has been struggling all season long with an injury that hasn’t healed well, he has made the decision to sit out the last two rounds of the championship. With today’s round of racing being his final round of the FIM Motocross World Championship this year, the KTM rider couldn’t ask for a better way to end what has been a season to forget. “I didn’t expect this, I expected maybe a top five or like six or something so this is amazing. I have had a problem with my wrist the whole year but I kept fighting and kept training and it finally paid off,” De Dycker said.

Meanwhile it was expected to see Hitachi Construction Machinery UK KTM’s Shaun Simpson on the box as he’s proven to be quite the sand specialist over the years. Today Simpson threw together a 3 – 3 result for third overall but also made himself one of the most talked about as he was one of only a few riders to consistently jump the quad into the rhythm section. “It was nice to show today that Lierop last year wasn’t a fluke and I can ride the sand well, and it was nice in the second race to follow Tony for a few laps because he is riding great in the sand every time.”

The first rider to impressively bust out the quad card during the race was Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin. No one would have guessed the extremely fluid and flamboyant Frenchman has missed seven of the last nine rounds of the MXGP championship as he chased down and caught the seven-time world champion in race one relatively easily, given his circumstances. While time ran out for Paulin to make a move on Cairoli for the lead, he managed to take second in race one which he backed up with a fourth in race two leaving himself, Simpson and De Dycker all tied on forty points. Due to the overall result being decided based on the best finish in the final race, Paulin was forced to settle for fourth.

Rounding out the top five, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos couldn’t find his flow today. While he tried to push the issue and charge forward, things weren’t working out for the Belgian which saw him back off and take home some solid championship points.

MXGP Race 1 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:22.254; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:03.902; 3. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:04.930; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:16.506; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:21.324; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:26.489; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:45.874; 8. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Husqvarna), +0:47.105; 9. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:48.268; 10. Marc de Reuver (NED, Honda), +1:06.632.

MXGP Race 2 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:46.942; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:08.481; 3. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:19.123; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:25.772; 5. Marc de Reuver (NED, Honda), +0:32.921; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:35.867; 7. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:40.127; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:46.294; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +1:01.185; 10. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Husqvarna), +1:08.384.

MXGP Overall top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 40 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 29 p.; 6. Marc de Reuver (NED, HON), 27 p.; 7. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 26 p.; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 26 p.; 9. Tyla Rattray (RSA, HUS), 24 p.; 10. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 23 p.

MXGP World Championship Classification Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 669 points; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 588 p.; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 498 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 484 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 365 p.; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 356 p.; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 307 p.; 8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 275 p.; 9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 245 p.; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 234 p.

MXGP Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 669 points; 2. Suzuki, 616 p.; 3. Yamaha, 592 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 550 p.; 5. Honda, 457 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 307 p.; 7. TM, 286 p.

MX2

Everything that could go wrong in one season has for BikeIT Yamaha Cosworth’s Max Anstie as he has been up against the eight ball all season long as his team continues to develop his bike. Heading into every race the question that surrounds Max is never over his ability, but rather his bike and will it last entire duration of a race. While it was a little touch’n’go in both moto’s with the Brit not going out for either sighting laps due to problems with the bike, it miraculously fired up at the last minute on both occasions and withstood the demands of what is known as the toughest track in the world, rewarding him with his first ever MX2 race and Grand Prix win. The charismatic young Brit went on to say, “Before the second race I was thinking this is what I live for right here, I was nervous but we got it done. It was a very difficult race; this track is obviously the most difficult, for the bike and physically. But we did it and I am over the moon!”

Again plaudits to Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier who once again stepped up to the plate. Despite not being one of the favorites to win in the sand, Tixier silenced his critics for the second Grand Prix in a row with a convincing victory in race two which he added to his third from race one for second overall. “This Grand Prix was really good for me, already yesterday I had a really good feeling on the track so it was good for me.”

CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Dylan Ferrandis raised the second French flag on the podium with his second place in race one and third in race two for third overall. While the Frenchman admitted he had considered not racing today because he woke up with a lot of shoulder pain after crashing hard on the second turn in the qualifying heat yesterday, the youngster gritted his teeth and got on with the job at hand to land his third podium finish of the season.

Three out of four is not bad for the French with Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre being the third Frenchman to finish inside the top four. Despite chucking in a couple of hard charges in both moto’s, Febvre didn’t have any answers for the top three today meaning he would have to leave Lommel today content with fourth.

It’s one for the ‘experience bank’ for Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser as he put in a pretty respectable ride given he’s a rookie and gnarlieness Lommel takes motocross racing to the extreme, the youngster did a pretty good job logging his fifth top five finish of the season.

As for Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Glenn Coldenhoff, the Dutchman admitted he wasn’t quite ready to come back this weekend. Nevertheless he managed to come away with seventh overall.

MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, Yamaha), 34:00.529; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:16.077; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:17.169; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:31.690; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:54.482; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:56.421; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +1:01.447; 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +1:06.292; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +1:15.713; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:20.785.

MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 35:28.225; 2. Max Anstie (GBR, Yamaha), +0:12.447; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.711; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:28.187; 5. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:40.276; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:47.124; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:50.563; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +1:12.744; 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +1:20.275; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +1:22.513.

MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, YAM), 47 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 45 p.; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 42 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 36 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 28 p.; 6. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 28 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 26 p.; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 25 p.; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, YAM), 22 p.

MX2 World Championship Classification Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 594 points; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 537 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, HUS), 489 p.; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 467 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 448 p.; 6. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KAW), 389 p.; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), 379 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 363 p.; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 337 p.; 10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 301 p.

MX2 Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 714 points; 2. Kawasaki, 572 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 505 p.; 4. Honda, 458 p.; 5. Yamaha, 436 p.; 6. Suzuki, 433 p.; 7. TM, 6 p.

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos of the MXGP of Belgium are available here

MXGP was available across the board in high definition, and is also globally available to view live and in HD on www.MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks, viewing times can be viewed by clicking on the logo of your chosen broadcasting network.

MXGP BELGIUM – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1675

Type of ground: sand

Temperature: 24°

Weather conditions: sunny and stormy

Crowd attendance: 21000

NEXT MXGP

The next round of MXGP will take place in five weeks time, on September 07 in State of Goias, Brazil.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Belgium

Did you miss something today at MXGP of Belgium? Don't worry, MXGP-TV has you covered. In the videos below are all the highlights from both MXGP and MX2's qualifying heat races in the sandy chop of Lommel as well a GoPro lap of the track featuring Rockstar Energy Suzuki riders Kevin Strijbos and Glenn Coldenhoff.

MXGP Qualifying heat race

MX2 Qualifying heat race

GoPro lap of Lommel 

LOMMEL (Belgium), 02 August 2014 – Grit was the word of the day today at round fifteen of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Lommel as riders gritted their teeth while bashing their way through the soft yet gritty sand. While the circuit, as expected, got gnarly and whooped out it turned out to be a playground for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli and BikeIT Yamaha Cosworth’s Max Anstie as they charged their way to pole.

With racing wrapping up today, we are officially half way through the final rounds of the European Championship’s EMX125, EMX150, EMX250 and EMX300.  Team Mafi Yamaha MX Team’s Alvin Ostlund won EMX125 race one today to overtake injured Red Bull KTM Racing rider Davy Pootjes for second overall in the championship, he now trails Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe's Brian Hsu by twenty-one points, while Fin Jere Haavisto won the first race in the EMX150 and now trails Brit Albie Wilkie by five with one crucial race remaining.

After a epic race in the EMX250, KTM Bodo Schmidt Motorsport’s Calvin Vlaanderen, who is South African yet lives in Holland so is no stranger to the sand, very narrowly won the EMX250 race one while TM Racing Team’s Samuele Bernardini was the first champion to be crowned this weekend wrapping up the EMX300 championship with a win in the penultimate race of the season.

MXGP

The MXGP qualifying race has already got the fans here at round fifteen of the FIM Motocross World Championship all pumped up for what tomorrow may bring. When the gates fell it was local MXGP favorite Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos who wasn’t mucking around, pinning it around turn one to claim the holeshot ahead of MXGP’s blast from the past, Marc De Reuver and Swedish young gun Fillip Bengsston.

While De Reuver is not Belgian, he is more or less local, but his years of knowledge and experience at this track did him no good when he crashed three quarters of the way into lap one. With Bengsston taking over second and Strijbos still in sight, the Swede wasted no time in embracing the ‘pin it to win it’ technique, surprisingly closing in on the Suzuki rider to keep him honest in the opening laps.

A few laps later Bengsston found himself up against a few of the toughest competitors in the class, Hitachi Construction Machinery UK KTM’s Shaun Simpson, who ended up nursing a slipping clutch home for seventh, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli and Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek. While the Swede was running a blistering pace in the opening laps, he struggled to maintain it the entire duration and eventually dropped back to tenth, yet he can be proud of the fact he set the fastest lap time of the race.

Around mid-race, a super fluid Cairoli started finding his groove making light work of everyone else as he moved to the front and floated his way to his sixth qualifying heat victory. Meanwhile second place turned into a battle of pride as the young grasshopper Van Horebeek started creeping up on the well-seasoned Strijbos eventually getting the job done with three laps to go.

While Strijbos had a few hairy moments in the closing stages of the race, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker was putting in the best ride we’ve seen from him this year in fourth while Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin soldiered on throughout the moto for a smooth and smart fifth.

MXGP Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 23:48.175; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:03.426; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:04.833; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:14.753; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:16.256; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:17.461; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:26.786; 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:31.284; 9. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), +0:39.285; 10. Rui Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +0:41.632.

MX2

It may be the turning point of the season for BikeIT Yamaha Cosworth’s Max Anstie, but only tomorrow will tell. After a season completely riddled with bouts of bad luck, Anstie managed to turn it all around today with his dominating performance after the gate drop of MX2’s qualifying race.

No one can lean back any further than KTM Silver Action’s Jose Butrón, who is known for his impressive start technique, although CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy’s Dylan Ferrandis did manage to match the Spaniards pace out of the gate this time to go neck and neck around turn one. One turn later, and the Frenchman was down, collecting Standing Construct KTM’s Valentin Guillod, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier and Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser. While Ferrandis and Tixier were able to re-mount, Guillod’s bike resembled something of a banana with snapped triple clamps and bent forks while Gajser’s bike also suffered some kind of damage.

While the carnage on turn two cleared, Butrón had pulled four bike lengths on the rest of the field, briefly, before Anstie started peeling off lap times consistently two seconds faster than everyone, blasting past Butrón and locking down first ever qualifying heat victory.

Meanwhile Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre was putting his winter of testing at this very circuit to good use, making light work of Butrón and wrapping up the race in an unchallenged second.

As for the battle for third, it was pretty surprising to say the least. At the start of the race Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Jeremy Seewer was running the pace up front before disappearing off the radar, as was Yamaha Factory Racing’s Christophe Charlier and Marchetti Racing KTM’s Pauls Jonass. While Charlier replicated Seewer and eventually retired from the race, Jonass looked solid in third for the majority of the moto before succumbing to the pressure of seasoned MX2 stars Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier and Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Aleksandr Tonkov.

Hats off to Tixier for his awe-inspiring performance, ripping all the way from outside the top twenty to bring home third just ahead of Tonkov. And also a plausible effort for Jonass who held on for his best qualifying heat result of the season in fifth.

On another note it was great to see the defending champion Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herling’s, who is nursing a broken femur which has recently been pinned, out watching his fellow competitors vie for their qualifying positions in a terrain he loves to ride. As was seeing the return of Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Glenn Coldenhoff who got tangled with another rider early in the race yet managed to bounce back for a respectable tenth.

MX2 Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, Yamaha), 24:07.111; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:22.107; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:32.472; 4. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:42.012; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:45.613; 6. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:45.961; 7. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +0:59.319; 8. Michael Hool (NED, KTM), +1:05.533; 9. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:08.349; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +1:09.540

Click here to obtain the complete results.

All the photos of the MXGP of Belgium will be available here

MXGP will be available across the board in high definition, and is also globally available to view live and in HD on www.MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks, viewing times can be viewed by clicking on the logo of your chosen broadcasting network.

MXGP BELGIUM – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1675

Type of ground: sand

Temperature: 24°

Weather conditions: sunny

TIMETABLE

SUNDAY: EMX300 Warm-up 08:00; EMX150 Warm-up 08:15; EMX125 Warm-up 08:30; EMX250 Warm-up 08:45; EMX300 Race 2 09:10; MX2 Warm-up 09:50; MXGP Warm-up 10:10; EMX150 Race 2 10:40; EMX125 Race 2 11:20; EMX250 Race 2 12:05; MX2 Race 1 13:15; MXGP Race 1 14:15; MX2 Race 2 16:10; MXGP Race 2 17:10.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Belgium

LOMMEL (Belgium), 2 August 2014 – Earlier this morning at MXGP of Belgium, round fifteen of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Lommel, Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo joined FIM Europe President Dr. Wolfgang Srb, FIM Europe Secretary General Alessandro Sambuco and MXGP Academy trainer and two-time FIM Motocross World Champion John Van Den Berk in a press conference to announce that as of 2015 Youthstream’s latest project the ‘MXGP Academy’ will be officially managed by FIM Europe but will still receive on-going support from Youthstream.

The MXGP Academy trains, develops and guides young riders to achieve everything they can within the sport of motocross. Because the project targets our youth, with the youth being linked heavily to their national motorcycling federations, the next logical step in the evolution of the MXGP Academy project was to place it under the management of FIM Europe.  In addition to riders’ training, MXGP Academy will also train trainers so that riders receive professional advice.

Mr. Giuseppe Luongo said, “FIM Europe today has new driving force with many years of experience in motocross, Dr. Wolfgang Srb. Together we realized that it would benefit the academy more to be managed by the FIM Europe as they are regularly in contact with the national motorcycling federations, they have much better contact and as a result this will assist the academy in having more structure. Youthstream will continue to partner and support the academy with media coverage, as well as financially, and we feel this is the best way to give the academy the best opportunity and more power.  MXGP Academy is an essential part of the pyramid of success which starts with the MXGP Academy, then goes up to the European MX Championships, MX2 and finally the diamond point of the pyramid which is MXGP.”

Dr. Wolfgang Srb agreed, “For FIM Europe this is a very important and very good step, and I want to thank Mr. Giuseppe Luongo for giving us (FIM Europe) the opportunity to be the umbrella of the MXGP Academy. We, at FIM Europe, have good contacts with the European Federations, but not only within Europe, we are also in contact with other continents. The co-operation we have now with Youthstream does not exist in any other discipline, so to have the world championship and European championships combined is awesome, it’s incredible, we are able to use the exact same racing rules, the same technical rules, the same officials and now with the academy on board, step by step we can guide the young riders into the FIM Motocross World Championship.”

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe